Bicyclists of Baltimore

BICYCLIST: Kelechi Uzochukwu

I was born in Nigeria, moved here in elementary school to New York and then Georgia. I came to Baltimore about a year ago, August 2015 to take a job as a professor at the University of Baltimore. I’m an environmental engineer and so I’m very keen to the environment.  Why drive when you can ride your bike?  Especially if it’s just within the city riding. You help yourself, you help the environment -- everyone wins.  I think 2010 or 11 is when I was biking every single day except for grocery shopping… because I eat a lot [laughs]. So I can’t bike doing that.

-- Does the bike help you with your work and the way you view the environment?

My bachelor's degree is in civil and environmental engineering.  I’m no longer in that field but that’s still the core of who I am and what I was initially interested in. I worked as an engineer and just realized, “I want to do something that’s a little bit more people oriented.”  I’m way too extroverted to want to sit in my office all day and design dams.  I was always doing things on the side. I was always doing community projects.  

-- Why Baltimore?

I got the job here and Baltimore is amazing. I never knew much about Baltimore aside from what the mainstream media tells you, which is so completely disrespectful of such a beautiful city in so many ways.  Not knowing that, I came here and saw “Charm City” everywhere.  This place is actually very charming. I love the spirit of this city. The way I explained it to my friends at home in Atlanta is that the “southern hospitality” in Baltimore is a lot less bubbly but feels a lot more authentic. I feel like what I get here is not bubbly at all [laughs]. Like at all.  But it’s so genuine and you can tell that they mean it. It’s not just out of obligation. Granted, I’ve only been here for a year, but I’ve been here for a whole year.  365-plus days.

-- Do you feel like the bicycle has informed your way of learning more about the city and meeting people?

The bike started later on in my one year stint here.  I knew someone from college that has been in Baltimore ever since he graduated college, so at least ten years now. Jared -- he is heavily into the biking community. When I linked up with him, he told me, “Listen, I just bike and that’s all I do.” And I said,  “Well, hey me too!” So he introduced me to Bike Party and to this Thursday night [social ride] thing that I couldn’t make [it to] until this past summer. It took a minute because I was teaching Thursday nights during the semester. Besides the folks I know at church that don’t bike and this community of folks that do bike, that’s my life. I haven’t expanded beyond work, church and then this biking community. So I guess biking has informed [the way I meet people]... but it’s just in passing.  They’re not necessarily on bikes but you share this exchange and it’s like, “That was nice.” It’s like every day, I wake up and Baltimore just hugs me.  I love it.  I love this city. For example, I was leaving work one day and lo and behold there’s this brand new bike lane going all the way down Maryland [Avenue]!  I was like, “Yayyy!”.  Overnight it just happened so I can see that the city cares about cyclists and that’s awesome.

-- Was there ever a moment where you felt like riding helped free you mind of some of the stressors in your life?

... A bike is like a welcoming tool. If someone’s on a bike, they’re my kinda person...

BICYCLIST: Larry

--What got you back into bikes?

I got back into it in 2011 when my wife and I wanted to lose some weight. I bought a bicycle and rode it for like a whole year, everyday. For the first year I didn’t know nobody. I was riding fast every night, still losing weight. Somebody told me about the Bike Party. Went to the Bike Party -- blew my mind! It wasn’t even a few months and I got four extra bikes. It’s become like a passion. I’m back feeling like a kid again, and that’s the feeling I was looking for. I don’t want to get old. I know eventually I’m going to get old, but I always want to feel like a kid at heart. That’s me. I feel like a kid when I’m on my bike. I feel young. I feel like I’m getting something done. I’m on a bike! I almost started feeling ashamed the other day, like I was going backwards. But, nah. I ain’t going to let that consume me. That aint me.

--What I’ve noticed about you is a special ability to bring new people into biking.

I’m pulling more people into it now because everybody feels the way I felt 5 years ago. Health, wellness, fitness -- it’s a big deal now. Everybody wants to live longer. Now, I got people to come out and ride with me, and I love it. People that’s into something healthy, and fun, and it just makes you feel cool. I think it make you look cool too.

--Where do you think your motivation comes from?

I always wanted to have the gift to gather people. I got that gift. Now, I got the gift to gather with bikes. Something I like to do anyway. Somebody that feels like they need to be out doing something they can come out and hang with me, and we still talk about stuff that don’t have nothing to do with bikes. Still laugh and joke, disagree. Lately it’s been a lot of politics and all that, but it’s on bikes, which make it alright. I think if you’re on bikes you really don’t have the energy to be mad. It burns that negative energy and turn it  into a positive energy. That's all I really ever wanted to do. I’ve got a lot of that's-all-I-ever-really-wanted-to-do’s, but I always wanted to get people together to have a different kind of fun.

--Why is the bike important?

To me, a bike is like a symbol for peace. I’ve been to places that seemed like it just wasn’t a good environment to be in, but being on this bike it was okay. A bike is like a welcoming tool. If someone’s on a bike, they’re my kinda person. Bikes just give you that passage way where you can make friends faster than you used to. It would take you a little while to make friends if you weren’t on a bike. Like, you’d have to buy a drink, laugh at corny jokes. If you’re on a bike, like we’re cool. Let's ride! You can talk as you ride, and the next thing you know you’re exchanging phone numbers and you just made a new friend.

--What were you like as a young person?

Slick, man. On my bikes! I used to dress up to match my bike, the same way I do today. I really had everything a kid could want, but I wanted to be out there and do some stuff, and I did. No one would believe that I was that kind of person.  I’m not ashamed of that because it's made me who I am. I love to tell my story because I made it out, and I’m clean. I’m good -- a tax-paying citizen. A law-abiding citizen and I’m proud to say that. Now I’m into bikes, meeting cool people, and people want to hang out with me just because they want to ride bikes with somebody that’s passionate about it. I ride to stay right. I look cool, and I feel cool.

--When was your most difficult point?

My most difficult times that I went through were between the ages of 16 and 20. I got into trouble. I went away, and the average person in the situation that I was in -- it’s enough to make a person want to give up. I’ve got four felonies, and I was young. I didn’t know. I didn’t have no guidance. I had a mother that was more into seeing me happy. I guess it is like the light at the end of the tunnel. Just because you got into some trouble that doesn’t mean that no one will accept you as a person, [or] as an employee. I had some problems getting jobs. It can’t be how people look at me, and that’s what made me go to truck school. I didn’t have a diploma so I went to truck school for 6 months. Finished it. Got my CDLs, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 18 years. People say, “You got to go to school,” and “You got to go to college.” It didn’t work that way for me, but I still came out and I made something of myself, and I think I did pretty good actually.

--Do you think that riding bikes has changed you?

“The best thing is that you can be any age – one woman I met is in her sixties and she rides. And she’s faster than me.”

BICYCLIST: NICOLE ROBINSON

I’ve been working outside of the city in DC, Silver Spring and Virginia for most of my career. I’ve always lived in the city but haven’t had a real opportunity to explore it--it’s almost as if I didn’t live here. But when I finally started working back in the city it was definitely kind of an opportunity to explore and reacquaint myself with the city because it's changed so much. I mean, I used to have friends who would want to come to Baltimore to visit and my first reaction would be, “Uhhh I have to look up what we’re going to do…,” because I just lived here but I didn’t really live here ya know?

I now work in the city and I live probably four miles away from where I work.  It’s just given me so much more time to explore. Biking has really helped me do that and see areas that I’ve never seen before despite living here most of my life.

--Where did you grow up in Baltimore?

I grew up in Ednor Gardens -- literally a block from where memorial stadium used to be.  

--Did you ride there growing up?

I’ve always ridden a bike. My sister and I did not go too far, but explored our neighborhood every chance we got. Memorial stadium’s parking lot was where we did everything. We would just ride around there all day until we were tired. It was our way to kind of get out and have fun. I think I may have been seven or eight when my mom taught me how to ride a bike. I remember running right into a rose bush the first time I started to ride by myself and I just got back on. It was just so much fun learning how to ride. I’ve always loved it.

