Ride along

No matter how small some of us deem our community to be, it’s always refreshing to meet someone who both originates from Shreveport-Bossier City and shares your same interests.

Such was the case when I met Kelly Wiggins.

The art teacher at St. Mark’s Cathedral School is also a member of Bike Shreveport, and I have seen her at various rides, helping out at the Bike Container, and “womaning” the booth at the organization’s free tune-up event at Great Raft Brewing last month.

I was able to talk with her one-on-one a couple of weeks ago to get to know her a bit better. Go for a Ride When I asked Wiggins what turned her to biking some four or five years ago, we pretty much agreed on one thing immediately: we both really don’t like going to the gym.

“I’m kind of a lazy exerciser,” Wiggins said. “I don’t like going to the gym. And I thought, I’ve always liked riding my bike.”

She then bought a bike from Target and started riding along the Clyde Fant Parkway. A few months later, she completed the 28-mile Heart of Hope tour.

Fast forward to September 2014:

Wiggins and her sister, Caroline, were at Great Raft Brewing during Bike Shreveport’s (then SBC Bike Social) first, free tune-up. “I was excited to meet lots of new people,” she recalled. “And I was excited that a lot of these people had the same interests in creating a better Shreveport, because I’ve always been a huge fan of Shreveport.” #buttsonbikes Since finding the group at Great Raft, Kelly has been on multiple rides, including Critical Mass rides and various others, including Tuesday’s Bike to Bears. She’s found a new group of friends; met her boyfriend, George (with whom she goes on date nights via bike!); and has a completely different perspective while driving.

The latter is something she believes about the mission of Bike Shreveport – which I personally sum up as simply putting butts on bikes – because she knows the group is making a statement to Shreveport drivers: people are riding bikes, and drivers need to be more aware.

In fact, she admits to being much more aware now than she was as a young driver, making sure now to give cyclists at least three feet of space while sharing the road.

Wiggins’s also feeling much healthier, and has found biking to yield a confidence boost after each ride.

“I’ll say to myself, ‘Wow, you rode 20-something miles,’” she said. “You can do five or 10 more next time. I’m proud of myself for going those long distances.”

Wiggins also continues to ride solo, making loops from Spring Lake to downtown Shreveport and back; riding along Clyde Fant; and using her bike as transportation from her grandparent’s house to Querbes in Waterside for tennis practice. “I like to see how far I can push myself,” Wiggins said. “See how far I can go.”

Her favorite local spots to ride to are Great Raft, Marilynn’s Place, Ki’ Mexico, and the Shreveport Farmers Market when in season. “Just do it.”

I asked Wiggins what she would tell someone that has an interest in joining Bike Shreveport, or riding a bike in general. “Just do it,” she said. “As an adult, I’ve gotten a lot less shy than I was a child. If you really want something – if you want to be part of something – you’re going to make it happen.”

I nodded in agreement. That’s exactly it. Particularly because the Bike Shreveport community is extremely friendly, and at the end of the day, it’s a comminity of people that want to have fun together while being active.

This mindset has also led Wiggins to volunteer at the Bike Container on Sundays, helping host safety clinics to LightHouse students and families of the McAdoo Hotel in downtown Shreveport. Wiggins focuses on bike safety: being safe while riding with traffic, the signs to look for, and what laws are in place.

“I do love what we have done with the co-op,” she said. “It’s a very neat thing.”

Bike Plan. Kelly Wiggins covers more ground by biking as much as possible.

Karen E. Wissing works in Shreveport-Bossier City and loves her community.

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