Welcoming Spring 2026
Cherishing Community Collaborations
The torso of a large metal man emerged earlier this year along Freedom Park Trail. The art is an oversized statue growing from a composite of household objects with an outstretched hand. A hand towards the future, I infer. Jonathan Imafidor’s work, Rebirth, is the sign of spring we need. The artist’s work was salvaged from the remnants of a catastrophic fire at the beloved South River Studio last year. WABE news interviewed the artist in a clip. From a destructive fire, Jonathan formed a reminder of life, death, and renewal.
Despite all the chaos since the beginning of this year, I want to make space to celebrate my community's collaborations in our celebrations of joy and solidarity.
1. Atlanta’s Alex Pretti Ride
In early February, the first round of this collaboration was the Herculean efforts made by the BikeChurch community for the local Alex Pretti Memorial ride. A Minneapolis area bike club scheduled rides across the country and globe to “Ride Together Stand Together” for Pretti. On the day of the ride, Atlanta was slapped with one of its spontaneous blizzards. The conditions required rescheduling. Though it was a disappointment for some, the additional time allowed for more preparations. One of the organizers went door to door to local bike shops with an updated, printed-out flyer to talk up the ride. Another organizer tapped into his PR experience and informed the local press about the event. In the end, the organizers rescheduled the ride to February 7, which was well supported and publicized; at least 300 cyclists participated, and the ride was covered by two local news outlets (Fulton Neighbor & Decaturish). A few of us sang Lean on Me, and we left a sign in front of the VA Hospital in remembrance of Pretti. I left the event blown away by the feeling of solidarity with my fellow cyclists.
2. Borith’s Boozy Beltgrind Bash
Borith’s annual boozy birthday ride is our local ritual of celebration; it embodies the playfulness within our community that draws us back year on year. In 2023, the first year that I attended, I was nervous about the route. It is over 20 miles long, around what is now the Beltline, and includes some unpaved portions of adventure. Since I’ve started riding bikes in Atlanta, this one event in early March feels like the community celebration of spring’s spirit. Ride swag includes T-shirts, shots, shenanigans, and a glorious Sunday. The last two years ago included a collaboration with Mercy, who also shares a close birthday. The annual collaboration and party on wheels signifies the season's change.
In 2026, the following are two new cycling events that I am looking forward to:
3. Move for Grady: Run, Walk, Ride
I am a grateful beneficiary of Grady’s level one emergency trauma care! At the time of my wreck, my health insurance company paid north of $100K for my 4-day emergency stay in 2023. Grady also provides care to the uninsured. The Move for Grady is a fundraiser for the hospital that supports its programs. So, when I learned that many local rider leaders would be participating in the fundraiser, I was eager to join. On April 25 this year, I will join the 20-mile bike portion of the “Move for Grady.” Besides the funds it raises, I hope to share support for Grady’s work in the community,
I have seen friends and family benefit from Grady; I also have a bias towards healthcare. Both my parents were physicians, and my mother actually rotated through Grady when she was obtaining her US medical licensure. If Grady Hospital needs our support, I see it as an indictment of the state of healthcare in this country. I maintain my discomfort with the fact that the richest country in the world has people dying from preventable problems on the regular. I am still angry that the other Atlanta hospital, Wellstar, went bankrupt, but Cop City got funded. I can be a good sport for a community fundraiser, but I won’t forget this is a reflection of our political choices.
4. DopePedalers: 5 Boros Ride
Later on this spring, I’ll also plan to attend a local collaboration for fun. DopePedalers is organizing an Atlanta contingent to join the country’s largest group ride in New York City, the TD Five Boro ride. The principal organizer, Jay Reid, is a mover & shaker in the Atlanta community and a gracious connector. This year, PropelAtl will be honoring its crew with a well-deserved local Blinkies award for DopePedaler’s activation of cyclists. While the DopePedalers crew tends to go a bit faster than I am used to, I am eager to roll with them in Zohran’s NYC. I have not been to New York City in some years, and am excited to ride bikes with my Atlanta homies there. Certainly, it will also be a challenge for me, as 40+ consecutive miles might be a new high. Nonetheless, I anticipate amazing urban scenes and eager grazing among New York’s eateries.
With the newly blooming buds along Freedom Parkway, I am eager to spend more time outdoors enjoying the warm days of spring. I first noticed Jonathan’s sculpture as I was walking back from a book talk for “Life After Cars.” The authors have spent years as the co-hosts of The War on Cars podcast. They were acutely aware of how our planet is actively being destroyed, not just by cars but by war bombings.
As I walked home along the trail, I could imagine a world where we confronted our oil dependence. The Freedom Park trail is full of a rich history sprinkled with art, spunk, and community. The parkway’s history is a reminder of the power of community action in the face of institutional power. I hope this spring brings a blossoming of ideas towards a new rebirth. As we slow down to smell the flowers, we can keep imagining the power of community and collaboration for our collective blossoming.
Thanks for sharing all of the wonderful community happenings in the Atlanta bike community. It's nice to read some uplifting news about the power of joining together for good. I'm excited you are going to participate in a bike ride in NYC, too!