Photo: Lucy LiBosha

IN PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA, we know getting more people on bikes can help us reach our community-wide health and wellbeing goals. To reach more people in our community, we put equity, diversity and capacity building at the heart of our bike education efforts. Thanks to a Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant provided by the CDC, the Pima County Health Department (PCHD) has sponsored three LCI seminars over the past 18 months, training 29 people as bike educators. Those certified include health educators, middle and high school teachers, community advocates, and staff from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, and PCHD.

LCI status empowers community members to teach bike safety curriculum with more confidence and with a greater sense of equity and diversity. Here are their stories, in their own words:

S M A R T C Y C L I N G

CENTERING EQUITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH BIKE EDUCATION B Y E L A I N E M A R I O L L E

How a community public health agency leveraged federal funding to get more people on bikes

“Becoming an LCI has changed my life. Although I rode as a child, I started serious cycling about five years ago. As a high school teacher, I worked with fellow teachers and students as we trained for and rode the El Tour de Tucson 40-mile event. With a newfound love of the open road, I now commute to work 40% - 60% weekly. I became a board member for BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage, a nonprofit bike repair/salvage collective), a Complete Streets Coordinating Council member, and I am collaborating with Pima County Health Department and other organizations to create a bike program for women and girls of color called Sugar Hill BIWoC Ciclistas. I’ve taught three Traffic Skills 101 classes, and assisted with several bike clinics. LCI training makes me a stronger and more versatile ride leader and advocate.”

Lucy LiBosha is an advocate and co-founder of the Sugar Hill Black and Indigenous Women of Color Ciclistas.

Lucy LiBosha Advocate and Co-founder, Sugar Hill BIWoC Ciclistas

PHOENIX

TUSCON

Pima Co.

Arizona

26

Iris is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Victoria is a Tohono O’odham tribal member.

IRW holds year-round Tuesday evening Rez Rides at the Pascua Yaqui Pueblo that attract 16 - 20 riders of all ages and abilities with a dedicated core group of young riders. In September, IRW began Wednesday afternoon Rez Rides for youth at San Xavier on Tohono O’odham Nation. They also organize weekend rides on The Loop. Training the next generation of well-prepared riders and community leaders is a priority for IRW.

“We use our LCI training for cycling in traffic with our youth riders. The good thing about teaching them these skills is that when we see them cycling in the community, they are clearly using the proper signals, helmets, and communication on their own,” said Iris Coronado.

“Iris and I have cycled for several years on our own,” said Cupis. “LCI training has given me an appreciation for safe cycling, and especially, an awareness of my surroundings in traffic. I also learned how to prep for long distance and group cycling rides.”

In May 2020, Iris Coronado and Victoria Cupis take a break during a public service announcement video shoot about the importance of bike safety on The Loop during the pandemic.

The Loop is a 132-mile system of multi-use paths that has seen a surge of new riders over the Summer.

Phot

o: E

lain

e M

ario

lle

October 2019 LCI training seminar with candidates and coaches. Pima County Health Bike Safety Program thanks League Coach, Rio Oxas (kneeling in front) for their great work of bringing issues of equity and inclusion to the fore in all three LCI training seminars.

Phot

o: R

io O

xasThanks to a REACH grant provided

by the CDC, the Pima County Health Department has sponsored three LCI seminars over the past 18 months, training 29 people as bike educators.

Iris Coronado & Victoria Cupis Co-founders, Indigenous Road Warriors (IRW)

27

Thomas Cupis (top right), Joseph Mease (bottom) and Lucy LiBosha take a break during the March 6-8, 2020 LCI seminar.

The Baboquivari MS/HS, located near Sells, AZ in the Tohono O’odham Nation, was awarded an Outride grant and they are receiving 31 bikes and helmets. Mease, a PE/Health teacher and a Tohono O’odham community member, will lead the middle school instruction.

“Our middle school program will run eight-weeks, three days per week during PE and health classes,” said Mease. “This opportunity will have a positive impact on our students in many ways, such as reducing their risks of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and diabetes. We will accomplish this goal by promoting and teaching safe cycling, proper equipment use, cycling laws, bike maintenance and much more.

“Our MS/HS programs will benefit our students more than ever during this coronavirus lockdown as more students are showing signs and symptoms of depression and mental illnesses. I want to see our students exercising and riding a bike each day to strengthen their self-esteem and their emotional, social, and cognitive well-being.”

Thomas Cupis, Baboquivari HS astronomy and physics teacher, avid cyclist, LCI and member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, will lead an after-school program for high school students. Cupis has stated, “LCI training has provided me the additional skills and confidence to advocate for healthy living though cycling for the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham communities.”

Iris Coronado (second from right) and Victoria Cupis (center) promoting Indigenous Road Warriors and collaborating with PCHD bike rodeo during Native American Wellness Day, Aug 3, 2019, at Pascua Yaqui Pueblo.

Phot

o: E

lain

e M

ario

lle

Phot

o: J

osep

h M

ease

Joseph Mease & Thomas CupisBaboquivari Middle / High School Bike Program

28

Ernesto Somoza Pueblo High School (PHS) Road Warriors

Building on the after-school El Tour de Tucson bike club, Somoza started a Fundamentals of Cycling class this Fall, during school, which filled fast. LCI certification was essential in receiving approval for the class.

“I teach Fundamentals of Cycling at Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona. Being LCI certified has given me the confidence to lead my students on bike rides during school and in our after-school program. I have taken the curriculum and techniques I learned from the LCI training and have implemented those skills into making my students confident and competitive riders in Tucson’s annual El Tour de Tucson. Students have shared that they feel much safer on the roads after running through the LCI curriculum and exercises. Before being LCI certified I was prepared to ride, but being LCI certified gave me the assurance that I was ready and capable of riding safely with large groups of riders.”

Ernesto Somoza (bottom center) with members of the 2019 Pueblo High School Road Warriors bike club. 20 students trained for and rode either the 50 or 100-mile El Tour de Tucson event.

Phot

o: E

rnes

to S

omoz

a

Elaine Mariolle is program coordinator for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety in the Pima County Health Department. She is an active LCI and has served as an assistant coach for five LCI seminars.

During the pandemic, all groups are following CDC guidelines and jurisdictional directives regarding congregation, group size, and face covering.

29