Letter from Ty Schmidt

Johanna and I believe that bicycles are so much more than status symbols or toys. They’re powerful tools in promoting independence, freedom, confidence and stronger, betterconnected communities. Whether it’s commuting to work year-round or riding across town to a Grand Traverse Pavilions summer community concert with our two sons, Carter and Jameson, bikes are a huge part of our family’s lives.

I grew up in Dauphin, Manitoba, while Johanna is a Michigan native. We met in Tucson, Arizona. It was in Arizona that we not only fell in love with each other but with the Hispanic culture and people, Mexican food and the Sonoran desert. We moved north to Traverse City in 2006 to be closer to Johanna’s family. The name Norte is a mashup of our time in Tucson and our family finding home in northern Michigan. Norte: “North” in Spanish.

Upon arriving in Traverse City, we began to notice things as we settled in: insanely long carlines wrapping around neighborhood schools, hardly any kids walking to school, and even fewer kids biking.

Because we job shared—we were both Physical Therapists at Munson—we had the time and decided to try to help. We invited neighborhood families to drop their kids off at our house so we could bike with them to Eastern Elementary where our boys attended. I would lead the “bike train” in the morning and Johanna would pedal home with the group in the afternoon.

First, we had 2-3 kids join. Soon it was 8. Then 15. A light bulb went off. We collectively wondered, “What if this could happen at all of Traverse City’s neighborhood schools?”

We reached out to some friends and talked them into forming their own trains and that’s how Norte, the Grand Traverse area’s bike-centric, youth-focused, advocacy organization, was born.

Thanks to many, many awesome people, it’s been a wild 7-year journey.

I can’t wait for what’s next. Viva Norte! Ty Schmidt

PO Box 781, Traverse City, MI 49685 elgruponorte.org | hello@elgruponorte.org | 231.883.2404