Ride With Purpose
Ride With Purpose is a community activism-oriented bike ride, intended to connect neighbors in Detroit by holding regular volunteer efforts, and by raising awareness for cyclists & pedestrians in our beloved (motor) city.
Ride With Purpose was co-founded in 2023 by Andy Meier, owner of Owl Beach Michigan.
RWP #12 - Get Art The Vote
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #12 is
to creatively get out the vote!
For our last Ride With Purpose of the year, we partnered with my favorite publication, Riverwise magazine. Riverwise holds space for community-led journalism in the city of Detroit — forging bonds among writers, artists, students, elders, nonprofits, activists, and academics — amplifying visions of a better world, and the message that we need to keep fighting for the change we wish to see. Since March 2023, many of my dreams have become reality by being a member of the Riverwise Editorial Collective. Through the work that we do, I’ve had the opportunity to publish my art and extend my voice, help other nonprofits get their stories in print, and play a part in the creation of 5 wonderful editions. Today, the managing editor, Megan Douglass, and the assistant editor, Valerie Jean Blakely, are like sisters to me. And the collective is part of my extended family. Riverwise has helped me find greater purpose in my community.
We held RWP #12 on Saturday, October 19th, from 1 to 3pm — a shift from our usual evening rides, on the 4th Wednesday of the month, which granted us the chance to support a community event at Talking Dolls Studio. The art studio, located at 7145 E Davison, is an independent gallery space and venue for community-led activism. Housed in the studio is recent work by renowned artist Konstance Patton, co-founder of The Potluck Detroit, a group with a mission “to feed the community through art, music, poetry and wellness”. In partnership with Talking Dolls, The Potluck, and Riverwise, the event, called Get Art The Vote, was a “community activation” intended to provide a place for Detroiters to express themselves through art, casting their visionary ballots for the future. Each collective came together to reach beyond the roar of traditional media and political debate, into the real life state of our dreams and community needs.
Our purpose was to engage the community through canvassing, riding around the studio to hand out flyers for the event later that day. It was a sunny afternoon when we arrived in the Grant neighborhood of northeast Detroit, sandwiched between 7 Mile and McNichols, bordered by Van Dyke and Mound, surrounded by industries and cemeteries, and sliced horizontally by a railroad. Megan and Konstance were near the entrance, arranging pumpkins on the sidewalk. A voter registration table was being set up as we gathered our materials and hit the streets. We rode slowly, north on Cliff St, branching off and spreading out as we met various neighbors who were out n’ about: a pair of friends fixing a car engine, an older gent setting up a tent for his wife’s bday party. There were teens dribbling a basketball, slam dunking before hearing about the free party we were promoting. We rode north to 7 Mile, south on Van Dyke, west on E Davison, north on Mt Elliot, south on Mound, and back around, winding down side streets and meeting people as they enjoyed the fall heat on their porches, worked on their lawns, and left for errands in their cars. Each interaction was steeped in smiles and curiosity, neighbors excited for the prospect of pumpkin carving and other free activities.
A few hours and 50 flyers later, we were back to catch the start of Get Art The Vote. Soon there were children sculpting pumpkins, strangers creating art together through collage, cider and pizza being enjoyed as neighbors wandered the studio, exploring the murals painted on the walls. As I dug my hands into a pile of pumpkin guts, squeezing out the seeds, I saw that we were about to be given a very special treat. People pulled up chairs, gathered around, and stood quietly as Luis Sabaya, a Honduran Garifuna musician, and his Detroiter partner, Mercedes, amplified their sound. As Luis spoke in his native language, Mercedes translated. The two were in sync as they expressed to us the true meaning of community — an ability to break through divides and reach beyond distance to more fully realize the reasons for our existence, the need to blend our souls and accompany each other into a future built for everyone. My heart felt larger as music pulled us closer. Megan’s daughter scooted up next to me and dug her hand into the pumpkin puree, excitedly brainstorming the best way to heat and eat the seeds. I imagined them growing in her tiny belly, the radical dreams she created with her community. As Riverwise declares so beautifully, Trust the current. Hold fast to one another. We are riding this wave together. We grow from the seeds we feed each other.
This year has been a tidal wave of opportunities. In 2024, we hosted 7 Ride With Purpose events, partnering with 9 different organizations, nonprofits, and collectives which continue the work to fight oppression. We’ve learned so much from them too — like why we need to free all political prisoners and how we can rebuild our city with community land trusts, sustainable farming, and a focus on healing. As part of our purpose, my partner, Andy, and I completed a 500-mile bikepacking journey to raise awareness about water rights. And we even got married, non-traditionally. We are so grateful for all the riders who’ve come out to support and enjoy the power of community. Together across a dozen RWP events, we’ve volunteered over 81 hours and rode over 87 miles in our beloved (motor)city. Now as the tide subsides, we’ll take a break to focus on self-reflection this winter. We’ll meet again next spring after the ice thaws and the birds return to sing.
Arboretum Detroit
Detroit Jericho
Follow​
Little Detroit Community Garden
Neighborhood Tours Detroit
Talking Dolls Studio
The Joy Project
The Potluck Detroit
Trumbullplex
Riverwise
RWP #11 - The Joy of Growing
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #11 is
to honor our connection to soil.
After weeks spent on the road in August, Andy and I were in need of some replenishing Detroit energy. On September 25th, we met Gabby with The Joy Project for our 11th Ride With Purpose. She was our guide on a journey from the clouds back to the ground — from the cool, fluid flow of water — to the warm, close comfort of soil. We were surrounded by her ode to TransAtlantic African food heritage, Indigenous practices, life-giving work, and organic experimentation. Wind brought the change of autumn to our senses, and trees shook their green leaves, waiting to be released. There at 1105 Alger St, between words and dirt, we were reminded to honor our connections to the Earth.
Our friend Liv rode with us from home near the Detroit River. We avoided rush hour traffic by way of the Dequindre Cut, then blended with it as we traveled north on Russell and west on Grand to Oakland Ave. We arrived at The Joy Project around 5 and were greeted by Gabby in a brown hoodie — the words “Support Black Women Farmers” in bold, bright letters on her chest, a relevant call-to-action. Jo, our map-maker friend, later joined us standing and kneeling in the grass. With a crew assembled, Gabby began her verbal tour of the land, describing the 4 main garden features that she and her partner Josmine created, naming plants cared for with the help of their North End neighbors.
Gabby pointed to the southwest corner of the lot. There a Three Sisters Garden marked its entrance. This feature was called Recognition — an acknowledgment of the original stewards of the land, the Anishnaabe. Here plants rose from a place once referred to as Waawiyaatanong, on Earth once rich with wetlands and forests, now deprived of nutrients. This is what many community gardens in Detroit address, whether they acknowledge it or not — the replenishing of history, of recognizing the harm that’s been done and working to mend it. The Three Sisters method of farming is one of the best ways to do this. Three plants are grown together in solidarity: Corn rises to the sky. Beans climb up it and nourish the dirt with their nitrogen. Squash, with its big leaves, shades the soil. At The Joy Project, this symbiotic relationship is lovingly articulated, with expressed gratitude for our Indigenous relatives who led us to it.
Our gaze shifted east of Recognition, to rows of raised beds that invited us to Remember — dig into our ancestries to understand the historical significance of food grown by our hands and the land. Plants cultivated there are essential to the culinary traditions of the African Atlantic experience. Cotton and tobacco remind us of the evils of slavery, of generational trauma, and the inequalities that persist today — a history that is confronted by the value they currently provide to the community. Okra and hibiscus, members of the Mallow family, are grown representing a rich African heritage. Like the Lagos spinach from West Africa, still fueling memories. As Gabby spoke of these plants, a neighbor arrived with a mission to harvest some spinach for dinner. I asked for a leaf to taste. “It shouldn’t affect the dish too much,” she joked.
