These Milwaukee bike rides, like the Dashiki Bike Ride, aim to foster Black pride, sense of community

When Julie Taylor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year, she wanted to find something to do to keep active.

She found that in the slew of community bike rides held throughout the city. And on one sunny Saturday morning, Taylor donned a colorful dashiki to take part in the annual Dashiki Bike Ride put on by Red Bike and Green Milwaukee . Taylor, who lives in Wauwatosa, was new to biking and gave it a try.

“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “Bike riding is fun when you are alone. But it is a lot of fun when you are in a group, and it made me want to go more and more.”

The dashiki ride is one of nearly 60 community bike rides sponsored by different community groups held throughout the city but compiled into a master bike ride calendar by Soul Roll MKE .

The rides share a common goal — getting more people to bike the city. But for Soul Roll MKE’s organizers, the rides aim to increase opportunities for Black people to ride while fostering a sense of community.

Milwaukee is fortunate to have several community bike rides. There’s the Santa Rampage in December, the World the Naked Bike Ride and the Riverwest 24. But Ammar Nsoroma, one of the organizers of Soul Roll MKE, said many of these themed rides have few people who look like him.

“We might be a few black buttons on a white shirt, and we may or may not feel welcome,” said Nsoroma, also founder of Red Bike and Green Milwaukee. “But we have rides that are particularly tailored to us.”

Nsoroma has been putting on community bike expeditions for years through the group. Many of the rides are themed around Black history, supporting Black businesses, exploring Black-led community gardens or participating in the Juneteenth Parade. The dashiki ride — in its ninth year — promotes Black pride and pan-Africanism.

The rides are open to anyone but having a safe space for Blacks to ride encourages more participation, Nsoroma said.

“We are not excluding non-people of color," he said, "but we are trying to provide a space where we are welcomed, and we feel comfortable and where we can be ourselves.”

Often, he said, Blacks have to code-switch when in spaces that don’t resemble them. Nsoroma wanted a space where Blacks can ride without judgment if they're not perched on top of a $1,000 bike or clad in a $60 Lycra bike outfit.

“It is important for our mental and social health," he said. "We don’t have to explain ourselves. We are just people who love to ride."

This is the second year Soul Roll MKE rolled out the calendar listing all free community bike rides. The effort is modeled after a similar event in Detroit to encourage cycling and community among Black riders.

The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation partnered with Red Bike Green to create the calendar. Rides started in June and extend well into winter.

“The master calendar is a way for us to come together as a community, to understand what resources are available to come out for a fun time and to get some swag items,” said Danitra Jones, NWSCDC’s economic development coordinator.

Compiling all the rides into one place breaks the silos many communities exist in, she said. Developing partnerships and relationships to centralize these bike events allows residents to get involved in activities outside their neighborhood and to explore the city.

“It’s about connecting communities,” Jones said.

The calendar contains rides for all ages and abilities, from fast-paced rides to moderate and family-friendly rides. It also lists free mobile bike repair stations as well as bike giveaways. Listing those resources, Jones said, removes barriers preventing people from taking advantage of the community rides. All rides begin with a safety bike demonstration.

“If you don’t have a bike, you are able to get a bike,” she said. “If you have an existing bike that needs repairs, you can do that and still attend the weekly rides as well as the weekend rides.”

Since being on the list, Nsoroma has seen a slight increase in Black riders. There are still barriers preventing Blacks from getting around the city on two wheels instead of four. Bike safety, he said, is one followed by not being comfortable riding in the streets and just not knowing about community bike ride opportunities.

“We have to get the word out more,” Nsoroma said.

That's why his rides are intentional to give Blacks a reason to bike by highlighting Black culture. Nsoroma also hosts the Kemetic Yoga Ride; the Black August Ride, which uplifts political prisoners and liberation activists; the Chocolate Milk Ride, which honors African American breast-feeding week; and the Black and Juicy Ride, spotlighting Black-owned juice or coffee bars.

“Black people bike, too,” Jones said. “The issue in our community is it is not really safe for you to ride because sometimes cars operate in the bicycle lanes.”

The new bike infrastructure the city is implementing addresses some of that. But these group rides help people feel safer and visible to cars, Jones said.

Jones hopes getting more Blacks biking will force the city to improve bike infrastructures on Milwaukee's north side.

“If we are not utilizing our streets for walking and biking, it makes it hard for the city to allocate resources to develop bicycle lanes,” Jones said. “It has to be a community and team effort. We need a safe and controlled environment for everyone.”

Also when drivers see more bikers on north-side streets, it normalizes that they're not the only ones using the road, she said.

Jones hopes the group bike rides pique residents’ curiosity to participate in the next community ride.

“It’s fun. It's entertaining," she said. "It might be a little challenging when you first come and haven’t ridden in a long time, but it is so worth it."

Sherman Park resident Timothy Scott agrees. In his new role as executive director of Nearby Nature Milwaukee, he wants to set an example of being involved in the outdoors, especially the effort to establish a Black bike culture in Milwaukee. He's been biking for five years, mostly on trails, and isn't yet comfortable on the streets.

Scott, who bought a dashiki just for the occasion, said he hopes people see the positive in a group of Blacks riding their bikes through the city.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: These Milwaukee bike rides, like the Dashiki Bike Ride, aim to foster Black pride, sense of community