Abstract

Kathy Sansone is a co-founder of the Cycling School volunteer program in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The Cycling School is a volunteer-run program designed to provide biking programs for inner city school children. In this oral history, Kathy describes the origins of the Cycling School, operations and her passion for volunteer work.

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Interviewee

Sansone, Kathy (interviewee)

Interviewer

Jones Macko, Rebecca (interviewer); Schnack, Erich (participant)

Project

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Date

3-31-2022

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

48 minutes

Transcript

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:00:00] Speaking with Kathy Coady Sansone on the last day of March in 2022. So I want to thank you, first of all, for taking this time because the cycling school is a huge deal. We wanted to capture that story. So to start us off a bit, can you tell me a little bit about your background? Like, where’d you grow up?

Kathy Sansone [00:00:30] Oh, okay.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:00:31] And like, how’d you. What led you to get involved with the park?

Kathy Sansone [00:00:35] Okay. Well, I grew up in Michigan, and I actually, I have a physical education degree. I didn’t end up going that direction in life. However, I ended up being a flight attendant. So I travel is a big part of who I am, but I’ve always enjoyed nature. I mean, I grew up. We would camp, we would go hiking, swimming. I mean, I have- I’m from a family of seven. I have five brothers, so I keep up with those boys. And so that’s kind of my history of, you know, I like physical activity, I like being out in nature, and I like introducing children to that. And I- the park, I just used to go out to the park all the time. And I- And I volunteered at a school. It was Orchard Elementary. It’s a city school. And I just wanted to bring those kids out to the park. I thought that would be a great experience for them. And one thing led to another. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed bike riding. I had my bike stolen, so I called the police. I was crying because it was a really nice bike, by the way. And so they sent a police officer out to me, and I called and- and the police department, and they said, they have thousands of bikes. I’ll say. I said, I’ll be right down to pick mine up. And they go, it doesn’t quite work that way. You’re probably. Bike’s probably not here. And then I said, what do you do with all those bikes? And they said at the time, they gave it back to the community. So I actually wrote a letter to the chief of police in Cleveland, and he called me on the phone and said, come down here and get some bikes for your- For those kids that you were talking about. So that’s how it truly got started. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:02:18] Wow. 

Kathy Sansone [00:02:20] Mm-hmm. And we worked closely with the police department. Cops for Kids became involved, and they worked with us for, I wouldn’t say, five years. They sent out a community police officer every time. And they gave us bikes. They gave us more bikes. And then I met Terry DeBose, and she worked for the Cleveland Physical Health and Physical Education, and she wrote a grant through the Department of Transportation. So we had this huge grant to start off too. And with grants you have to use the money that unfortunately just one year. So we bought, we bought bikes for all these different schools. And her thing was bike rodeo. So she was in charge of bike rodeo. My thing was bringing the kids out to the park. So I think we had four rides to start off with. And then things changed for Terry and she left like she was in the program for maybe two years for. And then she had to go back to the classroom. So I just continued it on my own. And well, we got permission from the park to use the Stanford house, the barn there. That was crucial. We had to have a place to store bikes. And honestly, I went in, told my story, and he said, yeah, I think you can use that barn. It was that simple.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:03:47] And who did you tell the story to?

Kathy Sansone [00:03:50] Pardon me? Who.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:03:51] So who did you talk to for that?

Kathy Sansone [00:03:53] For the. You know what? I don’t know. This is back in like 1996, 97. It’s a long time ago. So I, I-

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:04:01] Superintendent, office or volunteer.

Kathy Sansone [00:04:03] Yes, it was the yellow. It was the yellow buildings where the Jaite Paper Mill. Is that those buildings in there is one of those buildings. Because I remember going in there and just, it was just, you know, just a conversation. And he said, yep, you can use that barn. And I go, okay. So it was that simple. And then when Terry left, I was doing it on my own. And then Arrye Rosser saw me one time with all these kids and said, oh, no, no, no, no, we, we need to help you. I go, okay. So I was under her umbrella for a while and wonderful. We had a reporting system. This is how many kids we have. This is who we have coming out to volunteer and then was passed on to Brady and now it’s passed on to Pam Machuga. So we’ve always had help from the rangers. They’ve always helped us out with whatever we need. And that’s been lovely. So.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:05:06] And I understand you, you. Was it Continental you were working for at one point.

