VALLEY SUMMER: A weekly look at life in the heat. : Beach Blanket Bus Trip : Recreation: Zuma is Valley kids’ home away from home during the summer. The new no-frills service from Calabasas is packing them in.

As the yellow school bus lurched around the curves of Malibu Canyon Road into view of the glistening Pacific Ocean, the talk among its beach-bound teen-age passengers turned to the “big guys.”

“A lot of big guys come to Zuma on Fridays,” said Mike Kaplan, 15, of Calabasas. “He’s a big guy,” he added, pointing out his friend Damian Perkins sitting across the aisle.

A definition, please? “The big guys are bodyboarders. You have to be a good bodyboarder to be a big guy.”

The teen-age jargon may change but one thing seems to stay the same: The summer ritual of escaping the Valley for the golden sands of Zuma Beach.

Arriving on buses from Calabasas and other West Valley communities, Mike and company help turn stretches of Zuma into a home away from home.

“Zuma’s pretty much the Valley hangout,” said veteran lifeguard Alfred Laws. “Everybody’s from the Valley here.”

“Everybody’s going to be here today,” said Randi Wishnow, 13, another passenger on the Calabasas bus last Friday. “All our friends will be here.”

While neighboring Agoura and Westlake Village have been sending buses to the beach for several summers, Calabasas joined in the ritual only last year. The ridership rate was disappointing on the 50-cent bus that terminated at Malibu State Beach. But city officials are trying a different approach this year, eliminating the fare and going to Zuma.

So far it seems to be paying off. According to Durham Transportation, which provides the service under contract to Calabasas, an average of 57 people rode the bus each day during the first two weeks of operation, almost double last year’s figure. “We’re sure ridership will continue to go up as the marine layer burns off and the mornings get a bit sunnier,” said General Manager Ed Turner.

The service, which has an annual budget of $26,000, is no-frills in the extreme. It is nothing like the beach buses that once ran from Northridge and Simi Valley and were equipped with sunroofs, stereos and music videos. The Calabasas vehicle is a standard yellow school bus, and the ride is bumpy to say the least.

“It’s like the shakiest bus,” Randi said.

“It could do with some music,” Mike suggested.

On Friday morning’s run, the bus was crammed with about two dozen passengers, the majority of them teen-agers under driving age. Erin Ashford, 16, said she recently obtained a driver’s license but “my parents won’t let me drive to the beach yet. It’s the canyons.”

Erin and three girlfriends take the bus three or four times a week, meeting for breakfast at a restaurant in Calabasas, then catching the bus across the street. Like others on the bus, they see the beach as an escape from the Valley’s teen-age wasteland, a place, above all, to meet people.

Brittney Anderson, 14, was more specific: “I guess it’s the guys.”

“If I wasn’t here, I’d probably be asleep,” said Kristina Kasper, also 14. “There’s nothing else to do.”

Calabasas officials are eager to encourage non-teen-agers, even adults and families, to ride the beach bus. One morning last week, the passengers included several mothers with younger children and a middle-aged German tourist. But on Friday morning, only one parent was on board.

“We just moved here (from Northern California), and I didn’t know how to get to Zuma Beach,” said Julia Yano, who was taking her 12-year-old son for his first attempt at boogie-boarding on ocean waves. “I think this service is a great idea.” Would she let her son ride on his own this summer? “If he is with friends, but I don’t want him to go by himself.”

Randi was none too keen on having her parents come along for the ride, however. “Oh God, I’m not even going to try that,” she moaned. “It’s funny when parents take the bus. The kids make fun of them.”

After an hour’s journey, the bus stopped near Zuma’s lifeguard tower No. 5. “Can’t you drop us off at 6 or 7?” Mike asked driver Nancy Steele, referring to the preferred stretch for Valley teens.

“No, you’ll have a nice walk,” was the abrupt reply.

Yano showed her unfamiliarity with Valley ways by pitching her towel on the sand near tower 5, where she watched her son make his first, faltering steps into the water. “He’s a little frightened. He’s never seen waves this big.”

As expected, the sand between 6 and 7 was carpeted with tanning teens from the Valley. Damian quickly joined other “big guys,” tackling the surf on their bodyboards. “I’ve had some of my best rides ever today,” gushed Kenny Pickard, 14, who had taken the Agoura-Westlake bus to the beach.

“Big guys on big waves,” observed Mike.

Erin and her friends tried the swings and then set about daring each other to go up to guys, big or small, and take their photograph. Brittney took up the challenge, telling a blond bodyboarder that she needed his picture for a summer-school project.

“You’ll have to pay me. I’m a model,” he told her.

By lunchtime, the Valley invasion of Zuma was in full swing. “Like, 10 of my friends are coming soon,” said Randi.

And what did one of the few locals on the scene--17-year-old Malibu resident Brent Morrison--think of it all? “The girls are OK,” he said, “but the guys can go home.”