At Philadelphia Bike Expo, cyclist tells of his Underground Railroad freedom ride

Erick Cedeño, founder of the company Bicycle Nomad, has been car-free for five years. So when in September 2013 his bicycle was stolen in Buffalo, N.Y., less than 20 miles from the finish of Adventure Cycling Association's 2,000-mile Underground Railroad route, he was crushed.

"At first I was like, 'How am I going to get around? How am I going to finish this route?' " Cedeño says.

But he wasn't going to let his hardship prevent him from reaching his destination at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Cliff Madell, owner of Teen Treks, a Buffalo organization that promotes adventure cycling to teenagers, loaned him a bike to finish - something Madell says was "the right thing to do."

"I kept remembering the people that walked the same path I was going," Cedeño says. "Every time I had challenges, I remembered those people. Just to have freedom, they had to face those challenges."

During Saturday's Philadelphia Bike Expo, which runs Saturday and Sunday, Cedeño, 40, will present a seminar titled "Retracing the Underground Railroad by Bicycle." Taking place from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Convention Center, it's the story of his journey on the Underground Railroad route from New Orleans to Niagara Falls. Bina Bilenky, who runs the annual expo with her father, founder Stephen Bilenky, met Cedeño in 2013, when he attended the expo as a guest.

Bicycle Nomad is a clothing line born this year after Cedeño realized that most cycling-themed apparel "was about racing and triathlons - there was nothing about riding as a method of transportation." He'll be selling Nomad T-shirts at the expo. His previous job as a project manager for event promotion gave him enough flex time for continuous biking expeditions. More than just a moneymaker for him, he said, Bicycle Nomad is a way to inspire others to explore via bicycle. A vegan for 20 years, he is planning Bicycle Nomad lines of gear and food for cyclists with special diets.

Born in Panama City, Panama, and raised in Miami, Cedeño has adopted a mobile lifestyle without a permanent residence. He lived in Philadelphia from 2000 to 2006, when he was a hotel manager, but realized adventure cycling was his calling.

"I try to live a stressless life, a very simplified life," he says.

Other expo seminars are scheduled Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 9 a.m. Sunday. Topics range from the Philadelphia Bike Share program to how to dress professionally when commuting by bike. Also offered are children's crafting activities, test-riding, frame-building lessons, yoga for cyclists, cycling-related vendor booths, and three separate rides within the city, two Saturday and one Sunday. The expo is entering its fifth year and has grown from 60 or 70 booths to 130 exhibitors, Bilenky said.

Presentations like Cedeño's are part of the Bilenkys' efforts to attract a broader audience and inspire people to ride. "We make sure we focus on history, technical stuff, lifestyle, advocacy, and cultural [aspects] related to all things bicycle," Bina Bilenky says. "Erick's presentation is cool because it's a little bit of all those things put together. Even if you weren't a cyclist, just interested in history or any outdoor activity, you would be interested in it."

This year, Adventure Cycling, which creates routes and maps to help cyclists travel the country, will also be at the Philadelphia Bike Expo. Free memberships to the organization will be raffled off. Jennifer Milyko, assistant director of routes and mapping, said you don't have to be a member to ride a route, but membership comes with benefits for serious bike travelers. The organization reprints its maps every 12 to 24 months, updating information such as services along the way from grocery stores to hotels with WiFi.

All maps are weather-resistant, Milyko says, and although Adventure Cycling is working on expanding digital services to cyclists, with an old-school map "you don't need to worry about your map running out of battery."

Historical routes, Milyko said, are often popular among cyclists who enjoy themed rides. Plotting the path for these treks took careful planning and emphasis on accuracy, Milyko says: "We worked very closely with an advisory board with historians who are experts in those topics."

For Cedeño, the Underground Railroad trip was a chance to learn and appreciate that history. Through Warm Showers, an organization that connects cyclists with hosts along their route, he stayed in Clarksville, Tenn., with Lawson Mabry, descended from the largest slave-owning family in Montgomery County, where Clarksville is located.

Mabry showed Cedeño slave records passed down through his family. Mabry says he was glad to provide that historical connection: It helps him "make the best of" a history he calls "unfortunate."

Also on the trip, Cedeño met Pastor LeRoy Marshall of Second Baptist Church in Albany, Ind. He showed Cedeño rooms in the church that had sheltered runaways as part of the Railroad.

"I could have sat down and read a book about the Underground Railroad, but [by biking] I was really engaged in it," Cedeño says.

He says he's excited to return to Philadelphia for the expo, especially since he can check out the newly opened Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk.

"You don't see that in a lot of cities," Cedeño said. "I think Philly is doing something amazing."

Philadelphia Bike Expo

Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.

At the door:

All Access pass: $25

Day Pass With Seminars: $15

Day Pass: $10

Online:

All access pass $20;

Day pass with seminars $12;

Day pass $8.