We trail blaze for increased pathways and influence for more Black bikepackers, gravellers, and mountain bikers.
There’s something that hits about pedaling under a forest canopy or along an alpine ridgeline. By bike, we are able to guest ourselves onto awe-inspiring lands, while leaving only but a squiggly tire track. Whether it’s your local trails or a travel destination the backdrop to bikepacking, mountain biking and gravel grinding is the natural world. Unlike commuting or city riding, off-road biking allows us to feel the interconnectedness that is in nature, to practice calmness, and develop a deeper relationship with the land we’re a part of. However, for us as black people, our access and ownership in these spaces have been strategically and violently withheld for centuries.
Our manifesto point seeks to acknowledge, organize, and strategize against this oppression we face in outdoor spaces, with the goal of creating ways for us to be leaders, business owners, and riders in the sport of off-road biking. With much gratitude, we learn from organizations like Outdoor Afro, Brown Girls Climb, Black Girls Do Bike, and many more who have opened up pathways for folx to experience the outdoors in a safe and supportive community space. The Black Foxes aims to do the same, using the bicycle as our medium in the following ways:
Create and inspire mountain biking youth teams. A mountain biking youth team is an impactful way for young people to get exposed to mountain biking as well as develop their relationship with outdoor spaces.
Support black coaches and guides. The process to become a mountain biking coach or bikepacking guide can be difficult to obtain or unknown to many folx. We want to open those doors and lay out the path for aspiring coaches and guides.
Lead more inclusive group rides. Getting dropped in a group ride ought to be a thing of the past. COVID-dependent, we wish to lead a variety of group rides that meets all riders’ abilities, on the trails and off.
Support athletes and riders. The professional cycling scene is lacking an accurate representation of black people. We want to elevate current and up and coming riders into the professional arena.
Share black-created routes. Unique to bikepacking, the development of bike routes has become a deep and alluring rabbit hole on platforms like Ride With GPS, Strava, and Komoot. We are excited to share black-created routes in order to encourage our communities to explore nearby areas.
There has been a long-time reclamation occurring between black people and this land in which we were enslaved. Our ancestors have sacrificed their lives in order for us to be gifted with the privilege of outdoor recreation in the ways we know it today. The process of becoming comfortable in our skin while outdoors has had so much to do with our ownership over our space and bodies. For several years, I’ve worked as an outdoor educator and trip leader and have witnessed the transformation of people, young and old, when they find their place in a natural space; they step into themselves, owning their space and body, fully connected to the world around them.
By utilizing the empowering tool of the bicycle, the Black Foxes foresees the increased health and wellbeing of our communities. Send us a message to hear about ways you can support us.
Photos by Evan Green, taken on the Ancestral Lands of the Ute