These micro features first appeared in the Gazette’s inaugural Cycling Guide, an annual special section aimed at telling the stories of the businesses, people and local efforts that have made The Corridor a cycling destination.
Gingerich uses language skills to share love of cycling
When professional translator Aliese Gingerich heard about a program to teach immigrant women how to ride a bike, she wrote to the Iowa City Bike Library to ask if she could help.
She’s now the lead volunteer, traveling weekly in the summer months from the Bike Library to Terry Trueblood Recreational Area pulling a rack of bikes to teach women in a nearby mobile home community, most of whom are from Central America.
“It’s a space to just get out of the house and dedicate a moment for themselves, where they’re not just thinking about caretaking for all of their family members and friends,” Gingerich said.
The program, Mujeres en Bicis, was started at the IC Bike Library by a woman named Marcela Hurtado. This past year, the program held a kick-off event in May at the mobile home community, where residents could learn more about the program and bring their bikes for a tune-up. The IC Bike Library will give participants a bike for free if they participate in six weeks or more of programming.