 Hello everybody welcome if I can get your attention here to the stage to the stage We're here for the lunch plenary and we're going to talk about something very special is about how we all use the roadway differently and how we all take part of our own community well many people use the roadway in many different ways and Sometimes we need to feel safe and feel comfortable and have the respect and demand the respect And there's a lot of different ways that people do that in the in our infrastructure Today, we'll be talking about ride-outs and how different communities and different Different folks to do different ways of writing and with groups together music I am from San Jose and we have the San Jose bike party out there bike party and Out here. I'm accompanied by some really really important folks who also started their own bike parties and ride-outs in their own community We'll start off on that side with the traffic boys out here in Oakland, California Introduce yourself How's everybody doing today? My friends call me scoop like scoot over so when I tell you to scoot over I expect you to scoot over that's what the traffic boys do So we're gonna get that straight first Second, I know I look like I'm 21 years old. Thank you very much, but I'm not I'm a grandfather four times But back to the bikes now basically what we try to do is our rides we try to get husbands and wives and kids together and A lot of the kids Want to be like the other kids that they see during the woollies in the tricks We like it too But we also like to try to help keep them safe because you know in today's life It's hard to talk to everybody everybody don't always listen. I Demand it I don't stand for it on our rides. You're not listening We stop the whole ride everybody stop you gotta go. It's that simple. I don't want to be mean I want to show all love But in the bike ride We just all have to show love and you have to take what you have in your heart And give it to the kid or the adult that will listen to you traffic boy scoop And I'm the other half traffic boy. I'm traffic boy June And like I say, I mean we're about this really bike etiquette. That's what I'm gonna call it It's just everything wrapped all into you know etiquette. So Like so basically on the ride out we make sure everybody gets to the right left the cars will pass So the driver's gonna get mad. So no broken windows. Nobody get hit so We have whistles that we blow, you know Get everybody's attention Me I've been a ride for about two years now. So I'm pretty new out here. So I don't have too many stories or but I'm I'm hopping in here first because I love it, you know, it's a way to escape, you know, life's BS That's about it And traffic boy June why don't you show everybody your cool jersey the drip you guys got on this is This is a custom Jersey next we're joined by RB also in Oakland RB and I met many years ago with scraper bike team and Arby why don't you tell them a little bit about how you guys make your bikes look so cool? So, I mean, I'm RB. I'm pretty sure everybody heard my name a lot So I'm RB I mean, I'm in riding bikes will pretty much have my life I started as the kid that was getting in trouble for riding my bike and now I'm an adult that advocate for better biking and walking in my neighborhood So three a's in the B and I help the kid make a bike. I've been doing it for the last two years I look forward to doing it for another 12 years or forever and the scraper bike team has done so much for this community and they've even been able to go and work on their own Infrastructure such as 90th Avenue where they were able to go and ride the way they would love to it If you guys are in Oakland, I recommend you guys go check it out. Let me get a chance We're joined by Jason also from Richmond and Jason. What's the name of your group again? My name is Jason Woody and I'm with Rich City Rides So Couple things about Rich City Rides. We are a community organization in Richmond and we focus on bike advocacy bike education One of our projects focusing on black Entrepreneurship is the Rich City rides bike shop, which is located in Richmond right across the street from Richmond Bart station right there on McDonald So the bike shop is a project of our Rich City Rides community organization and through that it's a worker owned cooperative By people that are from Richmond living in Richmond and working there. So we do a lot Just even besides working with our city council members trying to get more bike infrastructure We do Sunday rides for self-care Sunday We have a third Thursday ride and we also love to participate in the bike parties Met these guys at bike party a couple months ago So yeah, we we try to get around and see Just to really show people that there's all different levels of biking we do What we call fix it Friday We're just happening later today up in Richmond at Unity Park where we have bike stands set up let people come out Learn how to fix their own bikes We got parts for sale or even for free and we've given away like almost 3,000 bikes in the last 10 years Thanks, it's part of What we do, you know, if you don't have a bike, but you want to come on a ride we got bikes for you so Hopefully you guys get a chance to come out and see us while you're here. If not check us later We're Rich City rides pretty much everywhere all the way from LA Do we have Then the mixed race And it's a and you guys are ride all over LA and check out so many different types of infrastructure But you tell us Yeah, so I'm Jane I'm Jackie and we're from the mixed race We're both co-leaders The mixed race is you might have seen it on Wednesday night on the spokespeople film. We are a weekly women's Women led open to everybody hustle ride that rides at night. We do about 30 miles each week Going on all over parts of the city And for us, I think one of the most important parts of that is putting women in a leadership position showing, you know cyclists that We can lead this ride. We can route it. We can keep the group safe And we can ride hard and fast and far And That's something that is Especially in the nighttime ride scene not seen as much and you know, we wanted to make a space for that And we have a little film to show you a little more action Hopefully you can see it too