To hear Tommy Holderness tell it, Charlotte’s Burrito Bikers just kind of happened. An idea plucked from a bike magazine five years ago has turned into a regular Sunday service, if you will, providing a portable hot breakfast to the homeless in uptown Charlotte, and has since then stories have spawned start-ups in Chapel Hill, Carborro, and Winston-Salem. And even Louisville, Kentucky.
“It’s pretty cool the way it’s grown,” admits Holderness, a Charlotte attorney and cyclist. What started with Holderness and his neighbor John Oxrider is now a network of friends, fellow cyclists, and churches who take turns making breakfast burritos, wrapping, reheating and then delivering them on Sunday mornings. Rain or shine, wet, hot or cold, the Burrito Bikers make the rounds. The impact they have on their clientele is obvious, with the chorus of “thank you’s” and “God Bless you’s”. In a matter of minutes, the Bikers themselves are left with empty packs, but not without also being affected by the interaction. “You get down there and meet these people, your perception changes,” says Holderness.
Jon Harding is a first-time rider with the Burrito Bikers. His homemade granola bars were a hit with the crowd. Sunday’s ride allowed him to roll his love for bikes and serving others into one experience. “It was a great opportunity, and a blast doing it on two wheels,” says Harding.
The willingness of others to serve in some way means Holderness, Oxrider and other regulars aren’t on the hook to cook, pack and ride each and every Sunday. A scheduled rotation of volunteers ensures there’s a backpack of burritos every week. The bikers themselves bring along extra snacks and drinks, since the group that waits for them along Tryon Street will exhaust the burrito supply in a matter of minutes. A list of stand-by riders can cover any shortfall in personnel, as was the case on a most recent Sunday when I had the chance to ride with the Burrito Bikers. I’d been turned down before, apparently failing to respond quickly enough to an all-call for last-minute volunteers. Not this time. And I would bring along a pannier of PB and J’s.
Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte looks decidedly different on early Sunday mornings; the bustle of the business-doing workweek crowd giving way to the slower, less-determined pace of those with nowhere else to go or be. Burritos, bottle water, snacks and yes, PB and J’s, all quickly moved from backpacks and panniers and in to waiting hands. The Burrito Bikers’ destination is a solemn and stark contrast to its starting point just a few miles away along one of Charlotte’s most affluent streets. Here, where most neighbors could quite seemingly cover the costs of a fleet of Burrito Bikers, this group provides more than just a hot breakfast once a week. It’s coming face-to-face with homelessness and showing that people care enough to do more than write a check. And as long as the story of the Burrito Bikers continues to spread, perhaps it will inspire others to make such meaningful gestures in their hometowns.