Twin Cities Fitness Communities of Color Are Coming Together to Move, Heal and Belong This Spring
Fitness communities of color across the Twin Cities are gathering this spring, from the EZ Bike Club's 19-mile breast cancer awareness ride at Harriet Island to Black Men Run Twin Cities and Tierra Rec Club, each building community, belonging and wellness one mile at a time.
As temperatures climb and daylight stretches longer, fitness communities of color across the Twin Cities are hitting their stride, gathering on riverbanks, neighborhood trails and community spaces to move, heal and connect.
A ride for Faith
On April 18, dozens of cyclists gathered at Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul for a 19-mile breast cancer awareness ride hosted by the EZ Bike Club, a community cycling group rooted in the Twin Cities’ Black and Latino streetwear scene. The ride was held in honor of Faith Moss, a club co-founder who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and completed surgery three weeks before the event.
“It’s a lot of moving pieces that was able to put this together today,” said Alexander Iverson, co-founder of EZ Bike Club, addressing the crowd before the ride. “Originally it started as two wheels that brought us all together, but also was the one spirit of ourselves, and brought all these like-minded individuals together to create something like this.”
Before riders set out, the gathering took on the feel of a community celebration. Chopped and Served provided acai bowls and protein balls made fresh that morning. Savory Bake House out of South Minneapolis andEasy Day Cafe contributed food and refreshments. Schorbahn Family Law sponsored custom shirts. A post-ride meal was provided by Soul Lao, who also supplied snacks at the halfway point.
Moss, visibly moved, addressed the crowd before the ride.
“My mom was the first person to buy a ticket for today,” she said. “Three weeks ago, I had surgery to remove my tumor, and after surgery, she took time off of work, slept in my living room on an air mattress and cared for me around the clock for 48 hours.”
Moss thanked a web of supporters, friends, cousins and fellow club members, who showed up on what she called a “super cold Minnesota day.”
“Life is so precious. We weren’t created to do this life alone,” she said. “And as I look around, I’m so overwhelmed.”
A scripture printed on the back of the event shirts framed her message: For I walk by faith, not by sight. — 2 Corinthians 5:7.
“Regardless of what happens, I’m trusting and believing that I will come out on the other side stronger,” Moss said.
EZ Bike Club was founded by Randy Mendez and Iverson, both of whom came up through the Twin Cities sneaker community. The club’s name comes from El Zapatero, Spanish for “the shoe man.” What started as weekend rides among friends has grown into a multicultural, multigenerational community open to all skill levels. Iverson, who grew up spending most of his time outdoors, has said the club is about more than physical fitness.
“It’ll be great for the community to see people of color riding through the Twin Cities together as a group, smiling, and all different shapes and sizes,” Iverson has said.
Running together
That same Saturday, across the metro, Black Men Run Twin Cities was also out on the roads. The group runs every first and third Saturday of the month and has built a loyal following among Black men looking for both a workout and a sense of belonging.
RZ Shahid, a regular participant, said the group has become one of his favorite finds in the city.
“It’s a nice feeling to be a part of a group of Black folks all running together, when a lot of times it’s usually you’re one of the few out in a sea of whiteness,” Shahid said. “It’s great energy. I’ve been pushed to go further, encouraged to do races, and it’s just a dope and supportive community. I appreciate being around my people and watching everyone progress in their journey.”
Running roots
Not far from those same trails, another community is lacing up. Tierra Rec Club, founded by Lariza Estrada, is now in its third year of bringing women of color outdoors, and this spring, the club’s run club component is back on its biweekly Saturday schedule.
“I started Tierra Rec Club just to find more like-minded women who want to be outside,” said Estrada. “The first year [of Tierra Rec Club], it was kayaking and hiking. The second year, I incorporated running.”
After signing up for her first race, and describing herself as someone who becomes “very obsessed with new things,” Estrada built running deeper into Tierra’s programming. The club now meets every two weeks on Saturdays at 9 a.m., with a Halloween race each fall that draws a costumed team for a group run.
Tierra was born from Estrada’s frustration with the lack of cultural representation she found in outdoor spaces. Growing up in an inner-city neighborhood in Minneapolis, she loved the outdoors but rarely saw people who looked like her on the trails or at the campgrounds.
“I don’t see enough Black or brown people on the trails,” she said. “I don’t see a lot of bikers, or when we go camping, the same people that you want to feel in community with.”
Estrada, who immigrated from Mexico at age 3, also credits her parents with instilling a love of the outdoors, even when that love came with some resistance.
“My parents, they love cycling. They would make me go on these really long bike rides when I was like 10 years old, it was the worst! But I finally came around to it as I got older.”
Tierra offers hiking, kayaking and running, and centers women of color in the Twin Cities metro area. For more information, follow @tierra.recclub on Instagram.
Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.