Twins Elizabeth and Annabeth Gardea, 7, literally leaped for joy, clapping their hands vigorously and squealing with delight, when they learned the familiar white box truck held bicycles, not summertime lunches, that were about to be given away.
Elizabeth, smiling broadly, eyes wide and nearly speechless with a new-found freedom as she pedaled across her apartment complex’s front yard on Bennett Hill Court, was among 60 Vacaville children from poor and struggling families who, on Friday afternoon, received the first batch of bicycles in a bike give-away program organized by Vacaville Unified School District officials working with state and city agencies and nonprofit groups.