Take a relaxed bike ride throughout the city and learn about historical local figures at Goshen’s first Women’s Bike Ride.
The Department of Environmental Resilience, in partnership with AmeriCorps, is organizing the bike ride as a way to promote biking among women and to highlight women local to Goshen who did great things for the community.
The ride, open to the public, will be May 21 at 2 p.m. Participants are asked to gather next to Goshen Brewing Company. Michiana Area Council of Governments will be onsite starting at 1 p.m. to make bicycle safety checks and minor tune-ups.
Shae Dirks, an AmeriCorps member working with the Department of Environmental Resilience and an event organizer, said she hopes the event will help promote biking and an interest in local history.
“Through brainstorming with my team, we came up with the idea of doing a history tour through Goshen,” Dirks said. “I tried to find those stories of women that we might not know. I wanted to find women who might have been just “average” but truly changed Goshen’s History.”
The 2.5 mile ride will start and end at Goshen Brewing Company and there will be three stops throughout, where a living history performance will guide riders through the historical significance of each location. High School students Jamie Lake, Mara Miller and Anusha Jha will perform at the historical figures.
Participants can register by going to https://secure.rec1.com/IN/goshen-parks-and-recreation-in/catalog.
A $5 donation is encouraged though not required to participate.
The Department of Environmental Resilience will be renting a few bicycle from Lincoln Avenue Cycling for those who do not have access to one but wish to participate. Reservations must be placed in advance. To place a reservation for a bike, call 574-975-6255.
The Event was organized with contributions from Rebecca Akens, who aided with historical research, and Carrie Lee Bland-Kendall, who helped in the presentation. The Electric Brew, Fables Books, Goshen Brewing Company, Lincoln Avenue Cycling and Maple City Market sponsored the event.