our country we have group rides and we have many different types of bikes and And communities and there's no judgment when you go out there it creates a form of safety It creates a form of awareness. It also demands respect Um traffic boys, why don't you tell us about the type of bikes that you guys ride? We ride um se bikes 29 inch we customize them. Well Us older guys says we don't do tricks. We got to customize them since you know So really our bikes is a conversation starter the kids come up adults, you know Like a couple of bikes out there on the front right there by the steps, but uh Like I don't know just like my bike. I have motorcycles speaking with those on motorcycles And it's powered by a power supply 200 watt amp, but I'm the only one with that on my se bike right now But uh, yeah, so we ride the big wheel BMX bikes So this is a 29 inch BMX bike with pegs To do tricks and it's it's it's not your small. This is not your 90s small BMX bike. This is a custom true bay area bike We also in in in in mixed race you guys also ride fixies sometimes right like tell me about the dynamic of riding a fixie with different types of groups and and and how and You guys are able to keep up with all types of riders, right? Yeah, um, so I originally started riding fixed gear when I was 14 I'm 27 now Um, I'm originally from the west side of los angeles and anyone that is unfamiliar with the west side of los angeles It's a lot of the group rides are in the morning or in daytime and most of the bikes are Very expensive bikes and the riders are not always so friendly to Folks that ride fixed gear or there is some type of judgment towards the bike or equipment we have Um, so that's how I ended up with mixed race The mixed race. I was not an original leader in the beginning I was only a rider and I showed up with my fixed gear bike with them. I didn't feel judged There was more of sense of like it is a drop ride So if I couldn't keep up and I got dropped the saying is we'll we'll see you next week And and yeah, I mean a lot of people felt a little discouraged But also encouraged them to be like I need to come back And I need to stay with the group and I need to keep riding and I need to keep Showing up because every time I show up I become faster and me um from my personal experience riding fixed gear bikes that made me feel more confident and Eventually I started racing fixed gear bikes and then eventually Became a leader in the space in that community as well So it was really nice to just uh be accepted and no judgment depending on the bike But as a rider You guys ride fast, but you also sometimes ride slow and and kind of take over a few lanes and coordinate coordinate that and With that there's many different types of people who have many different types of bikes and and to have that kind of normalization of Of all these different types of users is so important in our infrastructure and and and for our cities to to recognize And mold for instead of having a singular bike lane and everyone's single file and and anybody who gets out of that Is is is breaking the law or doing something that's that that that could be uh That could be looked down upon Instead the the cities can they can start to mold and change for the actual communities that they're serving And the type of people that they're using these facilities so So are we tell us tell us a little bit about the experience working with the the city of oakland and um and how You guys have been able to get some really cool stuff built where the community feels that it was it was built for them Not to move them Um, I mean so living in east oakland, uh, we're living in deep east oakland. Um our our lack of Assets we created our own assets. So we didn't have a bike shop. So we got donated bikes and made our own bikes Um, and then we partnered with community partners, uh, especially like the library, um, the new department of transportation Um, as well as community-based organizations to address the need of the community So after that we got the bikes we got the community engagement and then it's just about doing the work So when the city proposed They wanted to do new bike. They had a 2007 bike plan and then they upgraded it in 2019 And we was able to get the input of the community and say well When we ride our bikes, we ride down the middle of the street because we ain't got no bike lane So we was able to work with the city to get the first um community Organization send a rim bike lane on 90 ff This is a great example about how outreach can actually mold infrastructure for the community directly and and uh In a lot of people ride very very differently because of the lack of or different types of infrastructure that exist When I when I used to live in east palo Alto I spoke to a lot of the residents there about bicycle infrastructure and a lot of them ride opposite to traffic And you might think why is somebody riding opposite to traffic is because there's no street lights And there's no bike lanes and so they would rather feel safe Looking at oncoming traffic and getting out of the way than having a car approach them Really fast from behind and they feel that dynamic is much safer because they never ever had bike infrastructure And so this is how they learned and grew and made sure that they were safe And so we're all products of our environment and this this is a great example of how the environment can work directly for the community Yes, yes so actually on that topic The reason I ride fast is because I was I started as a bike commuter actually before I was ever a recreational cyclist And I was commuting in south LA and inglewood where there were no bike lanes I had to ride down slossen to get to work, which is if you don't know a six lane um highway where cars are going like 60 miles an hour and I would just take the lane and You know pray and spin my legs as fast as I could um And so I felt I had to keep a speed of like 20 miles an hour or more Just so I wouldn't get mowed over by drivers And that's how I became a fast cyclist because I was riding for my life I Share I share that same thought I mean living in east Oakland being like the sideshow capital of the world like it's a sideshow every weekend But my my style of riding came from Drivers driving reckless like