On the northwest side of the lot was a plot called Reconciliation where native and non-native plants, like amaranth and sorghum, are free to grow without the rigidity of mainstream agriculture. Methods that kill the land — tilling, chemical pesticides, herbicides, and monocultures — are rejected at The Joy Project. Gabby and Josmine honor their ancestors and the Earth by acknowledging the harmful ways in which plants and people have been used. They counteract that harm with the wisdom, food, and environment they share with others. Gabby directs our attention south again, to Restoration, a circle paved with stone and bordered by native perennials, many of which with medicinal properties. This was a space intended for healing, for restoring our relationship to nature. I smiled as I watched bees floating from flower to flower as they gathered nectar.
Our task was to gather items from various spots around the lot and clear space for an event happening that weekend. The Joy Project would be announcing their plans to build a community kitchen on the lot to the north. This expansion would give them and their neighborhood a place to experiment with foods grown there, to cook the bounties of their harvest, and connect more fully with their community. The event, part of Detroit’s Month of Design, would feature a market, skills shares, a cooking demo, music, and more. Our RWP crew set to work picking up pots, stakes, and other garden things. I drifted into the oak grove on the northwest corner and was enveloped by the shadows of trees. I scooped a camp chair off the ground and brought it to the firepit nearby. Liv, with her exceptional strength, hammered posts into the ground that would later hold a banner for the event. Jo helped me sort pots while Andy tediously collected dried-out seed starter plugs.
By 7ish, we were satisfied with our progress. Gabby thanked us for our time and posed for a group picture by their sign. We didn’t want to say goodbye, though the setting sun beckoned us to ride. So we left and rode south on Oakland Ave to W Grand Blvd, crossed over the boulevard and took Hastings St to Milwaukee, and traveled west into a purple sunset. We took a jaunt down 3rd St to Holden to avoid construction, climbed a pedestrian overpass over the Lodge freeway, and squeezed through concrete barriers to continue on Holden. Once at Rosa Parks, we turned north, admiring the smooth bike lane along the way. At Chicago we headed east through Boston Edison and Alden Park, then arrived back at Oakland Ave. From there it’s a few blocks south to Alger. After a 6.5-mile bike ride, we returned to The Joy Project. We’d lost Jo by this point (she’d peeled off closer to home) though Andy, Liv, and I enjoyed the rest of our ride back to the river.
The sky was now dark blue, illuminated by streetlights and high-rises. On the Cut we let loose. Andy showed us his “bike yoga” moves. I laughed as Liv happily followed him, reaching her leg back across the bike seat and bending forward into the wind. We passed the small pieces of land where I’d foraged for greens and herbs in the past. I looked up at the apple and mulberry trees that had been cut too high for picking. This “greenway” was maintained with a disconnection to natural food ways. I thought back to The Joy Project and could see a celebration of life — a gift of profound joy that Gabby and Josmine have created for the Earth and her humans.
Get Involved!
Volunteer for a Community Work Day. They’re every Saturday from 10am to 2pm, May through October.
If you can’t volunteer, think about providing some support by donating cash or supplies.
Follow @joy_theproject on Instagram to learn more or visit www.joytheproject.com.
RWP #10 - Little Detroit, Big Community
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #10 is
to respond to the needs of our community.
Our 1-year anniversary of Ride With Purpose was celebrated at Little Detroit Community Garden, spreading mulch and plucking ripe tomatoes from the vine. We were called there by Danny Dolley, founder of Neighborhood Tours Detroit, co-founder of the garden, and an eastside resident who’s been fighting for the rights of his entire community. I met Danny at the Eastside Community Network (ECN), where he served as a Sustainability Fellow through their Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP), “an award-winning plan and community-driven initiative that engages residents in a process of transforming open space and stabilizing neighborhoods.” During his time as a fellow, he developed an idea for a sustainable greenspace. That’s where his neighbor Loretta Powell came in.
Loretta is co-founder of Little Detroit Community Garden, which is now a nonprofit. She’s spent much of her career working for Detroit Public Schools, and much of her free time on projects for her community. When Danny came to her seeking a place to build his garden, she was all in. Together, they turned Loretta’s side lot into a community garden. They built raised beds, planted flowers and vegetables, and created a rain garden in the shape of a butterfly, where native plants offset some of the area’s flooding. A LEAP Sustainability Fellow herself, Loretta designed a gazebo and rain garden that was built on the other side of her property. Across the street she’s working on an outdoor exercise park for neighborhood youngins.
On Wednesday, 7/24/24, we met at 5027 Montclair, Detroit, for our 10th ride. Andy and I rolled in before 6pm to get started early in the garden. Danny soon appeared, cruising down the street on his homemade e-bike. We exchanged warm greetings and he gave us a tour of the space, pointing out different plants and projects, air monitoring and artwork. Our task was to tackle a mound of mulch at the entrance to the garden. We collected shovels and wheelbarrows. It wasn’t long before our friend Zach and his friend Hanna arrived. Loretta came out to welcome us all, offering water and vibrant conversation. We gathered in a circle around the mound of mulch, working shoulder to shoulder in the dissipating heat of evening.
We heard stories about the garden’s inception — how it was named after Loretta’s mother, a beloved community member who went by Little. We learned about Loretta’s upcoming event, the Arise Detroit Neighborhood Day, this Saturday, 8/3, from noon to 5pm, hosted at the garden. She told us there’d be games, resource tables, music, a raffle, and of course plants. While shoveling and wheeling mulch to the far corners of the garden, we were kept company with Danny’s memories. He told us about his career working in the city, of his bike tours and the native plants that surround his home. Andy & I later had the opportunity to see his garden and learn how native plants create a green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) throughout the city. We were on a bike ride with ECN, touring rain gardens and other GSI projects in the eastside community.
After the mulch was spread, and our thirsts’ quenched by cold water, we set out on a bike ride through the neighborhood, with Danny as our leader. He led us slightly east on E Warren, then south on Fairview, pointing out a large expanse of grass where an elementary school once stood. We headed a bit west at E Canfield and stopped at the E Canfield Pavilion Park, where Danny told of its origins — a community greenspace created by a sister-sister team, the Canfield Consortium. We stood beneath a giant metal sculpture, gleaming golden in the evening sun, a somewhat recent addition to the park. Danny pointed out the butterfly and bee garden across the street, where tall native wildflowers were in bloom. We stood watching insects buzz above it before riding back east on E Canfield to Beniteau.
Look at Beniteau on a map and you’ll see the street follows the outer edge of the Stellantis Mack Assembly Plant. Read about the plant in local news and you’ll hear echoes from the community, what they’ve been saying about the environmental injustices they’re encountering. “Since 2021, Stellantis has violated state air quality standards eight times at its Detroit facilities for releasing more emissions than permitted, and strong odors that residents say negatively impacts their quality of life.” Source, Planet Detroit. We rode down Beniteau, past houses, some remodeled, some in need of repair, and along the wall that separates them from the factory. Further down Beniteau, the wall has been painted with murals meant to tell a story of industry and opportunity. Unfortunately, Danny and many of his neighbors haven’t felt the same glory that these walls attempt to depict. Instead they experience health problems from the particulate matter emissions from Stellantis, and a lack of funding for the actual needs of their community.
