SEEDS OF FREEDOM A Slow Roll of Harvest, Liberation & Solidarity

Ride through South Minneapolis and discover the people who planted seeds of freedom, liberation and solidarity we still harvest today. Someone planted every freedom we enjoy. Every community we inherit is somebody else's harvest. And everything we do today plants something for the people who come next. Join us for a ride that places us in the meaning of the season. As we cross the Fall Equinox, summer gives way to autumn. Day and night come briefly into balance. The light begins to change. The growing season turns toward gathering. Across generations and cultures, this has been a time to recognize what the land has produced, gather what has been grown, and prepare for the season ahead. It is also a good time to ask: What have we inherited? Slow Roll MSP invites you to experience South Minneapolis through the idea of harvest—not only what grows from the earth, but what grows from the work, courage, sacrifice, and imagination of people who came before us. SEEDS OF FREEDOM: A Slow Roll of Harvest, Liberation & Solidarity is a bicycle journey through place, memory, and the lives of people who helped shape the community we inherited. We'll begin at Venture Bikes Midtown, ride to Minneapolis Pioneers & Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, continue to Lakewood Cemetery, and then emerge from these places of memory into the living abundance of the Uptown Farmers Market, where we will experience the tastes of the harvest before returning to Venture Bikes along the Midtown Greenway. Our ride follows one central question: What did the people who came before us plant that we are harvesting today? And as we ride home, we'll consider another: What are we planting for those who come next? 🌱 STOP ONE: PIONEERS & SOLDIERS Seeds of Liberation Our first destination is one of Minneapolis' oldest burial grounds—and one of the most remarkable archives of the city's early history. Here we'll encounter stories that complicate the traditional meaning of the word “pioneer.” These stories remind us: Freedom doesn't simply arrive. Someone plants the seed. Someone makes the journey. Someone clears the path for another person to follow. 🌳 STOP TWO: LAKEWOOD CEMETERY What the Seeds Became At Lakewood, our story moves from liberation toward institution building. Here we'll encounter people who transformed freedom into businesses, education, journalism, civil rights, political participation, and community power. The harvest story is older than Minneapolis. 🌾 STOP THREE: UPTOWN FARMERS MARKET The Harvest After visiting two places where ancestors rest, we arrive somewhere alive with the harvest. That transition is intentional. A farmers market reminds us that every harvest begins long before we see its abundance. Someone chooses a seed. Someone puts it into the ground. Someone tends it. Someone trusts that something will grow. And eventually, people gather to share what has been produced. We'll arrive at the Uptown Farmers Market carrying the stories we've collected along the way. Food, growers, makers, and neighbors become more than the final stop on our ride. They become a living metaphor. We are always living inside somebody else's harvest. The vegetables, food, makers, and neighbors around us remind us that we are always living inside somebody's harvest. Our ancestors planted important seeds. Our South Minneapolis is part of their harvest. And now it is our turn to plant. 🍂 THE FALL EQUINOX A Season of Balance, Gathering & Transition The Fall Equinox marks a turning point. For a brief moment, day and night approach balance. Then the Northern Hemisphere begins its movement into longer nights and the unmistakable arrival of autumn. The equinox reminds us that seasons change. It is a time of transition. A time of gathering. A time of harvest. We ride: Looking backward at what we have inherited. Looking forward at what we will leave behind. 🚲 THIS IS A SLOW ROLL This is not a race. Slow Roll MSP rides are community rides designed for people of different ages, backgrounds and riding abilities. We ride together. We stop together. We learn together. We leave nobody behind. Bring your bike, helmet, water, and curiosity. Don't have a bike? If you need a bike, we got you. Let Venture Bikes know ahead of the ride, and we'll help get you rolling. Now it's our season. SEEDS OF FREEDOM A Slow Roll of Harvest, Liberation & Solidarity Come ride the stories. Come meet the ancestors. Call or text 612 875 7803 with questions or concerns.