We used to have a wooden barrier in the back of the house where we would house our bikes overnight. Never locked them up. I would never do that now, but then we didn’t think twice about it. One night our bikes were stolen and that was devastating. It was absolutely devastating. I thought, “How are we going to get out and have fun? I don’t know what we’re going to do.” We didn’t get another bike immediately because my parents couldn’t afford it. It wasn’t on the top of their priority list. Maybe a couple years later they found two ten speed bikes in the newspaper. These bikes were probably from the 1970’s and they were way too big for us. I remember having to lean to the side to get on top of it. We just got on and rode and we were back in business. I’ve always loved it. There was freedom in riding.

As an adult, my first big purchase was a GT hybrid and I still have that bike. It’s probably been maybe twenty years now and that’s the bike I ride in the city.

I will not ride my [road bikes] in the city. They’re just not made for it.

--How long have you been riding in the city as an Adult?

The last two years. Honestly I did not have any time before because I worked so far away.

--How did you get back into riding?

I started to ride around Lake Montebello because it’s a few blocks from my house.  I saw a meetup for the Thursday night ride online and I decided to go. I threw on some cargo pants and a T-shirt and jumped right in ya know… I just had a ball. We went into neighborhoods that I’ve never seen before and it was just a mix of different types of people. We went through Johns Hopkins campus and this interesting neighborhood with a yellow house. We stopped there and it turned out to be a party. I was thinking, “What is this?  Who does this?”  People were just so welcoming and it actually exposed me to another side of Baltimore I would never have seen any other way. And I felt like I wanted to tell everybody, “This is so cool, you gotta try it.” I later participated in Baltimore Bike Party which was on a whole different level. I like the group rides because they allow me to explore and feel safe. Riding by myself at night it’s just something I probably wouldn't do.

--Do you mostly ride for leisure or do you commute to work also?

It’s mainly for leisure. The way I travel into work is not the best route. When I get there I would have to lock my bike up and there are not a lot of places to do that. I also have to wear professional attire and I would need somewhere that I could actually change and get myself ready for work. There’s no real avenue to do that effectively. I wish more companies provided employees with access to certain types of bathrooms that have showers and facilities for locking up your bike. I would absolutely [ride] more often.

--Do you do long distance rides?

I do. I consider myself a newbie because my longest ride this summer was sixty four miles. I’m training for a century and my friend is actually planning a ride in September which will follow the Underground Railroad path. It’s a planned ride that will start in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. It’s around 150 miles in two days, so I have to get ready. We’re going to make sure that we stop at certain locations to be able to take in some historical sites. We are thinking we will do about half the distance on the first day and the remainder on day two.  

--Do any of your friends in the city ride?

“... if it was me that was attacked, as African American most likely you would not see that on the news. Or the same time they’d say, “He probably stole that bike so they’re probably just trying to get their bike back...”

BICYCLIST: Milik Brooks (18)

--When did you start riding a bike?

I started riding a bike around 2006 around my apartment complex. I didn’t really start biking more towards downtown until 2012. It was a lot faster on a bike instead of on a bus that would take an hour and a half just to get up and downtown. By biking I shortened it to about 45 minutes. The problem about taking the bus is that they usually run late -- everybody getting on at one time, and we keep stopping-going, stopping-going.

--How many busses would you take to get to school?

Before I moved it was two busses there, and one bus home. After I moved it was maybe three busses getting there and two bus getting home. But now since I go to school off of Harford Road it’s maybe 30 minutes tops, both ways.

--How often do you bike now?

Every day now that the weather’s warmer. When it’s cold I don’t bother. It’s just too cold.

--What do you like about it?

I just love to travel. It’s peace of mind. If I’m having a stressed out day it just eases everything a little bit, and it’s good exercise.

--What’s the farthest ride you’ve done?

One I did last year from Security Square Mall to Overlea, and then to my house. Another one I just did recently -- CCBC Essex to downtown. The furthest I did in a day was like 38 miles.

--So you keep track of your mileage?

This year I have. I just record it on Google Maps. Last month I hit 302 miles. This month I’m trying to hit another 300 to 400. Today I started around noon. I just biked down to Lexington Market, got on the subway up to Rogers [Station], and took a bus over to Sinai Hospital. I mostly took Greenspring to Druid Hill and by the time I got to Mondawmin it was a clear shot over to Canton. It took me like an hour and 20 minutes; so it wasn’t too bad.

--Have you ever had any negative experiences on a bicycle?

A couple of years ago I actually had a couple of people chase me and try to take my bike. [They] never did. Some people in the neighborhood was just jealous because I had a nice bike and all -- kids around my age just trying to mess with me. [Another] negative experience was about a year and a half ago; I was out with my friends one night and I had put my bike on the bus -- It had got stolen off the bus two stops after I had gotten on. We were at a red light and they took it off the rack, and then last year not too far from my house it had fell off the bike rack. I had filed a claim with the MTA and they claimed they couldn’t do nothing about it.

--How do you react to aggressive drivers?

Sometimes I keep calm [laughs], or if I know they’re doing it intentionally I would probably give them a piece of my mind a little bit. Most times I yell at them, “Three feet!” Like last week I was coming off of Fayette Street and this car cut me off. I yelled, “Three feet!” She told me to shut up. I’m like, “what was that all about?” Just as long as they don’t actually hit me… I know some bikers that I be friends with they say we got the right-away, but you have to yield the right of way because not all drivers is going to yield it to you.

--What’s your favorite thing about riding a bike?

My favorite thing about riding a bike is that I just can get to places faster. I just like to travel. When I calculate getting from point A to point B I’m like, “Wow. I got here this quickly?” It actually helped me to see different parts of the City that I didn’t know existed.

--What places have you discovered?

One place would be Canton/Fells Point area. I had heard of it, but I had never really been over in the area so I just started riding around [there]. Another area would be some parts on the west side, like Edmondson Village, or the Walbrook Junction area. Seeing those areas it’s like, wow. Why’s there so many boarded houses and negativity around here? It shows the diversity in the City -- like how it can go from one block being so beautiful to the next block like, completely garbage. It just makes me wonder -- why is our City like this?

--What do you think the reasons are for the inequities?

I don’t know. Some people say race and money, but I’m just really not sure. My grandfather says how back in his time those neighborhoods be nice and all. I think that if the City and the community would work together more often -- like work hand in hand I could see those neighborhoods being better again. It’s just that there be this disconnect… I think it’s that politics get in the way of the work that people are actually supposed to do. I just hope that things be better for Baltimore in the next four years.

--You mean because of the elections? Did you vote?

Yes. I actually did vote. I voted for my first time.

--How’d it feel?

Well I actually did early voting because it’s right around the corner from my house. So I was like, “why not?” It wasn’t bad. I just hope that what these people say they’re going to do… I just hope they keep their word.

--Who’s your councilperson?

Councilman Brandon Scott. I had actually worked with him before. He actually legitimately does good work in my area, and it actually shows. He actually tries to make the community into a place that you’d actually like to live and enjoy. Every time you look around there’s something new going on; like a new shopping center. He’s always working doing something with other youth in the area. He’s actually trying, and I do believe he deserves another four years in office.

--What do you think that youth in Baltimore need?

I say that the youth needs more places they can go and be, like rec centers. You have a lot of parts in the City that there’s just nothing in the area to do or just too much negativity in that area that people are easily influenced. If you live in a negative neighborhood you can’t help being dragged by other peers and neighbors. That’s when that person gets easily influenced to do things that they're not supposed to do, and unfortunately they're in a position that they’re struggling. Sadly they end up falling by the wayside. There’s really not much in this City that helps prevent that. They say it starts at home but it also starts in neighborhoods. If you have a good neighborhood then you will have people that react in a good way. If you live in a bad neighborhood then you have people that behave in a negative way.

--What’s your secret?

I think that I just took advantage of a lot of opportunities as they came along. I have been in trouble like when I was younger. I just think that I caught on quick to try and not repeat things. I just want the best for me.

--Have you heard of the reports of youth attacking adults on bikes?

