On April 1st of this year, a caravan of 15 volunteers left BBP and drove south through the high desert of the Owyhees to join the Duck Valley Community Center’s Spring Break Field Day. A day earlier, the Duck Valley Fire Department had driven to Boise and loaded up roughly 100 bicycles to distribute to kids and families living on the Duck Valley Reservation.

When we arrived at the school, we quickly fell into the action happening. Alongside Duck Valley residents and firefighters, we set up bikes for eager riders, popped up a traffic garden where kids practiced riding their new bicycles and learned how to ride safely, and wrenched alongside curious kids fixing up their bikes during our widest-ranging Mobile Fix-It of the year. While all that was happening we ate barbequed lunch with residents, had some laughs, and took some hot laps around the parking lot on our bikes. It was incredible to see bicycles once again creating connections and bridging communities through our shared passion for bikes. We also had the chance to check in with some riders who had received bikes in years past, watching how they’ve grown both on and off their wheels.

This field day is just one example of a near-decade-long partnership between BBP and the Shoshone-Bannock and Shoshone-Paiute tribes of Fort Hall and Duck Valley. Supporting Indigenous and displaced populations in and around Boise is a vital part of our mission, and we work closely with these communities to ensure that bicycles, and all the benefits they bring, are accessible to people living on the reservations.

Our partnership extends beyond visits like this. Support for the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway, especially bike donations, extend support to these partnerships, where they help kids and families stay mobile and active in their communities. Over the years, we’ve also organized bike pickups, provided tools and components, donated repair stands, and facilitated training workshops to support ongoing bike access and maintenance.

As we enter this season of giving, we invite you to join us in supporting these vital partnerships. Your donation helps us provide bicycles, repair resources, and educational programming to Indigenous communities and ensures that the joy of cycling continues to bridge gaps and build connections. Together, we can create even more opportunities for community, connection, and empowerment through bicycles.

You’re invited to support BBP’s mission in Boise and beyond: Support our mission.

Land Acknowledgement

The Boise Bicycle Project is located on Shoshone, Bannock, and Northern Paiute land. We acknowledge our indigenous communities through our services and recognize the indigenous homelands on which we sit.

Statement of Intent

The only way BBP can achieve its mission is by creating inclusive spaces in our shop, on our rides, at our events, and in our community for groups of people who have systematically been marginalized. We want to reaffirm our ongoing commitment to black, indigenous, people of color, all bodies and abilities, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized communities. We will back up this commitment with actions, outcomes, and continual evaluation. We invite you to join us in this work with courage and curiosity!