Bags strapped. Turkey hats on. Grocery lists in hand. The cyclists of Cranksgiving were ready to roll out.
More than 100 cyclists took to the streets and trails on Saturday, Nov. 15, to collect food and hygiene items to give back to schools on the near northwest side. The cyclists donated over 2,000 pounds of food, the largest amount in the event’s history.
Inspired by the scrappy alleycat races of the ’90s, bike messenger Antonio “Tone” Rodrigues wanted to create a race that would help others in the community during the Thanksgiving holiday. In 1999, he held the first Cranksgiving in New York City.
The event grew and more cyclists started their own versions in different cities across the country. It made its way to Indianapolis in 2012 when ActiveIndy Tours, a local bike company, hosted the first Cranksgiving Indy.
It drew more than 100 participants, making it one of the largest Cranksgivings in its first year.
“The principle of Cranksgiving is to come together as a community and ride and donate,” said Aryn Coomes, chief operating officer at Nine13sports, a nonprofit that organizes the event.
An evolving Cranksgiving
In the early years, cyclists focused on purchasing traditional Thanksgiving foods — everything from canned vegetables to whole frozen turkeys. The focus shifted shortly after Nine13sports acquired the bike company and took over organizing the event in 2019.
“We decided in 2022 to shift our efforts toward addressing food insecurity within the elementary schools we already partner with throughout the year with our youth programming,” Coomes said.
The donation list focuses on pantry-stable food and hygiene items. It directly supports the students and families at four local elementary schools.
The nonprofit teaches kids about health and wellness through bicycling. Its headquarters and a lot of its youth programming are on the near northwest side.
“It just made sense to serve the kids that we’re already working with,” Coomes said.
Riding through a food desert
Cyclists are given a list of grocery stores in a five-mile radius of the donation drop-off site, Guggman Haus Brewing Co. The list includes locally owned Cleo’s Bodega, DG Market, Needler’s, Whole Foods and a number of Family Dollars and Krogers nearby.
Cyclists headed out, riding on the Fall Creek Greenway, the Cultural Trail and various streets to get to the stores. They leave one cyclist outside to watch the bikes while the others go inside and buy items on the list before heading back to drop them off at Guggman Haus.
A large part of the near northwest side is considered a food desert, meaning there’s a considerable amount of low-income people with low access to stores selling healthy and affordable foods.
Even if people have a grocery nearby, providing enough food for everyone in the household is still a challenge for a lot of people in that community.
One way to measure food insecurity is looking at the proportion of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP benefits. A 2024 study shows that 24.4% of people in the near northwest side of Indianapolis are enrolled in SNAP compared to 14.6% in Marion County.
Feeling connection
Andrea Drygas, an avid cyclist who lives in the SoBro neighborhood, did Cranksgiving last year and decided to do it again. She loves that Nine13sports uses the bike as a tool for education, accessibility and skill building.
“I’m not in the near northwest, and so while I’ve worked in those neighborhoods, until you’re on your feet or on two wheels, you sometimes don’t realize how difficult it is to access your necessities,” she continued.
“Until you’re on your feet or on two wheels, you sometimes don’t realize how difficult it is to access your necessities.”
— Andrea Drygas
Her perspective echoes the reasons many riders return to the event each year.
Jenn Gonzalez, a mountain biking enthusiast, said she comes back to Cranksgiving because she knows firsthand what the people of the near northwest side are going through.
“I definitely do this because I grew up around food insecurity. I’ve lived in Indiana food deserts before, and had to scrounge for food at dollar stores even, you know, as recent as like six, seven years ago,” she said.
After dropping off the final donations, Drygas reflected on how nice it was to see an event like Cranksgiving activate the bike community to give back.
“It feels wonderful to get on bikes with friends, share our resources and also just connect to something greater than ourselves,” she said.
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