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Bickerdike Brings Biking Back to Community
By Maysoun Omar
The Bickerdike
organization is not your typical housing and redevelopment corporation.
As recipient of affordable housing development and community revitalization
leadership awards, Bickerdike aims to develop more programs for
communities in Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Hermosa.
Another way this program helps the community is through Bickerbikes,
a youth bicycle program dedicated to introducing a diverse community
to bicycling.
Raul Echevarria, project coordinator at Bickerdike admits that it
was the children in the Bickerbikes program that challenged him
to bike more.
“It’s not just about getting people to ride their bikes,
it’s about promoting understanding and healthy active lifestyles,”
Echevarria said.
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| Raul Echevarria leads bicycle groups through
Paseo Boricua |
In an effort to increase the number of African American and Latino
riders, Bickerbikes and the obesity prevention organization in Humboldt
Park work together to promote participation in Bicycling to Murals.
The tour goes through Paseo Boricua — a stretch of Divison
Street that connects West Town and Humboldt Park. The paseo is filled
with public art that the community has developed over the years.
The streets illustrate sights from the perspectives of the political,
social and cultural views of the community.
“The community celebrates public art and gains insight on
community history,” Echevarria said. “It’s not
just exercise, it gives people a chance to ride and learn at the
same time.”
As if the children weren’t enough motivation, Bickerbikes
hosts program events that make you want to ride your bicycle everywhere,
such as the Community Garden Bike Tour, which includes 11 parks
in the Humboldt Park and Garfield Park area.
“It is a mixed ride with different people from different cultures,”
Echevarria said.
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