Kathy Sansone [00:05:12] Yeah, I know this. This grant is based on volunteers, how to bring volunteers out. Yes, I work for the airlines with Continental. And when we first started, it was a bigger company representation in Cleveland. And I wrote down one time over 100 different people from the company had come, they came out to help. And I would be, you know, I need your help pretty much. It was before cell phones and-

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:05:39] Right, so this must- the days of corporate. There’s a word for it where corporate sponsorship. Yeah. They kind of allowed you to use the con- how did how did that come about, that you were using volunteers? You just- I need your help.

Kathy Sansone [00:05:54] Right, Exactly. I get on the phone, I call my friends, they would call other people. I’d be working. And it was all kinds of different departments, too. It was mechanics, it was, you know, pilots. It was. Well, and they- Continental shut down the finance department one. One day a year, and they gave me all their finance people, which- Eight people. Yeah. So that was wonderful. So every Friday before Memorial Day, I had those. I had eight really good volunteers. And- and back in the day, that was very important because we started off pretty slim with volunteers, but we. We made it work. But it was challenging. We had more kids in a group. You know, we always had an adult in the front, an adult in the back. So depending on how many teachers were sent and how many volunteers we had, that’s determined how many lines of bikes and how many kids would be in each group. And there’s the safe. The more volunteers, the safer the kids. So we’re at a point now that’s unbelievably amazing. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:07:06] Wow. So did you have any trouble selling that or. Or getting those volunteers from. From your workplace?

Kathy Sansone [00:07:16] No, I. I mean, once they came out, they- they knew how important it was and how fun it was. And so I. I’ve had a lot of repeat people. There’s a couple flight attendants that started from the beginning with me that are still riding. So this is over 25 years. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:07:42] Wow. so- I’m going to jump ahead a little. So what year was it started in?

Kathy Sansone [00:07:46] Well, you know what? I didn’t keep the best book. I think it was 19- It was either 1990- I believe it’s 1997. I know it’s before I got married. I got married in ’99, so. And I think it’s two years before that. So I think it was 1997. It’s either ’96 or ’97. I’ll have to find that out to be. You know, that would be a good homework assignment for me.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:08:12] So you mentioned. Who was it that wrote the grant? Terry.

Kathy Sansone [00:08:16] Terry DeBose. And she worked with Health and Physical Education for the Cleveland schools, and she wrote the grant, and I worked with her for two years, and then she had to go back into the classroom. They cut her program. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:08:40] Wow.

Kathy Sansone [0:08:41] And we did so much work. We had all those bikes out there, and we- I just didn’t want to let go of it, so I just kind of ran it. And then when I started getting more volunteers coming in and I had. I don’t know if you met Scott Stetzer, he’s a pilot and he was in the military and he has amazing leadership skills. And he’s, he said, you, you can’t do this by yourself. Oh no, we’re gonna get, we gotta get you some help. And so when he actually, when he came on board the program blossomed, because he has amazing leadership skills first of all, and he’s so detailed that everything is so organized. And with the airlines we always do a briefing before the flight, we do debriefings. We pick that style up and we, we do that now. So we all gather around in a circle before we start our rides and we brief, we talk about how we’re, what we’re going to do when we need to be back. And it makes everybody feel secure. It makes the volunteers feel secure. They have, we have a certain routine where people come out and they go, you’re a well oiled machine. They just kind of look and everyone participates. And that was what we were missing too when I was trying to do it by myself is that I didn’t have this consistency or assignments for people. And once people become involved and they are helping to make the decisions also, then they feel more a part of it. One time Scott and I were talking and if somebody comes up with a really good idea, he said, you let it run you, you say yes, that’s a great idea. And because then it’s going to make them have ownership also and feel welcomed and want to come out there. And that’s the magic we have with our volunteers. This volunteer base now we have is just amazing. It, it’s switched over. We’re mostly retired people and they come with an all these different gifts and each time you send out a group of kids, whoever’s the lead, and then we always have a person in front and back and one in that they provide a, a different gifts and there are different gifts that they can offer these children. Everyone has kind of a different take on what they do with the children. Maybe somebody’s really big into wildlife, somebody else, you know, was a bridge builder or everyone brings a different gift out there, which is, makes it more magical. Actually. It’s just- Yes. I mean we have a judge, we have a mayor, we have these that they did in their previous life and they’re very, actually very modest. You don’t even know that that’s what they did previously because that’s not why they’re there. But as they take their groups out, that gift comes out. Yeah, especially like the mayor, he. I always put brand new people with that mayor because he’s so charismatic and so good with children that if that new person is in the back and sees the style, they will come back because it- He makes it really enjoyable.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:12:06] Wow, I’m smiling too much. Sorry. My face will hurt later. So it’s a Friday in May, and there’s a cycling school that’s going to happen. Tell me how- tell me how that program works during the course of that Friday. What time, like the nuts and bolts. What time do you get there? What- what has to happen on a Friday?