You have some youth that like to steal bikes and it just draws that negatively from there. Some people would say that it’s mostly a race issue, but at the same time it’s not really a race issue. It’s like a disconnect in the whole bicycling community. I think there’s a disconnect in awareness. Like some parts of the City are aware to riding bikes and others is not; like those neighborhoods don’t have nowhere to legitimately bike. Some neighborhoods you would not see a bike lane, like on any major block on the west side. I think there should be a continual bike awareness in these neighborhoods to keep them informed.

--How can bicyclists stay safe?

I just say to any biker in the City you have to watch your surroundings. There are people that do good things and people that don’t do good things, and then you have people that want nice things that you got. I would just say keep in mind the routes that we take and always have an alternate route. So if you think you’re being watched by somebody else try and consider an alternate route. Somedays I will switch up the route I take to get home because if I know somebody’s looking at me. I'll try and switch it up to not draw attention.

--Has anything ever happened to you?

One time recently right around the corner from my home some guys saw me and said, “We’ll be waiting for you the next day.” Then the next day I had another person call me saying there was a group of people looking for you, and I didn’t even come through that spot. I came a whole other way around, which was much quicker. Now I know not to take this way every day.

--What do you think the difference would be between an adult getting attacked for their bike and you?

“... Traffic is a result of not investing in things like public transit. It’s a result of urban sprawl, and a result of incentivizing economic development where there were no people or no infrastructure...”

BICYCLIST: Liz Cornish (Executive Director of Bikemore, a baltimore based nonprofit that works to increase and improve bicycle infrastructure, policies, and awareness)

I grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma, and Tulsa Oklahoma is a very segregated city. It’s a place where in 1921 the largest race riot in history before the L.A. riots had occurred. White residents attacked black residents and businesses along Greenwood Avenue, which at the time was dubbed "Black Wall Street" for the concentration of black wealth. Living in a city where there’s lots of racialized tension is something that I grew up with. As a kid I went to a predominantly black elementary school and I lived in a predominantly black neighborhood. My god parents are black and so [I was] raised going to their home and spending time with their family. My parents lived in this perfectly nice subdivision where you ride bikes to friends houses, go inside and discover all the houses are the same. I didn't realize it at the time but that window into black family life is a really important part of my story. I really do believe that was really critical to giving me a heart for social justice and also building connections and building relationships with people that are different than I am. Coming in and out of segregated situations I’ve always tried to do my best to try to seek out opportunities to build bridges and to work on behalf of people that may not be having the same access to power or to change that I might have.

-- What’s the purpose of bicycle advocacy for you?

In Baltimore I see it as a tool. We need lots of tools, and biking is not the silver bullet or panacea to this because it’s hugely complex and not everybody can ride a bike, and it doesn’t even make sense for everybody to ride a bike, but biking is one of the tools that people can use to build up communities; and our communities in Baltimore need a lot of building up. I think there was a time when bike advocacy was very niche -- kinda wacky. You’d have guys showing up to Capitol Hill in bike shorts and their little rear view mirrors off of their bicycle helmets. Now it’s really different. I have so much more in common with people that are working on food justice, and people that are working on housing issues than I ever have before, and it makes my work very exciting.

-- Do you think that bicycle infrastructure means “gentrification?”

There's this harmful narrative in cities that becoming more friendly to bikes is essential to attracting the "creative class" which essentially ignores the fact that there are already people who live here, who rely on bikes as transportation--or would like to--that need safe routes. That line of thinking did a lot of damage, and is why bike lanes are often linked to gentrification. I don’t believe that wanting a neighborhood that comes alive with people walking and biking, where traffic is calmer, that having better access to places to recreate outside whether it’s biking trails, walking trails, public green spaces -- I do not believe that that’s only stuff that young, wealthy white people want in their neighborhood. In fact, I hear from people of all colors and all ages from across the City, and that’s what’s beautiful about it. When you look at it that way I think everybody wants that for their neighborhood. What becomes challenging is that historically you had a lot of mostly white men that were mostly recreational cyclists that decided to bike to work that really pushed this sort of vehicular cycling movement. They defined equity amongst modes on the roads -- and so any policy or advocacy that they were fighting for whether it was on the local or federal level had to do with that. I think what we’ve learned and how the bike movement has evolved pretty recently is that all of that work didn’t really get a whole lot more people to bike. But you know what did? Putting up a couple of flex posts and a segregated lane creating protected space for cyclists, and then creating a movement that showed everyday cyclists wearing everyday clothing running errands. Maybe they’re using it for transportation. Maybe they’re using it on Saturday mornings to get to places. That’s really what changed. I think any neighborhood is going to have a different feeling about biking, or any family you ask about biking is going to have a different feeling about it or a different barrier to it. That’s what makes it so hard. There’s no one size fits all approach.

--What are some of the barriers?

So if I was working with you and I was trying to get you excited about biking I’d have to get to know you, and then you’d tell me about your day and how far away your job is. Then you’d tell me that maybe you have to dress up at work, and maybe you don’t have a shower there or maybe where you grew up only poor people rode bicycles so it’s really important to you to be able to express your identity through owning a car because ownership to other things like houses has been restricted from you. It’s really complex. What’s really great now and what I’ve learned from others is that we can't just talk about bikes. We have to talk about housing. We have to talk about economic development. We have to talk about other forms of transportation, and how they are accessible or inaccessible. You have to talk about public health, and you have to talk about all of those things to figure out why someone is or isn’t biking, and then you have to come up with solutions that address those barriers, and if you’re only addressing some of those barriers then that might be why biking is only for a certain small segment of people.

--What do you think the challenges are to getting diverse groups excited about bicycling?

I had an amazing phone call with Oboi Reed. He runs “Slow Roll Chicago.” He’s been nationally recognized for his work getting communities of color excited about biking in Chicago. He just said things in a concise way. It’s that you cannot lead with transportation, and I even thought about this as well -- that a lot of people bike as kids and then around 14 or 15 they kind of drop off. I think we all got back into biking as adults first recreationally. Some friend had an extra bike and said, “Let's go ride bikes to the movies,” or to a restaurant, and then you’re like, “I don’t have a bike. Well, I have one you can use.” Then you do it and it’s so fun, and you don’t have to look for parking, and you don’t have to pay for parking, and you get to see your city in a different way. All of a sudden you’re kind of hooked and you’re like, “well how many more days a week can I do this?” So I think that lots of people, not everyone, come to transportation bicycling from a place of recreation for awhile, and then they make the transition. Oboi was discussing that what they do is that there are weekly rides that engage with a lot of different community partners. They pick their neighborhoods way out in advance. They partner with a different organization that’s not a biking organization. Maybe it’s a housing authority. Maybe it’s a community organization. Maybe it’s a school. Maybe it’s a church, and they plan a route. They usually try to pick something that’s challenging in that neighborhood and something that’s beautiful in that neighborhood. What they’re trying to do is build community. They’re trying to say that there are no bad neighborhoods. Every neighborhood has some value and something to offer. Every neighborhood has some challenges and we are going to see those by bike because they’re easier to see than when you’re speeding by in a car. And we’re going to hang out and be social and be safe. We’ve really started to see people like Oboi that have started to do that type of work start to tip the scales about normalizing biking for diverse people. My goal for biking always is that it shouldn’t feel risky and it shouldn’t feel like a Herculean feat. I get a lot of like, “Oh you’re so brave.” I want to wake up one day and have it be so normalized and so easy and safe-feeling that people don’t feel like that.

--What are you most proud of so far?

I was really proud of our “I Bike, I Vote kick-off party.” The ability to get that many candidates to show up for something and they don’t get to speak… that they just had to listen, and meet and greet just felt like a very big win. We still have a lot of work to do til active transportation actually comes into the forefront of this election or even in psyche of the candidates that are running. That was such a giant leap forward in terms of getting our conversation and agenda out there. The other thing that I’m really proud of is that the downtown bike network went to bid. Basically, what that means is that for the last three to four years we’ve had six miles of protected bike infrastructure funded, and mostly engineered, but it hasn’t started construction. That project is so critical to increasing visibility of bike ridership in this city that our work really begins when that gets built. Does that make sense? Bikemore has done a lot, but what we’re going to be able to do will increase exponentially when there’s actually a network of safe places for people to ride. What we’re doing now is inviting people into a space that’s not always safe for people to ride.

