Bikes are freedom. Bikes are Mobility. Bikes are access. 

Bikes have always helped me access and explore things beyond my own neighborhood. I gained access to more job options, more food options, more friend options. 

When I first started commuting, my whole world opened up. 

Simply because I could bike anytime and anywhere I wanted, I was able to take a job that I really enjoyed in a fancy white suburban neighborhood that paid $4 more per hour than I was making. 

I was able to access the iMax theatre outside the city even tho I didn’t have a car and fulfill my immersive Harry Potter movie premier dreams. 

I was able to connect with people all over the city and not be restricted by subway timetables. 

I NEVER HAD TO WAIT FOR A TRAIN ALONE IN THE COLD. 

I want everyone to have freedom, mobility, and access. 

I went back and forth on whether to host my workshop on commuting, but watching the restriction of movement for Black folks across the globe has reminded me that mobility is important, restricting mobility has always been a weapon used for protecting white supremacy. 

Redlining neighborhoods, deliberately limiting public transportation, designing bridges so they’re too low for buses that serviced POC communities to get through, disproportionately ticketing non-white folks on bikes. Even basic infrastructure things most folks don’t consider like what neighborhoods have sidewalks, traffic calming measures, and shelters for bus stops. These are all things that decide how easy it is to move around. 

We deserve to be able to move as we please and to go when and where we want to go. 

Join me tomorrow Friday June 5th at 2pm EST on my Facebook live for a workshop on the basics of commuting, and a bit of discussion on the role of mobility in structural racism.  An extension of the previous planned workshop planned in collaboration with SRAM& Liv Cycling.