Kathy Sansone [00:12:33] Okay. Well, we start working on the program actually in January, getting the date set up, the time set up. Then we meet with the Cleveland Transportation Department, the Cleveland schools, and we- we actually. Well, we- The park’s been very generous because they had a grant and they were paying for our buses. We are now starting to pay for our own buses. And we’re trying to write grants so that we can maintain it. But. So that’s the start of it. And we make a visit to each school, we give them their waivers. Because we actually became a 501c3. And Cleveland State University, we were their project. And we had these students come and they wrote our bylaws, and we met every- I don’t know, we met for quite a while. Every Sunday. Every once a month. Every Sunday. Anyways, so the waivers are from a lawyer, and we require the students to sign those waivers and the adults that come. So we give them their package. Here’s your waivers. You must use these. And then we have their date set up. And then we say, we’ve got your bus handled. So pretty much that’s what happens beforehand. And we tell them when you know, their date, that they’re coming out, and we want them the full day. So it’s a whole day field trip. So the school gets their kids, they pick the kids, they get on the bus. It takes them 35 minutes to get out to the park. They get off the bus, they get a safety briefing. We brief the kids on safety. And because that is just the most important thing of all, and all of our volunteers, in the back of our mind, we always are thinking safety. Anyway. So then we put their helmets on, we give them a banana, we give them something to eat, because if they didn’t have breakfast, that’s a safety issue. So then we break them into groups and we test them. We see if they can ride okay. If they can’t ride okay, we have a hiking guide, and they must give us a teacher that will hike with the kids. And so sometimes we have a few kids, sometimes we don’t. But if they can’t ride safe enough, they might be able to ride, but not safe enough to be on the trail. They have to go hiking and they’re aware of it. And the hiking teacher does a very good job. And with that brand new facility that we have there at the park, we start off there, they have a little scavenger hunt at the headquarters and then they hike to the Stanford House, they go back into the woods, the trail, the Brandywine Waterfall Trail, and then they come back, so, but then the, the bike routes after they get tested and everything. And then they’re on their way with an adult in front, adult in back. And we always ride to the north. It’s flat, it doesn’t have the curves. It’s also safer. So that’s the direction we always take them. And in the spring we, if the eagles are there, we have a telescope set up and they hike back in there and they look at the eagle and we talk about the eagle. We make them, here’s the size of an eagle’s nest and we make them make a big circle and we talk all about the eagle. We’re all eagle experts now. And then we have a snack at the train station, a bathroom break. Then we check on the kids, like, can they make it back? Are we having any issues? I’m going to take this kid. You can take that kid. We do a little switching sometimes because we don’t- we just want to make sure that they are enjoying themselves. We’re not pushing them. And they’re once again safe. And there are, have been occasions that we’ve had to pick up kids because of asthma mostly. And we’re just very aware of that. And because we want that good, we want those kids to love bike riding and come back. So then we take them back and then we always give them a hot dog.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:16:38] Reminds me of hot dogs. Yeah, that reminds me of the get up, get out, go days when we had the hot dog roast, so.

Kathy Sansone [00:16:43] Oh, you did? I didn’t know that. Yeah, they, they love it when you give them food. Yep. And then we, we, the kids kind of run around a little bit, play some frisbees, and then they get on the bus. And then we always have a tradition where we line up and we wave to the kids and they beep their horn, the bus beeps their horn. They’re yelling out the window and we’re waving and so that’s kind of fun. And then we’re always, you know, grateful that everybody’s okay. There goes the bus. And then at right afterwards, we all make a circle and we debrief what went well, what could we do better? What hap. And then sharing stories, you know, and- And that part’s very important because we learn from each- each time we have a ride, different things can happen. Sometimes extremely odd things. You know, it’s, somebody peed their pants and what are we, you know, just odd, odd things can happen. So we talk about, oh, we put maxi pads, for instance, in our little backpacks. There’s just- And we have never know. Yep. We have a first aid kit in our backpacks and we- Yep. You got to be prepared for anything.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:18:02] So what problems were you most concerned about in the early days?