if we drive down the center of the street Um, it make us visible. Um, it make us aware of what's going on Uh With cars coming speeding in front of us and behind us. Um, and we don't get pitted in doors on um But we we take over Not as much as rides like our rises takeovers like we've taken over the streets to Show people that we're here One of the things that we've done at British City Rides is we've tried to Start a bike marshal program. So when we do our sunday rides We have some of our youth Lead and marshal for the group, right? So there's someone to go down and stop traffic at the intersection before the group gets there And we try to do these things Mainly for group safety. It also teaches like great riding skills. Uh, so Safety is always imperative Especially when it comes to like some of the bigger rides like the bike parties We can have like a thousand people in the street riding bikes So we need people to go to intersections and black traffic Occasionally we might not have the light but we got a thousand bikes. So You know But uh, we do you know, it's one of the ways we're able to have fun with it But keep everybody safe at the same time So you you you have actual folks that come out to the middle of the intersection and Stop traffic just to get the kids and the community across. Definitely. Um, like, you know The crazy thing I love about the East Bay Bike Party is it's totally volunteer ran, right? So when you like come out with your, uh, route Then people will sign up to go and stop traffic at certain intersections, right? Because the community knows these streets. They know which intersections are the dangerous ones Which intersections are going to be less traffic? Um, so, you know, it helps to have that community involvement In your organization as well All of us have written through a sketchy intersection or a sketchy interchange And it's very confusing as a cyclist Do you go up on a sidewalk and press the beg button to cross the street? Do you try and wave or put your bike down on the loop? Or do you work with your your your friends and family and community to help each other navigate? Most of the time these are huge barriers for the community when it it it's what holds back a lot of people from even writing is One intersection just to get out of their neighborhood the one freeway interchange just to get to the trail on the other side That's the barrier connection that discourages riders and We don't have infrastructure for a lot of those barrier connections, but the community can still help people pass through and and and There's also another barrier is also just the knowledge of how to fix up the bike and how to And how to maintain the bike. I'm sure all of us have had a flat tire And some of this may have given up or and and and and and so rich city rides You guys have built an entire bike shop with with the parts for the kids and how do the kids feel when they're able to actually know and learn That they can have access to their own city That kind of stuff is really just empowering right like um Like I said fix it friday happens every friday Right down the street from our shop And it's right in the park next to the basketball court. We set up a whole It's a small building about shed size. We keep spare bike parts tools And I mean even Doing the services we're doing for free We've still had people break in steal bikes steal our bike parts Um And it's it's rough, but you know, we love what we do People continue to support us And it's it's really helped You know the people in our community like we have we have kids coming in after school That are like, yo, I want to ride my bike to school, but I got a flat And you know, they don't they don't have money to go to the shop and get their new tube So we'll either have a spare tube teach you how to patch a tube or You know, we might just have to give you a new bike get you rolling So we're happy to help out of the community in any way we can If I can say something on that too, that's kind of how me and june came up with our name Because I've been riding since I was a kid myself And then he seen my bike he was like man, I want to ride too So our one of our first rides we went on we went to santa cruise. It's like a 35 35 mile ride up and down hills If you've been smoking drinking or ain't in shape They're gonna leave you you're gonna be stuck I said that to say in our rides we don't do that If we ask you to come to our ride and you dare and you catch a flat or something happened to your bike We got a truck following us In the front in the back if you get tired and you can't make it We pulling over we putting your bike on the back and we asking you what music you like to hear And we're gonna play that in the truck so we can keep on going We got iPhones The kids the adults we all use it instagram. We all want to get Pictures and videos of what we doing so when we come out we got colors We got kids. I mean when you see these little kids From five To eight years old trying to keep up with grandpa or grandpa grandma really trying to keep up with them You understand it be the most beautiful thing in the world so Traffic boys got our name for Ice literally stand in front of a light if it's 50 bikes and they are already going you might as well Sit there and wait because if you don't you got to run me old Traffic boys that's what we do So I love the empowerment with the education and being self-sufficient on the bikes But I do have a little bit of a counterpoint. Um, I do regard this Lack of Mechanical access as part of the lack of infrastructure around bikes that we have in I think the whole country probably I spent a decade in china and At that time everybody was riding bikes around and they I never knew how to fix a flat in 10 years I didn't even really probably know how to pump my tires because there was a little Shop on every corner where I could just Get it repaired. I mean how many of you who drive actually know how to repair your car when it breaks down or your computer when it breaks down Why do we have to know how to repair our bikes? When they break down it should be similar to that in my opinion I mean Some communities don't have bike shops. It's like they don't have bike infrastructure But so what we did to create a bike shop was We partnered