It’s Tuesday night at the San Diego Velodrome. Joey Kelly and Oscar Pinuelas are chasing each other around a cement track on bikes.
Both Kelly and Pinuelas are recent graduates of National City Middle School and both completed a six-week training session in April that certifies them to participate in the Tuesday night races.
Also racing is Steve Landry, an avid cyclist who wants to give something back to the biking community. If it were not for Landry and his wife Tanya, Kelly and Pinuelas would not be racing tonight.
The Landrys started San Diego VeloYouth, a program that provides bike training and equipment for underprivileged youth, through their nonprofit organization, Quality of Life Connections.
They wanted to pass on Steve’s love for cycling to kids who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to participate in a sport like this. San Diego VeloYouth arranges transportation to and from the track and provides a coach.
“Getting out of National City and going to Balboa Park is a big deal for these kids,” said Tanya.
Racing at the Velodrome requires a special track bike that has a single fixed gear and does not have any brakes. San Diego VeloYouth provided track bikes for program participants to use and also gives the kids a chance to earn and keep their bikes through community service.
“We cleaned and painted the stadium benches and we pulled up most of the weeds around the track,” said Kelly, who also got a landscaping job out of his community service.
“She’s my boss,” he laughed, pointing to Tanya.
Pinuelas likes seeing his friends on Tuesday nights and said that the program helped him stay out of trouble at school.
“It’s pretty fun out here. It changes me a lot, it gets me away from home and it keeps me out of trouble,” he said.
The Landrys planned to offer the program once a year in the spring, but National City Middle School approached them about doing a second session this summer, which began on July 24. Both Kelly and Pinuelas, now freshmen at Sweetwater High School, returned as mentors. They hope to pass on what they have learned to the new kids.
San Diego VeloYouth provides additional training through bike rodeos. Initially intended as a way to get the kids involved in the community, they discovered it was also a good chance to teach them rules of the road that differ from rules on the track.
“It’s a place where we can help kids learn bike skills and road safety; we have an obstacle course, we teach the proper way to wear a helmet and we teach hand signs so the kids can ride safely on the road,” Tanya said.
San Diego VeloYouth will be holding a rodeo at National City Middle School, open to anyone interested, on Aug. 25.
In addition, on Sept. 8 there will be a rodeo at Rogers Elementary School in Chula Vista for kids with developmental disabilities.
A representative from the California Department of Motor Vehicles is usually present so kids can register their bikes. A mobile repair-unit also comes to make sure all the bikes are functioning properly.
VeloYouth has not only provided kids like Pinuelas and Kelly an opportunity to ride bikes but has also provided a forum for relationships to develop.
At the track, veteran racers joke around with the juniors and coaches look out for and support the kids.
Among friends, the competition appears to be healthy.
“Biking has been a real good experience, especially with my buddy over here,” Kelly said, gesturing toward Pinuelas.
The San Diego Velodrome offers a number of classes for children and adults. Classes are free of charge for kids, ages 12 to 18 years old.
For more information visit http://www.sdvelodrome.com.
To learn more about Quality of Life Connections, visit http://www.qualityoflifeconnections.org.