We ended our ride with Danny at the Beniteau Community Park, where the street intersects with Kercheval and where Stellantis has built a greenspace intended to enhance the neighborhood. In the middle of the park is a retention pond. It’s surrounded by a tall fence, various plants, and a gravel path. There’s a pavilion, bike racks, and other standard amenities, as well as some educational elements like bug houses and signage. Across the street was a school, whose students Danny said the park was partially intended for. We gathered around as he told us what he felt about a corporation’s intent at retribution for the community it polluted. He turned to the setting sun and said, “this is where we part ways,” before expressing his gratitude and wishing us the best as we continued on our own way.
Andy, Zach, Hanna and I circled the retention pond, noticing how it didn’t seem as inviting or natural as the greenspaces made by actual community members. We set off east on Kercheval towards our homes, riding slowly to create the space for sharing stories. Later, as we said goodbye to our friends and pedaled towards Jefferson, I had the time for deep reflection. While a few hours spent working for the greater good may not seem like much, the connections we make as we give our time away is what makes our communities stronger. We are members of the Detroit community and we are meant to be there for each other. Without each other we are lost. With connection we create avenues of opportunity — as bees carry pollen from flower to flower, our actions carry love into the lives of others. Remember to check in with your neighbors. We are in this world together.
It’s been 1 year since we started this journey. Together with our friends and neighbors, we’ve logged over a dozen hours working with each other. We’ve partnered with 11 different organizations and have met dozens of fellow Detroiters. We’ve learned from the wisdom of our elders, the experiences of our community leaders, and the strength of our neighbors. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for these opportunities, and for the hours we’ve spent enjoying each others’ company,
biking over 60 miles through our beloved (motor) city.
RWP #9 - Grow Hope
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #9
to maintain the growth of our community.
Music unites — it binds the separate parts of our souls together. Music forges connections in our lives. Our latest ride reminded me of this. The compassionate, vibrant individuals who attended Ride With Purpose #9 are in my life, for the most part, because of music. There was our trombonist buddy from Atlanta, whom we met through an activist music scene, and marched together against an authoritarian regime. My former bandmates from a popular local brass band, still igniting spontaneous joy with sound wherever they are found. A researcher from the Netherlands, in Detroit gathering stories about nature-based solutions to climate change for the Naturescapes Project, whom we met at our latest drum circle at Arboretum Detroit’s Circle Forest. And our OG RWP rider, Jo, who’s musings are always music to my ears.
We gathered on Wednesday, June 26th, at Trumbullplex, a BIPOC collective and micro-community in Woodbridge — a place where music has carried me away and held me dancing in the sky — a local venue to many Detroiters, though so much more. In the words of the collective: “Our goal is to combat the negative effects of gentrification in Detroit through creating perpetually affordable housing, and by providing accessible resources to locals and visitors, especially to support creativity, activism, education, and well-being. We accomplish this through a variety of projects, including our perpetually affordable housing collective, DIY gathering space, community greenspace, apothecary, and low-cost photography studio. We believe in curating a safe space with an emphasis on consent culture; we don’t tolerate any form of disrespect, violence or discrimination.”
For our 9th ride, we met at the Trumbullplex Community Green Space. It was a beautiful day. Blue wind pushed puffy clouds to the horizon. The sun reached through tall trees as we stood in the large, wooded lot next to the main house. Dense brush had been cut to clear more space for the community — a fire pit, treehouse, old bus, and workspace were all accessible. Alana, a member of the collective, came out to greet us, guiding us through the grounds, expounding on their goals while pointing out the areas around us. On the far side of the lot, they planned to grow a food garden. There the sun was strongest. Beneath a grove of twisting trees would be a place to relax in the grass on a bed of clover. It was shady and welcoming.
Alana took us on a tour around the buildings, pointing out edible and medicinal wild plants that we were encouraged to forage — stinging nettle, mother’s wort, burdock, mugwort, lemon balm, dandelion, apple mint and spearmint. They took us inside the main house to see their apothecary, where dried herbs were made into tinctures and teas. It smelled heavenly. Back outside, we got to work clearing debris from their project areas — small rocks and pieces of bricks from the sunny garden patch, and sticks from around the yard, sorted into piles in one corner, to be utilized later for a greater purpose — bits of wrappers and glass from their meditation spot, litter that had blown in from the street, or had been lost beneath the trees.
A painted wood sign at the entrance to the greenspace reads, “Green spaces in Detroit and cities around the world provide sanctuary for wildlife and community members where we can share fresh food and good times. When community gardens are destroyed by development, more than just the garden is lost. People lose the power to maintain green space in their neighborhood. Rapid urban development in Detroit puts community livelihood and sustainability at risk. The Trumbullplex maintains this green space as an act of resistance and a celebration of life.” These words rang through me as I dumped glass in a garbage bag. I felt an immense sense of gratitude to be involved in the growth of such a visionary community — to have a small part to play in a powerful place.
After filling a contractor bag with trash, receiving gifts of dried herbs and teas from Alana, and collecting our own greens, we chugged some water, then set out on our bike journey. One friend stayed behind and learned how to make tinctures, while the rest of us took a ride through the city. We rode south down Trumbull, took a jaunt west to the Southwest Greenway, headed east on the riverwalk, and rounded north on the Dequindre Cut before continuing west back to Trumbullplex — a ~7.5 mile loop with perfect weather and excellent company fueling our minds and bodies. From the greenspace we continued our night together, later laughing over beers in Corktown as we exchanged conversational tunes, our voices making music beneath a waning moon.
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“Gardens build community. Communities grow hope.”
Please follow Trumbullplex on IG or FB, and consider donating money or energy to their nonprofit. Attend an event there and be sure to remember, you are standing in a world of magic. Listen closely — you may hear the heartbeat of change growing louder as it rises through the roots of our collective power.
RWP #8 - Free Mumia!
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #8
is to celebrate Mumia Abu-Jamal's birthday.
On 4/24/24 we gathered in celebration of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s 70th birthday — our positivity a retaliation to the injustices faced by Mumia and other political prisoners daily. Mumia has been in prison over 42 years for a crime he didn’t commit — his health declining as he’s been incarcerated without proper medical care. The evidence proving his innocence is overwhelming, yet the state of Pennsylvania and the federal government refuse to acknowledge it. Last Wednesday we gathered, from French Guiana to Germany, live from London, Philadelphia, Mexico City, San Diego, and Detroit. Communities around the world organized events in solidarity with the movement to free Mumia, free Palestine, and free all political prisoners.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a world-renowned Black journalist, author of over a dozen books, an active radio commentator and an inspiration to freedom fighters everywhere. You may have heard his name dropped in late-90s hip hop, or heard his soul-quenching voice sampled in the early 2000s. You may have even seen one of many documentaries about him. His presence in popular culture is prevalent because his situation is one that far too many Black folks recognize. All the truths broadcasted, abusers unmasked, corruptions exposed by the passion and diligence of journalists and activists — this progress is what targets our revolutionaries, and sends many to prison.
For our 8th Ride With Purpose, we met at the Detroit River. Verbena of Detroit Jericho, a chapter of the National Jericho Movement, brought large protest signs with demands such as “Free Mumia” and “Free Our Elders” painted on them. Our neighbor, Nick, joined us as we photographed trees and buildings and anything colorful and interesting for Mumia to see from within his monotone prison cell. Our purpose was revolutionary joy — happiness as a form of resistance — finding beauty in our world to share with him, and maybe, for a moment, brighten his. We took a few group shots with Verbena’s signs, learned more about Mumia’s writings and commentaries, and about a petition calling on Pennsylvania to drop the charges against him. Then Andy, Nick, and I parted ways with Verbena as we took off east along the river.