--What does it feel like to ride in Baltimore for you?

As a city rider learning to take the lane and just feel confident around cars it’s incredibly empowering, especially as a woman. There’s just so many points throughout every day that you’re inculturated to not take up space. You feel that you're told not to take up space, and so when you start taking the lane and you start to get pushy with traffic... It’s great exercise for the mind to remind yourself that you can do that in other areas of your life too. You’re allowed to take up space wherever you need to take up space. As women, we’re taught that petite and demure is more desirable. So like don’t be broad shouldered and don’t be tall, but also emotionally, like don’t be assertive. Don’t be loud. Don’t be demanding, and so we’re taught and inculturated to not take up space and to shrink into ourselves so we don’t offend anyone. You watch that, especially when you teach adult women to ride again. Not all, but a lot of women are very polite, and so to teach them how to be assertive and defensive in a road space it might take them awhile to develop the confidence and skills in order to do that. I have a thousand stories about bikes changing women’s lives, and I know they do that for men too, but I’m just privy to all these stories from women. I think that’s the best part about my job.

--What do you think your role is?

I’m not out there teaching people how to ride bikes. I’m not out there giving bikes to people, but the work I do will lead a lot more people to biking. A lot of things in our everyday culture work against things that make us healthier, that make us more emotionally stable, that make us have more joy. There’s a lot of things in our everyday society that try to take those things away every day, and the bike brings that all back. To me that’s an amazing thing to get to be a part of. There’s very few people that bike to work that hate their commute. Yeah you have some complaints, but you still do it everyday because there’s some days on Guilford with the cherry blossoms hanging overhead, and you get that wee moment, you know like weeeee! And you don’t get that sitting in traffic, and you don’t get that sitting on a bus. If you think about Baltimore there’s so much work to be done, and there’s so much trauma to counter that people experience everyday. Stress is toxic. If you live in a city with high crime, and high proclivity of drug use, and exposure to violence, and exposure to lead. These are all factors that lead to toxic stress. I cannot fix all of those things, and Bikemore cannot fix all of those things, but we can counter some of those things by bringing more people to biking.

--Do you think it’s important to work, specifically, with women?

I think that when you create women-only spaces, magical things happen. Are there women that feel comfortable in spaces that always include men? Absolutely. So women only spaces aren’t necessarily for those women, but there are enough women out there in the world that because of what we’ve been taught it’s hard to try new things, or mess up, or fail. The stakes seem to be higher for women. Even when you watch kids play on a playground. Maybe there’s a low retaining wall, and there’s a little boy that climbs up there and he’s walking along the edge. Everybody’s natural bias is to be like, “Boys will be boys,” and the second a little girl gets up there it’s like, “Be careful! You’re going to get hurt.” How many times has a girl been told, “Be careful. You’re going to get hurt.”? Then turn that person into a twenty-five-year-old and ask them to ride a bike in traffic, and then you can imagine the psychological stuff that they’re going to have to overcome before that experience feels accessible to them. So women’s only spaces creates a sense of safety where other women understand that, and the pressure just seems to come off.

--Where do you think your passion comes from?

I’ve always been fascinated with root causes, like, “The why? How did this start? Where did this begin?” So when I think about root causes you also have to think about disruptive solutions; the bicycle does that. You talk about biking and all of a sudden you’re talking about public safety. You’re talking about street harassment. You’re talking about government spending. You’re talking about environmentalism and our reaction to climate change. You’re talking about equity--like, how long does it take for people to get to work? You get to talk about all those things that encompass life, and more people have to start having those conversations, and voting about them before we start to see some change. Baltimore is certainly a place where I see potential for that type of awareness. You already see it, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

--What do you think the ultimate urban impact of bicycling is?

“I do art and paint on the side, so I decided to make my bike my own. I painted it to look like Starry Night.”

BICYCLIST: Denise Williams

--What made you stay in Baltimore after moving here for school?

I actually did Americorps for a year and then I wanted to go to school for social work and it’s right up in the city so I was just like, “I’m going to move closer just to be in the area and get to know the community that I’m working in.”

It’s definitely different than a lot of the other places that I’ve lived. I feel like there's a bigger sense of community here. Everything is within walking distance at least where I live and we have an eclectic bunch of people around us. I feel like when I was living in Towson -- I guess it’s a college town and you have diverse people, but it’s not as diverse as Baltimore; I feel like I’m more at home here just because I can walk down the street and see someone that I know. I like it more. That’s why I decided to stay after graduation. It is Charm City.

--You said you work in social work.  Are there things that you feel you’ve noticed about the city that have helped you with your work?

I feel like I definitely experience the city more through biking.  Doing social work I work in a lot of the neighborhoods that I don’t usually encounter otherwise. Living in Charles Village sometimes we get in our comfort bubbles and we don’t go out of them. With social work I go to different communities and I meet different people and things like that, but I don’t actually usually hang out there. Through biking it’s great because I do the Thursday Night Bike Rides and Bike Party and I feel like we go through all kinds of different neighborhoods.  It’s not like, “We’re only going to stick to this specific route,” it changes every time so I’ve definitely been able to go through the communities that I work in on my bike and I feel like it’s more of an intimate experience. We go in and it’s totally different when doing it out of enjoyment and experiencing it that way [rather] than when I’m working, if that makes sense.

It’s been interesting too because the bike messenger community and the biking community I noticed is like a really tight knit group and I’m only like skimming the surface; so I’m still meeting new people and I’m not completely entrenched, but there was a candlelight vigil for DeyQuawn Cooper and I didn’t know him personally. My partner was friends with the bike messengers so we went on the candlelight vigil and it was just really amazing to see the sense of community. People came together and it ended with the candlelight vigil in the neighborhood.

Had I not been apart of that biking community I would not have known these people and I would not have been able to experience that. It’s interesting seeing it from the other side because we’re reading about the Baltimore uprising -- we’re experiencing it in a way, but you know, living in Charles Village I would have never met these people otherwise and it was just really amazing to see. I think what really stuck out [was] the police were there and it wasn’t like a bad experience. I feel like we read about the negative experiences all the time but seeing that was really amazing. It’s hard to explain. I’ve been able to experience it more genuinely through biking than just doing social work.

--How long have you been apart of the Thursday Night Ride for?

I’m very sporadic with it, so I’ve met a lot of really cool people, but with work and everything I can’t always go. Overall I guess two and a half years, but it hasn’t been every single week.

--Can you tell me about your bike?

I do art and paint on the side, so I decided to make my bike my own. I painted it to look like Starry Night. It’s just acrylic paints. It’s kind of my baby. I’m trying to tweak it to make it my own. I feel like honestly it kind of looks crappy but it was my first time doing it and I kind of had fun with it. I feel like art is constantly a work in progress.  

--How would you describe the general bicycle community from your experience?

BICYCLIST: Romeo

--How long have you been riding bikes?

Since nine years.

--And how old are you now?

Fourteen.

--Do you remember your first bike?

It was a pink bike, and it didn’t have a seat. The brakes -- they didn’t work that good and it was given to me.

--How often do you ride?

I ride bikes at least once a day, and if I don’t it’s probably because it’s raining or something.

--Who do you ride with?

Jordan. A friend named Juan. My friend Paul, and that’s it.

--If you could ride anywhere where would you go?

I have no clue. Well… If I knew my way back from the county, but that’s only if I knew my way back … It’s dangerous. You could fall or it could get stolen.

--Who would steal your bike from you?

Anyone. Anyone that has the guts.

--Have you ever had any bikes stolen?

Yeah. I had two of them [get stolen], but I got one of them back. I had a blue one with green pegs on it, and I had a blue one that was a BMX that got stolen, but the boy he was around and I just took it from him. I punched him, and he just fell on the ground and I just took it back.

--Do you think you’ll always ride a bike?

