Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Nixon.
Hi Dominique, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Dominique Nixon originally from Miami Fl, (Carol City). I could honestly tell you that with all the hills in Atlanta I never thought I would be riding a bike up and down them but here we are. At the height of the Pandemic last year, when everyone was advised to quarantine due to Covid – 19 I started to spend more time on social media, seeing as that was my window to the outside world. After spending more time on Facebook and Instagram, I noticed there were a lot of people getting cabin fever while packing on the pounds due to lack of physical activity. The pandemic was in full swing which forced millions to work from home coupled with kids being homeschooled, which created a lot of undue stress in the household. When we were finally allowed to go back outside under mask mandate, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to give parents and kids alike a chance to interact, be active, all while exercising the social distant rules. In doing so, I figured I could service two needs, physical activity as well as allowing families to fellowship and spend some quality time together outside of the house away from the internet, video games & tablet devices.
That same week I called up a few of my close friends and family members and told them to meet me in Piedmont Park Sunday at 10am for a bike ride. I purposely made the meeting spot near the local bike shop that rented bikes giving everyone the opportunity to participate. The family and friends I invited came out with their children in tow and most of them had bikes they had never ridden. After everyone saw how much fun it was and how tired their children were after the rides, they decided to make it a weekly routine. To encourage people to come out, I stress the fact that it’s a beginner’s ride at a very slow pace, and we take breaks for water and pictures so don’t worry about moving slowly because no one will be left behind. Me and the riders would do an easy ride down the beltline, in which many people living in and around the city of Atlanta have never even been to the beltline. I would often get approached by strangers on the beltline asking how they could join us, with that and the pictures and videos I would post online is what helped grow the ridership, forcing me to create a name, file for an LLC and build up my social media platforms.
Many of us have seen cyclists zipping by us in traffic once or twice, and may have thought to ourselves, that looks cool, but they are riding too fast for me or maybe even saying that looks dangerous. Now there have been times when we have had to ride in the street, but 95% percent of the time, we are in a controlled area to help prevent any mishaps and or accidents. Pedal Pushers is a great intro to cycling, and I encourage everyone to come out at least once and see what all the hype is about. If for nothing else, the many health benefits bike riding has to offer, relieve stress, burn calories, boosts metabolism, reduces the risk of heart disease, strengthens the immune system, helps you lose fat, improves coordination, and most importantly reduces high blood pressure and risk of diabetes.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been several challenges along the way for sure, but nothing I couldn’t navigate through. One thing that will forever be a challenge is the weather, you can plan days and weeks for a good ride, and the weather can offset all that planning with a few raindrops. Other challenges I have faced is the many festivals and events that take place in Piedmont Park throughout the year. Seeing as Piedmont Park is our base for the rides, if an event is going on the parking will be limited, and you can’t ride through the park with vendors and thousands of people walking around is not safe. My go to plan whenever we get rained out is skating. Seeing as most of the riders look forward to our Sunday rides and they have scheduled for this time on their calendar, I just have everyone meet at the skating rink so we can get some form of exercise. Two of the many lessons I learned is to remain optimistic and always be flexible. In retrospect I would have to say its been very easy for me, because I can adapt to any circumstance.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
It’s very hard to describe what I do because there is really no title for it. I specialize in connecting the dots, if you will, seeing a void and placing people in a position to fill said void. I have a deep sense of community, and if I could fix all the hurt and pain in the inner city I would. What I do now with the bike rides allows me to do that on a small scale. The bike rides bring joy to the people that come out and ride, and knowing I am making a difference in someone’s life weekly and sometimes daily is very rewarding and satisfying to me.
One of my proudest moments was being able to gift a young man a bike who comes out to our weekly rides with his grandmother. The grandmother loves coming to the rides because it’s a way to keep her grandson, who is in high school, safe and out of the streets, plus it allows her time to bond with him weekly. If I can do that 100 times over, allowing young black men a healthy alternative to running the streets while spending time with their family I am pretty sure that help decrease some of the crime in the city. I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to relate to people from all walks of life. I worked in customer services for years and in doing so, you learn people, patterns and behaviors. When people feel you can relate to them, their story, their pain or their joy, that is a different type of connection you can’t get everywhere.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I sincerely believe that a risk-taker is someone who has a deep level of Faith. They say Faith by definition is – complete trust or confidence in someone or something. In order to be a risk-taker you have to have a certain level of confidence because there will be plenty of people to tell you it will not work or that is a dumb idea. You must have enough faith to completely trust yourself to make the necessary steps to get you closer to your goals.There are several bike/cycling clubs in and around the city of Atlanta. I could have easily joined one of them and just been a rider. I took a risk inviting random people to come out and ride with me when they too could have rode with any one of the many other cycling clubs. I knew I had something different to offer the cycling world and I had enough confidence (faith) in my abilities that I could pull it off. Recently my bike group just celebrated our one-year bikerversary (anniversary) and it’s safe to say had I not taken that risk we would not be having this conversation.
Pricing:
- All Rides Are Free
- $35 Pedal Pushers Dri Fit T-Shirt
Contact Info:
- Email: pedalpusherstv@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.pedalpusherllc.com
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- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pedalpushersatl
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/pedalpushersllc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcycD8HMWYujXVTOBb_4igg
