for the organization. They recently helped organize a ride celebrating the fifth anniversary of the bike path crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. MCBC is also helping bring cycling to the broader community with programs like Cory’s Ride, an initiative to bring cycling to local youth of all household-income levels. Kullaway says they’re very proud of the impact it’s having on the equity issues in the cycling movement in Marin County. She says they realized there were plenty of people who could benefit from bicycling who maybe couldn't afford a bike or maybe didn't have access to lessons. “We conducted strategic planning when I first started here,” Kullaway says. “And it became clear that a lot of our programs and activities were really geared toward people of means.” Cory’s Ride was created in collaboration with the Leonoudakis family who had lost their son Cory unexpectedly. He was an avid bike rider, and they wanted to do something in his memory. The program supports a six-month school curriculum where students learn about safe cycling and get a brand new bike from REI with racks, lights, helmets and locks. “We don't just give them a bike,” Kullaway says. “It's an earn-a- bike program and we work with them to learn how to maintain it themselves, like how to fix a flat, and then we lead rides with them.” Cory’s Ride also has paid internships for students who have completed the program, to help organize and lead rides and recruit people to the program. “The idea behind it is not only to give students access to the joy of bicycling, but also get them involved in their community,” Kullaway says. “We pay them to go to community meetings and speak up on behalf of their community and the cycling infrastructure that needs to get safer in the places where they ride.” Safety may be the biggest challenge that cyclists of all ages are
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition volunteers run clinics to teach safety and maintenance.
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26 NorthBaybiz
January 2025
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