with bike East Bay and then This guy right here David Campbell He helped us raise funds to get a steel container which we turned into a bike shop And then the city was kind enough to partner with us and say well You you lost your your bike your your backyard space We'll offer you one and then they offered us one at the library which I say A year we we fixed about Two three thousand flats And so and so just just having that access like it just give the community hope so like we didn't have a bike shop So but we had a bike workshop that was accessible to the community So now we Moving forward we're going to get even better bike shop That could be a community shared space bike shop where people could come and they can make their own franken bike Style bike if they want or they could come and they could fix a flat if they want Um, they could have tools to check out and take home if they want to fix a bike Um, and they could get a patch killed with me on And also customizing the bike is kind of a form of anti-theft too, right because you your bike is recognizable It's done to the it adds to your personality the whole neighborhood knows Hey, that's that guy's bike that person's bike and I never had a bike, so You never had a bike stolen. I never had a bike stole I mean just the bright point buoyant colors of the bike and the creativity Like when when you make your own bike No, no one else has that bike because it was your thought that was created to make that bike So just having a unique, uh, and remember to register your bike on bike index, which is free So this type of riding with custom bikes different types of people going slow going fast This normalizes it for everybody and also creates kind of respect that a driver knows how to deal with when there's a big group And this can also help when people ride alone too because it kind of helps Not only learn the skills about how to ride or prepare your bike, but also the confidence To to ride it alone, but also to to normalize the cars to respect cyclists Um, can you guys talk a little bit about some of the experience you've had when you ride alone and maybe you don't feel so comfortable? um, and That improved with the group rise um, I mean Riding with a group. Yeah, there is a sense of being safe There's a sense of being um more secured because if you're uncomfortable being next to the sidewalk or next to the cars You can be in the middle and you have to get comfortable being with other riders I mean in general as a rider you got to find your comfortability and unfortunately At least from my experience, you know as a woman, I've ridden alone in the city from 3 p.m Night as well and sometimes it's not that safe at 3 p.m. I've had a car trace me down Um, which is sometimes some when you have those experiences. Yeah, it hits a point of like What do I still want to ride my bike alone? It puts that barrier of like well now I feel a little bit more targeted You know, it's in the middle of the day. No one did anything and thankfully my bike wasn't stolen Um, you know, there is bike paths that are designated for bikes There's like a river path that has bike paths and even then they're unfortunately during the pandemic. There are people kind of Waiting with walkie-talkies and used to steal those bikes So they would see a bike go and they would walkie-talkie someone and then someone else at the other end would take the bike So having those experiences. It definitely makes you more aware of your surrounding. It makes you more aware of of uh, just How comfortable you are to be alone and on your bike Um, and there is a sense of the buddy system a lot of the women in our community We have a chat that we all communicate with one another in case something does happen We are aware of what's going on if something something happened in a certain part of the city We can keep our eyes open. Um being a part of the group It's nice because there is a sense of community if people reach out and be like, hey, are you are you free this time? We're free this day. Let's do a ride together. Okay. There is that sense of familiar later knowing them and Being like cool. We started a mini group or we have a buddy now. We're going to go do a ride and it it bonds more of a community of a friendship and especially through mixed race A lot of us met people that we probably would not have met if it wasn't for our desire to ride bikes and um Yeah, I mean that in general just helps us be more comfortable on the road It helps us more come build more comfortability and have that awareness of what to do if we're not comfortable And yeah Comfort is everything you you want to feel comfortable in your own neighborhood just going around in highway design We design for comfort and you can roll up your windows and have an ac and block out what's going out But you can't do that on the bike Somebody's chasing you down or somebody's Making noise or somebody's staring or anything or somebody's throwing rocks or all kinds of things can happen to you on On a cyclist. Yeah, I've been chased down before by a car driver And it was very scary having to look over the mirror and him kind of nudging towards me and flipping me off And it was a very scary experience and maybe very nervous to go back to that neighborhood and and ride It took me a little bit of time to get used to riding again And I I'm sure a lot of us have had very very scary experiences being alone on the road single file Not being able to be next to your friends and not being able to look rub shoulder and shoulder and joke or even talk about Hey, don't go on that road or this is this is you we have that level of communication um traffic boys you guys riding groups almost all the time just to give give normal normalcy to to uh Folks, do you feel scary when you ride alone with with your your bike? Well for me since my bikes are customized I feel very scared to ride alone because I feel like they're gonna You know, somebody might take my bike But uh, but I do feel safer in a group I don't wear my helmet in a group because I feel safe and we're riding at a certain speed I ride alone. I do wear a helmet, but So it's safety in a group to me You got a bunch of people to protect you got more eyes So riding the group is much safe You put a lot of cool stuff on