Global Community Bike Ride: The Democracy Experiment

As part of the Civic Futures series on democracy and civic renewal, this community bike ride invites participants to consider democracy not as a fixed system, but as an ongoing practice shaped by participation, dialogue, and shared responsibility.

The Democracy Experiment is a no-drop community bike ride through Pittsburgh’s Northside exploring the foundations of democracy and how it operates as a living, unfinished process.

What to expect:

• Explore the idea of democracy as a practice that is shaped by participation and engagement
• Hear short “Global Stop Talks” from local leaders and practitioners working to strengthen civic life
• Engage in conversation about what democracy is, what it isn’t, and why it is never finished
• Connect with fellow riders and community members interested in civic engagement
• Enjoy a relaxed, no-drop ride suitable for all experience levels
• Stay afterwards for coffee and conversation

We'll meet at the PoGoh bike station near the corner of North Ave & Federal St on the Northside. Arrive at 12:30PM to check in and get ready to ride. The group will depart promptly at 11:00 AM. We'll end the ride at Commonplace Coffee on Buena Vista Street. Stick around for a post-drink refreshment. First drink is on us!

Global Shop Talk Speakers

This ride will feature short remarks from local leaders and practitioners working at the intersection of civic engagement, public policy, and community organizing. Featured speakers include:

Rich Lord, Managing Editor, Pittsburgh's Public Source. Rich joined Public Source in 2020, serving as a reporter focused on housing and economic development and an assistant editor. He reported for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 2005 through early 2020, leading projects on child poverty, the opioid epidemic, communities with concentrations of people accessing mental health services, and the federal use of confidential informants. He has covered the federal court and city government beats, and was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting, for reporting on the Tree of Life massacre.

Additional speakers may include representatives from organizations such as the League of Women Voters, Common Cause Pennsylvania, the Women and Girls Foundation, Local Government Academy, CONNECT, and other regional partners.

Hosts

This event is co-hosted by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh in partnership with Public Source.

Sponsor

This event is sponsored, in part, by Remake Learning Days.

About the Civic Futures Series

Civic Futures is a yearlong series exploring how democratic societies endure in a time of global pressure and domestic division. Through global perspectives and local dialogue, the series brings together experts and community members to examine the forces shaping democracy and the role we all play in sustaining it.