Ride to Save Chez Vous Roller Rink
Donation protected
I’m biking my first century (100 miles) to raise money for Chez Vous Roller Rink, a black-owned Boston roller rink.
Due to COVID, Chez Vous has been closed since March. And they’re at risk of permanently shutting down.
My road cycling and skating journeys began at the same time, this past December. My gym buddy and I made plans to do a century ride in the spring for our birthdays — we're both biracial Filipinx Tauruses from CA. I’d only biked via commuting around Boston, but big rides were a growing curiosity.
I’d also signed up for roller derby classes. Hadn't ridden skates since childhood, but had been thinking about trying derby for years.
Figured it’d be good to start learning, so I went to Chez Vous for the first time. And it felt so right to be in that roller rink. The people, music, and energy was magical. I couldn’t wait to start both biking and skating. I began training.
Fast forward to March, the pandemic hit. Roller derby was canceled, as was our century ride.
But over the past few months, I’ve gotten back on the bike *and* put my skates back on. Being on wheels has provided me with escapism and strength during the pandemic. And along the way, I’ve met new communities of womxn (skaters and cyclists) who inspire me.
To be clear — I’m am So. Freaking. Nervous. for this ride. But I’m so freaking excited too.
And I want to support Chez Vous and the Boston skating community.
______________________
Chez Vous is the only roller rink in Boston, and is the center of the Boston skating community.
To this day, some white-owned rinks still have discriminative policies about wheel size and materials. These are in place to turn away black audiences (these wheels are typically used by black folx).
Chez Vous provides a safe skating space for all ages, races, and experience levels.
Your donations will aid in expenses with hopes to keep them alive until they can reopen again.
Chez Vous is trying to raise a total of $50,000, and are a little over 1/3 of the way there (when this post was created).
I’ll be sending all raised funds to Chez Vous via there GoFundMe (yes, they do have one — I made this GoFundMe for the purpose of sending it around to friends and family).
Wish me luck on the ride!
Many thanks,
Janella
Due to COVID, Chez Vous has been closed since March. And they’re at risk of permanently shutting down.
My road cycling and skating journeys began at the same time, this past December. My gym buddy and I made plans to do a century ride in the spring for our birthdays — we're both biracial Filipinx Tauruses from CA. I’d only biked via commuting around Boston, but big rides were a growing curiosity.
I’d also signed up for roller derby classes. Hadn't ridden skates since childhood, but had been thinking about trying derby for years.
Figured it’d be good to start learning, so I went to Chez Vous for the first time. And it felt so right to be in that roller rink. The people, music, and energy was magical. I couldn’t wait to start both biking and skating. I began training.
Fast forward to March, the pandemic hit. Roller derby was canceled, as was our century ride.
But over the past few months, I’ve gotten back on the bike *and* put my skates back on. Being on wheels has provided me with escapism and strength during the pandemic. And along the way, I’ve met new communities of womxn (skaters and cyclists) who inspire me.
To be clear — I’m am So. Freaking. Nervous. for this ride. But I’m so freaking excited too.
And I want to support Chez Vous and the Boston skating community.
______________________
Chez Vous is the only roller rink in Boston, and is the center of the Boston skating community.
To this day, some white-owned rinks still have discriminative policies about wheel size and materials. These are in place to turn away black audiences (these wheels are typically used by black folx).
Chez Vous provides a safe skating space for all ages, races, and experience levels.
Your donations will aid in expenses with hopes to keep them alive until they can reopen again.
Chez Vous is trying to raise a total of $50,000, and are a little over 1/3 of the way there (when this post was created).
I’ll be sending all raised funds to Chez Vous via there GoFundMe (yes, they do have one — I made this GoFundMe for the purpose of sending it around to friends and family).
Wish me luck on the ride!
Many thanks,
Janella
Co-organizers (2)
Janella Polack
Organizer
Boston, MA
Chez Vous
Co-organizer