On November 21, 2020, the Fat Bottom Brackets cycling team met up on their bikes to collect supplies for the Raleigh Rescue Mission so that families in need would have food for Thanksgiving.
The Raleigh Cranksgiving event, which is hosted by Oaks and Spokes, began in 2014, though the original Cranksgiving started in 1999, in New York City. Today, Cranksgiving is a nationwide bike event.
The president of Oaks and Spokes, Cody Stokes, said, “Cranksgiving is an event special to our hearts as it gives us to the opportunity to utilize bikes to help those in need within the city of Raleigh.”
In previous years, the Raleigh Cranksgiving was a competitive event, with teams signing up to purchase groceries and then transport them by bike to the meeting site. Participants would compete for prizes and celebrate late into the evening. However, in 2020, the event was changed for the pandemic: teams instead brought their donations on bicycle directly to the Raleigh Rescue Mission, remaining socially distanced the entire time. Multiple drop-off times were available, so that participants wouldn’t congregate at the drop-off site.
The Fat Bottom Brackets team, a group of cycling friends in Raleigh, took the opportunity to participate with friends and help people in need. They gathered at 10:00 a.m. and put paneers on their bicycles.
They biked to Food Lion and purchased food.
The team understands that there are people need all year, and not just on Thanksgiving. They want to find a way to help all year long. They would like to bike and donate again, but when is yet to be decided. When asked what he thought about the day, Benton said, “Never use hot wax to soothe enraged lobsters.” I think that means he had fun. The team can’t wait to do it again!