The BCGP Educational team, Indego, and the Better Bike Share Partnership hosted 6 bicycle educational classes and community group rides in June. We hosted classes, rides, and community engagement in Olde Richmond, West, South, and North Philadelphia, continuing our work to provide free, equitable, and accessible bicycle classes and rides for communities in Indego service zones.
We kicked off June with our Indego Riding Basics class at the Free Library Central Branch and our partners at Juntos in South Philadelphia. One of the biggest challenges for folks is just building the confidence to bike with cars, buses, trollies, and whatever else goes faster than 25 mph on the roads. These classes — offered in both English and Spanish — provided participants with the opportunity to learn about biking tips and tricks in Philadelphia, created a safe space for conversations about personal experiences of biking, and answered questions participants had about overall bike safety.
Also in June, we partnered with three community organizations to provide bicycle group rides to explore their community, local bike lanes, and trails, and celebrated the last day of Indego’s Wheels to Work business development course with a group ride to a new mural dedicated to Philadelphians in South Philly. Read on for more about our community partners!
Block Gives Back aims to promote community involvement and engagement throughout Philadelphia by targeting issues within the community and devising a plan to recruit local volunteers, businesses, organizations, and community leaders to help us work toward a solution. They are 2024 Indego Ambassadors, promoting cycling in Kensington by working with the Bicycle Coalition and Indego to provide free group rides on Indego bikes.
The Enterprise Center invests in people and projects in the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to own and build wealth for themselves, their families, and their communities. This was our third annual Juneteenth group ride highlighting local business and celebrating the rich history of 52nd St. We visited the Paul Robeson House Museum, African Cultural Arts Forum (ACAF), Bushfire Theatre, and Hakim’s Book Store.
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- Paul Robeson House
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- Preeminent tour guide Vernoca L. Michael
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- Walnut St. Bike Lane
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- Pine St. (West Philly)
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- Malcolm X Park
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- Hakim’s Book Store
North 10: Be a Gem Crossing features a combination of new construction and rehabilitation serving low-income families, and consists of 41 units of affordable housing with a 22,000-square-foot commercial space. We hosted a bike day for the residents to test out Indego e-bikes and for kids to test their skills on our bike-rodeo course. What a “Gem” of a place!
With the Indego Wheels to Work Cohort we celebrated at the Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS) warehouse and rode to the “Homage to Philadelphia” mural at S. Broad St. and Castle Ave.
Follow us on Instagram to find out how you can join the BCGP Education team and Indego for bicycle classes or rides. If you have any questions about our free rides & classes, contact Lor Song at lor.song@bicyclecoalition.org.