Good Company on two wheels
In this episode of 'Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast,' a pandemic-born bicycle club, business and movement.
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Sometimes good things are born out of adversity. And sometimes they are the products of boredom. Early in the summer, when the coronavirus lockdown had already dragged on for a couple months and had no end in sight, Andrew Bennett decided to go on a bike ride. A lifelong cyclist, this in itself is not that interesting. But he put out a call on social media asking anyone who was interested to meet him at the steps of the Brooklyn Museum.
Seventeen people showed up and the Good Company Bike Club was born.
A respite from social unrest throughout the city—and from the boredom and stress brought on by the pandemic—the Good Company Bike Club soon took on a life of its own with weekly rides to all corners of the city. It is a self-described celebration of Black joy on two wheels: Good Company has fostered a community among its predominantly Black members by leveraging a shared love of biking to create a space of inclusivity, positivity and visibility in Brooklyn’s mostly Black inner-city communities.
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Its numbers have swelled to hundreds of cyclists who have gone on dozens of rides organized through the Good Company Bike Club instagram account: Some are just for fun, some to raise awareness of the bad quality of bike lanes in poorer communities. One celebrated the life of Kobe Bryant with a mural tour of the city, and the biggest one to date was a massive ride to commemorate Juneteenth.
Andrew Bennett, founder of the Good Company Bike Club, and Marv Marcel, Good Company’s chief creative officer, are today’s guests on “Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast.” Both Brooklyn natives, they’ll talk about Good Company specifically and get into other, various, aspects of cycling in Brooklyn and beyond—for beginners and experienced riders alike.
Even in winter.
