So I have kind of a weird relationship to cycling, to be honest.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn, New York.

There wasn’t a lot of cycling infrastructure, like there are now.

You know, there’s the city bikes, and there’s all of these bike lanes to help keep people safe, and to be able to use bike as a means of transportation.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn, the only safe places to ride a bike, especially for a kid, was in a park.

You know, it was actually safer, for me, to take the subway as a young kid, to get to a friend’s house than it would have been for me to just hop on my bike and ride over to their neighborhood.

So I realized.

I realized that... That’s a bit different from what a lot of folks I know have experienced.

growing up, particularly in Michigan, where there’s a little bit less public transit available.

So when I moved here to Grand Rapids, I had a lot of friends at the time, who were riding bikes very often, they had different types of bikes, they had very expensive bikes, all the gear, all the things, and I kind of felt... Like, I needed to have not only the knowledge, but also all of the expensive gear and equipment that I really was not in a position to afford at the time.

I felt like I needed to have those things in order to be accepted, and I felt like I needed to have some sort of base knowledge or understanding of how to comfortably ride a bike, not just on a trail, but in the street as a way to get from point A to point B, to go to the bar, to go to a restaurant, to go visit a friend.

And I never really got there.

And I think, for me, of all the different outdoor recreation activities I’ve been trying over the last number of years as a way for me to build a relationship to nature, in different types of activities.

For me, I think my experience in Grand Rapids community I felt like I experienced a lot of gatekeeping around the knowledge and all of the things that I would have needed to be comfortable and confident and enjoy my time on a bicycle.

So now I’m gonna give it another shot.

It kind of put me off a long time ago from riding bikes.

But I want to get past that.

So I hope you’ll kind of follow along on my journey.

As I work to... Find folks that I can be in community with, learn alongside of, comfortably, safely, learn from, be vulnerable in not being great at it to start.

So come along as we give mountain biking a shot.

Most adventures, big or small, feel more approachable and more enjoyable with a friend or community member at your side.

So I reached out to my friend Chief to walk and ride alongside me for this one.

So, can you tell me a little bit about your experience with biking?

What have you been able to do so far in your life?

Yeah, so I grew up in New Mexico, so it’s warm.

You’re outside.

We ran a very safe neighborhood.

It was low income, but it was very communal.

And so the kids rode their bikes.

We went to the store on our bikes.

I have a scar on the back of my foot, from right on the back of my mom’s bike and my foot, you know, getting caught in there.

And then I grew up in Idlewild.

We moved to Idlewild, Michigan, and I got to experience... My grandma and my great grandma did back when they grew up in Idlewild of just being on the back roads.

Being on dirt roads, two tracks, with other black and brown kids, weirdly enough, in up North Michigan.

And so it was really cool being able to just be out there, riding on the same trails that... my grandma did, but then also just have that freedom of being black and outside that I felt like I... couldn’t have, especially once I got into adulthood.

I didn’t know that I was gonna be... So taken away from being outside, once I hit adulthood, um, and then I experience homelessness.

And so... outside on a bike feeling free wasn’t a thing that I got to do.

I was outside.

I was, quote unquote, to society free, but I wasn’t.

I was in a jail of my own.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

You mentioned before that you have a bike now, when I reached out to you to come do this.

But I know you said you hadn’t done a lot of mountain biking before, so how did you...?

what has kind of changed for you to be able to kind of start to lean into the joyful aspect of... of being able to recreate outside and have a bike.

Yeah, so I, it started with kayaking, honestly.

I needed to get back outside.

I needed to start enjoying being outside because I felt a bit of that trauma from always being out there, from the woods being a place of safety to go to the restroom to being somewhere... I wanted to be and enjoy.

But I didn’t have a bike, bikes were expensive.

Um, and or if I did have one, someone stole it.

Uh, and so... It was too much of a hot... as a homeless person, and then once I had stable living, I didn’t have the money to buy a bike that I wanted, or... to get one that I didn’t have to upkeep a lot.

And so, being part of the trans community, I actually got really lucky.

So the Grand Rapids Trans Foundation has a partnership with a really cool organization in Grand Rapids.

It called Upcycle Bikes.

Partner with nonprofits to make sure that people that don’t have access to bikes can get them.

all volunteer ran, they fix the bikes.

They give you helmets.

Like bike locking equipment.

And then if you have issues, you can go there.

They have a whole little station out front, and I would never would have gotten a bike, especially that I have right now, because... It is a really nice bike, without that, because I just didn’t have the money.

I didn’t have the resources that I thought.

were readily available in me like they were.

Yeah, that’s amazing.

And you said the program, what’s the name of the program again, that... Uh, that it’s called the transportation.

No, because it’s the transfoundation.

So it’s the transportation.

There’s a couple other things that are involved in that program, including, like, Uber vouchers and bus fares, but I’ve seen so many bikes in the back of the... the Pride Tender, where the Trans Foundation is also located.

And there’s been like 100s of bikes that have gone out to local trans community.

that we didn’t have access to before, people being able to get to work, being able to get outside.

And that was for me.

Like, I have a car.

I can get to work.

I can go do and walk in these places, but I want to experience the wind in my, uh, in my... you know, my, my locks, uh, when I’m in the, in the woods, and I... couldn’t really do that.

Before, in the ways that I wanted to, I’m not a runner.

I didn’t want to, you know, run through the woods, but I did want to experience just being in the woods with the quickness, like I did when I was a kid, and now I get to.

Now I get to experience that with my partner, with my nephews, my friends.

That’s amazing.

So you’re just kind of... stepping back into the bike situation.

