With events aimed at promoting health and healthy living, a group of activists from the Bay area celebrated May 5 with various community activities. Among them, a gigantic “biciclethon” that lasted more than five hours through various parts of the city and in which more than 1 participated,500 mostly young cyclists of various ages.
Clinging to her bike and wearing appropriate clothing, one of the organizers, Rose Richardson, said this is the second time who participates in this “cycling in the open air. An event for children and young people… to prevent them from getting into trouble. We try to keep this activity accessible to everyone and we keep these tours at a basic level; in this way all levels, everyone can participate”.
From the Mission District, the cyclists headed to Golden Gate Park where the De Young Museum offered them a small snack tickets free to visit the museum in the future.
The “biciclethon” caught the attention of passers-by who waved arms outstretched to the vast bicycle caravan that occupied several blocks. The group continued towards the port of San Francisco making a spectacular stop at the well-known Fisherman’s Wharf tourist center, where they caused a pleasant commotion among the tourists who frequent the area.
Roberto Hernández, a well-known social leader from the Mission neighborhood and founder of the Mission Food Hub, the parent organization of these events, said that this year “we wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a different way.” . While offering free sandwiches and burritos to attendees, Hernández emphasized that the pandemic has caused a lot of anxiety among young people.
“I met with 30 youth and children and asked them what they want to do. ‘We want to ride a bike!’… We managed to get more than 1, bicycles for these children and so I took them for a ride”. Today that tour has become a healthy tradition. “We started with 30 and then extended to 80. So being today the First of May we are going to celebrate with more than 1,000 people riding bikes”.
Before starting the march, the cyclists gathered in front of John O’Connell High School where they were offered free breakfast and Various stalls were set up, mostly related to health and bicycles. There was José Alberto Pérez, a young businessman, activist and cyclist from years whose natural juice business, Organic Frico Drip, is a favorite in town. Pérez said he learned the art of juicing at small farmers’ markets. “Directly from the farmers in the fields where the vegetables and fruits grow”, he said.
One of the favorite juices is called “El Gigante Frisco” and it has orange, carrot and a pinch of turmeric (turmeric). While handing out free juices, Pérez said that “health is power. Nothing matters more than health and our way of being. Among the community we have to give everyone advice and knowledge so that we can grow together because we are in the same fight”.
“Through the sale of bicycles we raise funds for the community”, said Mark Nicholas , who held the position Zack’s Performance Bikes. “I would never want to see a child in a store looking at a bicycle and his parents with sad faces because they don’t have the money. So I ask them: ‘hey, when can you pay? Hey, here it is, it’s free’. That is the goal. The prices of buses and trains are going up and many people cannot pay. We donate a lot of bikes because people need a form of transportation,” said Nicholas.
The event was organized to raise funds for the program of meals from the Mission Food Hub. According to Hernández, the event is of vital importance due to the rise in the cost of living and food. “When I started more than two years ago I bought 50 pounds of rice for 17 dollars, now I am paying 29 dollars for those 50 pounds. A gallon of milk costs you 6 dollars!… The price of things continues to rise. What the oil companies are doing is a robbery, using the war as an excuse to raise prices and the profit they are creating is a crime”, exclaimed the leader, also known as the ‘Mayor of the Mission’.
Hernández added that the center, located on Alabama Street 701, delivers food daily to more than 9,000 families each week. Poverty is joined by the pandemic that has wreaked havoc in La Misión. “If you look at how many people have died from the virus, they are Latino. How many people are infected with the virus, they are Latino. And those who have had to go to the hospital, the majority are Latinos”, he concluded.
The events also included a show and tribute to the Mexican Frida Kahlo and a parade and exhibition of the famous cars San Francisco Lowrider. The events included the participation of the organizations Culture and Native Art of the Americas (CANA), Carnaval San Francisco, Latino Taskforce, Mission Language and Vocational School, SF Lowrider Council and the BikeCoalition.