your bike like if you have speakers or you got your cell phone Or if you've got like all kinds of stuff It's pretty scary. I would say don't don't ride scared I don't care what you're riding at don't ride scared that'll make you to me You might get hurt faster from being scared We all hear we all ride on bikes. I don't care what your nationality is What kind of bike you ride on when you out and you own a bike? That's my family over there when I'm riding. I'd be like trying to find which one they want the thumb The anchors the whoop whoop, you know Because I want them to feel comfortable when I ride bike because I'm gonna have my music on but I'll push that when we ride on our bikes. You can have any name or no name You can have a good bike or a bad bike if we're riding together We together If I'm in a car I ride on bike. So if I see bike riders, I might have a different respect But at the same time that won't stop me from rolling down my window and say hey, man Have a little bit of respect. I ride bikes too. It might even be in the back But I'm saying we all family will be on the bike period. I met some very Very great people over the last three years from riding on bikes That they friends with me like people that I didn't grew up like hymnsons high school Junior high school and I mean I didn't met some people on bikes that generally have the best Hearts ever and we in here We just have to find a way to come together and help each other have what we all want And that's just to ride our bikes and be happy Um, I mean, I'm I'm a confident cyclist. So I mean by myself in the group By myself, I'm I'm taking the lane California law say that uh A driver should give me three feet one passing Which means if I take a lane that's six feet Three feet this way three feet that way which means my lane um But so most most of the time when I'm riding alone. I I tend to ride My tall bike So it's a I don't know if y'all seen it when I was riding it Wednesday But it's a really tall bike. That's it about six seven feet tall So I can see over buses. I can see over trucks um A car can't say that and see me Um, and so I'm I'm visible. I'm predictable and I'm aware um The only thing that can serve me about riding like solo is like I got a six year old son that's he he's just getting in the cycling And california law say he can't ride in the street He got to ride on the sidewalk, but then california law say that I can't ride on the sidewalk And I had to ride in the street So that that's the only thing can serve me about riding solo because he would be solo if he riding on sidewalk And I'm riding in the street um as far as like group riding like group riding It's the best experience that you could experience in life in my opinion um I met I met so many great people and had so many great conversations by just getting out and riding my bike um So I encourage people like to do as many group rides as you can if you're having a bad day cost them your friends and go on the group ride Get some fresh air Uh, because they say uh people power could change the world, uh, but petal power can save it So if you're riding in a group and you're you're you're being safe you're being organized You have what you call jet eyes, right? You guys call them jet eyes and people who are trained and to know how to block the street and And and help people navigate and when you ride Hopefully when if the community and the drivers see that that bicycles are able to navigate Properly not proper but navigate safely in groups Then when you're alone in that same community, there is a it adds to the level of respect Um and and and and even two bikes when even if two people are riding alone They may recognize each other the jet eyes know how to how to organize Talk to me a little bit about how the Jedi has become cool, um So adversity rides we have a Jedi fellowship, right and it's justice equity diversity and inclusion We have uh youth from ages 15 to about 22 And they get paid they all get paid 15 bucks an hour They come in besides just learning The basics of bike mechanics and things We have them. Like I said, we do the bike marshal trainings. We have Various Political organizing we've also done with them We had them host Juneteenth ride last year where we Actually went to The Richmond Historical Society Went through some old newspapers found out that The kkk had done a march Right down mcdonald avenue in the middle of richman where we now have our black owned bike shop, right? So We you know learned about these things were able to present them at the ride But you know, we we want to really cultivate Full Whole people, right? Not just the bike side, but also like the personal development side as well. So That that's really where we start our program but I love it because You know now they actually just hosted the self care sunday ride by themselves I was out of town last week But they were able to come in and get everybody registered signed up Make sure all the bikes are working And do the whole ride themselves, which has been really cool to see them, you know go from Oh, what is this? What's the difference between the front wheel and the back wheel to now? You know, they're doing everything themselves So cool. And it's also about how we're we're seen and what we wear. Um, we mentioned three feet and change You have a three feet shirt About how you think drivers Recognize or react to that. Yeah, so shout out to the la bicycle la county bicycle coalition I think some of you all are here um I volunteered at one of their events and they gave me their One of their shirts that on the back It has the california vehicle code that says bikes may use the full lane and I definitely notice when I wear that shirt Um drivers seem to give me more space and I've had drivers actually comment on it, um And I've also had You know In addition to the many unpleasant interactions with drivers some pleasant ones where you know, they've passed too close and I've Been able to calmly. I'm not always able to calmly say it but When I'm able to calmly say it, you know, I've had drivers say, oh, I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know or whatever But then we also had a driver last weekend call us organic privilege white bitches or something because we were riding in the lane