Have you been mountain biking before?

I haven’t been mountain biking.

Well, I have a mountain biking, I’ve been on the trails, but I haven’t done anything to... much than a stroll.

Okay, cool.

Well... You might have a little bit more experience than I do, but I think we’re gonna be... For the most part, learning together.

I think Maria will be getting here pretty soon, and she’s gonna bring out some bikes for us so that we can... try to reconnect with the inner child or whatever.

that joy looks like, um, for me, I think it’ll be kind of overcoming.

some spaces where I didn’t feel included, and I know, like, for you, this will be a chance to kind of lean into areas where you haven’t... had a chance to, um, recently, so I’m really excited.

for both of us to be able to.

kind of build community as we learn and go and be vulnerable in that way.

Yeah, it’s going to get a shot.

Yeah.

Be kids again.

This is Maria along with a couple of her co-organizers.

Maria is the founder of Lakeshore Mountain Biking Sisters.

Maria started her organization to create safe and accessible ways to engage in mountain biking.

Whether they’re participating in competitive mountain biking races like skirts in the dirt, Or teaching beginners like Chief and I. These ladies are building an inclusive community of mountain bikers around West Michigan.

Public learning is about embracing vulnerability.

As someone with learning disabilities, learning in private always felt safer to me.

The extra time it took to learn new skills and the number of mistakes I would inevitably make along the way.

Made the prospect of learning in front of others an intimidating experience.

That’s why public learning is a key pillar of color out here.

An essay I read by Miss Overpuff articulates it best.

Learning in public weaves together the threads of emotion with the fabric of knowledge acquisition.

It is not only an efficient channel for learning and a method for sharing knowledge, but it has also become in the process, a journey of self healing.

An opportunity for profound inner growth.

So today, we’re leaning into this process.

Located on Ojibwa, Odawa, and Pottawattomie ancestral land.

Ken-o-sha Park is one of my favorite gems in Grand Rapids.

A tiny forest tucked away inside of the city.

Ken-o-sha is rich in biodiversity and comes complete with paved walking trails and hiking in mountain biking trails.

Running through these 141 wooded acres is plaster creek, a local watershed crucial to grand rapids.

Home to over 300 different plant species, Ken-o-sha is actually among one of the most undisturbed and valuable ecosystems in the state.

Currently, the indigenous led organization, Miigwech Inc., Inc.

is working with other community-based partners such as Calvin University and Friends of Grand Rapids Parks to lead ecological and cultural restoration projects centered in indigenity.

So it just went mountain biking for the 1st time ever in my life.

It was a really cool experience.

I don’t have a ton of experience bike riding and I certainly have, until today, had 0 experiences riding a bike on a trail.

Definitely fell over.

multiple times.

But.

I also felt more confident, and I also had a better sense of how to work with the bike, how to kind of maneuver my body, to work with the bike properly, and make sure I was going in the direction I wanted to go in.

And falling over a few times actually kind of helps me get a better... of how to get better at it.

Man, that was amazing.

I definitely feel more confident to be risky again.

Like, you are when you’re a kid.

You get to, you jump off of beds.

You jump off of curbs with your bike.

You skin your knee, you do the things.

And though I didn’t have any injuries, I definitely feel like I. challenged myself.

I did more things than I have usually been able to do.

It’s fun to do things that are not safe in a safe scenario.

And that’s how I felt like this was and just being able to be black and brown outside, yipping and being, you know, authentic, being myself out there in the woods.

That’s exactly what I could have asked for.

So this is amazing.

I appreciate color out here.

I appreciate WGVU, like, this is amazing.

Everybody, like, yeah, I want more opportunities for people like us to be out here.

This is this is great.

This is what I wanted.

So, yeah, thank you.

Oh, yeah, I still got your mic.

I still got your mic.

I sorry.

I was about to like, weowwww.

How I feel, I feel great.

It’s a full moon.

It’s an amazing day to be out in the woods.

It felt great to be back in the bike.

There was some obstacles.

They were hard, the first time around.

I fell once.

But it caught me.

That’s about the coolest stuff about being with.

Sisters are being with people?

Being out there with folks that are teaching you how to do it.

So the 2nd time around, I was able to go up the hills, go through the bridge, do all the obstacles, and I didn’t fall.

It was humbling in that, you know, learning something new, especially on camera, can always feel a little bit vulnerable, but... I feel like I really found the right people to help me feel confident and feel safe in going at a pace that felt good for me.

Um, so I think because of that, because of how welcoming an inclusive, These folks were and getting to learn and ride alongside Chief as they were getting back into their bike riding stride.

Um, that was a really, it was a really powerful experience for me, and it definitely, uh, makes me.

Be curious to keep trying it out and to continue to build my confidence and skill set with mountain biking.

Typically, when I spend my time at Ken-o-sha I move at a slower pace.

Stopping to pull up my plan identifier app or watch the occasional woodpecker.

But today, I’m seeing this park in a whole new light.

On a mountain bike, I find myself calculating for changes in terrain or the twists and turns of the trail that I’ve always taken for granted in the past.

And it was just cool to experience it that way, to see all the paw paw trees that are currently starting to drop fruit.

see some deer and some wildlife along the way.

So would definitely encourage folks to come and check out Kenosha Park, especially if you are just starting out for mountain bike.

but also if you just want to come by for a walk.

come by for a regular bike ride.

There’s all sorts of things to do.

Thanks for watching Color Out Here.

To learn more about Lakeshore Mountain Biking Sisters, Kenosha Park, or to find additional segments or resources.

Check out wgvu.org slash C-O-H.