After speaking with Marz Lovejoy, writer Shaquille Heath tells readers about Lovejoy’s And Still We Ride, a group bike ride in New York City in celebration of Black women and all women of colour.
There’s a lot of ways that our bodies speak to us, and it can teach us a lot about ourselves once we open up to listening to what it has to say. Often this starts with getting it moving. Taking it out into the world to feel and listen and breathe deeply. Taking note of what stirs up in us and what is soothed back down. And if you’re in one of those places in life where you’re not sure where to begin, grabbing a bike to zoom around your city might be a nice place to start.
Marz Lovejoy knows this feeling intrinsically, discovering her passion for cycling right after highschool. “It was an outlet for me. Really therapeutic. I just became addicted to it. My body became addicted to how I felt. There would be days where I would wake up, get dressed, and be on my bike all day, all night.” Within cycling Lovejoy had found a new community, many of which formed from just being out on the streets and willing to introduce herself to people. “I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced being engulfed by hundreds of riders just randomly, but it is something. It happened to me a couple times in New York…the second time I was leaving my office in Chinatown, and at that point I was like, I’m gonna speed up to them and see who they are. So maybe one day I could roll out with them. I introduced myself to one of the vice presidents of the bike club. His name is Q and we’re friends to this day.”
Lovejoy also had established homies who were a part of “Bike Life”, a subculture within cycling that is focused around wheelie tricks and skills. Between the two separate groups, Lovejoy began to envision her own project that connected them in a way that felt authentic and resonant to her. “How can I bridge this gap between my world (bike life) and this world (rideouts.)” One day she was approached by Nike for a Women’s Campaign entitled: Victory Redefined, highlighting five women shifting the culture of New York. The campaign asked the women to create content around what victory meant to them. “When Nike hit me up, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” Within two weeks, Lovejoy had created And Still We Ride (named in homage to the Maya Angelou poem), a group bike ride in New York City in celebration of Black women and all women of colour. That was in 2020. “I didn’t know who would show up or how big it would be. I knew I wanted to make it an ode to Black women. And so I just posted it on my social media, and allowed people to send me photos of the Black women they wanted to ride out in honor of. 400 riders showed up.”
Today, And Still We Ride is an annual event that has evolved into more than just an opportunity to ride through the streets of New York. Having held its 5th annual ride out this past August, the experience now features partnerships with brands like Telfar, Vans, and Straava. “It took the five years to really get to a place where we’re seeing the fruits of our labor.” There are photo activations, snacks and drinks, opportunities to have your gear checked before heading out, and after the 20-30 mile ride (depending on weather) riders come back together for a block party to keep the vibes going. This past year they held their first ever award ceremony honoring Black women, girls, and femmes, doing extraordinary work in their communities. “We needed to give people something tangible. Create equity, you know? We needed to really invest in ourselves and in our communities. An award means something. People can put it in their living room or on their resume. That’s been really beautiful.” And of course the organizations gives back. “I asked people to make donations, whether they wanted it to be a food donation or a monetary donation. Because we donate money to nonprofits who focus on Black women and femmes, and LGBT plus youth+.”
Lovejoy is very clear that none of this could be what it is now without her team, many of whom are working mothers like herself. Those team members include Kim Dillard, Monica Reyes, Diamon Fisher, Angie Chavez, and Isa Touchard. The support of Lovejoy’s team creates an environment that is replicated and felt within the event itself. “You know, I’ve been in this industry for a really long time. Most of my life. And I’ve helped build up a lot of successful men in music, fashion and art. But there’s something about working with women that just hits different. There’s something about working with people who value you, who respect you, who see you, and who also understand there’s an unspoken language. Everybody has their own expertise, and that alone has been really monumental for me, because it just makes it even more real. It’s not just this little project that I’m doing. It’s a real thing with legs. We have a vision and a plan for it, so that growth feels really important.”
Lovejoy and her team have been thinking about the future and what’s on the docket for the next ride-out. This includes a documentary that tells the story of their work and its impact on the community. They also envision bigger rides, more events, and adding new cities to the roster. “We’re not doing this because it’s popular. We’re doing this because we care. We’re looking around and we’re like, damn, a lot of shit is really messed up, you know? We’re watching the world show its true colours. So where do we want to be during this? How do I want to create avenues and places of safety and joy?”
Words by Shaquille Heath
