Passage | Alvin Levarity
In Grand Bahama, learning to ride was a rite of passage. My first bicycle became a passport to new corners of the island, expanding the map of my childhood. Today, I’m a chef and culinary educator for Restaurant Associates at Google in Boston—and cycling continues to shape how I move through the world.
In the early ’90s, on my way to school, I often caught sight of a local teacher riding in the opposite direction, undaunted by wind, rain, or the gaze of passing cars. He worked at a different school on another part of the island, but I made a point to sit on the right side of the car just to glimpse him each morning and afternoon. At the time, it was startling. In the Bahamas, heat and social stigma made cycling an uncommon way to get around. Yet this daily image began to shift something in me. Confusion turned to curiosity, curiosity to admiration, and admiration to a quiet resolve: one day, I’d do the same.
When I moved to Boston in 2008, basketball was my first bridge to community. I started playing Sunday mornings with my partner’s best friend’s husband. We’d meet at different YMCA courts around the city, and when I discovered an old mountain bike in my brother-in-law’s basement, I began riding to Harambee Park to play. It was the first time I’d been on a bike since leaving home, and it felt incredible—like rediscovering a forgotten part of myself. Soon, biking and basketball became our Sunday ritual: rides up and down Blue Hill Avenue, along Columbia Road, and out to Castle Island via the Neponset Trail. Those casual weekend rides introduced me to Boston’s rhythms in a way nothing else had.
Eventually, injuries forced me to step back from basketball. But cycling was there, ready to take its place. Around that time, we stumbled into a group of more experienced riders who opened our eyes to what was possible: the comfort of proper gear, the thrill of longer routes, the rush of speed we hadn’t thought ourselves capable of. We began pushing our limits—and with that came a deeper appreciation for the discipline, community, and joy of the ride.
Still, for years, biking to work felt just out of reach. I’d worked at Harvard and BU, and while I toyed with the idea of riding in, the logistics loomed too large: kids, drop-offs, showers, fatigue. The dream never made it past the dinner table.
Then the world paused. During the pandemic, the streets emptied, routines broke apart, and in that stillness my love for riding intensified. I joined more group rides, built fitness, upgraded my gear. Cycling revealed itself not only as fitness and fun, but as freedom, discovery, and peace.
When I was offered a new job in Cambridge, I approached it differently. Parking was steep, transit unpredictable—and for the first time ever, I asked during an interview about bike racks and showers. That small shift in mindset changed everything. I gave myself the winter to prepare: scouting routes, testing gear, rehearsing logistics. Then one spring morning, I packed a backpack with clothes and tools and rode my first commute down the Southwest Corridor, across the Harvard Bridge, and into a new chapter.
Today, my 20-mile round-trip commute is more than just transit. It’s ritual: time to reflect, reset, and reconnect. I think back to that Bahamian teacher, pedaling with quiet determination, unknowingly planting a seed I wouldn’t recognize until decades later.
My culinary career has taken me further than I ever imagined—from restaurants to hotels, Ivy League halls to one of the world’s biggest companies. As a culinary educator, my mission is to equip the next generation with skills that extend beyond the kitchen, into life itself. I hope the seeds I plant today will grow into something lasting. Just as a boy on a Bahamian road was once inspired by a man on a bicycle and his simple, consistent act, I hope now to inspire through food, through cycling, and through the communities they collectively nourish.
Alvin is a chef and culinary educator based in Boston, Massachusetts. An outdoor enthusiast—especially drawn to the water—he balances his work with cycling, saltwater fishing, tennis, and basketball. Most of all, he treasures time with his wife and their teenage twins—his team!
Written by Alvin Levarity | Photography by Chessin Gertler