Kathy Sansone [00:18:09] Volunteers. Yeah, getting enough. The more volunteers, the safer you are. Bottom line, yep. You got a kid that fell. You know, you’ve got to pull a volunteer to take care of that person. You got someone really slow in that person. You can have a volunteer that can stay with that slow person. If you have enough, you can have a volunteer. You can have three volunteers. And that’s what we have now. Three volunteers in each line. And then you’re able to take care of kids properly. And I mean, you don’t slow up the rest of the group. You. Yeah, it’s. Three is the magic number for each group. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:19:03] Okay, I had another question, but it just rolled out of my brain, so hopefully it’ll roll back in. So- so tell me, tell me about the success stories you’ve had with this program.

Kathy Sansone [00:19:19] Hmm? You mean the volunteers or the students?

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:19:25] Your choice.

Kathy Sansone [00:19:27] Okay, success stories

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:19:32] or what- what do you think were the success. What do you think are the successes of the bike- of the bike, the cycling school?

Kathy Sansone [00:19:39] It’s, it’s- It’s reading the letters these children send us and hearing what they say to us. I mean, sometimes they say, this is the best day of my life. And you’re like, oh, yes, these are children that possibly don’t go on vacations, you know, and so this is like a fake, almost like a vacation. These- And the teachers, the feedback is this. They ask about the bike program all the time. They, they write like, what did- what was your best memories in school? Like Urban Community, for instance. And they, they, all of them mentioned the bike program. That. That was one of their best memories. And Patrick Roach from Riverside School said, Kathy, they come up and ask. They said, you know what? I love that bike program you had. You know, he said, he’s in eighth grade. And he said, I want, you know, they. And they’re Those, they just, it’s- And we- The kids are amazing out there. I mean, there is no discipline problem. They are so happy. They’re so well behaved. They know we volunteer. They know they can feel our energy, that we want you to enjoy this and we’re all enjoyable type people and we want them to have fun and they feel it and they have fun. They’re singing, they’re making up songs. As we’re riding our bikes this last fall, these girls were. This girl, she was making up these beautiful songs. I’m like, I said, wow, you need to be a songwriter. And the girls were singing it and it was just so heartwarming. That’s the best part. It’s the children and how they feel when they leave the program and what I get, the feedback I get from the teachers. I mean, I have several letters from teachers. If you’d like me to share them with you, I would be happy to do that. And it’s- They look, they look forward to this field trip. I think I told you, the little boy came up to us all excited. I give this field trip a five stars out of five.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:21:51] Yeah, that was such a great story.

Kathy Sansone [00:21:54] Yeah, we have a lot of those.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:22:01] So have you had any problems with the programs? And if so, how did you solve them? I mean, obviously volunteers were an issue in the early days and solved it by leveraging it. Other. So what other problems did this program encounter?

Kathy Sansone [00:22:20] Well, in the beginning, it was communication. When you’re writing, we did not have cell phones. And so then we got walkie talkies, and we would try to talk to each other on the walkie talkies. And it was very challenging, the communication part of it. But typically we designed it where the leader would ride and then stop and wait for that sweep to catch up. And if it didn’t catch up, you were like, okay, now what do I do? And you just would, you know, wait for them to catch up with you or say, tell the kids, stay here in a group, don’t move. I’m gonna go check and I’ll be right back. And that type of thing. It was very difficult. So the beginning part was with the communication was- was, yeah, very challenging. But now with cell phones, it’s just a dream. I mean, there’s no problems whatsoever with communication. And we have, we have. When we do our briefing, we had the ranger’s number. It’s the top number. Everyone has to have it in their phone. Everyone has to have the phone number of your counterpart. You have to have your sweep. You have to have the other two adults. And you have their phone number. So everybody shares phone numbers before we even start off. And it’s just been very successful that way. So I don’t even see that we have any problems right now at all. It’s so well run. It’s just smooth. Have you been out? You haven’t been out?

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:23:57] No, but I’ve been by many times when you’re okay or prepping or. Yeah. And several of the volunteers that hike in the park also volunteer for you, and so there’s a lot of crossover.

