From the Community Cycling Center:

The Community Cycling Center is excited to announce the debut of the “I ride” campaign, a celebration of all who ride bicycles in our community, made possible through a grant from Kaiser Permanente’s Special Initiative Fund. The campaign features many of Community Cycling Center’s program participants who are champions and role models that have been working hard to promote bicycling in their neighborhoods. The “I ride” campaign will be displayed on bus benches located at 15 intersections in north and northeast Portland from May to October.

To broaden access to bicycling and its benefits, change must be initiated on multiple levels. Through campaigns like “I ride”, the Community Cycling Center is working to raise awareness and to affect individual behavior choices. Health behavior research shows that the more people see individuals like themselves engaging in healthy activities, the more likely they are to try and adopt those behaviors

The “I ride” campaign will be placed in the neighborhoods around Hacienda CDC and New Columbia where the Community Cycling Center has been working with residents and families for the past two years. The prominent visibility of the bus benches will allow people on foot, bike, bus, and car to view the campaign.

Since 2009, the Community Cycling Center has partnered with Hacienda and New Columbia to bring relevant bicycle programs to their communities that help them overcome barriers to bicycling. To date, the Community Cycling Center has provided people and families in these two communities with 262 bicycles, helmets and safety education through their Create a Commuter, Bike Club and Bikes for Kids programs.

“We want to help change perceptions about who is riding bicycles and encourage more people to ride,” noted Alison Hill Graves, Executive Director of the Community Cycling Center. “Our ‘I ride’ campaign slogan ‘Bikes take you places’ leaves it open for people to imagine where they want to go – whether it’s riding to school or getting healthier.”
The Equity Gap Analysis performed by Portland State University as part of the Portland Bicycle Master Plan update for 2030 shows how the bikeway network is weakest where the highest percentages of communities of color reside. Community Cycling Center continues to push for more equitable investments for programs and infrastructure to benefit underserved communities, so that people of all backgrounds have access to safe and healthy transportation choices.

Join the Community Cycling Center on June 16th from 5:30-8:00pm for a bike ride tour of all the “I ride” bus benches. The ride will start at the Community Cycling Center shop at 1700 NE Alberta and will make a 10 mile loop through north and northeast Portland, finishing at the St. Johns Bridge. Please bring your helmets, lights and water for the ride.