Better Bike Share Partnership 2023: Pedaling Through Knowledge – A Recap of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s Educational Season

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP), Indego, Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS), and the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) have partnered together to provide free bicycle classes and community group rides since 2015. This year the BCGP Educational team hosted 29 bicycle educational classes and community group rides with 258 participants joining us from March to November of 2023. We focused our efforts mainly in the West, Southwest, North, and Northwest regions of Philadelphia. As Indego continues to expand throughout Philadelphia, we want to ensure that under-represented communities have access to an affordable Indego bike-share network and free bicycle educational programming. 

Let’s get into some memorable community group rides and Learn-to-Ride classes this year. 

Learn-to-Ride with the Black Doctors Consortium – this was the first time partnering with them and it was amazing to see the majority of the participants leaving knowing how to ride a bike.

• Binta Diallo – “Thank you so much for helping me reach my goal of bike riding! Today I went on a surprise date bike ride with my husband! We used the Indego bike station at Fairmount Park and rode for about 40 minutes. He was so surprised! “

Learn-to-Ride at the DiSilvestro Recreation Center – The recreation center located at 15th and Morris St. was an integral hub for our classes this year. We hosted 3 classes there.

• Natalie Rangel – “This was such an amazing class with thoughtful instructors.”

Juneteenth group ride with The Enterprise Center – We celebrated Juneteenth with a group ride in West Philadelphia to highlight black-owned businesses and historical community hubs. we were joined by the Livingston family, whose great-grandfather Walter R. Livington Jr., was the first black architect to design a school for the School District of Philadelphia, Huey Elementary in 1961.

• Walter Livingston – ” Thank You for all that you do.” 

Philly Bike Ride – This was a great opportunity for all past participants to join us for completely 20-mile closed streets to explore the city.

Dia De Los Muertos group ride with the Mexican Cultural Center – This is our annual ride celebrating the “Day of the Dead” an ancient Aztec custom of celebrating ancestors.

• Sheldon Wright – “I had a great time with the Bicycle Coalition. Especially after just moving to the city. Grateful for how knowledgeable and hospitable the team was. Great job 👏🏿”

This work could not happen without our partnerships with community organizations that advocate for more bicycle access for their community members. We partnered with 24 local organizations and elected officials to provide impactful Community Group Rides, Learn-to-Rides, and bicycle safety classes. Below you can see more pictures and details about our 2023 season.

BCGP 2023 Season Recap Presentation by Lor Song

This could not have been possible without our fantastic BBSP Educators Miriam Pallant, Morgan Mahdavi, Marialejandra Bolaños Leal, and Lan Ngo. These four were the safety marshals and instructors who made sure 205 bicyclists felt safe during our group rides this year and taught a total of 53 people how to ride a bicycle this year. If you or someone you know is passionate about cycling and eager to teach others how to ride safely and how to use Indego bike share, please fill out this form to be contacted about potentially joining our team in 2024 from April to October. If you have any questions email lor.song@bicyclecoalition.org. 

 

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The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia leads the movement to make every bicycle ride safe, to empower youth and adults to ride, and to foster a ridership that reflects the diversity of the region. Right now the Bicycle Coalition is asking 700 folks to join or renew their support for another year to continue that advocacy and education work. More info here.