Cycle Sisters- Ridin' for Reparations
Cycle Sisters was created between women in the Northside community to: 1. create a sense of pride when they got on their bikes to run to the store, 2. to build a sense of community between the mothers and young women of North Minneapolis, 3. and to support local BIPOC and Women-owned businesses who struggle to market their services or products.
2020 was a difficult year due to COVID-19 and civil unrest. We lost a lot of the businesses, yet we found creative ways to support the community. One ride in June 2020, during the time curfews, were imposed on Minneapolis, we coordinated a ride to a gentleman’s house in the Willard Hay neighborhood. He had tables and chairs set up outside and catered all the riders with burgers, corn on the cob, watermelon, and wine. This gentleman lost his job as a chef in an upscale restaurant due to the pandemic. Since that was such a success, we thought of other ways we could provide rides that addressed a very basic need for a unique neighborhood like ours, low AMI, limited access to transportation, very high unemployment rate, during a pandemic, and after an alarming amount of civil unrest. We hosted a clothing swap bike ride. Each lady brought a bike and a bag of women’s and children’s clothes, accessories, and toiletries. We found volunteers to organize the clothes like a boutique and when we all returned from our ride, we were able to go shopping. To make things even more amazing; we identified another community member who catered Jamaican cuisine. The ladies were able to support another chef who lost their income due to the pandemic. Once again, we were thanked with tears.
This is what we do. In 2022 we rode to Roseline's Place and participated in a candle making class and supported a woman archer for our Black Bike Week ride where the Cycle Sisters learned the art of archery. We contract BIPOC yoga instructors, painters, kayakers, herbalists, jujitsu instructors, chefs, bakers, etc.
The idea is to normalize BIPOC women using bicycles as a source of transportation, building relationships with other BIPOC women in their community, spending more time outdoors, and supporting local BIPOC and women owned businesses, thereby lowering our carbon footprint and building wealth & health in our communities.