Archive for the 'Women' Category

With so much energy around biking in the Bike Apple — and the imminent and exciting launch of the NYC Bike Share system — Velojoy.com hosted a dynamic panel at the annual Bike Expo New York this month addressing ways to involve women.

Moderated by Susi Wunsch, the founder of Velojoy and member of the Women Bike Advisory Board, the session crystallized some of the key hurdles and opportunities to get more women riding.

“In New York City, trips by male bicycle commuters outnumber those by women by 3-1,” Wunsch said in her opening, “but there’s real change on the horizon.”

The discussion provided an engaging glimpse of that promising future, capturing diverse experiences and perspectives on how to get more women riding, including (in the recap video above):

• The story behind how and why Julie Hirschfeld opened Adeline Adeline, a women-friendly bike shop specifically oriented to commuter biking
• Insight from Caroline Samponaro, director of campaigns and organizing at Transportation Alternatives, on the four ways to get more people on bikes — and how she took action to identify where women ride in greater numbers in NYC
• Thoughts from Dani Simons, marketing director for the new Citi Bike, on what makes bike share systems particularly compelling to women

The panel also addressed head-on the most multi-faceted question of all: What are the best ways to attract more women to cycling (video above).

Share the videos above and subscribe to a wealth of great content around women and cycling at www.velojoy.com.

 

Exactly one year ago, I blogged about a new, exciting event taking place during National Bike Month. The first annual CycloFemme event sprung from the vision of Sarai Snyder, a former bike shop owner and advocate who turned her passion for women’s cycling into a popular blog: GirlBikeLove.

But she didn’t stop there.

“Despite the website’s success as an online forum for news and reviews, I often felt we were missing something bigger — a deeper, richer connection for women who ride bikes,” Snyder writes in the latest issue of the League’s magazine (online soon!). “I couldn’t help but feel we needed the camaraderie of shared experiences to bring us all together. That desire for that shared experience evolved into CycloFemme — a single day that would unify our voices and showcase the diverse power of women who ride.”

That single day was Mother’s Day — May 13, 2012 — and the call to action was simple: Organize a women’s ride or event in your community. “It doesn’t matter if you ride a mountain bike or a road bike, if you commute to work or ride to the store,” Snyder says, “it’s about starting that conversation that we need to be working together.” The response was tremendous: Women across the globe planned 164 rides in 14 countries.

The day of CycloFemme 2012 Snyder’s phone was buzzing at the break of dawn, the start of a tidal wave of social media updates and connections. “It started in Australia with seven rides spread across the continent,” she recalls. “Next was Afghanistan, where a woman named Jerusa would ride with friends, later joined by her sister-in-law, riding in Pennsylvania. Soon, ladies in the UK bundled for the chill and threat of rain. For 24 hours, the rides and stories and pictures poured in, across international border, across all time zones — all in the name of CycloFemme, celebrating women in cycling.”

“The beauty of the day was the diversity of riders who joined us. We became a tribe of friends old and new,” she continues. “We rode as casual riders, road racers, coffee sippers, beer drinkers, cake eaters, gritty mountain bikers, mothers, daughters, fathers, sons and professional athletes. We saw beautiful images of women on bikes stream onto social media, with Instagram and twitter feeds populating the CycloFemme site — and immediately felt an amazing camaraderie with strangers. With images of women showing off their CycloFemme tattoos on biceps and calves, we saw women willing to commit, at least for a day, to be part of something bigger.”

And you better believe this year is going to be even bigger than last. When I caught up with Snyder on April 24, 2012, approximately 80 rides had been organized and registered on the site. This year on the same day? Nearly double that many have been organized…

There’s still plenty of time of get involved — and Snyder has mapped out the five steps to planning a ride and provided all the resources you need to bring CycloFemme to your community, including this great poster:

So why does this one day, this one ride, hold so much power? Why is it important that “We Ride Together”?

“For me, watching the movement grow has been both inspirational and empowering,” Snyder says. “I’m continually humbled by the courageous stories of women riding bikes in Afghanistan, Ghana, and Ethiopia. I’m constantly energized by women who are not just riding bikes themselves but actively working to enable others to ride with them. As we approach the second annual celebration of women in cycling, CycloFemme has become more than a ride; it’s a movement, a feeling, a spirit, a tie that binds and reminds, that whenever we ride, we ride together.”

Find a ride in your area or register an event in our community here. And tell us where you’ll be riding in the comments!