Kathy Sansone [00:24:11] Okay.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:24:11] I did think of the question that I just- that just cycled right out of my head. So you mentioned that you got involved because you were volunteering for Orchard- 

Kathy Sansone [00:24:25] Orchard Elementary. I. Yeah, I went back to Cleveland State. I was thinking about going back into physical education. I never did, but so then I decided, well, I’m going to start volunteering. So I volunteered for like five years. Every Friday, I go in and work with the phys ed teacher. And I wanted to bring those children out to the towpath because I- I just love bike riding and I like the Towpath. So I thought. And then I met Terry DeBose and she was the one that really just.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:24:57] Yeah.

Kathy Sansone [00:24:58] You know, wrote that Department of Transportation grant. And she called and said, we got it. I go, we got what? We got the grant. I go, okay. So she was really the start of it. Yeah, she did the grant that got it started. There you go.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:25:19] So how has your role- Excuse me. How has your role in the cycling school changed over time?

Kathy Sansone [00:25:27] My role. Everybody says that I’m the heart and soul of the cycling schools. So I have stepped back out of the leadership position and it worked just fine. Maybe I better reword that. I’m still very- I think we’re all leaders, that it’s better to say it that way because that’s how we all feel. And that’s the magic of this program. And people that come into the program and volunteer say, we like volunteering in this program because we feel so much a part of it. And everybody’s voice is very important. And it stems from our style. The briefing, the debriefing, you know, the communication. And I think that’s- That we’re all leaders and all of us are bringing different gifts. And it’s so true. Some people are more- much more detailed, that’s their gift. Some people are- They’re actually quiet with the kids, but they’re there. They’re making sure they’re safe. Some people are more fun, loving and. Or. Or know history or just everyone brings a different gift. So I don’t- Yeah, I don’t- I think I’m still very much part of being a leader out there. Yep.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:26:54] Okay. So have your priorities with the program or areas or any areas of focus changed over the years?

Kathy Sansone [00:27:02] No, no, I-

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:27:04] Still bringing the kids out.

Kathy Sansone [00:27:06] Yep. I’ve never missed a. A ride yet. Oh, no, it’s a passion. It’s passion. And it. And it’s become a passion for other people that come out there. It’s their passion, too. So when you have passions, it’s- it’s- It’s important to have passions in life, and this is one of mine. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:27:30] Yeah. Yes. Yes. You just said a mouthful. So have you ever worked as an environmental or park advocate for any other organizations or-

Kathy Sansone [00:27:45] No.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:27:47] This is your calling.

Kathy Sansone [00:27:48] All right. Right. So. Well, and you see, I was working, you know, now that I’m retired, now I have more time, and it’s. When I was working, I would take my vacations to- Mind you, I get a lot of vacations, so I would take my vacations to do the program. But now that I’m retired, we’re actually stretching it out. So we have three weeks in May and three weeks in October, because in the past, we do five rides for two weeks every week. Five rides. Like, you know, and that was- We were, like, getting burnt out. So now it’s easier because we will have. We spread it out. So that’s a change.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:28:35] And both- both May and October are beautiful months in the park. So you mentioned Terry Dubose. Were there other key women who’ve worked alongside you?

Kathy Sansone [00:28:50] Well, Pam Williams came on board. She is a volunteer of the park, too. I mean, I think she’s in. Do you know Pam?

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:29:03] The name is ringing a bell. 

Kathy Sansone [00:29:06] Okay. Yeah. I think she was a member of the Bird Watchers, and she’s very involved in the park, and she came on board, and she’s one of the detailed type of personalities, so she would help with that part of the program.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:29:24] All right, I’m going to skip ahead a little here because I want be conscious of the time because I- 

Kathy Sansone [00:29:28] Oh, okay. 

Rebecca Macko Jones [00:29:29] Because I said an hour. So- so what have been some of the big surprises that you’ve seen? I mean, obviously one of my questions would have been, what changes have you seen in your years and involvement? Obviously, technology is evolved.

Kathy Sansone [00:29:48] Oh, my goodness.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:29:50] Communication is so much easier. But what have been some of the big surprises through the years? I mean, you sound like you were a little surprised when Terry turned around and said, hey, we got the grant.

Kathy Sansone [00:30:01] Yes. Yeah. That was a nice- Actually, grants are a wonderful surprise. The park system had a wonderful surprise. They had a grant and that they were very shared with us. They helped pay for buses for many years with that grant. So that’s the biggest thing because you have to have money to get, you know, get the kids out there. And the biggest surprises. The biggest surprises. Well, we left the barn. That was a change for us.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:30:42] Yeah, that barn was kind of scary.

