When Alejandro Jasso first heard about the proposed changes to Patrick Avenue in Hayward in 2021, he decided to join a community feedback meeting hosted by the city’s Transportation Division to see what was going on.
Jasso, who was 27 at the time and had just moved to the neighborhood, took his young nephew Nicolas Cuevas along with him to the meeting. But once they got there, Jasso said he was shocked at the amount of pushback from other residents against the inclusion of bike lanes in the city’s project.
“It’s unbelievable that even when they [saw] a little kid, they [were] so heartless about bike infrastructure, they [were] just so focused on themselves,” Jasso said. “They [were] like,‘Oh, you can ride on the sidewalk,’” he said. “That’s why I’ve been doing this work for the last four years. When [Nicolas] is with me, I keep an eye on him but my worry was him getting older and starting to ride by himself.”
Credit: Hiram Alejandro Durán for El Tímpano/CatchLight Local/Report for America corps member
Jasso, now 32, is currently the co-chair of Bike Hayward, a local advocacy group focused on having safer streets for biking, walking, and transit in Hayward and the unincorporated areas of Alameda County, which include Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo and Hayward Acres—also known as the “Eden area.” Approximately 41.3% of Hayward’s population is Hispanic or Latino. And one in three unincorporated residents are Latino.
Before living in Hayward, Jasso says he wouldn’t have considered himself a bike advocate. He grew up in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where his dad took him to school by bike every day, and where he took BMX and cycling classes throughout his younger years. After his family made the move to the city of Alameda in 2009, he says there wasn’t really the need to bike anywhere until he began commuting to work in San Francisco in 2018.
“I figured out ‘Oh, the way the city is built makes people more isolated, they drive everywhere, they go to their house… They’re always in a little bubble, physically separated from society,” Jasso said. “I wasn’t sure what I was missing from Mexico but it was more of that natural interaction with people, which is a lot harder here in the States.”
At the city meeting in 2021, Jasso met the former director of Bike East Bay, a bike advocacy organization that “mobilizes by bike” in different parts of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties to advocate for safer street designs. Bike Hayward is fiscally sponsored by Bike East Bay, and when there was a need for a new co-chair, Jasso stepped up. Bike Hayward now has 10 members who are engaged in efforts to bring the community together through biking, as well as advocating for safer infrastructure for different forms of transportation.
Since November 2025, the organization has done monthly bike riding socials named “Wayward in Hayward,” where they go on lengthy group rides in different parts of the area. They also offer free bike repairs for the community, which is something that Jasso started in August 2024.
“I wanted to test the waters doing repairs at the South Hayward Market. At first, it was just me [with my own equipment] and then Bike Hayward applied for the Peoples for Bikes grant, and we were able to get funding for the tools needed to do free bike repairs throughout 2025,” Jasso said.
Since then, Bike Hayward has received funding through Hayward Rides, a new city program which provides bike giveaways and allocates money to Bike Hayward to continue these bike repairs in the community. Free bike repair sessions happen once every two weeks at the Hayward Farmer’s Market, and on Jan. 30, the organization hosted its latest one at Eden Youth’s Clubhouse event.
“If we improve transit infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure… It helps improve the fabric of our society. It helps people interact more naturally, feel less isolated and it also helps people’s health,” Jasso said. “If [the city] keeps improving the streets, they might create a stronger community.”
El Timpano captured Bike Hayward’s free bike repairs booth on Jan. 30 and January’s bike social in photos, and spoke with Hayward residents in attendance about the importance of an activity like cycling.
I choose to volunteer here because not only is it helping the community, it’s also doing something that I love, and that’s riding bikes, fixing them. Not only does it benefit me by learning how to fix them but I’m doing things I love, and that’s kind of why I’m here.
Isaac Sandoval, 17, Hayward Resident and volunteer at Bike Hayward
It’s my first time coming here and I came so I could get my bike repaired and I think we’ll be coming back… Since I was little, I’ve been actively bicycling and I really like it. I go riding with my children a lot of the time. It’s an important activity that keeps us healthy while doing a little bit of exercise.
Jose Mancilla, 50, Hayward Resident
When I started getting into bike advocacy, I figured out ‘Oh, the way the city is built makes people more isolated, they drive everywhere, they go to their house…’ They’re always in a little bubble, physically separated from society. I wasn’t sure what I was missing from Mexico but it was more of that natural interaction with people, which is a lot harder here in the States.
Alejandro Jasso, 32, Hayward Resident
Since I was in Colombia, I’ve always known how to fix bikes. I like [volunteering] because I’m content knowing that I’m helping somebody. Lots of people literally don’t have a way to get help. When I was little, there were times where I also didn’t have the means to fix my bikes. So I feel good fixing the bikes of others that don’t know how or who don’t have a way to get theirs repaired.
Justin Rodriguez, 17, Hayward Resident and volunteer at Bike Hayward
I ride with my uncle a lot, [and] with my friends sometimes every day. But my favorite memory is when I was going really fast and I slid. It’s my biggest crash ever. It’s my favorite because it taught me to not go so fast in places where it’s hard to break.
Nicolas Cuevas, 10, Hayward Resident and Jasso’s nephew