The weather was kind to us — a bright sun, cool breeze, and even temperature made this ride especially pleasant. We rode the new section of the Detroit Riverwalk, from Mt Elliot to Gabriel Richard Park — a stretch of greenway wide enough for 6 lanes of pedestrian traffic. People were walking, running, riding, and fishing. Fresh pavement, unblemished except for splashes of fish blood. The river danced beside us, sparkling like a multifaceted gem. I snapped shots of the Ambassador bridge as we pedaled towards it, feeling like a tourist. Taking pictures of the neighborhood I’ve called home for over a decade was a new perspective for me — trying to capture the beauty that I viewed daily. Perspective became a poignant reflection, knowing that although I could share what I’d seen with Mumia, I could never see what he has seen. Simply, my white body protects me.
We turned away from the river and pedaled north up Grand Blvd, past dozens of large houses and nursing homes, riding easily along the smooth road, via a bike lane. Then we headed west to the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art installation utilizing entire houses, discarded items, and paint to enhance the two-block stretch of neighborhood it occupies. Yarn wrapped around the trunks of trees in colorful patterns. Clocks painted on boards, cracked mirrors, and on the sides of houses reading various times. “WHAT TIME” written next to one. Andy used a small “Free Mumia” sign in his photoshoot as I explored little corners of oddity and magic. As the sun laid its golden rays across the land, we saddled up and headed back to the river. From a hilltop, we watched the sun set behind the city, wondering, could Mumia see the sun from where he was sitting, locked behind bars in a US “correctional” facility?
Please do your homework, if you’re not in the know, and learn about the movement to free all political prisoners (and no, Jan 6th insurrectionists/racist nationalists aren’t in that category). It’s time to get on the good side of history! Check out the links below for more. Scroll down further to see the photos we took for Mumia. We’re sending a book of those photos to him in prison. Hopefully they’ll brighten this dark moment.
Take action for Mumia: bit.ly/mumia-action
Donate to Mumia's medical fund: bit.ly/mumia-fund
Sign this petition to drop the case against Mumia: https://www.change.org/p/d-a-larry-krasner-drop-the-case-against-mumia-abu-jamal
Watch this recording of the 4/24/24 “Birthday of Resistance Speak Out” in Philly (Mumia’s home town): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cadsHQ3mG94
“The demand for Mumia’s freedom is supported by heads of state and prominent politicians worldwide (France, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and elsewhere), Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, Desmond Tutu, the European and Japanese Parliaments, city governments from San Francisco to Detroit to Paris and its suburbs, distinguished human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, the Congressional Black Caucus and other members of the U.S. Congress, prominent civil rights groups such as the NAACP, numerous labor unions, and by scholars, religious leaders, artists, scientists and countless others who cherish democracy, human rights and justice.”
RWP #7 - Rekindling
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #7 is
to rekindle our love of nature.
The sky was overcast all day, though the clouds parted as we made our way to Circle Forest the evening of Wednesday, March 27th. Andy and I had been there a few nights before to host a musical get-together — a gathering of spirits and instruments, singing, strumming, and tapping next to burning wood, harmonizing beneath a full moon that dark clouds eventually revealed to us. I claim that our purpose for this ride was to rekindle our love of nature, though I’ve never fallen out of love. I’m always daydreaming of places I’ve seen, reminded by bird calls of the presence of tall trees hanging above me. Yet by spring, I feel the need to reconnect. To abandon the bite of winter that kept me huddled in my home, held up inside 10-stories high, until the sun started to peek through the cold.
Ride With Purpose #7 began in July, 2023, when we met at Circle Forest for our very first ride. And like the cycle of life we returned to our birthplace, to the land on Detroit’s eastside that’s being rehabilitated by a group of steadfast dendrophiles through their nonprofit, Arboretum Detroit. Andy and I rode our bikes from home, less than 4 miles southwest, and pulled up on the pebble paths of this land. Soon Birch, founder of the Arb, rode in, his bicycle bag hanging with the handle of an ax sticking upward, and a pitchfork strapped to the rack above his back tire. We had plenty of work to do. I grabbed a trash bag and began at the perimeter of the forest, scooping up litter that collects at curbs and tucked between bushes.
Birch began chopping wood for the next fire. Then he and Andy set to work wheeling barrows of wood chips to a new path being guided between Palmer and Ferry. It was chilly, though the sun shone brightly. And birds were in full chorus, perched on naked branches. A neighbor and his dog came strutting along from around the block. We waved and greeted each other, then they kept walking along a path that runs through the forest. Andy and Birch returned for another load. My trash bag was getting heavier. Another neighbor soon appeared, gently pushing a stroller with his child tucked comfortably inside, peering up to the sky, or to birds, or to treetops. He stopped to chat with Birch before continuing on a stroll through the woods.
As I collected garbage, my eyes focused on plants being revived by warmer days: The leaves of cone flowers, long and slender. Patches of clover. Soft, fern-like yarrow, rising towards the light. Redbud trees displaying their characteristic red buds, waiting to sprout leaves. Spiny shrubs (junipers, maybe?) and other plants ready to show their colors. My trash bag was nearly full now. I’d made my way across a third of the space and along the roads that surrounded that side, to dumpsters sitting between the forest and the physical rehab home adjacent. Birch walked up, pulling me from my obsession with every little piece of plastic I could spot. “Baby’s got her first cones!” he said as he reached for a pinecone growing from a 10-foot evergreen. I imagined that tree being as tall as the building nearby one day. And Birch, still marveling at her growth.
I hadn’t even noticed that a whole hour had gone by. I was called back to the center of the forest where Andy stood chatting with Nick, our riverfront neighbor and fellow rider. A Circle Forest neighbor walked along Palmer. Birch called out to her, “Becky, take the new path!” and pointed to the freshly laid wood chips across the street, a way for her to travel between trees. She obliged happily. Kinga, Birch’s partner and the Arb’s co-founder, rode up. We hugged as I thanked her for singing in her native language around the fire, 2 nights prior. As a group, we took in a few more deep breaths fueled by oxygen-producing beings, then we were off to the road, peddling briskly. The 5 of us, riding towards the low spring sun, headed west on Palmer to Dubois, then south.
We passed our buddy, Robyn, an Arboretum Detroit employee, friend of the forest, and a musical legend around the fire. She sat on her front steps and waved to us as we passed, southbound to the river. We continued along Dubois until we turned west again to the Dequindre Cut Greenway. Southbound, the Cut slopes slightly downhill towards the river. With the wind at our backs, the ride along it was swift and easy. Kinga and I rode side-by-side, chatting about our lives. Nick and Andy were doing the same ahead of us. And Birch was too far ahead to see. When we got to the river, we started east towards the lighthouse, then realized we needed to make it to the top of the hill for sunset, and turned back west.
In pairs, Nick, Andy, Kinga, and I slowly climbed the paved incline that was carved into the hill on the riverfront. A few small trees that had been planted during its remodeling were taller this year than last. Perched in one of the trees was a large bird of prey — a peregrine falcon, we decided, with a bright yellow beak and feet, and sleek gray wings. She stared at us as we passed quietly, stunned by her beauty. She only lifted off when we were within a few feet. Kinga and I exchanged expressions of enhancement as we watched her diving along the Earth and riding the wind towards the city. Our eyes then turned to the top of the hill, where Birch stood gazing at the horizon. We all gathered there, smiling ear-to-ear, as amber light filled the air and the pinks, oranges, and purples of the setting sun made us pause and stand still.
