#bikesforall

[mcmag]

New toy! #vancouver #vancity #vancouverlife #bike #bikeshop #bikesforall #raleigh #minicooper #adventure

[everydaybicycling]

Q: Dear Elly,

How can I ride my bicycle not with white people?

Thanks,

Lonely Lady in Ohio

A: Dear LLIO,

Choose a time and date and invite some not-white people to ride with you. Make sure it's at a good time for people and begins and/or ends at a place that's fun for everyone, like a bar or an ice cream shop. Talk it up a lot on social media and in person, make flyers, make sure it's easy to find ride details, and tell everyone you meet about it. Have a fun name and tagline for the ride that make it clear what sort of ride it is (sporty? social? family?) and make it sound welcoming to the right people. Make it a weekly or monthly thing and keep showing up 'til you amass a crowd. These things can take time but eventually you'll build up a critical mass... so to speak. Take pictures, collect email addresses, build a powerful movement, and have fun!

Love,

Elly

[everydaybicycling]

Figuring Out How to Speak Bike

Recently Elly Blue put a question out to the Twitterverse, asking people about the things they found difficult when first taking up cycling. This question took me back to 2003 or so when I began cy...

[everydaybicycling]

I know unequivocally that I am alive today because of that ride on the Lakefront Trail a decade ago. This knowledge fuels my current efforts to bring the many benefits of cycling to others in the Black community.

from "Why I Fight," by Oboi Reed of Slow Roll Chicago, on Streetsblog today. A powerful example of the connection between personal choices and the need for community and civic action.