Bike Cleveland’s Lakewood chapter hosted its fifth annual Cranksgiving, an event organized by Bike Lakewood in which local cyclists meet up and are given a list of needed food items based on the Lakewood Community Service Center’s requests. From there, they bike around Lakewood to buy items required by the Lakewood Community Service Center to be donated.

The history of Cranksgiving in Lakewood goes back a decade. As a local advocacy chapter of Bike Cleveland, Bike Lakewood previously hosted the event as part of the larger unified event with Bike Cleveland. However, the local chapter now manages its own separate event. “The first year that Bike Cleveland did it was 2012, and then in 2020, Bike Lakewood started doing their own event in conjunction with the Bike Cleveland event. Bike Cleveland now does their [Cranksgiving] in Cleveland Heights, and we’ve been doing ours here in Lakewood,” said Mitch Zimmer, an ex-board member and now volunteer at Bike Lakewood.

Since this change, Bike Lakewood’s Cranksgiving has maintained a good turnout, though it is heavily dependent on weather conditions. “[The] first [Cranksgiving] went well — we had a good turnout. We had over 40 people that year, and it’s very weather-driven, so we’ve had 30 to 40 people every year [from then on],” said Zimmer.

The Meaning Behind the Cycling

What Cranksgiving represents to Bike Lakewood is more than just a charity event, as it reflects Bike Lakewood’s mission to advocate not only for cyclists but also for every community member in the city of Lakewood. “Basically, the goal of Cranksgiving is to serve as a food drive before the Thanksgiving holiday, so folks in the community can get out on their bikes, ride, go shop at local businesses [and] collect donations,” said Cassie Organ, a board member. This event allows cyclists to do good in the community and to spread awareness of Bike Lakewood’s mission.

“I’ve been seeing it on social media [platforms like] Facebook and it’s something that I wanted to get involved with. I’m a cyclist, and also just looking to help out where I can,” said Jim Gardner, a local cyclist.

Behind the Scenes

The lists of needed items not only include food but other needs as well, “So there [are] non-perishables on there. And then there’s also some household goods like sheets, shower curtains, towels, things like that,” said Organ. Cyclists are not limited to only shops within Lakewood and can purchase items from whichever store they can cycle to. The only expectation of participants is to bring back a minimum $10 to $15 worth of items.

After collection, the donated items are gathered by someone from the Lakewood Community Services Center. “As far as how they’re dispersed after that, that’s their end of things, but we make sure they go directly to them at the end of the event,” said Organ.

Cycling Through Other Options

For those who are unable or choose not to cycle — especially considering the weather — alternative options are in place. “So we have some people show up [who] just bring boxes of canned goods that they’ve already purchased or from their homes. We also have the local bike shops around town collecting donations,” said Organ.

Despite Cranksgiving being a take on Thanksgiving, Bike Lakewood held a Cranksgiving in May due to economic needs and the need professed by food pantries. “There was a definite need for it [and] it was Mitch’s idea. We decided to try it out in May, and we had a great turnout. [If] we did it again, [it would be] Mother’s Day weekend or the holiday weekend,” said Emily Lindberg, a board member.

What’s Down the Road

Planning for Cranksgivings in Lakewood has been straightforward, as the event has been established for a while now. Despite Cranksgiving having a place on the map of events in Lakewood, organizers are considering ways to expand the event. “Mitch and I talked about getting in touch with, perhaps, Lakewood Alive to help advertise it more so that it’s a bigger event. The community would see it [by] making poster[s] … and putting them up at local businesses,” said Lindberg.

“I think it’s good for the cycling community to get together for a good cause,” said Gardner. “I think that there’s a lot of folks that divide, and we need to work together to do what we can for cycling and for the community in general.”