Shahrzad Enderle came up with the idea for Bike Bridge after she visited a social housing project for refugees in Freiburg, Germany, in 2015 and noticed that there were no women on the grounds. The courtyard was used almost exclusively by men and children to play football or basketball, for instance. Chatting with female residents inspired her to develop a project that would help this target group achieve greater mobility and forge social contacts while having fun. The result was a cycling initiative.
Founded in December 2017 as an independent, registered, non-profit association, Bike Bridge e.V. evolved out of the initial project. The association is dedicated to fostering integration, inclusion, social interaction, as well as health and networking, among other things. With a view to strengthening social cohesion, it acts as a bridge between locals and people from immigrant or refugee communities. To this end, the organisation focuses on women and girls from immigrant and refugee backgrounds and their counterparts in the local population. Starting in 2016, the Bike & Belong project has continued to evolve its use of cycling as a low-threshold pastime to bring these groups of people together though shared experiences, activities and exchanges.