Yeah, I’ll always ride a bike. Always. They help you go places quicker, but it takes a lot of energy.

--Do you have any goals for riding bikes, in particular?

Yeah I have a goal. If I get $2,000.00 I’ll buy a racing bike. Something like a road bike.

--What would you do on a road bike?

Try to wheelie. Yeah, try to wheelie because it has gears as well, but it only has two on the front and a whole bunch on the back.

--Anything you want the world to know about you?

I’m gay .... There’s nothin’ wrong with it. I like boys because if you date a certain girl all she wants is money, and um… that’s it.

--Did your friends have any reaction?

I told a lot of my friends, and some didn’t really care. I told all of my girls that are friends and they respect me.

--What about your guy friends?

They don’t like me some of them.

--What’s hard about that?

They always bully me, and it gets annoying after a bit.

--Have you told your family?

I told my mom I was gay and she wasn’t really shocked, because she probably knew I was. I’m not going to tell my brothers because they already call me gay. Well, my brother Allen he calls me gay every time he comes up stairs. He’s like “Romeo’s gay!” and I’m like, “You are,”

and then he just goes back downstairs.

--How does that make you feel?

A person can only take so much.

--And then what can you do?

You flip out and get angry. I was walking to school this morning and there’s this boy named Dominic … he’s in 8th grade and he goes to my school. He started calling me gay, and I said “You are!” a whole bunch of times. He walked up to me and I punched him in the face, and then he was like, “I’m just playin’.” He just walked away and I think he was crying afterwards. I can’t believe I beat up an 8th grader and I’m in 7th.

--When did you know you wanted to come out?

I just wanted to be gay because I saw a lot of youtubers and saw how they become what they become and I said I should join them. It’s pretty hard because I was still attracted to girls until I got attracted to boys. It was hard.

--What was hard about it?

It was just hard to be attracted to boys. It was hard because you have to be attracted to one or the other.

--So what’s your plan now?

“...it’s important because you are going to enable more of your residents to travel safely that can’t afford a car. You’re encouraging a more livable city because you’re not doing your transportation plan around car access but human access...”

BICYCLIST: Nate Evans

--How did you get into bikes?

Growing up in the county it was my escape. I grew up in Middle River, and growing up on the Hawthorne peninsula my parents said, “Ok you can’t cross Eastern Avenue and you got to stop at the water.” Up until I was about nine those were my boundaries but then I started biking more and I realized that I could bike all day on the beat-up bike I had. It’s a way to just get out and explore my world. I never grew out of that. Even though I’ve lived here [in and around Baltimore] my whole life I’m still finding cool places to ride. Because you’re on such a small vehicle you can find these nooks and crannies and little ways between neighborhoods that maybe no one else has ever found. Fortunately I have friends that never grew up either... It makes you feel like a kid again.

--How did you get started in bicycle infrastructure development?

I was working as a civil engineer on a lot of transportation projects, and my degree is in geography and urban planning. Baltimore County was starting up their master plan for bike/pedestrian access so I jumped in on that as a volunteer. At the time it was like, man it would be cool just to do this stuff, but at the time all I was doing was planning for car access. When the I-95 express toll lanes were announced and we were going to be working on that it just ate at my heart. I just found it incredibly difficult to go to work knowing that I was going to be building this massive car-traffic inducing project. Eventually the job over here at Baltimore City came up, and I was there for five and a half years. I really did love it. I thought that those five years I was able to really get a lot of things going, and be a part of a nation wide shift. I also realized Baltimore is not as serious about it as other cities. About that same time New York and DC were able to do projects in nine months from concept-design [to] construction, and it was taking us years to build this stuff. I feel like political will was a part of that and [here] it just wasn’t taken as seriously as other transportation projects... like resurfacing roads.

--What was it like to work on bicycle infrastructure?

I was a one man show. It would always crack me up when I’d go to a meeting and people’d be like, “Well can’t you get your staff to work on this?” It’s like, “I don’t have a staff. Are you kidding me?!” When you look at other cities around the country, some of which are in our own backyard, and they have six-seven people working just on bike infrastructure whereas I was bike and pedestrian. Then there came an opportunity to apply the skills I learned at the city at the state level. I was an on-site consultant at State Highway for about nine months, and was able to make a lot of good policy recommendations on things -- and manage some projects there as well. Then the position at Bike Maryland opened up, and so if I took all this inside knowledge on how to get this stuff done and apply it to advocacy, I’m sure we could get a lot of stuff done. We really have. We’ve been able to get just a lot of really good wins just my first year on the job.

--What do you think about the stereotypes around bicycling?

One of the things that I’ve really found in Baltimore is that there really is a cultural difference in the perception of cyclists, and I’m not doing any stereotypes any favors if I want to go out on a weekend to rack up miles on a country road. I wear my padded shorts because they help on long rides, but I don’t like wearing jerseys because that kind of takes it to the next level. A lot of folks in Baltimore think bikes are toys, and when you get your driver’s license you put your toys in the basement. It’s very prevalent among the African American community, but mostly among the upper to middle class African American community. Folks that come out to community meetings and say, "No one rides bikes around here" aren’t out there working two or more jobs or have time to come out in the evening and offer input, but what they’re not recognizing is that there’s a huge part of that African American community that that’s the only way they have to get around. Because they can’t rely on the bus schedule, and it’s easier for them to get on a bike and go pedal between one or two jobs. It’s the only way that they can make it affordably and on time.

It’s the same thing that we’re seeing in the Hispanic Community, especially in the southeast. So it’s pushing that kind of perception of cycling -- that here’s why it’s important because you are going to enable more of your residents to travel safely that can’t afford a car. You’re encouraging a more livable city because you’re not doing your transportation plan around car access but human access, and when you make streets safer for biking you make it safer for people. The people out there riding now, you know we’ve got a little crust on us. We’re a little callous. We’re used to being honked at and harassed, but that’s no way to make this city livable. It’s not to enable people that are stuck in a 3000 pound vehicle to not only intimidate, but to also speed away from any kind of incident that they might incite.  

--What do you think is the biggest challenge to the development of bicycling as a form of transportation?

In my experience, when people think about planning and development they often think about chunks of land as land use, but it’s just like this brick wall.  Yeah you can think about the bricks and how that’s doing everything, but you also have to look at the mortar too and that’s what keeps it all together. That’s a transportation system. When you want to develop an area you can’t just think about the land use, you have to think about the transportation infrastructure. Case in point -- Canton Crossing. Huge chunk of land. Huge potential, but it really does act like an island because it is so car based. If they made that more of a mixed-use development, like put some condos above the Target, you know so that you make it to where you put more people into more space instead of cars in that space, then you wouldn’t have the stress that’s put on Boston Street that was predicted would happen.

--When you think about how our society has become so car-centric, what comes to mind?

“at this point in my life this is everything that I have”

BICYCLIST: Krystal Mack 

I explored so many options and I followed so many food accounts online -- on Instagram and Facebook, and one of the accounts that I followed also sold ice pops on their tricycle. I was like, “Oh, well that’s the exact same thing that I want to do except not on a tricycle but let me look into that more.” I reached out to them and asked them a lot of questions, and they were like, “You should totally do it. It’s such a good startup idea.” I wasn’t sure if it was for me or how it would operate but it's been going pretty good.  It’s just a matter of me working towards getting to the point where I can sustain my business by itself without having to have a full time job, which is what I do now.

--What’s it like riding a tricycle around?

It’s not as easy as I thought it would be operating the tricycle. It’s definitely a heavy bike. It’s 140 pounds with nothing in it. I’ve been riding that through Baltimore, and it’s very hilly. In the summer time I’m drenched in sweat and people are like, “Keep going!”  When I do bike party people are cheering me on, which is really really encouraging. I really felt the love from the cycling community at Bike Party. It made me really happy to be accepted by them because I didn’t want them to think I’m just some girl doing the business and using the tricycle as a pull. It has gotten me a lot of attention because it’s a tricycle, but I would hope that people actually like my product, and actually like me. They don’t have to love me but just like, “She’s cool. Her stuff is good. Why not?” The feedback has been really great. I’m really happy -- started from the bottom now I’m here.

