Organizers of Saturday’s Bikes, Blues & Bayous have partnered with the Greenwood Mentoring Group to provide young people with a backstage pass to the event and the sport of cycling.
Organizers of the ride asked Bill Clay, executive director of the mentoring group, to give the children in that group an “inside pass” for the bike ride, giving them an opportunity to meet the cyclists and see cyclists take off and cross the finish line.
“It was like a win-win situation for us,” Clay said.
Bikes, Blues & Bayous, a large-scale bike ride, features 62-, 46-, 20- and 10-mile routes that traverse through Leflore County. All of the rides start at 7 a.m. in downtown Greenwood.
In addition to taking in the scenery of the Delta, the annual bike ride includes rest stops where cyclists can treat themselves to food and drinks. A “Brews & Blues” concert will be held Saturday evening, following the ride, at Tallahatchie Flats.
More than 1,000 riders have registered for the ride, including many from out of state. Last year’s ride was scaled back due to COVID-19, including a cap on the number of riders.
Richard Beattie, one of the founders of the event, said that he was impressed with the work Clay does through the mentoring group and wanted to offer something to the kids.
“It’s an opportunity for us to help him with his work. It’s very simple. It’s getting the kids down there for the start of the ride, get behind the scenes to see how a bike ride is put together,” Beattie said.
He said he hopes some of the youth will develop an interest in biking following Saturday’s event. Most of the riders for the Bikes, Blues & Bayous event tend to be older, he said.
“Without having young people involved, sooner or later we’re not going to have a cycling event,” he said. “You’ve got to keep the young people involved. Hopefully this sparks some interest.”
Clay said he wants to expose young people to a variety of activities. “When you’re exposed to things, this is what you can be,” he explained.
The mentoring group held a five-week coding camp over the summer as well as a trip to the beach in Biloxi.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
