We met Ashley and Kellen Lundry before we even opened.  It was a winter night, and we were at the shop working to get the Greenhouse ready to be a real shop.  A group of friendly faces came up on their bikes wanting to check it out.  They asked if they could base Porter Pedal out of the Greenhouse, and we responded with : Why not?!?!  

It has been one of the best partnerships we have ever started and wanted to share a little of this with you.  We interviewed the founders and leaders of the group, Kellen and Ashley Lundry.  Here is what they said: 

Who, what, when, where, and why did yall start this?

Our first ride was October 24, 2014. I know the exact date thanks to Facebook memories and the fact that it's now our wedding anniversary.

Porter Pedal started out as a group of friends, but we were trying to recruit new riders. In fact, if someone ever screams Porter pedal as he rides by you and you're on a bike, that's why!

We started meeting downtown but when we heard about the Greenhouse opening we asked if we could host the ride there. It's turned out to be the perfect location!

Can anyone ride with yall? Or do you have to be a racer?

The ride is for everyone! We love when an entire family joins us. We are riding a leisurely pace and won't leave anyone behind.

Favorite memory? (from each ashley and Kellen)

Kellen:  It's hard to pick one specific memory.  I would say all the friends and interesting people we've met through the ride.

Ashley: I agree with Kellen, I love that people have made friends through our ride. I also love when we have out of town visitor's, it's a great ride to show them some of my favorite parts of Ocean Springs!

Biggest crowd?

Biggest ride, mid-20s. The first time it happened we were blown away. What a great feeling to have so many people show up to something that started as a handful of friends.

Is it like you thought it would be when you started?

Kellen: Is it like we thought? Pretty much I guess. Glad word eventually got out and we have some good groups and a number of regulars.

Ashley: I think it's better than I thought, but when we first started we were meeting at different places. Having the ride at the Greenhouse truly makes it feel like a community event.

What would you like the future of Porter pedal to look like?

We would love to have the rides get bigger and eventually do some bike friendly advocation and grand scheme a bike co-op where people can share tools and skills to fix and build their own bikes.