Eric Jackson, a military kid, moved to the 757 in pursuit of spinning records, but it was the turn of two wheels that helped him realize Norfolk was home.
https://elizabethrivertrail.org/
https://www.nps.gov/locations/chesapeakebaywatershed/index.htm
https://virginiahumanities.org/
(Gentle strumming music underscores the following)
Nichole Hill: If you know Eric Jackson, it’s probably from one of his pop-up events, where you can find him cheffing along the Elizabeth River Trail, or the ERT for short. He has made himself such a Norfolk staple that some people think he is from here, but he actually isn't--he moved here in 2001, and after dancing between Virginia Beach and Norfolk, one experience helped to cement Norfolk as his chosen home.
Eric Jackson: So I feel like once I got into Norfolk, living on my own by myself for the first time, having my own apartment by myself for the first time, I just started getting outside more. I bought a bike.
Nichole Hill: Bicycle, not motorcycle, in case you were wondering.
Eric Jackson: There's just so many things that I can do from my house and not having to go far. And I'm an outdoors person. I love the outdoors. I love meeting new people.
And once I got my bike, I just felt like a kid again.
(Sound of children laughing, and bike wheels rolling)
Just being around, meeting new friends, and these new restaurants that I was working in, new people that I was meeting.
Learning about the ERT--the trail, and bike ride joined a bike group and the parks out here. And I think that just really drew me to Norfolk and just made me realize, like, man, I really like just getting up and going. You know what I mean? Even times if my car breaks down, I don't really stress it because everything I need is kind of around me. Whereas when I lived in Virginia Beach, you know, in a neighborhood and I would have to find a way to get out of that. So...(laughs)
Yeah, you know what I mean? Like nothing was close like neighborhoods, like work, or fun or Not that I party much anymore, but if I want to go party, like, I could just literally take a bike or walk down there. So. If you saw, I pulled up in this huge Toyota Sequoia and it burns a lot of gas.
I actually bought a bike to offset my carbon footprint. Because, you know because I just felt like, gas is expensive. And I just felt like having a bike, I could get out, exercise more and not use my truck as much.
(Sound of slow piano under the sound of bike gears spinning)
So I moved to Norfolk and I was living across from the Boys and Girls Club on 26. It's been turned into an apartment building by this company that turns all the buildings into apartment buildings.
And I had this bike, which I didn't know much about bikes. I know growing up, I had a bike and I love riding my bike up and down hills, through traffic. So when I moved to Norfolk, I found out about a bike shop and it had just opened up. It was called the Local Bike Shop owned by my friend Cole and this other guy, Dan.
And you know, Wednesday nights they would meet up for a bike ride and I wasn't really experienced in long-distance bike riding. I was just kind of used to cruising the city, you know? And they were like, "Yeah. You know, we meet up on Wednesday nights, we do about 10 miles..." Now to me--I'm like “10 miles is crazy!”
Like that sounds like a lot because I have ran 5K's. So that's, you know, 3. 6. When you say we're going to go biking 10 miles to someone that's not a biker biker, that just sounds like a lot. But I was down for it. So we meet at the bike shop and I pull up with this new bike that I had bought.
I bought it used from a guy around the corner from me. And I thought it was a nice bike. You know, I did a little research and he sold it for $100. It had all the little gears on it. It had a mileage tracker on it. And I was like, okay, this is cool. This is like what people ride. So when I joined him for the bike ride that night, we did 10 miles and it was pretty easy.
And I was like, Oh, I could do another, you know, 5, 10 added to this. And it was just a great group of people, just some new people that I had met, you know what I mean?
(Sound of people chattering outside)
And then so the next week we get together to do the ride and I'm still learning and I'm looking at everyone's bikes and I'm hearing people talk about bikes.
And of course, I've seen these really super expensive, like carbon bikes that cost thousands of dollars. So, you know, I was. I wasn't going to invest in that.
So the next week when we rode, they were like, "Alright, tonight we're doing 15 miles." And I was like, "Oh, this is easy money." You know, this is simple.
It was 15 miles, but what happened was the route was different, and they had added the Jordan Bridge. It is a very high, strenuous bridge. And that was the night that I realized the difference between my bike and everyone else's bike because my bike was what's called a hybrid.
So it's kind of a mountain bike, but it was really heavy.
(Sound of a bike, heavy breathing, and cheers from friends)
So going up the Jordan bridge was quite different for me in comparison to the other 10 bike riders who were at the top of the bridge waiting for me to get up there. And eventually I had to hop off and walk my bike up there--which was kind of hilarious. They were up enjoying, so on top of the Jordan Bridge, there's like this beautiful view of the water. And I'm, you know, walking up there, cursing at myself. And I get to the top and they're like, “Alright, you ready?
And I'm like, “wait, I just got here. Like, I just got here.”
(Sound of wind, and bike gears freely gliding down a hill)
And I think the most freeing thing happened after that, which was going down. Going down was super fun. I didn't have to peddle and it was just the wind hitting my face and going. I mean, I probably was going maybe 20 30 miles per hour on a bike, which was scary.
But it just felt free and it felt like it when I was younger growing up, you know, in the army base and I used to just fly down the street, not knowing what cars was coming.
I actually told my parents this story once and they were like, "You were out doing what?" Like if I would, my Dad was like, "If I knew you were out doing that, I would have whipped--", you know...
(Sound of a mother scolding her child fades into guitar and keys)
So after that night I realized I needed another bike and luckily the guys hooked me up with a much lighter real bike. But I do definitely remember the experience so much so that as I was going down and I didn't have to pedal, I did kind of, it wasn't the safest thing to do, but I got my phone out and videoed, you know, my way down just because I thought it was super cool.
That's one of the moments every time I pass that bridge, like I tell my boys like, "Yeah, you know, rode across that bridge." Now I do it. for fun. It's fun now, but that first time was definitely my legs were feeling it the next day. But that was just one of those nights that made me realize how much I really like the community down here and just the very eclectic group.
We had old people riding bikes, younger people, Black people, white people, and it just, it's just a thing and they still meet up. Every Wednesday for a bike ride. The bike shop is named different now, but it's still a biking group and I think it's just an excellent thing to do. Even if you don't ride bikes just to try it and just to get outside.
So I really, I really like that aspect. One of those aspects of living in Norfolk. Yeah.
(Music builds under the following)
Nichole Hill: For Eric, it started with a bike, but it became something bigger.
Each mile wasn’t just a ride... it was a return to joy, to freedom, to a childhood version of himself that he once knew.
Norfolk didn’t just welcome him, it made room for him. And on two wheels, with open skies and the river at his side, Eric found exactly what he didn’t know he was looking for.
If you are feeling inspired to find that kind of bike riding freedom, check out the “Boom Box Bike Ride” episode to learn about a group ride you can join.
Visit our website Truthbetoldcommunity.com to find out ways to get involved and share this episode with friends.
This series was written by Jackie Glass and Hannah Sobol, edited and hosted by me, Nichole Hill, Sound Design by Trendel Lightburn, and our work has been supported by the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation through a National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways Grant. Follow our work by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. We couldn’t do this without people brave enough to share their experiences, so thank you Eric Jackson!