This is what Andy and I meant by our theme of rekindling. While the Detroit River and the land along it are so close to home, we can see them — it may take a state of wonder to fully connect with them. And that wonder can be found at any moment. From the buds that seemingly appear overnight on branches in spring — to exploring a new path on route to a frequent destination — our bonds with Earth can easily be revived by the attention we give to her. I sit inside now, eyes focused on a laptop screen, though my mind is off wandering to that urban forest less than 4 miles away. I can picture the trees there, growing taller and wider, towering higher, and the plantlife thicker, rooted to a body of soil that’s held so much change. I’m immensely grateful for this legacy, what Birch and Kinga give to their community. And look forward to being a part of that growth.
Till next time, Riders, remember to stop and smell the flowers. And for those of you who love trees and music (which is everyone, right?) check out upcoming Arboretum Detroit events on their calendar. There’s a weekly park maintenance day every Friday, our next Circle Forest Jam on Sunday, April 21st, an Earth Day tree planting, and a day that you can help plant Giant Sequoia saplings in their nursery! How fortunate we are to have these opportunities to nurture positive change in our communities. :)
RWP #6 - Free All Political Prisoners
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #6 is to remind
incarcerated freedom fighters that they are not alone.
Andy and I (LB) started Ride With Purpose so that we could combine our love of being active outside with our efforts as activists. We’re involved with organizations and movements that exist to challenge the systems of oppression here in the US — places that create spaces of healing and hope in this otherwise distressed world we live in. Waking up to a sky filled with the haze of pollution, to news filled with death and destruction, and to calls from our neighbors struggling to survive — waking up to witness the pain of existence is depressing. But we have each other, our love and our loved ones — we have our health, our home, and our adorable fur fam motivating us to keep fighting for a better, more just world. For this reason, this little taste of perseverance, we wanted to reflect on and learn about the plight of Political Prisoners.
For our first Ride With Purpose of the year (or should I say “Walk With Purpose”) we teamed up with Verbena of Detroit Jericho, a local chapter of the National Jericho Movement. Verbena educated us on what it means to be a Political Prisoner here in the US. A Political Prisoner is “a person captured due to their involvement in domestic liberation struggles, or for their actions against capitalist structures as members of social and progressive organizations.” Individuals who were Political Prisoners that you’re likely familiar with are Angela Davis, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Gandhi. These were individuals arrested and/or imprisoned for their efforts to defend and liberate others. They were seen — by governments, law enforcers, and institutions — as threats to society.
On Wednesday, February 28th, Andy and I met Verbena at the Bagley entrance to the Southwest Greenway. Nearby is a heated public space inside the Bagley Mobility Hub, equipped with tables, chairs, and outlets. Verbena brought reading materials about the Political Prisoners that Detroit Jericho is campaigning for, and a box of books written by and about some of them. Our friend Kayla soon joined in. Although no one else answered the call to attend our 6th RWP, the 4 of us were filled with the wisdom and conversation (and snacks) shared that evening. We learned about our incarcerated elders who are being denied proper medical care. We learned about their perseverance despite the horrors of prison — the work they continue behind bars — the countless writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal and his commentaries on Prison Radio — the artwork of Kevin “Rashid” Johnson and his hunger strike against inhumane treatment.
We were given advice on how to write to prisoners, something that Andy and I had never done before. As the 4 of us sat around a table — papers spread before us and conversation spanning years of injustices the US — my eyes were drawn to the banner that Verbena had attached to a table she brings to events. The faces of 28 Political Prisoners, motionless and slightly blurry, as seen from a distance, near but out of reach. One of those faces reached out to me. A picture of Veronza Bowers Jr. showed him with his eyes closed, long dreads draped over his shoulders, a wooden flute held to his mouth, fingers spread in motion. I could almost hear the soothing notes of the flute he was playing when the picture was taken. Understanding the feeling of playing an indigenous instrument — how air passes through the lips and forms a tone under the pressure of fingertips — knowing that feeling helped me connect to him. So I began writing. I wrote to him about the flute that I carried on my journeys, about the lessons she taught and the worlds she opened up for me. I reached back.
Listen to Veronza playing the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese flute, from prison: Finding Peace in the Chaos
After our time spent learning and writing, we gathered our belongings and set out on a walk along the greenway. The wind was vicious and our minds were fueled with a mixture of anger and admiration — anger spurred by the injustices of a white supremacist, capitalist country — admiration for the people who’ve fought back against it. We walked to the Detroit River and then back to Bagley. The wind carried us home that night — Andy and I back to our bikes — Kayla and Verbena to their cars and the rest of their nights. On our way home beside the river, led swiftly by wind, Andy and I stopped at a mailbox and dropped our letters within. We released them into the darkness of a metal box, hoping to connect to our elders — individuals with more wisdom than we could know — and remind them that they are not alone.
Email detroitjericho98@gmail.com to join their mailing list and get updates about Political Prisoners and their situations, calls to action, and invites to events such as Freedom Words, an event which provides space to share info on Political Prisoners and organize for their release, learn about the interconnectedness of struggle, break bread and talk with each other, or for individuals to read quietly and write letters. As Verbena says, “Reading the words of political prisoners and corresponding with them are acts of liberation. We must not forget our imprisoned freedom fighters and truth-tellers.” We must look beyond the mainstream media’s portrayal of prisoners and understand the complexities of their experiences. We need to understand how the law is stacked against them. We should learn about the people who fought for our freedom and the freedom of others, and understand the need to Free All Political Prisoners.
RWP #5 - Spread Love
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #5 is to share our love
and gratitude with the Earth, each other, and our elders.
Our first year of Ride With Purpose spanned 3 seasons. We rode over 50 miles, logged over 7 volunteer hours, and connected 15 individuals to each other and to local nonprofits for continued involvement. We started our journey in July 2023, gathering at Arboretum Detroit’s Circle Forest project where we picked up litter around the forest and along the streets surrounding it. We met a representative from Eastside Community Network who told us about the nonprofit’s work with climate resiliency and we heard from one of the founders of Arboretum Detroit about their efforts to reforest vacant land for the betterment of the environment and their community. Then we set out on our first community bike ride, heading south to the Detroit River.
In August, we collaborated with Keep Growing Detroit to visit a community garden project. We met at Sonny Acres in the Morningside neighborhood, where we built raised beds for a sensory garden that will one day be built for children and elders. In September, we partnered with KGD again and met at Emerald Gardens Morningside, where we weeded a butterfly garden and met the family who created the garden for their community, with the help of their neighbors. In October, we took the lead from a friend, and RWP Rider, on her quest to map the city’s buried waterways. Before embarking on a journey to map the invisible half of Fox Creek, we met at its mouth, where we picked up litter and collected trash around Mariner Park. The trash we later used to create maps of the area with the intent of reimagining our relationship to land and place.
In November, we reconnected with Kim Williams, owner of Sonny Acres Farm and the Food Service Director of Trio Community Meals, which partners with Detroit Area Agency on Aging to provide meals to Detroit seniors. She had her plate full preparing and cooking over 4,000 holiday meals! While she was well-equipped to handle this endeavor with her hardworking staff, and with volunteers from the DAAA arriving the next morning, we wanted to help the night before, in any way we could. We were tasked with preparing bags of cold food items that would be delivered with the meals. Unfortunately, due to last minute delays in the delivery of the products we needed, we had to pivot and shift our focus to giving another way. We chose to write notes of peace, love, and gratitude for the elders of our community.
