Mountain Bike Mania by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

spent any time with Will all week. I think going to the mall might be a nice idea.”
    Just then, the doorbell rang, and the conversation halted while Will ran to get it.
    He threw the door open, and there was Ace Diamond, his bike parked behind him on the walk.
    “Hey, kid,” he said. “Mitch told me where you lived. You want to go for a ride or something?”
    “Me?” Will asked, not quite believing that Ace Diamond —
the
Ace Diamond! — was standing on his doorstep.
    “You see anybody else around here?” Ace asked comically. “Yeah, you. I’m riding the coolest trail today, and I thought I’d
     show you what mountain biking’s really all about.”
    “Excellent!” Will said, giving Ace the handshake. Then he ran back inside to tell his parents to forget about the mall. He
     was going riding!
    His parents, though bewildered at his sudden change in energy and attitude, quickly gave their permission. They were sorry
     not to have the time with Will but thrilled that he was so excited about what he was doing.
    And so, five minutes later, Will and Ace were heading down one of the two-lane blacktop roads leading out of town into the
     neighboring hills. Montwood was surrounded by hills on three sides, and on the fourth, a sloping plateau led down toward the
     west. There, Shepard Lake and severalothers nestled against the slopes of the Coast Range. Beyond those forested mountains lay the Pacific Ocean, forty miles away.
    Everywhere you rode around Montwood, Will was discovering, there were dirt roads and mountain trails to bike on.
    “Wait till you see where we’re going!” Ace called out to him over his shoulder. As always, when they were on paved roads,
     they went single file. Still, whenever a long straightaway showed that there was no traffic coming, Ace would drop back to
     talk with him.
    “It’s right up ahead,” Ace told him, after they’d been pedaling hard, mostly uphill, for about fifteen minutes. “Right… here!”
    In a flash, Ace peeled off the road onto a bumpy, narrow trail leading right through the woods. Will braked hard and nearly
     went over as he swerved onto the path and bounced over the ditch that cut through it. “Yikes!” he yelled. “Hey, wait for me!”
    Ace was off and riding now, taking air whenever an obstacle presented itself, as the trail wound up, down, up, and down again,
     like a BMX racecourse.“Ya-hoo!” Ace let out his trademark yell. After a moment’s hesitation, Will imitated it, trying like anything to keep up his
     speed and still not lose his balance.
    “Follow me — we’re goin’ down!” Ace shouted, and dipped down with the trail, suddenly disappearing from sight. Behind him,
     he threw something small that glinted in the sun. Will passed it, and saw that it was a gum wrapper.
    Will was shocked that Ace would just litter the trail like that, but he had no time to think about it. The trail dove steeply
     downward, and Will went with it, his feet down on the ground to steady and slow the suddenly careening bike. “Yaaah!” he yelled,
     paralyzed with fear as he struggled to control his bike.
    Ahead of him, Will saw Ace leap into the air with his bike, coming down ten feet later on the other side of a huge mud puddle.
    “Aaaahhh!” Will tried to brake, and when he saw that it was too late, he made a feeble attempt to jump the puddle. He came
     down smack in the middle of it!
    The next thing he heard was Ace’s roaring laughter.“Yeah! All right! You’re initiated, kid! Mudface, that’s you!”
    He gave Will the club handshake, and Will, who had been steaming with anger only a moment before, suddenly decided he didn’t
     want Ace to know how scared he’d been.
    “So, what do you think of it?” Ace asked. “This place rules, doesn’t it?”
    “It’s amazing,” Will said, not wanting to disagree. The trail had been fun but far too dangerous for a beginner like him,
     with its boulders and steep pitch, its roots and crevices and deep mud