Wire report

Black motorcycle clubs come alive in the summer: ‘The best way to build community is on two wheels’

Building on decades-long traditions, Black bikers host rides, picnics and other gatherings nearly every summer weekend to celebrate community and freedom The trip was only supposed to be a Memorial Day weekend girls’ getaway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Patrice “Foxy” Johnson. But once Johnson and her crew arrived, they inadvertently found themselves in the middle of an annual bike week where several thousand riders had convened. Johnson watched the “backpacks”, or the women who rode on the backs of male motorcyclists’ bikes, and realized she too wanted to be part of the community. She didn’t want to accompany the male riders, though. She wanted to ride herself. In that moment about 30 years ago, Johnson decided that next time she would be attending bike week and coming with her own set of wheels. Once she returned to her home town of Raleigh, North Carolina, she enrolled in a fo

Source-feed image associated with Black motorcycle clubs come alive in the summer: ‘The best way to build community is on two wheels’
Source-feed image associated with the linked report: Black motorcycle clubs come alive in the summer: ‘The best way to build community is on two wheels’.Credit: The Guardian Source-feed thumbnail displayed with attribution and outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the third-party article body. Image source Cached source-feed image shown for continuity with attribution and an outbound source link; VINI does not claim third-party image authorship or republish the third-party article body.
Reading time2 min

coverage / Wire report

Reader toolsFollow the reporting.

Get updates, read source context, send useful records, share the story, or support the reporting work from the reading page.

FollowGet story updatesBriefs and topic returnsContextOpen background1 public sourceContributeSend recordsDocuments, dates, photosSupportFund reportingReader-backed workShareCopy story URLvininews.com
Why it mattersGlobal

Building on decades-long traditions, Black bikers host rides, picnics and other gatherings nearly every summer weekend to celebrate community and freedom The trip was only supposed to be a Memorial Day weekend girls’ getaway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Patrice “Foxy” Johnson. But once Johnson and her crew arrived, they inadvertently found themselves in the middle of an annual bike week where several thousand riders had convened. Johnson watched the “backpacks”, or the women who rode on the backs of male motorcyclists’ bikes, and realized she too wanted to be part of the community. She didn’t want to accompany the male riders, though. She wanted to ride herself. In that moment about 30 years ago, Johnson decided that next time she would be attending bike week and coming with her own set of wheels. Once she returned to her home town of Raleigh, North Carolina, she enrolled in a fo

What to know1 source

Check the original link, updates, and responses when a detail is contested.

Keep readingpublic-policy

Open topic or search related wording such as records, sources, agencies, dates, and locations.

What happened

According to The Guardian’s linked report, Black motorcycle clubs come alive in the summer: ‘The best way to build community is on two wheels’, Building on decades-long traditions, Black bikers host rides, picnics and other gatherings nearly every summer weekend to celebrate community and freedom The trip was only supposed to be a Memorial Day weekend girls’ getaway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Patrice “Foxy” Johnson. But once Johnson and her crew arrived, they inadvertently found themselves in the middle of an annual bike week where several thousand riders had convened. Johnson watched the “backpacks”, or the women who rode on the backs of male motorcyclists’ bikes, and realized she too wanted to be part of the community. She didn’t want to accompany the male riders, though. She wanted to ride herself. In that moment about 30 years ago, Johnson decided that next time she would be attending bike week and coming with her own set of wheels. Once she returned to her home town of Raleigh, North Carolina, she enrolled in a fo

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Global coverage for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-07-28T14:13:40+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: Black motorcycle clubs come alive in the summer: ‘The best way to build community is on two wheels’ via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

Keep following

This file can keep developing

vininews.com uses reader tips, public records, right-of-reply requests, corrections, and follow-up reporting to keep important stories current.

SubscribeGet the next updateSend recordsShare documents or leadsRespondRequest comment or replyDonateSupport reporting costs

Support and subscriptions never buy coverage, placement, suppression, or corrections.

This VINI report keeps the original publisher link available and does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 reference listed.

Source links

Reader comments

Moderated discussion

Account access

Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.

Loading comments.

No approved comments yet.

Substantive, civil comments can be submitted by approved account holders.