(CycloFemme design by Language Department)

 

Even before the start of the National Women’s Bicycling Forum in March mountain bike legend Jacquie Phelan was all fired up. Sure, she was psyched to participate in our national event, but the Forum wasn’t the only exciting engagement on her travel itinerary. She was also gearing up to be the star of another show: the launch of Women Bike PHL.

In the bustle of the Forum, I only had a few moments to check in with Katie Monroe, the leader of the new women’s campaign from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. But, given Philly’s growth in cycling and the amazing work of the BCGP, I certainly wanted to learn more. So who better for this week’s Women Bike Wednesday…

The BCGP is so great at gathering data — what have you learned about the number and attitudes of women riding in PHL?

With the help of many volunteers, the BCGP holds bike counts each fall at 17 intersections and bridges throughout the city. It’s been a great tool to allow us to see shifts in overall bicycling rates through the years. Between 2005 and 2010, the average number of bikes per hour counted grew 127%, but the percentage of women riders only grew from 26% to 32%. For the past two years, we’ve stagnated at 33%. There are also trends correlated to infrastructure: the gender gap shrinks significantly on streets with bike lanes. Check out our 2011 report, Mode Shift, for more info. (Editor’s note: Take her advice, great report!)

What was the inspiration to start a women’s-specific program / outreach?

The Bicycle Coalition has been thinking about this issue for a while. Personally, I actually came to it from an academic angle. In 2011-2012, I wrote my undergraduate anthropology thesis on the role of gender in the Philadelphia bicycling world. That research process really opened my eyes to the vibrant conversation that was starting to happen, both here in Philly and across the U.S., about the gender gap in bicycle ridership. In my academic work, I was interested in the gendered implications of that conversation: What does the way we talk about women bicyclists (or the lack thereof) reveal about how our society views women? Working at the Bicycle Coalition, I’m excited to be able to work on the more pragmatic side of the issue: What can we do, now, to get more women riding bikes? I think it takes more than just bike lanes (even though I love bike lanes!) to make women feel more welcome in the bicycling community.

What are the main objectives for the program?

Our mission is to make bicycling more fun and feasible for Philadelphia women of all ages and backgrounds. We don’t expect to close the gender gap overnight. This is a complicated process and it’s exciting to see all the different approaches that different cities and organizations are taking. But if we can encourage new riders, start to see that gender gap shrink, and celebrate the amazing lady bicyclists we already have in Philadelphia, Women Bike PHL will be a success! I’m excited to see how it will evolve and expand as we move forward, find new funding sources, and build momentum.

What are the main components of your Women Bike program?

Women Bike PHL is a multi-faceted campaign, with new possibilities popping up every day. We’re offering classes, including Learn-to-Ride and Urban Riding Basics, targeted to women. Sometimes this means that we make an existing class of ours women-only, to create that safe space for folks who want it, and sometimes it means partnering with a women’s group or organization to offer a class. For example, this summer we’ll be teaching a Fix-a-Flat class during Ladyfest Philadelphia, an activism, arts, and music festival centered around women.

We’re also working with bike shops, arts organizations, and more to offer fun, introductory group rides for women — our first was a “Take Your Time” ride in conjunction with a local woman-owned bike shop. In addition, we want to facilitate a citywide conversation about women and bicycling, so we are holding some events and forums on this issue: we did an presentation with Temple University’s Sustainability Office and Women’s Studies department this week, and are excited to host feminist bicycling activist extraordinaire Elly Blue on her “Dinner and Bikes” tour in May.

Finally, we want to raise the visibility of the many women who are already riding in Philadelphia, so we are set to launch weekly Women Bike PHL profiles on our blog, highlighting a diverse set of Philadelphia women who love to ride! I also see a lot of potential for collaborating with two of the other bicycling nonprofits we have in Philadephia: Gearing Up and Neighborhood Bike Works.

I know Women Bike PHL is taking an all-ages approach; tell us more about what that means and how you’re making it happen.

If we’re going to be serious about expanding ridership to more women, we can’t just look at college students and young professionals without kids. We have to get that little girl on her first balance bike to carry that joy through to her adult life; we have to get that new mom to see a bicycle as a viable way to transport her baby; and we have to get our grandmothers out there on bikes, too. My paternal grandparents rode bikes well into their old age, and really valued it as a low-impact form of exercise. I actually ride my grandmother’s old bike around Philly!