Kathy Sansone [00:30:45] The barn was very challenging. There was, it was, the lighting in there was very difficult. And you know, it was musty. They had bats upstairs. It was a difficult. Organizing the bikes was more difficult. And then when they were going to fix the barn, they didn’t know what to do with cycling schools. And at that point in time we attained the park, attained the house on Boston Mills Road with a three car garage behind it. And I said, I said, how about that three car garage? And one thing led to another and sure enough, and we had bridge builders and carpenters in our volunteer base. And they went and they studied, they went to Century Cycles and they studied how to put those bikes up and where to measure and how much space we needed. And then we have 90 bikes hanging up in there now. And they did that all in two weeks.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:31:48] I’ve been in that barn. Your hanging system is amazing.

Kathy Sansone [00:31:53] I know, it was. And they did it in two weeks. They had a team of, I think there were four or five of our volunteer men. And we have a lot of men that like to volunteer for this particular program. But they did, they got together, they had, they had fun. They designed it, put it up together and, and, and it’s, you know, you know, you hook up one bike, wheels up, wheels down, wheels up, wheels down. I mean, we’ve got the max amount of bikes we can put in there and the space in between the rows. Yeah, 90 bikes in a three car garage.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:32:29] Wow. Yeah.

Kathy Sansone [00:32:30] That was a night. That was a change. That happened pretty quick too. They said, you know, we want, we want you to be out of the barn here this, this riding season. We’re like, okay, we can do this. And they did.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:32:44] Yeah. Because I went in, I’m like, holy cow.

Kathy Sansone [00:32:48] So it’s a nice setup. We like it much better than the barn. And the parking is better and the buses love it. They used to go up to the Stanford House and try to turn around in the back. Oh, yeah, big difference.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:33:03] And then you. Yeah. Mud man.

Kathy Sansone [00:33:05] Yeah, yeah. And sometimes we’d have big buses. We, when we paid for charter buses, they were big buses.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:33:15] I’ve seen some of the buses coming in for your program and sometimes even in the overflow lot, I’m a little concerned because that can get soupy.

Kathy Sansone [00:33:23] Mm-hmm. Well, we- Part of our day is we run out there and we put cones so that we leave enough space for the bus to turn around. So the first thing we do when we get there in the morning is get out there and put cones out before any cars get there.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:33:46] So you mentioned earlier, passion, it sounds like, and you said that. I think your quote was, everybody has to have a passion. And so what are you most passionate about?

Kathy Sansone [00:34:06] It’s the children. It’s the students. It’s seeing them smile, seeing them happy. See, you know, sometimes some of the things that they say, you know, oh, all my troubles just seem to disappear when I’m out here. I mean, it’s like, whoa. You know, they just. That’s why we- and that’s why we do it. We are doing it for the students, the children. And they say they just have- They’re very grateful and they’re very happy to be out there. So that’s why we do it.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:34:40] I’m smiling now because five out of five-star rating.

Kathy Sansone [00:34:44] Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Oh, go ahead.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:34:52] Yeah. So here’s some reflective questions. Who inspires you?

Kathy Sansone [00:35:00] Who inspires me? Well, I think my friendships, people in my life, my family. Yeah, I have some incredible friends and an incredible family, and that’s who inspires me.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:35:21] And it sounds like you also draw inspiration from those who are working alongside you in this program.

Kathy Sansone [00:35:27] Oh, yes, very much so. They’re wonderful people. Everyone is so kind and nice to each other and we’re truly care about each other and we have a good time. Sometimes we’ll debrief. Not all the time, but we’ll debrief at the Winking Lizard. We’ll say, who’s going to go debrief today? And we’ll go and debrief at the Winking Lizard. And we last- Not last year, the year before, we had a fundraiser and you know, we had- A lot of our teachers came and the cycling school volunteers and of course airline people came and it was a very successful fundraiser. Everyone had a very nice time. It was like a party. It was a- You know how you have baskets and fundraiser basket and was in a Slim and Chubby’s. It’s in Strongsville. And the guy that owns it used to work for United. And one of our volunteers, that’s his best friend, so we really- We got a good deal and so we’re going there this year. We’re going to. I think we’re going to try and put one together for in August sometime. So we do a few social things outside of cycling school. And we have a head elf. You know, he’s in charge of the elf. So we volunteer for Elfing, and we- I think we do two to three elf days, and then we kind of meet and talk and we jump around it like little elves. And so that’s kind of fun. So we’re, you know, we do a few things outside of the program. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:37:09] Mm. Wow. So what is it about Cuyahoga Valley that stays with you on a personal level?

