ORLANDO, Fla. — Like life, the trails of a mountain bike course have ups and downs.

• Orlando cop teaches kids how to mountain bike
• Officer gains trust of children through biking 
• Officer Mark Levy rides with children once a week 

Once a week, Mark Levy hits those trails with kids half his age.

“You know we all realize we are all the same on a bike,” Officer Mark Levy of the Orlando Police Department said.

Levy is an Orlando Police officer in the downtown bike unit. Some of those same areas he patrols are where the kids he bikes with call home. Levy expressed how bright and good the kids are, even though some he's helped have had tougher upbringings.

“Some of them have it a little harder than others, ya know, maybe single parent, single income families,” Levy said.

Five years ago, Levy met a kid in a similar situation. Levy discovered when talking about mountain bikes, he and the kid connected. Since then, he started teaching other local kids once a week how to mountain bike.

Four kids recently showed up to Lake Druid Park to bike the trails. Before knowing Levy, the kids admitted to him that there was a mistrust of police.

“I never grew up talking to cops. I never like officers like that,” 15-year-old Smith Charles said.

“'Cause around my neighborhood, they are not good with cops,” 18-year-old Jefferson Bassy added.

But on a bike, Levy and the kids don’t think about that feeling — they just focus on how to mountain bike.

“We learn a lot from him," Charles said. "He taught us how to ride a bike a certain way, how to do certain things on a bike."

For the kids, it’s more than just biking. They said bonds are formed and life lessons are learned.

“He loves us and he enjoys us,” Bassy said.

“Hard work, keep pushing, don’t give up,” Chris Amervil, 15, said.

Officer Levy does all of this for free. He also provides the bikes and helmets with the help of sponsors.

“He basically keeps me out of trouble,” Charles said.

For Levy, that makes it all worth it.