and she wanted us to Share the road which meant go in the gutter so but organic So our new buzzword People are obnoxious sometimes especially car drivers. I don't know. I think it's the air conditioning it gets to them, you know But cycling is a great form of freedom and that's how it always has been for for folks Is the ability to get around and be able to go around your own neighborhood and feel comfortable in your own neighborhood And historically it's always been that aspect But through the years we've we've pushed it out of the way or we expected a certain Form of cycling somebody who's who's following all the rules a certain way Somebody who knows how to follow the rules a certain way somebody knows how to navigate and we have Bicycle touring classes that tell you to ride a certain way and now in these now and in And This is all very formal But what we're what we're seeing here is is how The community can come together and and and and help each other navigate And I think this is a lot of notes for the cities to to recognize with is the cities will open up their own bike shops Cities will have maybe there is already a bicycle advocacy groups But at the end of the day we all ride very differently and there's so many different types of items as a designer I design a lot of intersections and even now these days we're thinking about two different types of Cyclists we're thinking about a faster more vehicle centric cyclist and also a more pedestrian centric cyclist because Now we're in a very new world with e-bikes and people who have been commuting for a long time and we're trying to encourage the interested But concerned community people riding with their kids people who ride with with their elderly people who ride with um with Together and since we're all trying to encourage that we'll do a lot of listening to groups Like this who come together and and find the answers and come find solutions Tell it any of you guys have an interesting story to share about how how you you felt that this Movement that you guys have been doing over the years has really been heard from the local cities Um, I mean I feel like I went to college for culinary arts and it turned out that Cycling will been an advocate for my community was my outlet to to change in my community not as much as getting out Um, but just just having allies like oh god, um the library Uh bike east bay just been able to see like the work that they was doing It just encouraged me to continue the work. I was doing um and helped me become like the the leader I am today Um And just being able to like be be the change that I want to see in my community because as a youth I was told like oh you a bad kid. You running lights. You swerving park cars. You ain't got no brakes on your bike um Now now that i'm an adult and like my my kids come out and they're ruthless like they pop in willies They swerving cars they they shutting down the intersection. So so the people could ride their bikes through it safely um But it was just about education like educating them how they do a quick turn had a bike safety class Now they they want to do it on the willy because they want to elevate their skills and sharpen their skills um But it was just the unity like creating the unity in the community And promoting the going green in in the hood lifestyle So We bought our sister up here now. She's part of the fixie world. So you guys probably know her She's been riding much longer than me, but we bought her up here to say say something Hi, my name is nasaia First, uh, well, I got a lot of things that I want to say first But I'll first start with I just became the certified bike instructor through the lci I am cross-trained on multiple bikes. So I ride uh fixed gear I just picked up fixed gear like two years ago. Love it. Um, so shout out to hey um I moved here to the bay originally born in west africa moved here to the bay. Um I was able to meet a great like I was able to meet people very quickly through the bike community like i'm bike activist I feel like we got just as much as right on the road as cars all the time No matter what three foot six foot two feet Please don't ride up on me because we're gonna start riding our bikes backwards fixed gear. So we take them out that way We'll take them out that way. Um, I also have two children that cycle 11. Um, jeremiah 11 and then I have a 17 year old named jalen berry and Traffic boys, this is one of my first Whoo family you'll make me cry Um, okay. Hello. Well, you know, you're my family. Um, just coming into the community Jeremiah and well my children and I we had a hard time Um, find a community to ride with I've been harassed riding Right on the side of the road from cars hearing cackling from men Can I be your friend and you holding up a whole line trying to just you know, it's a scary feeling Then I have my sons behind me. So um when I was able to just ride around and I was like Hey, who was this big group of people and I was I always get lost on my bike That's how I found my way and found the street um, so I Ventured over into west oakland and it was this huge like all day. I was like, well, it looks like children because I'm riding fixed gear. So I'm with adults and You know, I get I like my adult time, but We get some time for the children and I ran across these Great group of people and it was traffic boys Uncle scoop traffic boy june. I was able to meet so many different communities. Um, just seeing my children is Even more inspired. Um my 11 year old He just uh started riding clipless like 70 Not even four no 48 hours ago. So he's he's into cycling. He's clipped in he's comfortable And then the fact that I used to be out with my children doing something getting exercise health They see me out advocating all the time. They like mom, we got to go do this again. I'm like, yeah, absolutely Um and just watching them evolve within themselves Just watching them tap into their weaknesses or the strengths through their week through their weaknesses And just being in the community and just having love and just being new to the bay not knowing anybody I no longer really feel like the new girl in the classroom anymore Thanks to the bike community and just pushing this cycling thing We're gonna ride it literally to the wheels fall