--What were some of the challenges for you first starting out as a business?

Living in Mount Vernon it was easy for me to do a pop up in Fells Point or in Harbor East or in Charles Village. Hampden was a stretch, but I would. It’s hard for me now because I’m so far away from the areas that bring me a good source of income. I don’t have anywhere that I really go for a base. I didn’t realize how threatened other restaurants were by mobile food vendors, and you hear that a lot from food truck people in the foodie scene. I think it’s because we are able to go wherever our customers are -- they don't have to come to us, but on the days when the weather is bad we suffer as a mobile food business. That’s one of the challenges -- not having a one go-to spot that people can come and find me.

--Where did your idea to use the tricycle come from?     

I wanted something that was safe for me especially because I hadn’t really rode a bike since my childhood, and I was just like, “This will be a cool way to get around the city and explore, stay active, and healthy,” but I never really rode in the city, because I’m scared.  This is not a bike friendly city at all. So for me I always admired people that I saw riding through. With my tricycle I don’t feel that scared because I’m like, “I’m obviously out here. You can obviously see me.” If not for the “What is that?” factor, then for the fact that it’s just so big. There’s no way that people couldn’t see me. I bought it used for a good deal from Hailey Trikes in Philly and I refurbished it.  My graphic designer Kate Godwin of Half-Hitch Press hand painted on the final design. The only people [Hailey Trikes] really make a food tricycle for are Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Philly.  The people from Little Baby’s came to the Food Emporium in Baltimore last year and brought their tricycle.  It was really cool to talk with them about logistics of getting around and I was like, “You guys are so cool. You’re doing it!” and they were like, “You’re doing it too!”

I’m at a weird place where I’m trying to have my adult independence but I’m also trying to grow my business. I’m definitely putting the amount of money that you would need to raise a child into my business. I would never compare it to that, but financially it is kind of like that. But it’s been a cool ride, no pun intended.

--Have you noticed any other tricycles around the city since you started riding?

I have. It’s a low startup cost. They range from like $1,000 to $3,000, which in the the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money when you’re thinking about starting a business and having your own space to sell from. You can sell jewelry... I’ve seen coffee tricycles -- you can sell pretty much whatever you want as long as the city says it’s okay. I don’t have anyone to help me. It’s just me doing everything by myself. As much as I love the tricycle and I definitely want it to be apart of the story in the long run, I don’t want it to be the story period. I don’t want people to be drawn to the concept that it’s all about the tricycle. It is about the tricycle in some regards, but to me the tricycle symbolizes a freedom. I don’t have a storefront and I can go anywhere with this and I can take this wherever it needs to go. This has given me the opportunity to make a name for myself, provide for myself and grow my business.

--Do you think the people that you’ve met while riding the tricycle have influenced your products at all?

It’s very much a community based business. It was funded through Kickstarter and the fact that I do a lot of community sponsorship and cross promoting, and a lot of events that are community based like Bike Party, does reflect my brand in that regard. It gives a general vibe of who I am and what my business is. My [products] taste good; anyone can have them, I’m self taught. At Bike Party one guy said to me, “I want to do that with porridge.”  I thought, “That’s so specific.”  I would love to see something like that. I would love to partner with another person that wants to sell their stuff on the street that has a tricycle.  It would be cool to have a tricycle rally.

--What was Bike Party like for you?

...When the dude was asking me questions about where I lived and whatnot while going through my pockets the other guys instructed me to put my hands on my head. I was like, “What did I do wrong?” He was like, “Yeah you did something wrong. Where’s your ID?”

BICYCLIST: Alex

--Where are you from, Alex?

I’m from South carolina. I’ve been over here probably six years. I feel like it’s terrible man. It’s really terrible. Parents are on drugs or they’re drug dealers. There’s too much drug dealing in this area. It’s okay, because I listen to music, you know? I listen to music to where I don’t fear. Some music just gets your mind set. A lot of people out here do that. A lot of African Americans they listen to music. When I’m listening to my music I’m in a mood, and when I’m on a bike it’s like I’m maxed racing down the road. You know what i’m sayin’? Your mind is just pumping. It keeps you going. The music keeps you pumping.

--You told me that you were pulled over by the police recently.

To be honest, I was just riding a bike. When I’m not doing anything, I’d rather be outside riding around doing something. You know what I’m sayin’? Something productive. It’s better to be out because you might find a job or something, and it was just one of those days. I seen somebody at a gas station, and the person that I’d seen he had caused harm to one of our family members. When I turned around to get his vehicle on camera I seen the police pull up. I was thinking, “They’re probably going to get him,” but the whole time they were following me.

They started following me when I was riding down the street, and as soon as I turned around that’s when they pulled me over. They came up on me real quick. One of them asked for my ID, and the other one just started searching me. I didn’t have anything. You know what I’m sayin’? To be honest, I don’t think I committed a crime. They gave me a ticket for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. For me to be on the sidewalk at the Royal Farms you could have at least turned your lights on and pull me over right there, not follow me down the road. You know what I’m sayin’? It’s just weird bro.

--When they stopped you did they ask you if they could search you?

Nah man. When the dude was asking me questions about where I lived and whatnot, while going through my pockets, the other guys instructed me to put my hands on my head. I was like, “What did I do wrong?” He was like, “Yeah you did something wrong. Where’s your ID?”

--What did they tell you you were doing wrong?

After they were done searching me they said because I was riding my bike on the sidewalk that gave them the right to search me. I feel like there’s so many people out there that ride their bike on the sidewalk and they don’t get stopped.

--Why do you think they chose to stop you?

I don’t know. I had my jacket on... I had two jackets on. It was cold out there. I guess maybe I had my hood on and a hat on to stay warm. It had to have been an appearance or something to make them feel like I was doin’ somethin’.

--So do you think having a particular appearance is a reason to stop you?

Yeah, and then the bike looks pretty cool. So they’re looking at it as though I’m some hood guy. You know what I’m sayin’? It’s crazy how police think these days. You know?

BICYCLIST: Jon-Jon

--What do you like about bikes?

I like wheelieing, and just riding with my homeboys… I just like riding bikes.

--What would you do if you couldn’t wheelie?

I’d probably just want to learn how to wheelie, but now since I already know how to do it it’s just fun to ride with people that know how to do it.

--Do you ever think you’ll stop riding a bike?

Not really. Bikes are for everybody. Whoever wants to ride -- just ride. Even if I had a car I’m going to still ride.

--Do you ride Bike Party?

Yeah. Every month. I like how I be knowing people there and how we wheelie together, and then we ride in a group through traffic and all that.

--Can you imagine life without bikes?

It probably would be boring because I can’t ride... I can’t wheelie. I’d probably just play sports or something. In sports you’ve got [to make] a goal to win or help your team, but on a bike it’s just different. You don’t have  to set a goal to win or anything you just ride.

--What’s a perfect day for you?

“...and Chris called me up saying, “You heard what happened?” “No.” “DeyQuawn’s dead.” I’m like, “Man, shut the hell up.” I got on Facebook and saw like, RIP this and RIP that, and just started crying.”

BICYCLIST: Horace

When I first became a messenger 2004 - 2005 we didn’t have bike lanes. Back in the day the messengers used to do this thing called critical mass when there were no bike lanes. There were a lot of times where we’d get like a $75 ticket for riding on the sidewalk, and we’d be on the sidewalk just locking up going into a building to make a delivery. By us getting bike lanes that meant that we had to follow the road laws, and we really couldn’t afford to because we had to really hurry up and get things done. When I started we definitely didn’t have them.

--What was it like when you first started as a messenger?

My first week on the job I got into maybe three accidents. When I first started if you weren’t a messenger you really didn’t see any bikes in the streets. Now you see people riding all the time. Old people, young people, black, white, I mean, especially in the Black Community it’s really come about and [they’ve] embraced biking. Now I see young black people, older black people -- cleats, tights, helmets, u-locks, book bags...

--Where do you work?

