Riding all night, alright

This morning at around 7, about 30 of us finished the all-night bike ride, "Dark2Dawn 2018 - Bicycling Through History: Black Women to the Rescue!" We had a fantastic filling breakfast and the caterer very kindly kept the coffee flowing. This Twin Cities ride highlighted influential African American women connected to the Twin Cities from 1840 to the present. 

Here are some photos from throughout the night.

Anthony Taylor, the ride organizer, welcoming us at the Cultural Wellness Center after a light dinner (8:55 p.m.)

Sojourner Truth at the Cultural Wellness Center (9 p.m.), telling us about her life, asking us "Ain't [she] a woman?"

At Nicollet Island (10:55 p.m.), which was once part of St. Anthony, Emily Grey and Eliza Winston recounted how Grey (a free woman) helped Winston (a slave from Mississippi on vacation with her slave owners) while visiting St. Anthony in 1860. They concluded with a moving song.

Outside the Guthrie Theater, local actress/singer/businesswoman Thomasina Petrus told us about Hilda Moses Simms, an actress from Minnesota who in the first half of the 1900s was in one of the first stage productions that featured African American actors in roles that were unrelated to race. Thomasina sang some Billie Holiday songs (11:20 p.m.), causing passersby to stop and listen.

Sharon Sayles Belton (the first African American and first woman to be mayor of Mpls) met us on the Sharon Sayles Belton Bridge (12:20 a.m.) to talk with us. She told us about trailblazers Lena Smith, the first African American woman to be a lawyer in MN, and Katie McWatt, the first African American candidate to run for St. Paul City Council. The former mayor left us with a great message of hope for the future.

We then rode to Fort Snelling at Bdote. It was cool and damp at this point. As we sat by a warm bonfire, ate soup, and drank coffee (2:30 a.m.), Harriet Scott told us how she met her husband Dred Scott at Fort Snelling (both were slaves of men with military careers) and fought for freedom with him. Fort Snelling staff also told us about "The Pilgrims," 70 families who escaped from slavery in St. Louis by volunteering for military service at the Fort (3 a.m.)

Frank White, a local author, introduced us to Toni Stone (5:10 a.m.) at Toni Stone Field in St. Paul. Raised in the Rondo neighborhood, Stone was the first of 3 women to play professional baseball as part of the Negro League.

Afterwards, we rode to Debbie Montgomery's house (5:30 a.m.). Montgomery, from Rondo, told us about all the hurdles she jumped (many times) to become the first female officer in the St. Paul Police Dept. and to advance professionally. This former council member also was the youngest person (at age 17) elected to the NAACP national board of directors, around the same time that she participated in the March on Washington and the march from Selma to Montgomery).

As the sun rose over the newly constructed plaza recognizing and honoring the contributions of the Rondo neighborhood residents who were displaced by construction of the interstate, Mary Kay Boyd, a former Rondo resident described the mentorship role of the women of the neighborhood (6:15 a.m.)

 

Everyone was starting to drag at this point,
and some people fell asleep on benches.

I came home, declared that I was going to pretend that I have jetlag and stay up until early evening, and promptly fell asleep while checking my email. I took an hourlong nap and am coasting on my second wind and some caffeine. I really enjoy riding through the night with a diverse group of people, learning about historically significant things. I'm very lucky to be able to do this.

Learning the Non-Mansplaining Ropes?

I toyed with which image to use - - the charitable, "he'll figure it out, once he learns the ropes" or the funny picture worth a thousand words?

There's a new customer service guy at the bike shop. Not all the bike shop dudes are mansplainy from the get go, and some that have been have admirably gotten it out of their system. (Maybe it isn't mansplaining, and just some sort of bias in terms of thinking what a cyclist looks like? But I am a woman, and they are men, so it feels mansplainy...)

Anyhow, the new guy asks, "What's up." I say, "I just went down to two chain rings in the front. I know to expect some rubbing and sound when I've got crossover with my chain, but it seems excessive regardless of which gear I'm in up front, so I am wondering if someone can check the cables to see if they need to be tightened and if they don't, I am wondering if something could be adjusted to minimize the number of gears where the chain rubs the derailleur and have it rub when I'm in a gear I won't frequently use."

So it isn't the way a bike mechanic or a super handy person would describe the problem, but I have some thoughts, yes? Yes. He proceeds to explain, in great detail, chain crossover to me and how it will result in rubbing and sound and that's just the way it is. Riiiight. Yesss.

Enter James, observing from afar: "Hey Maggie, what's up?"
Me: "My chain is rubbing, it seems excessive. Something seems off. Can you guys look at my cable? If that doesn't solve it, can we make an adjustment to minimize the rubbing?"
James: "Sure. We just worked on this bike recently, right? I'm having a similar issue with my bike. It is annoying"
Mechanic behind him: "Oh, yeah, we do just need to tighten your new cable, and don't forget that with your new shifters, you can do this (click) to minimize any rubbing sound."

So whatever this new guy's name is, I am sure he'll figure it out like some of the others have. But in the meantime, I will adopt the strategy I have used in the past:  learn what days my favorites are in the shop.

But now my around-town errand bike is nice and quiet and shifts well! So, I am looking forward to errand running this weekend, and am getting exited for next weekend's overnight ride around town for which I may want panniers to pack layers and extra bike lights. Woo! Bikey bikey.

Yeah, but....

"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." - Louis L'Amour

On Saturday, I rode 104 miles with five friends. None of them have ever ridden further than 75 miles (well, I think one of them had done 77 once before). I think they have reason to boast of their mileage. In addition, these five women are very into photos, so we know what they saw. 

Know what I saw? Five strong people who set a goal to ride 100 miles, got on their bikes despite the fact that thunderstorms were forecasted for the day, and rode every mile, giving each other encouragement each time they felt sore or fatigued. They were tired at the end and declared that they'd never do it again, but they did it! And I bet they will do it again.

We boarded a super early bus from St. Joe to Fergus Falls, where the ride began.

Can you see Keisha waving to the camera?

Hanging on to three bikes while we tried to hook up Kari's speaker for some musical motivation.

Alexandria, MN

Done! And fortified with root beer/orange floats!

I have refrained from sharing a photo of my bee/wasp sting welt. Some little jerk stung my thigh at mile 100.