SBT On The Road Tucson with El Grupo p/b Canyon
Join us on Saturday, February 3rd in Tucson for SBT GRVL On The Road p/b Canyon as we raise money to support the local cycling community with our friends at El Grupo Youth Cycling.
Who: SBT GRVL, Canyon, and El Grupo Youth Cycling
What: A free community road road ride with and optional gravel extension followed by a raffle to raise money for El Grupo Youth Cycling. Everyone who donates $20 or more will be eligible to receive prizes from our amazing partners that include a Wahoo ELMNT Roam cycling computer, Maurten 1/52 Training Packs, gifts from Pas Normal, a CTS jersey, POC helmets, InvisiFrame wrap kit, items from The Cycling House, as well as (1) free entry to SBT GRVL 2024 or 2025. We’ll even have a mid-ride coffee stop supported by Old Pueblo Coffee.
When: Saturday, February 3rd | 9am meet | 9:30 rollout | 12:30pm Raffle.
Where: The Mercado, Tuscon: 100 South Avenida del Convento 180
Start: Presta Coffee Roasters
Post-ride raffle: The Annex
Ride: Strava Route
Why: OTR events provide the opportunity to bring a micro-GRVL event to a local community to say thank you, give back, engage with local cyclists, raise awareness and provide financial contributions for an advocacy partner.
Reflecting our community, watching our blindspots
Beyond racial demographics, El Grupo is proud to have always centered economic equity with programs that are not cost-prohibitive. At most, programs cost 25% the amount of similar organizations. Furthermore, we offer scholarship guidelines that slide on a scale according to household income. Approximately 38% of participants annually qualify for scholarships. With the intent to check any privileges or blindspots, none of the coaches know which participants receive scholarships.
About El Grupo Youth Cycling
Mission
El Grupo empowers youth through bicycles. Through our afterschool programs, all youth regardless of socioeconomic background develop bike and life skills. Bicycles are used as a vehicle, literally and figuratively, to positively develop youth through self-trust, communication skills, and goal-setting. Because of El Grupo, youth not only learn how to navigate streets, but they also learn the skills required to effectively navigate the world.
Goals
El Grupo provides youth with bike-centered experiences that are both fun and challenging. We embrace all forms of cycling from road and mountain bike racing to bicycle touring and daily commuting. Through the use of bicycles, El Grupo’s goals are to:
Encourage youth to become life-long bike enthusiasts
Teach responsibility, self-trust, and leadership skills
Empower youth to set and achieve personal and community goals
Educate and inspire youth to overcome obstacles
Make riding bikes safe, fun, accessible, and cool
Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access
At El Grupo Youth Cycling, we believe that all youth should have access to bicycles. As a “shorts and t-shirt program,” we invite youth to show up as they are, regardless of background - race, ethnicity, gender, religion, ability, immigrant status, socioeconomic status, sexual identity. From there, we are proud to provide everything - access to bikes, helmets, snacks, free or reduced-fee programming, bilingual coaches - to increase access to the transformative power of bicycles.