Home - Wheels of Change

Extended through July 25 & 26, 2020

Because of an amazing increase in registrations Friday-Sunday and also the weekend's intense heat, we are extending to give everyone time to put their mark on the map.

We will report miles, minutes and headcount on both the BLM MESSAGE routes and also on additional miles off the route but with the #WOCBLM hashtag in support of the message.

REMINDER: For your miles to show up on the heat map, you must follow the 5 steps to register and include #WOCBLM in the title on your Strava activity. All activities welcome.

Mission

Walk, run, bike, skate – whatever form of locomotion you like – to help power efforts to abolish racism and awaken an anti-racist America. We have seen outrage in response to outrageous facts – and watched very little get done. To accomplish structural change in law & society requires votes and sustained commitment. We hope to contribute to a positive sea change and GREAT AWAKENING; support social justice reform with visibility, encourage individual action and help the cycling community be more welcoming, diverse and positive for all.

How can I help?

What

An historic event to spell BLACK LIVES MATTER from NY to ME in "virtual letters". Large enough to be read from the moon! Miles we walk, run and ride will be rolled into the largest ever "heat map" on Strava and broadly publicized.

When

Saturday, July 18 & Sunday, July 19. We have more than 1,500 miles to cover! Anyone can participate in any portion at any time! The larger and more diverse the group - the better.

Where & Who

From NYC to ME – cyclists, runners, walkers, tricycles, etc.... all are encouraged to join. Walk a block or ride 200 miles! Each letter is a separate downloadable route.

Do Something

When you register we will ask you to pledge at least one action (suggestions here). Our big hope is to create real change.

Virtual

You can ride every letter of the route now on ROUVY with a smart trainer. Search the ROUVY route catalog for routes created by author "wheelsofchange". So if you have safety concerns or live far away–go virtual!

Global for all

We can pick up any activity of a WOC Strava Club Member (ride, row, swim, walk...) anywhere on the planet! You must do the registration steps below and ALWAYS mark your activity title with #WOCBLM so we can find & count your effort.

Event Safety

We can't begin to list all the basics here of being safe on your bicycle or even just walking on the roads. But we remind everyone to always make safety top of mind.

This is only a group event in a VIRTUAL SENSE. It is not a group event in a physical sense. There are no gatherings of people on the course. We have two days to cover 1,500 miles. Plenty of room to keep physically distanced.

PLEASE: observe all Covid 19 precautions; go only with your lockdown bubble family; wear your masks; do not engage at less than 6 feet with other people - just wave and thank them for being on the course! We are not asking people to travel across state lines and violate quarantines. There are routes in NY, CT, RI, MA, NH and ME! Everyone can participate in their home turf. Have fun and be safe. Be kind to others!

How do I register?

This is a free event - but you need to register. You will also be asked to pledge action and sign a waiver. You must join the WHEELS OF CHANGE STRAVA CLUB as well so your miles will be counted. And lastly, you need to authorize access to your Strava public data.

FOLLOW THESE IMPORTANT STEPS IN THIS ORDER:

REGISTER - as a participant or event volunteer to receive information and help us manage the event.
JOIN - Strava if you are not already a member. Sign up for free
JOIN - the the free Wheels of Change Strava Club
ACTIVATE - the WOC app. After you join the WOC Strava Club, CONNECT your Strava account to Wheels of Change. Click here to authorize us to access your public activities and contribute to our Geo Art map and event statistics. (We respect your privacy - we will only upload publicly available data. You can deauthorize our access at any time using the Settings/My Apps feature on the Strava website.)
Add #WOCBLM to your Strava activity title after your ride/walk/run is done

Details, please

HOW THIS WORKS - Everyone will pick a section of the route – somewhere on the words BLACK LIVES MATTER - record their ride (or whatever form of locomotion you choose) and save it on Strava. All those miles, from all those individuals, will be rolled up, counted, and displayed. It will virtually spell out the message.
UNSUPPORTED RIDE - We are not offering road support and cannot be responsible for any individual rides, So please plan your day carefully and be kind & safe out there. The routes do not come with cue sheets. They are available on RideWithGPS.com - check out the route links.
ROUTE MODIFICATIONS - You can make your own choices about route modifications. We did our best but locals always know better. As long as it stays near the main line of the route it will be fine. We will be able to clear off mistakes and major detours but we hope not to have to do too much of that. THIS IS YOUR RIDE. We are just the instigators for what we hope will be a massive show of GOOD WILL and INTENTION to change.
FREE - There is no fee to participate
VOLUNTEER - This an all-volunteer-created & managed event.
OPEN TO ALL - There is no fundraising involved
IT’S BIG - The Strava Team believes this is the most expansive use of Strava Art ever, involving the most participants and the largest geography in one event.
AGGREGATED RESULTS - All individual efforts will be aggregated on Strava into one glorious graphic and publicized.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME - The power of this will be in the large number people taking positive action.
SAFETY - Please plan your day carefully and be KIND & SAFE out there. We ask that all participants observe best safety and health practices in general as well as all considerations relative to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

... not just for cyclists – runners, walkers, tricycles, scooters, skates, old & young... all are encouraged to join. Walk a block or ride 200 miles!