We gathered on Wednesday, 11/22, with 3 friends at the entrance to the Southwest Greenway on Bagley. There, on the first floor of a large parking structure, is a public space that is heated, well-lit, and supplied with tables and chairs. Andy and I brought art supplies: paper, pens, stickers and scissors. Our friends parked nearby and joined us in the space, bringing warm hugs, large smiles, and the love they had to share. We spent the next few hours writing kind phrases, drawing cute doodles, and scribing words of gratitude. I selected pieces of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, a set of Greetings to the Natural World*.
After creating a few hundred love notes, we bundled up and took a walk together along the Southwest Greenway, to Roosevelt Park and back to Bagley. Our wandering was washed with laughter and conversation, the relating of old memories and new experiences. At the park, the 5 of us piled high on a large swing, giggling as we swung back and forth towards the night sky, the soft light of buildings filling our eyes. Thank you to Jo, Liv, and Kayla for joining us that evening - for spreading your love through words, both on and off page - for feeding the soul with the compassion you bring everywhere you go. A big thank you to Kim for the opportunity to connect with our elders and for all the work that she does for others on a daily basis. We love you!
As we bring the first year of Ride With Purpose to a close, I’d like to acknowledge the people who’ve made this journey possible. Our purpose has always been to connect our love of biking the city with our love of the community, combining volunteer opportunities with group bike rides. We could only do this with the help of the individuals and nonprofit organizations that partnered with us at each event. And the people who join us every time make it a success. Without your participation, it’d just be Andy and I doing what we normally do. But with you, we are able to establish greater connections with each other and our communities. Please donate to or volunteer with one of these nonprofits that made Ride With Purpose possible this year.
Arboretum Detroit
Detroit Area Agency on Aging
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Eastside Community Network
Keep Growing Detroit
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Riverwise Detroit
*“The Thanksgiving Address (or “Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen”) is the central prayer and invocation for the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora). It reflects their relationship of giving thanks for life and the world around them. The Haudenosaunee open and close every social and religious meeting with the Thanksgiving Address.” (Dance for All People). It is important to note that indigenous communities give thanks as a daily practice. Annual observances of the traditional US holiday known as Thanksgiving tend to appropriate and neglect the indigenous knowledge and practices that have been common in the Americas for centuries before the arrival of colonists. Common Thanksgiving traditions ignore the history of violence inflicted upon indigenous communities by white settlers, perpetuating the cycle of harm against native people. This is why Andy and I do not celebrate Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November. Instead, we try to express gratitude for the land and the beings who inhabit it on a daily basis.
Please consider ditching old traditions for new wisdom!
RWP #4 - Buried Creeks
Our purpose for Ride With Purpose #4 is to connect with water
by following the course of one of Detroit’s old waterways.
There’s no denying that humans transform the natural landscape. We dig, build, and shape our environments into places that conform to our abundant needs. We drain water and bury waterways to create more land for development, often causing long-term environmental issues such as flooding. Detroit’s eastside is no stranger to this. Flood-prone neighborhoods on the eastside may attribute their challenges to crumbling infrastructure, though understanding how land, and the water that runs through it, was altered may expand the source of our problems to decades of modification - changes that have pushed us to the ledge we teeter on today.
Ride With Purpose #4 sought to explore the altering of Detroit’s old waterways by following the course of Fox Creek. This ride was in partnership with and inspired by Jo Coutts. Jo has been traversing city streets, greenways, and neighborhoods through the lens of water. She examines historical maps and uses GPS to trace the path of buried creeks by bike. Her project, “Mapping Detroit’s Buried Waterways”, combines her skills as an artist, cartographer, and activist. We met on Wednesday, October 25th, at Mariner Park to learn from Jo, and from each other, about the complex life of flowing water.
The chill of fall could not stop 9 individuals from bundling up and meeting at the mouth of Fox Creek, at the place where it meets the Detroit River. Jo, Andy, and I were there as hosts. Four local residents joined us. As did Arena with the Eastside Community Network, and a friend of Jo’s. We introduced ourselves, then heard about Jo’s project and the purpose for our ride and volunteer effort. Our goal was to help maintain Mariner Park by picking up litter strewn around it, near the river and the mouth of the creek, and in the trees nearby. We were instructed to save pieces of litter that could be used for a “trash map” making art project later in the week.
Five large bags of trash later, we re-grouped waterside and talked about our ride. Our route would be determined as we rode. We’d use an app called Gaia to trace the old path of Fox Creek away from the river. We’d follow the creek and one of its tributaries to an end, then return to the park. While leading a group of people without a planned route frightened me, I leaned into the unknown and started pedaling. We turned on our headlamps and bike lights, then rode through grass along the edge of the creek. As the sun set and the trees cast shadows on the road, I tried to picture the land before it had been modified. I would later research its history.
Fox Creek was named in the early 1700s after the French massacred hundreds of Native Americans there, where the creek flowed into the river. Many of the Native people were from the Meskwaki Tribe, whom Europeans referred to as Fox Indians. The Meskwaki, along with Mascoutin and other tribes, had besieged Fort Pontchartrain, Detroit, in an effort to preserve their homelands. They were killed or forced westward. Once Europeans had control of the land, it began its journey to the place we recognize today. In the mid-1800s, the Grand Marais (Great Swamp) to the east of the creek was drained to create more land area for what we now call Grosse Pointe Park. Then in the late-1800s, Fox Creek was dug wider into a canal that could support boats traveling inland.
We rode north on Alter Rd, the Fox Creek Canal beside us, the dim light of houses surrounding us. Many of the houses with direct access to the creek had boats pulled next to them, or garages which opened into the water for their boats to pull inside. Bridges over the creek allowed traffic to cross from the neighborhoods on Alter’s west and east. To the east, into Grosse Pointe Park, houses seemed to grow into mansions. To the west, modest homes along the creek battled floods with the construction of seawalls. We continued, stopping at Jefferson Ave where the creek disappears beneath the street into a sewer system which runs below the city. Gates were built there, at the base of Ashland St, to manage the flow of water into and out of the sewer. We crossed Jefferson and began to follow the invisible, the ghost of a creek that once flowed from further north and east.
If we could have traveled along St Paul St, we would have been closer to this buried waterway, though to the east of Alter Rd, residential streets are barricaded with wooden walls. This we recognize as one of the widest gaps of wealth in the country, the income and property values on the east and west sides of Alter Rd. The walls were built by residents to the east to keep their poorer neighbors off “their” streets - an appalling controversy. We continued on Alter to Kercheval, where the blockade was removed so that Detroit traffic could access the city of Grosse Pointe Park, more so that residents there could more easily access Detroit. We reconvened at the corner of a quaint GPP city street to check how close we were to the old creek.
The creek was to the south, running parallel to Kercheval. Further east, it curved north. We followed, taking side streets until we were able to cross I-94. There, Fox Creek split and curved back towards us as a tributary. We chose another side street to follow to Denby High School, where a mural of boats and sea creatures reminded us of the presence of water. As we continued northwest, a light rain pat our heads. I looked up at the dark sky, turned gray by city lights, and felt the water slide across my mind. Ahead, the bike tires of my newfound neighbors created small wakes in puddles, splashes in the shadows. A deer darted across someone’s lawn. Members of our group excitedly pointed her out to each other. After another mile, we landed at an intersection in the Mapleridge neighborhood of Detroit.