I work for three companies, but the main company I work for is Magic Messengers. Magic was the first same day bike delivery company. We also had one of the first Black bike messengers.

--Is there a particular solidarity among Black messengers?

To be honest with you I think no, not really. We’re all one big family. When you first become a messenger you get treated like shit. You got to work your way in. When I first became a messenger people wouldn’t help me to be honest with you. There was this one messenger from from Texas that nobody liked, and nobody had the balls to say anything to him. Then one day we were sitting at Ground Zero down 20 South Charles and he was like, “ni**er this and ni**er that and yatta yatta” and I just wopped his ass. I just beat the shit out of him and that’s when I got my respect from other messengers. That’s when they embraced me. That’s when they were like, “Come hang out.” It’s like anything how you work your way up to be one of the guys.

--What did you ride when you first started?

People are always quick to run to Walmart. Dude, when I first became a messenger I rode a Pacific D-Blaze full-suspension mountain bike balling up Charles Street. Every crank I was bouncing, bouncing. I couldn’t afford to buy a real bike at the time. I was making like $200 a week, and once I started making more and more money I was buying expensive parts for this shitty bike. I was taking this shitty-expensive bike down to Penny at Light Street every weekend. One of the messengers, Eddy Eggs, I bought my first road bike from him. It was a Schwinn Letour. My bike was a beast man. I used to get from Towson to downtown in 30 minutes top -- like flying! I put topnotch parts on it. I got parts from Bishop -- Chris Bishop he gave me parts. I got parts from Penny. I went from going to the bike shop every week to once every three-four months.

--Where do you live at in the city?

I live South Baltimore now. We have a huge community down there. We have a gang of kids and they just ride. It’s not like a gang of kids when I was a kid. If we saw a gang of kids on bikes we already new what time it was -- they were either going to mess with somebody or they were looking for another bike because somebody was standing up riding because there was another kid on the seat looking for a bike. But down there they’re just a bunch of kids and they just ride, and man it’s awesome. When we were kids we had recreation centers to go to. Where I live we have a recreation center, and there’s a lot of violence in my neighborhood. A lot of the violence is from the adults and not the kids because we have a huge rec center for the kids to go to.

--DeyQuawn Cooper, one of your fellow messengers was shot and killed; how were you connected to him?

He was a real good friend. He was a nephew to me, I would say. He grew up with my nephew and they were close. I found out in January I was type one diabetic, which you usually get diagnosed as a juvenile. I guess by me being so active it didn’t catch up with me. I found out I had diabetes, and DeyQuawn -- he was type one diabetic too. He was the first person to embrace me like, “Bro it’s not that bad. Look, this is what you gotta do. If you need any help let me know.” I used to make fun of him because he’d come to work all decked out with the tight shorts, and like bro, “come on! What are you doing?” We would talk about football, or trying to get an all Black racing team together from Baltimore. DeyQuawn and another guy was in the process of doing that right before DeyQuawn died. The thing about it was we were sitting right here at SDAT. I was up in one of the attorney’s offices and Chris called me up saying, “You heard what happened?” “No.” “DeyQuawn’s dead.” I’m like, “Man, shut the hell up.” I got on Facebook and saw like, RIP this and RIP that, and just started crying. I was trying not to but just couldn’t help it because he was just such a good guy. Like, if he didn’t even know you and you were on the side of the road trying to fix your flat he would pull over and try and help you. He was that genuine of a guy.

--And then you led a memorial ride?

We were actually about to cancel the ride because like two hours prior there was a drive-by shooting up in the Penrose Neighborhood, and our ride ended at his house right on Penrose Ave. But by the grace of God we weren’t going to let that stop our ride. When we came in on Penrose Street, those kids had never seen a gang of bikes like that before. They’d never seen us like that -- Black and White together. They’re not used to seeing that. Once they saw that I feel like that was an eye-opener to them. I feel like that made them say, “Oh I want to ride a fixed-gear.” or “I want to be a messenger when I grow up.”

--DeyQuawn’s death was so tragic -- how are you feeling now about the whole situation?

We’re all one big family and we got to stick together, and that shooting from what they were saying was a mistake. I’m hoping it was a mistake. You’d just be surprised man, like tomorrow’s never promised. Like we can go out there right now and put our two wheels in the street and boom!

--Have you ever had negative attention as a bicyclist in the city?

You know it’s getting bad now when a bunch of us get together and the helicopters come out like we’re the twelve o’clock boys or whatever on dirt bikes and stuff. Right before we did DeyQuawn’s ride we all gathered up at St Mary’s Park, just had a couple of beers. There was maybe like 10 of us, and you just saw a helicopter come out and get real low and start circling us. I’m like, “Wow, we’re really that important?” I mean everybody rides. Our ex-mayor rides. You see our police officers are riding a lot more now even in the winter time. A lot of people say, “You need a car! You got four kids.” I know I need a car, but it’s like, I don’t walk anywhere. I don’t even walk across the street to my friend’s house. I jump on my bike. I just love my bike, and I feel like if I treat my bike good my bike will treat me good.

--What is it about bikes for you?

...It’s like bullying that happens. I get so frustrated because you’re yelling at me but you don’t know the rules... 

BICYCLIST: Diana Chia

So you lost your first bike in Baltimore?

I came home one day after winter break and my bike had been stolen. To be fair, I left it in the hallway where I shouldn’t have left it but then I got my new bike and I’m super obsessed with it.

Why are you obsessed with it?

Because it’s super cute [laughs] and it’s so much easier to ride. I love this bike.

What was your favorite thing about getting a bike?

I just felt like I was able to go places that I wasn’t able to go before. It’s just so easy to get around. Like my favorite bar is in Fells, and I know you’re not supposed to drink and ride a bike but… I learned to be more responsible about that. A lot of my friends do have bikes and so it’s been really nice to just go on rides together, and not have to worry about parking. There’s something really great about being able to go door to door with your bike. With a car sometimes it’s like a production because then you have to move your car, and then you loose your spot. And then the traffic in this city! I think it’s faster for me to bike to work then drive.

Have you learned the city in a different way?

There always seems to be a destination neighborhood that you’re going to, but it’s where the gradation is or change is that’s fun to see on a bike. I don’t feel like you notice it in a car so much because it goes by so fast. When you’re biking you’re inevitably slower and you get to see that slow change that makes it a different neighborhood. A lot of places are block to block, which is true, but sometimes it’s a couple of blocks before you notice that which actually make a neighborhood distinct. It’s kind of nice to see the middle. Like from Station North to Charles Village. Being new to the city I never would have thought about that middle part, but when you bike through it you see more.

What do you think about some of the mistreatment by drivers?

... if I don’t do it I’ll die. It’s just making your work. It just has to happen... 

BICYCLIST: Eric Dyer

--So as an artist, at what point did the bicycle become a part of your work? In grad school I made a film called Chopin’s Bicycle, which was thinking about written music. The notes on the sheet music-- yes they represent pitches and they represent duration and it’s a map of how different pitches are played, but that’s never meant to be visual.

--What made you want to connect something visual with something musical? A lyrical experience for me is riding a bicycle- it just feels like this melodic, lyrical experience. It got me thinking about using moving bicycle parts as visuals. I had this ‘67 Schwinn Speedster, which I’d bought on the Eastern Shore for $30 at a yard sale, and I took that into the studio and video taped all the moving parts of the bicycle on a black background. Then I mapped each clip to a different pitch on the scale, and then I had a pianist friend play on a piano. I could separate all the different piano pitches out to tracks that could react and be connected to each video clip. The short story of it is the images were stacked as they were in the performed music. So when chords are played all the moving bicycle parts stack on top of each other and become like a visual chord. The duration is connected to the duration of the image. So it’s all mapped together.

--How did your connection between the bicycle and your art evolve when you went to Copenhagen?

I just loved the whole Danish bicycling culture-- everyone rides a bike there. The car tax is a 150%. I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do when we went to Copenhagen but I started finding discarded bicycle wheels in the trash and building things onto the spokes. The spokes were like their own registration system. Those weren’t particularly successful so I started using bicycle wheel sized foam core and building paper sequences onto those, and going out taking video clips of moving elements of the city laying those video clips out like film strips. So then I started collaging these motion elements onto bicycle wheel-sized discs.