off or with no hands no brakes with brakes or without brakes. So But stay safe nonetheless Stay like please stay safe. Stay safe. Um, yeah, my my children lastly my children are also I'll cross train on multiple bikes. Jeremiah rides Fix he ride. I have a 11 year old fixed gear artist. So he rides fixed gear. Um mountain bike bmx and he Actually came to one of the bike safety trainings with me and was like mom. Do I gotta go? Do I have to be here? And I was like, of course you do And um, he actually just got he jumped right in Um got involved started learning stuff. He learned the rock drop the rock dodge the quick turn and so now When I see him on his bike, he's with other children at the park. Like no, we don't the book says and the children are like, what book but he's And Jeremiah's like, well, the book says and this is where I went with my mom and then we went over here And we went down in the bike east bay uh shoppers and he just started telling people our whole life And I'm like, okay, but thank you for your help Um, but just being amongst so many different person so many personalities so many different Ethnics and I'm I'm I'm for everybody, but I'm pro women on a bike. I am pro women I love you I But just women on bikes and I'm so grateful and it just just being able to find my family outside of my biological family makes like It's it's a whole another it's it's very dear to my heart for sure Yes um Just to go off with the side was talking about uh, I'm I guess I'm not that new anymore. I've been out in the east bay uh three years Now I came out here from uh, new york And I was a bike messenger out there about 10 years So coming out to the east bay, uh, I automatically just felt safer just bike lanes everywhere I was like, oh wow, this is kind of it's like disney land for bikes out here But then I found out about the bike community, right and east bay has probably one of the biggest And uh, just warmest bike communities. I've seen anywhere And not to say anything bad about other cities, but just to love between the cyclists the different types of cyclists Um, you know, whether it's like a fixed group ride Whether it's a major tether ride or whether it's just like a bike party You know, there's so many different groups out here biking and to go back to your question, uh, I think I want to say it was like last month's bike party um We actually got tweeted by bart Which is the trans system out here There are so many people that attend the monthly bike parties that bart Said that there was a spike Every month in ridership, right? Specifically because all the bike parties began and ended a bar station. So we've got hundreds of additional people Right, it's pretty cool So, you know, it's things like that when you bring the community together it benefits everybody bike plus transit is one of the best ways to get around and just Just it's such a smart idea to just do it to and from the bar station because you're able to reach cities that are Way beyond richman to for folks to come in and take part in what richman has to offer as a as a With the community and with it with some of the infrastructure that's out there um So I wanted to thank you so much for sharing your story, especially as a mom and a fixy rider because I personally Was I didn't go into the cycling scene At 14, you know, I I started I was a kid I was a kid who was six and it was on The connected bike from my mom. My mom was mountain biker. She was road biker. She was a person who taught me how to ride bikes and um She Thankfully gave me the courage that any time I was afraid any time I did have a bad interaction on the road She would be the one to be like, you know what it just that makes you more aware That makes you more open to seeing the world But don't let that stop you, you know, I had a bike that most people told me I couldn't do certain things with um People told me I couldn't ride from san francisco to santa cruz on a fixed gear bike, but I did it There's a popular canyon called latago canyon and um by malibu. It's 10 miles It's a really long climb a lot of people always talk about how beautiful it is But most of those people that do that ride are roadies or have road bikes with gears And I felt limited but I hit one moment was like no one wants to go with me That's fine. I shared my location with plenty of people I made sure I had plenty of water and I did that climb 48 17 was the gear ratio. I did it on and I made it possible. Um Why Why I'm sharing those stories is that you know, there's going to be people that are going to tell you you can't do it For whatever reason, but you have lovely folks like them All of them to say you can they're going to teach you how to do it They're going to give you that courage. They're going to tell you you don't need these types of bikes or materials to do it It's helpful. Yes. It's more comfortable. Yes but If you're willing and of course it it helps when you have those friends and you make those friends through the community because then the bike community You meet people that are going to do wild things with you Other people are going to look you like you're going to do that and they're going to be like, yes, we have to do that and You know, I also want to give a huge thanks to mixed race Because I met them through college when I was in community college I saw Like a flyer random paper saying Volunteers bikes, whatever. I didn't know how to fix a flat. I did a lot of these rides not knowing how to do anything So realistically if I got stranded I would be kind of screwed But they were the ones who showed me and then seeing jane seeing rachel in the space seeing women in the space um Because realistically again in the west side of l. A. It's most of the bike shops Are white male and for me it's it's going in and not wanting to feel like my questions are dumb I want to be heard. I want to be understood And not felt like it not feel like a child um So with them and their encouragement and their help and now being now in a leadership role with them it it it gives me some type of um Something to be proud of and it helps me like I mean I'm happier in general It's a happy experience to be a part of the cycling community. Unfortunately. I lost my mom a couple months ago And because of finances things