Some of this work is encompassed in what we’re already doing at the BCGP — expanding our bike lane network and regional trail network in particular — but I think we can do more to target the female demographic. Partnerships with girl-serving organizations, the local Kidical Mass group, children’s museums, and retirement communities are all in the works. Bicycles have this huge potential to carry you through your entire life, both for transportation and recreation, and I hate to see so many women missing out on that option.

How are reaching beyond the converted? I know you mentioned some exciting partnerships you’re developing, like the Girl Scouts?

I was a Girl Scout for 10 years, and I think it’s among the most powerful and far-reaching networks in this country for reaching and teaching girls. I’ve created a bicycling skills and safety badge (which does not currently exist in this area) and we are encouraging local troops to earn it. Girl Scouts of Eastern PA is sponsoring a Girls Triathlon/Duathlon in August, so I think this badge will be a great way for the girls to both prepare for that challenge, and also learn about some of the other possibilities for bicycling, besides racing.

How long did it take to develop your program and how did you launch it in your community?

We started with a small advisory committee of interested community members, just to start the conversation. There seemed to be plenty of enthusiasm and interest, so we moved forward in creating some language for the campaign, a logo, a website, etc. Our Facebook group attracted almost 200 members in just a few days, and we received a lot of positive feedback from our members about Women Bike PHL, as well. I’d say we’re still in the process of “launching it in our community” — every day I talk to new women (and men) about ways they can get involved. I think it’s good to stay open to a lot of options at this point for community support and collaboration.

What have you learned thus far and what’s your next step for the program?

The best thing I’ve learned thus far is the value of collaboration, info-sharing, and looking to others for inspiration. I have met so many wonderful people (of all genders)  working in the bicycle world, and I am constantly inspired by them. Liz Jose of WE Bike NYC and Nelle Pierson of WABA’s Women & Bicycles program have been particularly supportive, and I hope what we’re doing with Women Bike PHL can inspire and help someone else with their efforts.

My next step, at the moment, is making sure we harness our various Bike Month festivities in May to really get the word out about Women Bike PHL, so we can build the community support and partnerships we need. I’m excited!

Thanks, Katie!

Learn more and connect with Women Bike PHL:
Website: www.womenbikephl.org
Facebook: Women Bike PHL group
Twitter: @bcgp #womenbikePHL
Contact: katie@bicyclecoalition.org

 

Kit Hodge wrote the book on family cycling — or, at least, the Family Biking Guide from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Martina Fahrner started one of the first bike shops in the country aimed specifically at family transportation options and Megan Odett created the National Family Biking Survey, curating insight and ideas from moms and dads from coast to coast.

And, last week, all three of them joined us for our latest Women Bike webinar on “Getting more Moms and Families on Bikes.” If you missed it, watch the full recording now!

.Didn’t catch all that great information and insight? Click the links below to download the presentations and key resources mentioned during the webinar.

Click here to download the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Family Biking Guide — in English, Spanish or Chinese.

Click here for the presentation from Megan Odett, of Kidical Mass DC, including steps to hosting an ABCs of Family Biking event in your community

Download the results from the National Family Biking Survey:

• Part I: Overview
• Part II: Destinations and Motivations
• Take the survey!

Click here for the presentation from Martina Fahrner, co-founder of Clever Cycles in Portland

And don’t miss some additional ideas from Cycles for Change in Minneapolis on reaching out to low-income moms and families in our Q&A yesterday.

 

Last week, Women Bike hosted its latest webinar on “Getting More Moms and Families on Bikes” — with a great line-up of panelists and an amazing turn-out of engaged participants. Stay tuned to the blog tomorrow for the recording and slides!

One common barrier that came up during the conversation was the up-front expense of family-oriented gear and the challenge of engaging low-income women and families in riding. It’s certainly a big issue that we’ll be digging into more deeply, but I was immediately reminded of the amazing work around this issue being done by Cycles for Change up in Minneapolis.

Following-up on the discussion last week, I checked in with Claire Stoscheck, the Cycles for Change Community Partners Bike Library Director, to provide some insight into their successful efforts to engage women and moms from diverse economic and racial demographics….

Cycles for Change is really committed to equity in its programming; how does that extend to your outreach to women and families?

