In February SVBC staff went for a really nice bike ride around East San Jose to visit sites of cultural significance and to see some biking infrastructure including protected lanes and a traffic signal just for people on bikes. Riding together is something the team decided to do regularly since we have been working remotely due to the pandemic.

We met at Veggielution Community Farm, where SVBC volunteers will begin the Eastside Connect program, delivering 40 boxes of produce to area families monthly beginning in April (by the way, we still need volunteers! Learn more here). From there we peddled along Story Road and into the Mayfair neighborhood via Sunset Bridge. This pedestrian and bike bridge over Interstate 680 was activated and beautified through a grant from ArtPlace, implemented by Sunset680.org.

We crossed over, used a cool two-way bike lane, and cruised past Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on our way to our next stop, Cesar Chavez’ family home. This is where the future agricultural labor union leader moved to in the 1930s and first began his political actions, registering voters and organizing English language classes for the mostly Mexican American residents.

From there we meandered around neighborhoods, finding foot bridges over Lower Silver Creek before heading down San Antonio toward downtown. We gathered at a potential future office site for SVBC before disbanding, some heading to Diridon and others back to Veggielution.

All told, it was about 6 miles over 2 hours on a lovely mild winter day. As someone who primarily supports the operation of the organization, it was inspiring to get out and see a small part of the region SVBC serves.