Advocate of the Month: Alvin Garcia
Name: Alvin Garcia
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Occupation: Route Setter at The Front Climbing Club
Associated Advocacy Group: I use my Gnarly Nutrition Regional Ambassadors role to advocate for minorities, immigrants and to promote healthier nutrition for all. I also compete for Ascent Cycling p/b Health club as an amateur road racer but primarily use the club and brand to build friendships and community.
What was your first bike?
My very first bike was a red and silver Pacific BMX jumper. This is a very special memory as It was the very first holiday present my mother was able to afford and gave me shortly after we migrated and settled in the States.
What relationship did you have with bicycles as a child?
As a young child, I witnessed how my family would often feel left out because of our undocumented status, language barrier, and the culture change in the states. Luckily through bicycles, my siblings and I found love and refuge at the Zuni Bike Club in Tucson, Arizona. Through the club, we learned to clean, tune and build bicycles really well. These bikes would then be sold at the swapmeet or donated to anyone in need of a bike. All earnings would go towards maintaining a community garden, the garage we used, and keeping supplies and tools in stock. The club would also keep track of the hours spent working and later on let us trade in worksheets for new bike parts and personal shop time to work on our own bikes.
What were the lasting effects of relationships like the Zuni Bike Club?
These early memories have helped me beyond what I could imagine as a child. The hands-on time spent with tools, supplies, and troubleshooting mechanical issues has allowed me to build respect for hard work, feel comfortable and keep a clear mind throughout difficult situations. Most importantly, as an adult, I recognize that the desire to serve or find ways to help the immigrant community comes from the love and belief I receive at the Zuni Bike Club.
What is your preferred type of riding and how did you get comfortable with it?
I love all types of riding. Road cycling allows me to feel competitive and go fast. Mountain biking keeps me close to nature, grounded and my indoor trainer breaks me down and keeps me humble. Pushing a pedal may have the same mechanics but all riding isn’t the same and so I simply couldn't just pick one as my favorite. I can say, riding a bike at first can be extremely intimidating but the more you get out and sense the power you hold, the easier and the more comfortable you become with your surroundings.
How has cycling helped you foster a sense of community?
Cycling welcomed me when I most needed it as a child and it has also brought me back and made me feel loved when feeling lost or confused. In this past year, I've personally crashed on my road bike, been hit by a car while riding my bike on a different occasion, and have had to work on recovering from many surgeries. Despite this all, I've been blessed to have friends and strangers from the cycling community reach out to help and offer more than I could ever expect. I wouldn’t be where I am without my community's love and support.
Where is your favorite place to ride in Utah?
A very tough choice to make since Utah has so many beautiful roads and trails. But, If I must, Emigration Canyon is my daily go-to. I sometimes ride that canyon twice or three times a day. Serves as the perfect amount of miles to decompress, exercise, or introduce a new rider to the beauty of climbing mountains on a bike. It’s also a very popular canyon where you can meet and work on feeling more comfortable on the road. I also experienced my first cycling crash in this canyon, so it's only natural that I respect and hold this road close to my heart.
What was your journey to returning to cycling after being hit by a car?
The path back to cycling has been difficult, to say the least. It’s only been four months since the last surgery but, broken bones, a collarbone plate replacement, and a damaged lung has set me back months of training, with many medical bills and sometimes feeling depressed or mentally drained. Luckily and extremely grateful for it, I haven’t had to face this alone. Hope and drive to get better have been heavily influenced by the love and support I’ve received from my family, friends, and communities. So the journey to recovery continues and I can only expect things to get better.
How has being an immigrant influenced your relationship with cycling?
Being an immigrant has always left me to walk with a chip on my shoulder. As immigrants, although it shouldn't be this way, we often have to work harder than most to feel leveled or find acceptance. This attitude has kept me engaged with cycling when it comes to competing. I think of all the hard work my mother and family have put in in order to see me happy and shooting for the stars. At the same time, very importantly, cycling allows me to feel human and reminds me that, no matter our background, we all hurt the same when going out and pedaling. This helps me keep humble and grateful for my blessings and experiences.
How does your Latinx identity integrate into your relationship with cycling?
I believe that as members of the Latinx community we have two major responsibilities: One is to accomplish, build on, and dream beyond the opportunities our parents and roots sought outside of our homelands. The second responsibility is to share the love, pass on the loyalty and amazingly beautiful culture we come from. It isn’t yet normal to see our people out riding in the canyons and roads. So with that in mind, I try my best to represent my colors with pride, love, and respect. These two responsibilities also allow me to keep an open heart towards diversity and during difficult moments while I ride. In another positive way, these responsibilities also keep me hungry and out looking for ways to show my Latinx and immigrant communities that there is room for us. It's easy to say I’ve been using my relationship with cycling to exercise these responsibilities.
What is something you wish the cycling community could practice creating a safer community for immigrants?
I wish the cycling community would invest a little more in building clubs and safe places like the Zuni Bike Club for young immigrants. These types of safe spaces allow for children to experience and grow respect for labor while keeping off the streets.
As adults, riding out on the road, I think the cycling community can work on not being so professional. Wave, smile, and talk to each other. We all share and ride bikes because it makes us feel human. It's time to break down the old elitist culture that tells us we have to look, dress or act a certain way in order to fit in. We can all, simply, work on making everyone feel welcomed and loved.
What advice do you have for immigrants/Latinx communities who are interested in cycling?
I can’t advise much as I’m still working to figure that out myself but, I sincerely believe that we as immigrants and members of the Latinx community have so much room and potential in the cycling world. Let our parent’s example of hard work and the thick Latin love we carry drive us into a different but better future. The cycling community could use more immigrant representation and with our desire to overcome or shorten the distance between racial groups, I believe, we can find a lot of support and success within the art of pushing the pedals. Pedal hard but with love for yourself and others.
What do you hope to see in the future from the cycling community?
My only hope is for everyone, rider or not, to feel comfortable on or around bikes. This sport is a tool we can all use to remove barriers, build respect and love for one another. Cycling has and continues to provide the perfect opportunities to connect and be my true self around anyone I have the opportunity to pedal with.
Do you have a follow-up question for Alvin? Would you like more info about your local bicycling advocacy group or have a specific active transportation project you’d like to see initiated? Do you know an advocate we should highlight? Email info@bikeutah.org!