were difficult and the number one community that stood up was my cycling community Everyone came in every everyone came gave me condolences We're doing a 200 mile ride that my mom did From los angeles to santa barbara and back. That's our way of celebrating her life Again, it is Self-supported it is definitely if you feel like you're up to it go for it. There is bailout points as well So if you're willing to do 50 miles, there's a way to get back home if you do 100 miles There's a way to get back home. It's just amazing to see the community how it shows up for you And yeah, I mean I'm I'm the product of what you all are going for and I think it's amazing and I and I think You know, everyone for being here I mean, I mean, I'm I'm definitely a product of mine by me. Um So, I mean as a as a ride leader, um, one of the best things I experienced, um Was being a commissioner on a bicycle and pedestrian advisory commission so So I spent six years, uh On the BPAC, which I I turned out last year But I was able to connect with my community um different than than most ride leaders in my community because like I had the I was like the link to my community to the city Um Living in east Oakland is hard for our residents to make it to city hall to make meetings So being able to be a representative of my community I was able to bring the city to us Through bike riding. So I hosted pothole city rides where we did bike rides and we looked at potholes So we was able to bring out City staff so that so they can see the potholes and the disparities that we face to connect The public to transit or connect the public to the library Or even get a kid to school safe On the sidewalk or in the bike lane And then it was just enjoyable and I encourage everyone that I want to be a great advocate to look into it. Like does your city have A pedestrian and bicycle advisory commission that you can advocate for your community and I just wanted to add to um What the panel has said and this is might be my last time The thing that I most promote and am for You have to do this. You have to have a heart You if because if the money runs out and you're only doing it for money So are you going to really do it again? And we're trying to save the next generation So when I ride with my son, it's not about us just getting outside and just being on the bike It is but then we're trying to bring in the next generation. So who I'm looking for I am looking for older everybody's welcome. However, I'm looking for the next generation Like even I have a 17 year old. Okay, cool. But then I have a 11 year old So it's the next generation next generation and they need to be inspired. They need to be encouraged and not for A paycheck or those things are good. I'm not saying that we don't need those You know To keep things running. However, we need to keep our heart first and foremost In love for the community and love for the youth Because the problem is is we don't the youth don't feel love, but then we want them to But you got to listen to me. You have to do this. So just in every Space we need to keep our heart first And I'd say the cities are Learning from you from you all You guys are should be proud of being able to cross all these barriers and pave new ways Being part of a bicycle pedestrian commission is one of the biggest things you can do in your community to actually Bridge that gap and disconnect. There is from the city to the actual community having that sort of representation To advocate for what the different needs are is the way to actually communicate with cities And so are we you should be really proud of being able to get into there and spread the love and tell the cities about how Hey, these is we it's changing the entire dynamic instead of saying Hey, you need to have a certain speed bike with a certain amount of speeds You need to have a helmet you need to have lycra You need the biking speed 2000 bucks. You should know how to like maintain it and these types of these are all barriers to people And what we've seen over the last 40 50 years of how we've designed and planned our infrastructure With policing cyclists a certain way which designing or shared use for a certain way that the dynamic and the character of People who ride is not where we want to be in the future Right the people who ride that way are the ones to be aggressive They may say that there's a certain you need to be have a certain bike You need to look a certain way you need to act a certain way But we need to when we're planning for the future and planning for love and planning for all depths of for the children For different types of riders for people of color for women for transgender for everybody of every different background We should be starting to think about how we can have be more accepting Of how we plan our infrastructure and kind of the and breaking those barriers And so you all should be very proud of what you've been able to do with your community Listening to the community and eventually working away for that the city is a listening to y'all and it's it's it's this is where we're we're headed and We all talk about community outreach all day This is the outreach This is what we're talking about and so I Encourage all of you all in all of your cities Wherever you're from to reach out and find the groups that aren't your typical coalitions your typical advocacy groups Find the people who are just using the infrastructure the way they want to use the infrastructure in their own communities and listen and do more listening because They they have we have a lot to say people have a lot to say So with that I want to thank you all for doing what you guys do and and and continue to have this group rides and continue to be seen and And we see you and everybody sees me Thank you But uh, yeah, man. Thank you. Mr. Birrick. Hey, man, you know, he's one of my favorite people So, I mean tonight, uh, I'm hosting bike party Everybody pull up. It's gonna be lit. Come out here tonight. Join up rb rb. What time are you you hosting the bike party? So tonight i'm hosting bike party with me that oakland city hall 7 7 30 and then we roll out at eight And no no big worry because we we arrived down telegraph And hit a leg lap so we can pick every going up Sweet. Come join us for bike party