To say we came from humble beginnings would be an understatement. Yet, here we are. Year 10. 10 years. A decade! They say time flies when you’re having fun and it certainly has applied here.
In 2011, a hundred friends and supporters came together to launch a community bike group that has become a voice for cyclists in the Greater Green Bay Area. Since then, we’ve hosted dozens of rides, rallies, and fundraisers to keep the momentum going and it’s paid off big! Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and support from our friends, Green Bay moved up the ranks in bike and pedestrian awareness, so we took to the streets and enjoyed it! Here’s a little trip down memory lane…
Do we know how to have fun or what?! All of this coming together has improved communication, knowledge, and understanding of cyclists and safety in Green Bay. Once we let our leaders from Green Bay and the surrounding municipalities know how important bike and pedestrian infrastructure is to inter-connectivity and multi-mobility, they agreed and now actively support bike-related initiatives. So now what? Whats in store for this grass roots, “boots on the ground” community bike group? Well, lately we’ve focused most of our attention to our little community bike shop at the 4th Street Garage. We outgrew that spot the second we moved in, but man, is it a cool place. The City of Green Bay has leased that building to us for the last 4 years for $1/year. ONE DOLLAR! We can’t thank them enough for their support and are humbled by their belief in our mission to make Green Bay more bike friendly.
So to continue with our mission to make Green Bay a more desirable place to bike, we will focus on educating others of all ages through our community bike shop. And while we love our little shop on 4th Street, it’s time to look for a larger space so we can offer more mechanics and safety clinics, grow our Earn A Bike program, and team up with more local partners to increase driver awareness. Biking is so much more enjoyable when you feel safe doing it.
Lastly, I’d like to invite you to join us this coming Sunday (September 26th) to celebrate 10 years of our non-profit organization. We’re beyond excited to see your friendly faces, enjoy local music, food, and beverage, play some games and win some raffles! This is going to be our largest Bike Banquet yet with the amount of sponsors, prizes, and raffle items (which are absolutely amazing)! We are ready for the next chapter of the Green Bay Bicycle Collective and want you to know we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you, thank you, a million times…