--It seems like there were multiple elements relating and reacting to each other. It was the perfect project to do in Copenhagen because I was going around on my bicycle exploring the city recording these moments -- a lot of times from my bike. There was a real direct connection between the culture I was trying to explore and the process of making my work. I’d also ride out to my studio and get to explore all the video stills that I’d shot. It’s  another step of inspecting and observing a place, especially when you’re new. When you’re new somewhere you notice a lot of things that you don’t notice in a place that you’ve lived for 10 years where everything seems normal. I wasn’t sure how all these sorts of fantasy scenes from city elements I was creating would be all tied together and so I just went with the simplest narrative thread which was this bicyclist -- me, the common element throughout film, and within several of the sculptures where I was one of the elements, riding through the scene wearing not a bike helmet but a Viking helmet. Sort of like a stranger trying to fit into a place but can’t help but to stick out like a sore thumb. It was plastic Viking helmet from the Danish dollar store.

--It’s interesting how you became, physically a part of the actual work you were making. Yeah, and I think I’d like to do that again sometime. It was an adventurous process. It wasn’t like just going to the studio every day. It was being out in the world making work, and creating work from little adventures.

--Can you imagine that project without the bicycle? It’s hard to imagine because there’s so much going on subconsciously. If you’re creating through a certain experience there’s a lot going on you don’t even realize. Like just the cyclical motion of pedaling and the wheels turning -- it’s all connected to the zoetrope. It would be a very different piece because so much of it ties into the psychology of what the animation is like. Even the process of getting from one place to another somehow translates into the motion of the finished sculpture and what it takes to set those into motion.

--What’s your mission? I don’t know if there’s a mission. It’s more like  breathing, which is both voluntary and involuntary, but if I don’t do it I’ll die. It’s just making your work. It just has to happen or you’ll die.

BICYCLIST: Afia Lydia

“I like to get my hands dirty. I like to know what’s wrong and know how to fix it.”

I moved here in November 2013. I had already been biking before with my friend Rashad. He’s actually a bike messenger in the city right now, but we’re from Prince George’s County. We would bike a lot in that area. Baltimore is actually one of my favorite cities to bike because I’ve biked in DC a lot and it’s nothing but hills -- a lot of cars and a lot of crazy people. Chicago felt mostly flat. We do have hills here but it’s a nice mix; I really like Baltimore in that sense.

 -- Why did you think you didn’t fit the “typical mold” to be interviewed for a bike blog?

 I felt like the typical mold is straight up -- Here’s my gear. Here’s what I can do. I can go very fast [Laughs]. I’m really interested in biking, and I love it. It’s really a passion of mine, but I’m very slow. I can pick up speed but I’m pretty slow. I have a single speed Nishiki. I actually got this bike in Waldorf. A co-worker’s husband worked at a bike shop and an old couple came and they gave him their matching bikes. They thought that if I got one and the only other black person got one it would be a couple set in paradise. Needless to say he got his bike stolen. It was very sad. It was a very cute gesture, but I’ve just been modding [the bike ever since], and I love it. So that was how I got this particular bike that I have now. Before then, me and my friend Rashad would drive around and we’d just see junkers on the side of the road and we’d grab em and fix em up!

 -- Do you know how to build and fix bikes?

 With enough ingenuity I can do a lot with my bike. I’ve done all of the mods on my bike, which I guess doesn’t seem like much, but I stripped it down completely and just started building it back up. I started going to Velocipede when I first moved here and they’ve been really wonderful. For the most part I can do all the fixes I need to on my own. A lot of the time it just feels as though in general there’s a weird little bias like, “Oh, you’re a girl. Let me fix this for you.” But I like to get my hands dirty. I like to know what’s wrong and know how to fix it.

 -- How did you get into learning about bikes?

 I work for a company in the health food industry and there’s a brand called “Alafia,” which is a shea butter company based out of Olympia [Washington], but they get all of their products from Togo, and they have a separate program where they send bikes over for girls to go to school in Togo, Africa. There’s a bike mechanic position that they have where the person just goes out and services all of the bikes for a year and I was interested in that for a little bit. I know how to do things, but in a high stress situation where I have to fix a lot… I’m cool with fixing mine, but I don't know if I would be versatile enough [to do more]. So that’s actually one of the reasons I got into learning about bikes.

 I’ve been looking for [a job] in the city because I would rather not have to drive in anywhere. I guess it’s the dream. A lot of people are looking for that, but I think it’s attainable to try to not use gas and keep our footprint down. I had to drive an hour to work each way when I first moved, and it was mind sucking.  Just so much energy, so much energy.

 -- Do you feel safe riding in the city?

 I do, but I know that that’s not “the norm” to feel safe. My friend has been hit like three times. His girlfriend got hit by a golf cart, which was weird, during Artscape. I don’t want want to say “Yeah! I feel safe!” and then just get hit immediately. I’m cautious but it doesn’t matter how cautious you are because of people around you and how they drive and how you ride. It’s all interconnected. I guess I wish I felt safer. I can’t really wear a helmet because I have long locks.  I’ve ordered an extra extra large helmet, but it’s been on backorder. There are bike lanes but the other day someone just started driving into me. I’m not sure what they were thinking. They saw me. It was just very strange. It was one of those things where you tense up because you feel fear, but it wasn’t an immediate reaction. Maybe they were just drifting or something but I’m not sure. It was a thing where I was watching it happen and they were watching it happen… and it was happenin’... and I was like, “what is happening?” Because it was not one of those things where I’m biking and I tense up because I feel it or anything. It was just in plain sight. It was weird and just made no sense.

 -- Is there anything in particular that you’d like to see develop in Baltimore to make riding safer?

BICYCLIST: Micheal Wright

…To be truthful I’m 51, and I’m the happiest I’ve been my entire life because I’m free…

I love cycling. I just can’t put it any other way. I’m a parts junkie. I’m a clothes junkie. I’m a gear junkie, I mean – old bikes, old history. Cycling’s my life. A lot of the friends I have are because of my messenger job. I love it.

–What is it about bikes for you?

Being a cyclist puts you in touch physically with everything. It gives you an opportunity to be yourself.  A lot of my bikes match my image. They’re loud and fast and boisterous. It’s the way I live. People need to realize cycling is a culture. It’s not a sub culture. It’s an actual culture and some people tend to ignore that. In certain countries messengers are top tier. You get on an elevator and people get off the elevator because people know you need to get to your floor real fast. Here you’re looked down upon, “Ah you’re just a dirty old bike messenger.” No. I’m a grown man who’s a bike messenger, a photographer, a rock stacker, an artist … I play 11 instruments. I went to Peabody. I’m not just a cyclist, but I think cyclists are some of the most amazing athletes around to do what they do everyday. Look at me – I ride through the woods, back country roads in Ellicott City climbing nine-mile hills. If I couldn’t cycle I’d die the next day I’m sure.

–Tell me about your relationship with the group here today?

I’m friends with everybody here, and most of them have been on the cycling scene for 15 – 20 years. We might not see each other for a year, but I can call that guy right there and say, “Hey I need you for something,” and he’s there. Everyone here has their dedication. We’re all family, and we’re all doing our thing. I do 50 miles at work, and I do another 50 miles training at night. Lincoln Park. Druid Hill Park. Gwynn Falls Trail. Jones Falls trail. Anywhere I can get to and have enough light to see I’m out there training. [In my life] everything is built around cycling, and everything else is on the outside.

–Where are you at in your life right now?

To be truthful I’m 51, and I’m the happiest I’ve been my entire life because I’m free. If I want to go out on a trail at two or three o’clock in the morning I go. I’ll be anywhere between here and Pennsylvania some nights. I don’t sleep often. I’m a nomad.

–How come you don’t sleep very much?

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Connecting Baltimore City though video and bicycles. bicyclistsofbaltimore.com/DOCUMENTARY