BIKE LOVE OAXACA -“It takes a Village to raise a child
A dream leads to the launch of getting bikes to kids in Oaxaca, Mexico
One of the really beautiful things about working with the communities in the mountainous villages of Oaxaca in the Sierra Norte mountains Mexico is that they truly live in that way ~ together as a village, in the most remote, simple, and beautiful way; looking out for every member and child of the village. The families and children are tight-knit, and each family contributes to the community by serving duties, teaching and taking care of children while operating their eco-tourism services.
It’s pure joy each time my feet hit the ground in Oaxaca as I anticipate getting up into the mountains and seeing those smiling little faces working with this Project of Bike Love and continuing to lead through Womens Radical Pursuits.
Last year’s launch of 16 mountain bikes in Lachatao felt huge. From the conception to the planning and the launch ~ the day we delivered was literally one of the best days of my life. I would have never dreamt of what would come next…. and that we would level up and expand this vision I had in such a massive way.
When Tony Martin reached out to me from 2 Wheel Epix last year to collaborate on his wild idea to expand our work in Oaxaca, “YES” rolled out of my mouth without much thought. Working alongside Tony and Carlos at Coyote Adventures has been nothing short of a wild miraculous adventure. Tony had a vision to expand into the Ixtepeji Community, a place where it’s tough to get into, especially with the ideas such as we had. Through working and talking with the community and sharing the recent project in Lachatao last year, they finally opened up to it and it’s been GO TIME ever since.
In October 2022 Tony, Carlos and I held an informational meeting with the community of Ixtepeji; the children and families were invited to attend and learn more about our vision to get bikes to the kids and communitiy of Ixtepeji along with a jump line/pump track. We thought maybe 20-25 kids would show up interested. We were way off… 85 kids showed up and signed up to participate! We had a big feat and there were moments that I wondered how we would do it AND…. another miracle has come to fruition!
We created proposals and decks to present to companies, brands, sponsors and donors as well as a trail building crew from Washington state that went down a few weeks ago and built a jump line/pump track with a story write up and video footage. That was the kicker; the story and proposal got out into the right hands and we received two large donations to purchase the 85 bikes!
This expansion blew up way faster than any of us imagined and we’re set to launch and deliver those little mountain bikes March 11th & 12th. I’m ecstatic to be heading back to Oaxaca to be a part of this expansion of Bike Love into the Ixtepeji Community!
The only thing we are missing to make this launch successfully seamless are 40 kids helmets (An adult small would work as well). If you have any interest to donate a helmet or to donate directly to our fundraising red podium link, the kids, community and our Project Bike Love Oaxaca team would be super grateful!
To read about the Bike Park build, check out the story here: https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-trails/how-to-build-a-flow-trail-in-mexico/
How to support?
1. Email [email protected] if you have a helmet to donate!
2. Visit this link to make a direct donation to help us spread the bike love and help kids get helmets: https://projectbikelove.givingfuel.com/project-bike-love-oaxaca-mexico
3. Join us in October for our annual Women’s Bike, Yoga & Culture Adventure to Oaxaca! A portion of the profits is donated to the project to keep fueling the fires! Women’s Wellness Retreats & Tours | Womens Radical Pursuits
Thanks for reading and following along through our wild journey of all things BIKE LOVE OAXACA!
by Amy Schweim
Owner of Womens Radical Pursuits + Breathwork Practitioner, Integration Coach, Goddess Yoga Teacher & Ignite Your Passions & Purpose Facilitator