“Here it is,” exclaimed Jo, “the end of the creek.” A dog barked at us from a nearby backyard. Rain fell heavier. We released a collective sigh. A 7-mile bike ride into the unknown and the known, the hidden and the visible - what we were familiar with and could see, in search of what once was and what now lies beneath concrete. We headed home. Our eastside neighbors split from the group at various places, goodbyes drifting with their fading voices. A few of us rode back to our starting point, to the site where Meskwaki warriors lost their lives - to the precipice of development, for better and for worse. Back at the park, our faces were illuminated by streetlights and emotion. My heart felt like it was on fire - energized by the spirit of others and charred by the combustion of change. Andy and I rode home - our passion stoking the flame of hope we had for a better world.
Thanks to everyone that joined us on our adventure!
Here in Detroit, we are guided by water.
Let’s continue to listen to their wisdom.
A special thank you to Jo for helping me see my home more fully.
My bike rides through the city will forever be in memory of land before streets.
RWP #3 - The Harvest
Our purpose for RWP #3 is to celebrate the harvest
- the gifts of food security, wellbeing, and community that land provides.
At times, nature seems to place obstacles in your path. The gloomy skies on Wednesday, September 27th, hindered our motivation for Ride With Purpose #3. We watched the weather, wondering if a storm would force us to cancel the event. We handled responses from friends who couldn’t attend for various reasons, smiling in the face of worry. When the end of our work days came, we mustered all the energy we could summon to encourage ourselves and our remaining rider, Olivia, to pull out our bikes and hit the road.
We rode east on Jefferson from our meeting place, near the end of the Dequindre Cut. Light drops of water splashed against our skin as the sky began to open. Our pace was swift, hoping we’d beat the deluge to our destination - Emerald Gardens MorningSide, a community garden in the Morningside neighborhood of Detroit. Northwest on the Conner Creek Greenway we headed, dodging curbside floods. I laughed as cars sent waves of water before us - our group somehow missed them by zig-zagging back and forth.
We followed a bike lane east on Warren to Haverhill St. The rain let up as we ended our 7.5 mile ride at the corner of Haverhill and Cornwall. A large greenhouse filled the lot at one corner of the intersection, surrounded by rows of various vegetables. Across from Cornwall was a square of land filled with a garden of native plants. A wood chip path led to a circle in the middle of the garden, then back out towards a small shelter covered with a mural of colorful flowers. We walked our bikes to the back of the lot just as Gary Gray pulled up in his truck.
Gary is Chief of Staff for his district’s City Council Member and is an advocate for his community. He wore his professional attire, pleased as he walked over to greet us, hand outstretched and a warm smile on his face. He hadn’t been expecting us so soon (we arrived before our usual meeting time), though told us he’d be back to help after changing his clothes. Pointing to tufts of thistle that dotted the garden path, he explained what we’d be weeding and handed us pairs of rubber work gloves. Andy, Olivia, and I got to it, kneeling to pull the spiky plants at the roots, and tossing them into a pile to be stuffed into lawn waste bags.
From the base of the thistle plants we pulled, emerged docile bees. They crawled from the roots and waddled across wood chips away from us. Perhaps they were taking shelter, in the heat of the Earth, from the recent cold spell we had? Or maybe they found something to thrive on beneath those tricky plants. I recalled reading of thistle as a source of indigenous medicine, and wondered how someone could consume such a prickly plant. Gary returned with a cooler of beverages. We each cracked open a sweet drink and grinned at our progress. A mound of thistle was piled in the middle of the circle at the center of the garden.
Our last ride had been a few blocks away at another community garden. I reached out to our friend there, Kim of Sonny Acres Farm, and within minutes, she was pulling up along the road. She appeared at the edge of the garden, bursting with her signature positivity, arms stretched wide for a hug. I hopped over to receive her loving energy. Gary greeted her kindly and introduced himself. The neighbors laughed at their chance encounter and exchanged contact info, excited for the local connection of shared interests. Then the sky opened back up. This time with a flood of rain.
Kim waved goodbye and dipped back into her truck, off to continue her work day. Gary pointed to the greenhouse across the street for cover. We gathered our things and rushed inside. Lucky for us, there was plenty more weeding to do there. Even better, food supplies were dropped off by Gary’s wife - hotdogs and hamburgers for both vegans and meat-eaters. Gary fired up his grill as we started pulling thistle and bindweed from the dirt floor. He then joined us in the dirt as his daughter and son arrived to manage dinner.
Jessica from Keep Growing Detroit arrived to help us finish the rest of the weeding effort in the greenhouse. The covered dirt was now clear and prime for planting. And our bellies were ready for filling. We gathered near a table at one end of the greenhouse and filled plates with as much as we could eat. Delicious garden tomatoes, harvested from the land on which we stood, topped each of our tasty meals. The time that we put into tending the Earth was rewarded by a harvest of hospitality - our bodies and minds satiated by the sustenance of food and conversation.
As the rain slowed, we said our goodbyes and hit the road for a fast-paced ride back home. We took Haverhill to Jefferson and Jefferson back to our meeting spot, close to home. A flat tire and another deluge slowed us down a bit, but nothing could overpower the comfort that we were feeling within - an abundance of community that enlivened our spirits. When Andy and I returned home, drenched, we felt that, whatever nature had sent our way that day, we did our best to receive her offerings with gratitude. While it may be stressful to commit to a purpose, and be pushed outside your comfort zone - persistence will always prove fruitful when you cherish what the world has to offer.
Many thanks to Olivia for sticking with us - for reaching into the Earth, and pulling out love.
RWP #2 - Cultivating Wellness
Our purpose for RWP #2 is to celebrate our relationships with nature,
be it cultivating land for urban agriculture or enjoying the outdoors through recreation.
Our second Ride With Purpose community bike ride was tucked between thunderstorms - rain and lightning lapsing from the time Andy and I left our apartment to the moment we returned. We followed the weather stringently that day, knowing we’d have to postpone or cancel if thunder remained. Fortunately for our plans, fair weather persisted. We rode east to Sonny Acres Farm, where we were to meet with Romondo Woods, the Garden Development Coordinator at Keep Growing Detroit - a nonprofit which grows produce in Detroit and provides garden resources to community members. Romondo had found a community garden for us to volunteer at. While we didn’t know fully what to expect, we felt prepared after reading KGD's group volunteer guide and were excited to get our hands dirty.
Andy and I arrived at our destination around 6PM - a large grassy field where the beginnings of a community garden were taking place. Romondo greeted us with a hearty laugh. Kim Williams, the owner of the land, reached out for hugs. We learned about her plans for the space - about her desire to create a “sensory garden” for her 3 autistic grandchildren - a place for all her loved ones to relate with the Earth and experience the power of homegrown nutrition. We also learned that Kim is incredibly active, raising her children and many grandchildren, volunteering in her community, and working as the Food Service Director for Trio Community Meals - an organization which “provides meals to homebound seniors in the cities of Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, and all 5 of the Grosse Pointes”. She explained that her community garden will include resources for these seniors as well, describing her vision for a place of solace and wellness.
As another rider arrived, we unloaded supplies from Romondo’s truck - shovels, wheelbarrows, wood, and screws. The wheelbarrows were wheeled over to a mound of dirt at the end of the driveway. The shovels laid down nearby. The wood and screws were organized on the driveway for the 3 raised beds we would make. We took a brief break to experience Kim’s commitment to feeding others with a tray of snacks she brought out, accompanied by a bucket of cold water bottles. Introductions were exchanged as we pulled work gloves over our hands. Then the work began! Kim and I laid cardboard over the areas the raised beds would be installed. This helps compost the soil, creating a bed for fresh dirt to eventually blend with. Andy and another rider, Jo, drilled boards together, creating the base of a bed. Romondo provided guidance and assisted with a helping hand, when needed.