Kathy Sansone [00:37:18] Well, I think some of it is- it just every time I ride, it changes. You know, every season you see different things, and every time you might see different animals. I mean, I’ve seen beaver, I’ve seen deer, I’ve seen wild turkey. I’ve seen, you know, and. But you don’t know, you know, one day. Well, you’ll see. But something- Some days you don’t see anything. And- And the leaves changing and just the, you know, the change of the valley, the different colors and- and the river. You know, sometimes it’s fast river, sometimes it’s quiet. You know, it’s just- It’s the beauty. And I like the trails. You know, you’re in the woods, and it’s such a beautiful bike trail.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:06] So.

Kathy Sansone [00:38:07] And it’s safe. I’m not a big on riding my bike on the street, and that’s another thing. I want to introduce children to that kind of bike riding. And, you know, Cleveland is- has in the Metroparks and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, there’s wonderful bike trails. It’s a great activity for people, and it just takes a bike. All you have to do is have a bike. And a helmet. And a helmet. There you go.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:36] Keep them safe. Yeah.

Kathy Sansone [00:38:38] Yes, yes, yes.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:41] So a couple of questions for funsies, as we would say, where’s your favorite local place to bike?

Kathy Sansone [00:38:49] It’s the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:38:52] I’m not paying you to say that now.

Kathy Sansone [00:38:54] I know, but we start at Station Road and we ride down and we have, you know, dinner at Fishers or Winking Lizard and stop in and see the people at Century Cycle, which are very good to us, by the way. And then we ride back, and that’s- that’s a- that’s a date night. And it’s a wonderful date night, and we do that a lot. So

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:39:18] Where is the favorite place you’ve ever biked?

Kathy Sansone [00:39:25] Well, I did a bike and barge in Europe. It’s fascinating. You, you sleep on a barge. Boats are usually maybe 34 people. And it was in the Netherlands. And you ride your bike all day and through little towns and you stop and- and then at night you get back on the barge and it takes you another location. We, we bike and barge from Netherlands to Belgium, Bruges, and then we did another one from Germany to Budapest, Vienna and along the Danube. So my favorite bike riding is bike and barge.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:40:05] I have never heard of that.

Kathy Sansone [00:40:06] Oh, it’s so fun. Oh- 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:40:08] Oh, my. 

Kathy Sansone [00:40:09] I know. You can go online. Tripsite is where we went through. Trip site, bike and barge. We pick the ones that are flat, though. There’s, there’s. They’re all over the world. But we, we typically try to find one that’s nice and easy and because we want to have fun.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:40:29] Erich is texting me, that is so cool.

Kathy Sansone [00:40:34] Now, I have rode my bike across Michigan a few times too. They have the Michigander, it’s called. And I think, well, another greenway’s taken over. But. And that’s pretty fun because you ride maybe 40 to 50 miles a day, then you put your tent up and you eat at a school cafeteria and then the next day you get up and that’s fun, but it’s not like bike and barge. Yeah, bike and barge, by far is my favorite.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:41:03] Now I’m having visions someday when we have maybe a train and trail or something through the entire Ohio Erie Canal corridor. So we’re coming to an end here. So I want to ask one, is there anything else you wanted to share with us along the way?

Kathy Sansone [00:41:38] Well, I just- we just appreciate the ranger support. We appreciate, you know, having your help with our program.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:41:54] And we appreciate the work you’re doing.

Kathy Sansone [00:41:57] Oh, we love it. We just love it. Yeah, I get on a high when I see the bus coming with those kids. And we were so grateful that we had rides in the fall. You know, we still were COVID protocol. We could only put 35 kids on a bus. That’s it. So the volunteers were loving it though. They go, we love this. Well, we want more kids. Yeah, you know, spring, they up the numbers. We are bringing 50 kids a day.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:42:36] 50 kids that will have a life changing experience.

Kathy Sansone [00:42:40] Yes, they will.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:42:45] Kathy, that’s all the questions I had. I wanted to capture this story because you’re out there in the spring, you’re out there in the fall introducing kids that might not have an opportunity.

