Events: Rapha Foundation Black Friday Ride

(2022) I know people take issue with companies using events as free advertising like Rapha does for their Black Friday Ride. Looking past the company name and focusing on the cause is best in this case. Further, nothing is as bewildering as seeing people lining up hours before a store opens for items likely for themselves. If a company like Rapha is encouraging people to get out and ride a bike for fundraising purposes, then who are we to judge?

Rapha Foundation’s Black Friday Ride occurs on the final Friday of November. Conveniently the day falls just after Thanksgiving here in the States, when many people are off from work. The ride benefits World Bicycle Relief and its Communities on the Move program. According to Rapha’s landing page for Black Friday Ride, more than 300,000 cyclists have taken part in the past two years, covering four million kilometers. This Friday, cyclists all around the globe can add to the totals. Hopefully the participants can surpass the 500,000 mark. (Rapha Foundation is a continuous grantee to Cycle Kids, Inc. of New York City, USA Cycling, Amy D Foundation, and has granted new status to Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.)

Rapha Foundation donates to World Bicycle Relief by donating Buffalo Bicycles to communities in need, primarily in Africa. Per Rapha Foundation’s page, 4,000 people have gained access to a Buffalo Bicycle along with almost twenty mechanics trained. Participating in Rapha’s Black Friday Ride perpetuates the Foundation’s donations to World Bicycle Relief.

I have known people who, prior to the pandemic, would load up the car with family members in the darkness of Thursday night to head out for early morning shopping. Think around 2am. Meanwhile, as a person who avoids such scenarios, I will be snug in my bed, my kit neatly arranged on the chair, and my bike ready for a ride of any length come sun-up on Black Friday. Sure I could save $100 on the latest hot electronics, but I’ll never get that morning back where I shuffled on a sidewalk for hours waiting for the shop’s doors to open. Though I prefer shopping in person, I dismiss the hoopla around the Black Friday deals. Even if stores tell me items arrived, “Just in time for the Holidays!” as if they nearly didn’t make it. 

As is expected, the weather here in the Northeast is variable. After a cracking cold week, rain is forecasted for Black Friday. No matter. Outside miles are always prioritized, but if indoor miles happen, then that is how it will go. Either way, putting in miles for bike donations is a better way to spend Black Friday than standing in line for excess.