By Derek Redd, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. — Hopping on a bike for some exercise started out as a family affair for Joe Sparksman. It quickly became an opportunity for people from all different backgrounds to get together, break a sweat and get to know their neighbors a little better.
Since Memorial Day weekend, Men of Change — a group of Ohio Valley residents who banded together to empower, uplift, support, and educate the community — has hosted Saturday morning bike rides. Anyone can join in as the riders start at Heritage Port and head up and down the Ohio River Trail.
Sparksman, Men of Change’s president, said that after one of his family bike rides, he wanted more people to join in.
“I thought about it and I was like, what better way to get people in the community, now that’s it’s warming up, out together and interacting with each other?” he said. “We’re separate in our own neighborhoods. There’s so much division between us, if we can just get a group of people to ride together, you can get to meet your neighbors in your community.” …
To read more: https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/community/2021/07/men-of-change-group-pedaling-by-example/