Kathy Sansone [00:42:56] Exactly.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:43:01] The other way to have that opportunity. So thank you for the work you do. We will send you a form, a digital form and at your convenience, if you can fill it out and send it back to us. And I like to ask people, we’d like to put a face with- with- with each set of questions. And so I ask people, if you have a picture of yourself that you really like, if you would share that with us, you could share it digitally. It’s easier for me to tell people, you know, to share a picture they like, because if Erich and I come to photograph you this spring, we’re going to catch you on the one day with a bad hair day or when the bicycle chain just broke. So I asked people for something they want to share with us, like an image.

Kathy Sansone [00:43:58] Okay. Do I just email it to you then or-

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:03] You can. Yeah, you can email it to me at your convenience.

Kathy Sansone [00:44:06] Okay.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:06] Once the. What was spring cleaning of the BNB finishes.

Kathy Sansone [00:44:13] I know. Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Oh, Lord, help me. Cleaning. I’m cleaning on steroids over here. It’s like- Oh, because it- it needs to be immaculate if people are coming to stay here.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:27] Yeah. And so thank you for taking an hour out of the- Your crazy cleaning on steroids schedule. I do appreciate it so much.

Kathy Sansone [00:44:36] You’re welcome.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:37] If you think of anything afterwards, feel free to email me. Email me. I’m forgetting English right now, but-

Kathy Sansone [00:44:44] Well, and if you, if you think of something, you know, I think I covered the history and think pretty much. I- I think I told you everything I need to. But yeah, if there’s anything that you can think of.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:44:59] And if you have a link for that video, if it’s like on YouTube or something somewhere.

Kathy Sansone [00:45:03] So good. Oh, it’s so well done.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:45:06] If you feel like- If you feel like sharing that, we’d love to have that. And with that, I’ll thank you for your time again and - I hate to say that - let you go back to cleaning. That’s- that’s not a nice trade. 

Kathy Sansone [00:45:22] Well, I’m gonna send the- Actually, I’m going to send the film to- to your colleague there. We talked earlier and I got his-

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:45:32] Oh, Erich.

Kathy Sansone [00:45:32] Yeah, Erich. Yes, Erich. I got his email address. So I’ll just send him the film. I’ll have Mike send him the film because I don’t have it. And then I will. And then for your email I’ll try to get a picture of me someplace.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:45:46] Yeah, you can send them to either one of us.

Kathy Sansone [00:45:48] Oh, either one. Okay. All right. Okay. Well, good luck, Erich.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:45:52] Yeah, thank you so much. 

Kathy Sansone [00:45:53] You’re welcome. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:45:55] And good luck with the white glove test.

Kathy Sansone [00:45:59] Oh, I know what I could tell you is, you know, we take almost 800 kids a year. It’s big numbers that we bring kids out there.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:46:07] Wow. [crosstalk]

Kathy Sansone [00:46:13] Yeah. Well, it’s fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. And most of our grants have been fourth grade, but sometimes, like, in the fall, they’re a little. They. They were third graders. I mean, we like fifth. Well, we like to give the school option. Fourth, fifth, and sixth. Let them pick. But, yeah, call us crazy, we want that bus full. And we usually. We like 60, but we capped it at 50 because we’re just getting back into it again, you know, so. But it was so special this fall. We all looked at you and said, wow.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:46:49] Yeah. Because those kids had been. Yeah.

Kathy Sansone [00:46:52] Yeah. Well, we had 20 volunteers one day, and we had 35 kids, so do the math on that. Everybody pick a kid. Just go ride.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:01] Oh, fabulous.

Kathy Sansone [00:47:04] And then back in the day when we first started, if I- if I had six, I’d be happy. Six volunteers. Okay. We can do this. We can do it. Yeah. Yeah.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:14] Wow. Well, thank you for your passion, and I’ll see you on the trails this spring.

Kathy Sansone [00:47:21] And if you ever get a chance, come ride with us. We would love it. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:24] Hmm. You know, it does happen that my days off are on Fridays, so-

Kathy Sansone [00:47:29] Oh, yeah. Be a nice day to spend a Friday with us.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:34] All right.

Kathy Sansone [00:47:34] We would really enjoy that. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:35] When do you start?

Kathy Sansone [00:47:36] Typically about nine, and anywhere between eight and nine, we start and we stop around two in the afternoon. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:42] Okay. All right. 

Kathy Sansone [00:47:44] Oh, that’d be nice, Rebecca. We’d like that.

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:48] All right, well, thank you for the opportunity and see you on the trail.

Kathy Sansone [00:47:53] Okay. All right. Bye, you guys. 

Rebecca Jones Macko [00:47:54] Bye-bye.

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