Coconut Grove Chamber Of Commerce: The Commander's Bike Ride Is A Hit!

Press release from Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce:

March 19, 2021

The Commander’s Bike Ride Is a Hit – with Help from the BID

Commander Weslyne Lewis Francois and friends at the start of the March 17 bike ride through Center Grove. (above)

For the past several months, Commander Weslyne Lewis Francois, the City of Miami police officer who oversees the Coconut Grove unit, has organized a series of twice-monthly community bike rides. The rides start at 5 p.m. at Tucker Elementary School on Douglas Rd. Seeing the rides as an opportunity to highlight the importance of bicycling and walking in Coconut Grove, Cynthia Seymour, the acting executive director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District (BID), invited the Commander to partner with the BID on a ride through the Center Grove’s commercial district. The result, a family-oriented bike ride about two miles long that took place on Wed., March 17, was a huge success for everyone involved.

The ride was scheduled to begin at the Coconut Grove Playhouse parking lot at 5:30. Earlier in the afternoon, the Commander and several members of her team set up a tent and table at Cocowalk to publicize the ride, offering freebies such as water bottles and information about safe bicycling. With Bike Coconut Grove and Friends of the Commodore Trail also on board as partners, word about the ride spread rapidly through social media. Particularly important was the role of the Coconut Grove Elementary School PTA.

As the time for the beginning of the ride drew closer, throngs of families headed for the Playhouse parking lot. When the ride finally began, with Commander Lewis and District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell in the lead and an escort of police vehicles to keep the route open and free of other traffic, more than 100 people on bikes, many of them young children, were ready to roll. The route took them from Main Highway to South Bayshore Drive, a stop for rest and hydration near City Hall, then on to Aviation, Tigertail, Oak, Virginia, and Main Highway, ending at the starting point. Along the way, the police escort stopped motor vehicle traffic long enough for the riders to pass through on empty streets. The kids whooped, hollered, and raced their bikes as though experiencing real freedom for the first time in their lives.

Throughout the event, billed as “Get Lucky in the Grove” because of St. Patrick’s Day, the BID offered a variety of gifts ranging from green necklaces with shamrocks to discount tickets for local businesses to green water bottles, all donated by Coconut Grove merchants.

“We want to do more events like this,” said Cynthia Seymour. “It helps to emphasize the importance of biking and walking, which is essential to the success of the Grove’s commercial center.” The BID plans a similar event in May.

“Cycling together in the neighborhood is such a great thing to encourage right now,” said Commissioner Russell. “Commander Lewis and Cynthia at the BID did a great job in bringing us together while supporting local businesses. I look forward to more of these!”

Photos below: Cynthia Seymour with Bike Coconut Grove volunteers; the riders on South Bayshore Drive; Coconut Grove Arts Festival President Monty Trainer with friends.

Photos below: Members of the group ready to ride, photos by Cynthia Seymour.

This press release was produced by Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.