Stories for the Semiquincentennial

With Good Reason · Jun 25, 2026 · 51m

In 1976, the Bikecentennial became the first organized bike tour across the U.S. Around 4,000 bicyclists pedaled to celebrate the Bicentennial, or America’s 200th anniversary. Tom Ewing breaks down the spirit of the Bikecentennial, its grassroots nature, and lessons to be learned for America’s upcoming 250th celebration. Later in the show: At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, 87 enslaved people on the Willoughby Plantation in Norfolk, VA escaped under the cover of night. Ervin Jordan traces their remarkable journey from Norfolk to New York to Nova Scotia and then to Sierra Leone in…