Soon we had our first bed constructed! Another rider, Nick, arrived and assisted with installing it. We roughly measured where the four leg posts of the bed would sit and dug holes there with shovels. Once settled, wheelbarrows full of dirt were wheeled over and the dirt was spread evenly inside the bed. Kim and I started on the next one, both nervous about using a new drill, yet feeling strong once we mastered it. Two more beds were constructed and installed by our crew. While we worked, we got to know each other a bit, chatting about our experiences and shared interests. Laughter was always present, especially from Romondo, who we learned is the founder of Urban Youth Agriculture - a small business that develops “school and home gardens throughout the metro Detroit area” as well as “agriculturally based lessons and activities for local schools, youth summer camps, and afterschool programs”. Shortly after 7PM we were standing around 3 dirt-filled raised beds on Kim’s property, thrilled with our achievement, minds wandering with the thoughts of plants that would soon grow there.
Next we gathered our bikes. Kim and her son, Steven, pulled there’s outside. We checked tire pressure and discussed our route. Romondo joked about being left out. If only we had an extra bike! We posed for group pics in front of the raised beds, then saddled up and hit the road, waving to Romondo as we peddled away towards Mack Ave. We took Mack to Conner and the Conner Creek Greenway to the Detroit River. Steven, our youngest participant, rode ahead, circling back to confirm the next turn. Kim, Jo, and I brought up the rear, happy to take our time. Andy and Nick kept a steady pace at the front. The two-lane greenway was a pleasant ride with few obstacles. We crossed Jefferson Ave and stuck to the bike path, where the greenway split to both sides of the road. Soon, we reached Maheras-Gentry Park and followed a bike path through grass and around playscapes and fields.
At the end of the park is Habitat Island, an area of land formed by humans to shelter a fishing pond from the swift Detroit River. We dismounted our bikes and walked them across a bridge to the island. The path was overgrown with wildflowers - coneflowers, cornflowers, daisies, black-eyed susans, and queen anne’s lace, to name a few. We marveled at the view across the water to Belle Isle and Canada, a scene framed by the plant life that surrounded us. Another 10 feet and we arrived at the next bridge. We stood there for a moment, feeling the breeze and resting our legs, then returned to the mainland and peddled back the way we came.
Twilight marked the path on our return trip to Sonny Acres Farm. Lightning flashed in the distance. Spirits were high as we buzzed with the energy of activity and new connections. We discussed plans for the future, for continued involvement in each other’s lives. By the time we returned, 9 miles later, our hearts were stronger than before. We gained experience, friendships, and ideas for our next adventures. Kim thanked us again for helping to start her garden project. We gazed out at the yard, seeing the magic that’d spark growth in her loved ones and community. More hugs were exchanged and we said our goodbyes under a darkening sky. Then Andy, our neighbor Nick, and I rode off to race the storm back home - fueled by the cultivation of wellness and growth on the Eastside.
RWP #1 - Environmental Justice
Our purpose for RWP #1 was to bring awareness to environmental hazards in Detroit
and how Detroiters are resisting with resilient efforts to revive a healthy planet.
Our first Ride With Purpose community bike ride was graced with clear skies and a warm summer breeze on the evening of Wednesday, July 19th, 2023. Around half a dozen participants met at Circle Forest (3301 E Palmer St, Detroit) where we were greeted by Kinga Osz-Kemp, one of the founders of Arboretum Detroit, a nonprofit in the Poletown East neighborhood specializing in reforestation of urban landscapes. Kinga introduced us to their native habitat restoration project on land once vacant, now flourishing with meadow grasses, paper birch trees, and other native plant species, many of which are marked with name signs written in both English and Ojibwe (acknowledging the Anishinaabe tribes who lived on the land before it was colonized). We learned about the goal to connect the forest to other green spaces in the neighborhood, and of the weeding and various community-driven tasks required to maintain a native habitat in an urban area.
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Arena Johnson, the Equitable Mobility Coordinator with the Eastside Community Network joined the group as we dispersed to collect the litter that lands on the edges and in the tall grasses of Circle Forest. As we searched for garbage to discard and acquainted ourselves with the space, bird song rose louder than breath and the sound of car engines revving in the distance. Individuals found peace among the trees, marveled at mushrooms forming on nutrient-rich logs, and stopped to admire the mulberry-stained path of an ADA-compliant boardwalk installed through part of the forest. After filling a large trash bag, we gathered around the fire pit that marked the junction of trails meandering softly across the land. Arena spoke about the work that the Eastside Community Network is doing for climate resiliency - providing a place of reprieve at the Stoudamire Wellness Hub for residents to temporarily escape the impacts of heatwaves and poor air quality, and offering classes focused on well-being and community-building. She told us about their latest community bike ride along the partially completed Conner Creek Greenway and about the next Eastside Climate Advisory Group meeting - a virtual opportunity for eastside residents to discuss climate equity with city officials and technical experts each month.
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​Soon Tatiana Pastor and Rob Pelkey from Wheelhouse Detroit joined the group to serve as “sweepers” - experienced bikers who’d ensure that no one was left behind by a flat tire or dropped chain. The first Ride With Purpose group then saddled up and hit the road, heading SW on E Palmer to St Aubin. We grimaced as we passed polluting industries like US Ecology and Vescoe Oil, corporations who’ve shown residents that, in true capitalist fashion, “profit is greater than the health of the people who make industry profitable”. Continuing down a street with pavement battered by heavy truck traffic, we rode towards the Dequindre Cut Greenway, where we enjoyed a smooth path, green grass, vibrant murals, and a colorful sunset overhead. A mile down the Cut we gently squeezed through a crowd that had formed for the Black Bottom Jazz series at Campbell Terrace, then got to know each other as we rode in pairs along the spacious trail. In our group I was pleased to meet my Italian neighbor, a musician from Dearborn, and an artistic cartographer who told me about her ongoing project to map the city’s creek beds. At the end of the greenway, we headed NE on Atwater to Valade Park, where we stopped for a restroom break and to rest our legs.
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Next we headed NW on the Joseph Campau Greenway, a newer path surrounded by residences, trees, and playscapes. Children ran and rode scooters beside us as we took in the fresh scent of grass clippings and flowers blooming. We turned on bike lights as daylight faded into twilight and turned left on Vernor highway, the (current) end of the greenway. We took a right on Chene and crossed Gratiot, our busiest intersection. Businesses faded to open spaces as we continued NW on Chene, through an area on the outskirts of Paradise Valley. Past one of Michigan’s oldest blues bars, we turned right on Frederick, continuing NE until passing Arboretum Detroit’s Treetoit 1 and Field Temple projects at Elmwood Ave. A satellite view of this area will reveal labyrinthian shapes and spirals, earthworks sheltered by new growth forest. Exploring from such a vantage point further solidifies the perspective I’ve had riding through here over the years - the land is reawakening - is being fed by seeds and shovels and rain once again.
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We turned left on Moran. I stopped and walked my bike along the Oxygen Alley trail, another Arb Detroit creation, then sped to the group, taking a breath to catch the scent of meadow and wildflowers at Callahan Park. Together we turned left onto E Palmer and were back at Circle Forest. Light lingered on the horizon. Breeze settled in the trees. Our first Ride With Purpose was complete. A group of five people remained, smiling brightly in the night, bidding farewell to the forest, to the experience and to each other as we rode away our perspective ways into the hopeful dark. As my partner, our neighbor, and I rode home, a small sense of accomplishment remained with me knowing we helped maintain a sacred space. My body pulsed, alive with the resilient energy that is strung across the Eastside, from my neighborhood and the others that surround me, to every community in our beautiful city. Thank you to each righteous being that shared this journey with me!