Originally published by Harriet Gaye, Dorchester Reporter
July 24, 2024
This Saturday (July 27), Mattapan on Wheels will make its annual return for the 14th year with food, music, and a tour of the city’s green and blue spaces. This free event is sponsored by the Neponset River Watershed Association and the Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition.
Mattapan on Wheels was established by a Coalition program, The Vigorous Youth, in 2011. Shavel’le Olivier, the group’s executive director, was one of the founders.
“It’s all about mobility, transportation, equity, and justice,” said Olivier, 32. “This year’s all about the things that have been happening more specifically in the Mattapan area.”
The three bike routes featured this year will focus on various elements of the community. The Sandy Shores ride to Dorchester’s Tenean Beach is an 8-mile scenic route. The 13-mile Food Forest tour to the Boston Nature Center on the main roads will stop at three food forests – Edgewater, the Boston Nature Center, and Ellington Street Food Forest. The Blue Hills ride is another scenic route comprising a 14-mile run to the Trailside Museum in Milton.
Each ride is led by youth members of Mattapan on Wheels, putting them at the forefront of community engagement in paying homage to The Vigorous Youth. UMass Amherst student Ishmael Hazelwood, 19, has been with Mattapan on Wheels since the very beginning. As a young boy, he was a volunteer, and now he’s a part of the route-building team that puts the fundraising event together.
“I was pretty young when I first started riding a bike. It was my father who saw this event. From that point on, every summer we’d do the bike ride,” said Hazelwood.
This will be Hazelwood’s fourth year leading a ride. It has been great leadership experience for him as a business major. The Mattapan native’s favorite part of the event is how it defies stereotypes for the Black community and emphasizes their active involvement in staying active.
“Black folks are adamant about good health; we just need to educate folks that we are willing to cycle,” he said. “We are willing to do these different activities. We are willing to eat fresh produce,” he said. “It’s about getting that access and being able to obtain those different materials.”
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