Rebecca bikes 170 miles: Nola to Angola

Hey dear people in my life.  On October 18-20, I'm biking 170 miles from Orleans Parish Prison to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, as part of Nola to Angola.  This is an annual bicycling fundraiser for the Cornerstone Builders Bus Project, which provides free monthly transportation for families in New Orleans and Shreveport to visit loved ones who are incarcerated in facilities across the state.   Nola to Angola supports first-time riders and builds connections between riders and organizations working against mass incarceration. The ride is fully supported and entirely volunteer-run.

This is a ride that is about love.   We're working against a system designed to traumatize people inside and outside the walls of prison. It’s not made to repair harm or to heal – healing is something that happens in relationships, in community.  For people who are incarcerated and their family members, the cost of maintaining connection is so high.  In Louisiana, it costs $12.60 to make an hour-long phone call to a person in prison.   And to get a bus pass and take a 2.5 hour ride to Angola from New Orleans costs $25 a trip.  Meanwhile the minimum wage remains at $7.25.    #UnleashLocal 

I think there’s a part for us all to play in working towards a society that practices transformative justice and treats all people with dignity.  It’s about doing the grassroots work, it’s about connecting human to human, and it’s about creating the space for other people to connect and to heal, too.

I hope you’ll whip out your credit card and throw in $5 or $50.  You could even give 49 cents per mile.  And I’ll be pedaling less than or equal to 170 miles...might hop in a support vehicle for a few miles along the way.

Love,

Rebecca