Slow Roll Chicago founders with Jay Shefsky.

Dozens of cyclists took part in a tour of the South Side neighborhoods of Roseland and Pullman on a chilly, rainy day last fall.

“It was an amazing ride. We had adults, young people, all racial and ethnic backgrounds, from all different parts of the city,” Olatunji Oboi Reed told Chicago Tonight's Jay Shefsky.

Reed and longtime friend Jamal Julien foundedSlow Roll Chicagoin an effort to change the way they believe cycling is perceived in their community.

“There's a perception in our community that biking is something white people do on the North Side, that crazy people do in the winter, or that poor people do when they don't have a car. We're responsible for this cultural shift that needs to take place in our community to turn biking into something that's cool and interesting and fun,” Reed told Shefsky.

Reed and Julien expressed several immediate goals for Slow Roll Chicago: to get more local African-Americans riding bikes; give residents of other neighborhoods a fresh look at the South and West Sides of Chicago; and to have a real impact on some of the existing problems in their community.

“We're not naïve about the condition of our communities,” Reed said. “We recognize that crime is a challenge and that violence is a challenge. As a cyclist, though, our contribution to improving the condition of our community is Slow Roll Chicago.”

“We believe that increased biking in our communities can contribute to improving the condition of our communities and can have an impact on reducing violence," he added.