Inner-City Students Awarded New Bikes By Acura

Donation Allows Students to Participate in the Acura L.A. Bike Tour on March 7

VENICE BEACH, Calif., Feb. 4 -- Approximately 30 inner-city middle and high school students will now have a much easier ride when participating in the Acura L.A. Bike Tour on March 7, thanks to a donation today by Acura of new state-of-the-art bikes. The students briefly tested their new bikes on the Venice Beach bike pathway alongside Olympic Bronze Medalist Connie Paraskevin-Young and the Los Angeles School Police and Los Angeles Police Department bike patrol officers.

All students who received bikes were part of YES-PAL (Youth Educational Sports - Police Activities League), a bike safety program throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District that utilizes police officers as mentors. YES-PAL selected the student bicycle recipients based on their significant academic perseverance, physical fitness accomplishments and commitment to responsible cycling.

Paraskevin-Young, on hand to help make the donation, applauded the students' accomplishments. "It is programs like YES-PAL that provide much needed guidance and support to our inner-city youth," said Paraskevin-Young. "These students are to be commended for their tenacity in pursuing goals in both academics and fitness."

Nationally about 540,000 bicyclists are injured annually and approximately half of bike accident deaths are children under 15 years old. The bike donation celebration provided YES-PAL officials with an opportunity to remind students about the importance of bike safety. YES-PAL encouraged students to share with others its "Top 10 Bike Safety Tips," which were printed on pocket cards and distributed to event participants.

"The new bikes are small in comparison to the significant achievements these students have made through the YES-PAL program," said Steve Center, assistant vice president, Acura National Sales. "Acura is proud to contribute to the community by supporting the Acura L.A. Bike Tour and programs like YES-PAL that encourage academic excellence and safety."

To build on its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Marathon and Acura L.A. Bike Tour, Honda and its associates help raise funds for YES-PAL through pledge drives and volunteering. In addition, all YES-PAL students are provided free entry by Acura into the March 7, 2004 Acura L.A. Bike Tour, held in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda.

Youth Educational Sports, Inc. (YES), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, introduces bicycle safety practices to school students, kindergarten to college, through bicycle safety programs during school hours and school cycling clubs during after-school programs.

Through an innovative partnership between YES and the Los Angeles School Police Department, Police Activities League (PAL), YES-PAL educates students on safety, promotes academic excellence and teaches the values of commitment, dedication and discipline. In addition, through its affiliation with PAL, the program creates after-school programs with police officers as mentors. YES-PAL reaches up to 350,000 students annually with its School Safe Traffic Zone and more than 2,500 students in the YES School Cycling Club program.

The Acura L.A. Bike Tour will take place on March 7, 2004 starting at 6:00 a.m. The event is expected to attract more than 15,000 cyclists. The Acura L.A. Bike Tour leads the way for the City of Los Angeles Marathon, presented by Honda.

Acura offers a full line of premium performance vehicles through a nationwide network of nearly 260 dealers. The Acura line-up features six distinctive models including the exotic NSX supercar, the RL flagship luxury sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the race-bred RSX sports coupe, and the award-winning MDX luxury sport utility vehicle. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com .