Slow Roll
Mike MacKool and Jason Hall started Slow Roll as a simple bike ride among friends in Detroit with only one rule: anyone could join if they wanted to.
As the Monday night bike rides grew in popularity, MacKool and Hall noticed that people of every colour and from every community joined in the rides with smiles on their faces. That insight led them to turn Slow Roll into a well-executed city-building exercise.
Every week, thousands joined the ride through different neighbourhoods. Slow Roll allowed people to get out of their part of the city, slow down, see the city for what it truly is, and experience what’s on the other side of the freeway. As Jason put it, “Detroit is better on a bike. In a car, you’re shut out. You’re moving too fast. On a bike, you are forced to see and deal with the environment around you. It keeps you grounded.”
In a city perceived to be on its knees, people began to feel they could do something they could take pride in— pride in themselves and pride in their city.
“When it comes to things that I stand behind, what pushed this was my passion to see how far we could take it. To say, ‘It’s not just a bike ride, but how can we affect Detroit? How can we make change? How can we bring people together?’ We believe that Slow Roll is transforming Detroit through exercise, education, experiences and community.”
As a result of Slow Roll, Detroit created and celebrated stories about the city.
While Slow Roll hasn’t resumed post-pandemic, it remains an example of what the human spirit can do when it steps away from the virtual digital world and does something tactile and collective.