The goal of Cycles for Change is getting access to bikes and bike education to the communities most underrepresented in the bicycle movement and culture. Apart from targeted outreach through community partners to diverse economic and racial communities, we also work to eliminate the gender gap in cycling, as well as empowering women riders by working with community partners who are led by and for women in the Twin Cities. Through our Community Partners Bike Library program, we provide women with free bikes to borrow (fully accessorized for transportation purposes), as well as trailers and tag-a-longs for people with children. We have found that many women — in particular women from the diverse immigrant communities in the Twin Cities — do not know how to ride a bike. We teach extensive Learn to Ride classes to adults in order to open up the world of cycling to more women.

What specific programming do you offer that makes cycling more accessible to low-income and underserved communities? What barriers have you discovered — and overcome — for women with this program?

The programs we offer to make biking more accessible include the Community Partners Bike Library, in which we partner with 18 community partners to lend 275 bikes and 30 trailers to low-income community members, following up with bike education classes and leadership development programming. We also offer an Earn-a-Bike program where participants can learn basic bike mechanics and volunteer six hours in order to earn themselves a bike free of charge.

These programs help to overcome one of the major barriers for low-income women: cost. The programs are completely free of charge. In addition, the Bike Library teaches Learn to Ride classes so women who don’t know how to ride can learn, and we offer child trailers to accommodate women with kids. The Bike Library loans bikes that are customized for each individual, so that we find the right fit for women no matter her size or shape and provide her with a comfortable ride.

Finally, through our leadership development we are working with and empowering women leaders in the bike movement from diverse backgrounds who then are inspirations to others in their communities to break cultural norms and ride a bike, despite the taboos.

What has been the response or feedback from participants or the community?

The response to the Bike Library has been tremendously positive. You can read some of the stories and testimonials in the 2012 Bike Library Zine called “Pedaling Forward”– just click here to read some amazing stories about the joys of cycling by participants in the Bike Library!

What advice or tips would you have for other advocacy organizations, bike shops or co-ops who are starting outreach to women generally or moms / families specifically?

Be conscious of access to bikes and trailers, and find a way to provide women with free or very affordable bikes. Be conscious of women with families, and offer trailers and tag-a-longs for the kids. Try partnering with non-profits that work with diverse communities and have bi-cultural and bi-lingual experience who can help bridge language/cultural barriers. Offer child-care and interpretation/translation. Be aware of structural barriers that women face to biking, including poverty and double responsibility (in our patriarchy, women are expected to not only work but also do the bulk of housework and care-taking). Work to change the structures! For more information please contact me at claire@cyclesforchange.org or visit www.cyclesforchange.org

What’s your organization doing to engage moms — from diverse backgrounds? Share in the comments!

 

Jess Mathews is one of those magnetic people who’s passion and energy are evident within moments of meeting her. Lucky for Ohio — and bicycle advocates nationwide — her passion is getting more women on bikes.

After attending the League’s National Women’s Bicycling Summit in Long Beach last September, the Safe Routes to School Manager for Consider Biking got the wheels rolling for a women’s summit in her state. With the Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit exactly one month away, I wanted to learn a little more about Mathew’s background and get a behind-the-scenes look at the organization and focus of perhaps the first stand-alone state summit specifically focused on women and bicycling.

So what’s your story, Jess? How did you get into biking?

One of the repeated questions that takes up space in my mind is, “How will I be remembered when I die?” I want to be remembered as a leader passionate about making her city (Columbus) more people-focused, specifically, a city that places priority on bicycling and walking.

I lived and went to art school in San Francisco back in the day and started bicycling there. The ease of using my bike in SF didn’t click until coming back to Columbus and experiencing how challenging and unfriendly it was here. Not only did I get crazed looks when I was on my bike trying to get to my destination, my being a woman trying to get to my destination via bike I think compounded those stares. Experiencing how difficult it was here, I started to become involved in local bike events and bike organizations, like Consider Biking. My youthful passion and determination led me to become a board member of Consider Biking. At that time, I was the youngest person on the board and the fourth woman on the board. Long story short, funding became available, I interviewed and the rest is history!

What inspired you to host an event around women cycling — rather than an outreach campaign, ride series, etc?

Actually, I am not only organizing — along with two incredible women — the first statewide Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit. I actually created an outreach program directly geared towards young girls in marginalized neighborhoods — Girls in Gear — and I lead what has become an explosive ladies’ ride here in Columbus: 2 Wheels & Heels.

The future face of biking is going to be women and families and I am passionate about the empowerment of women and girls. I whole-heartedly believe that it is critical that city officials, such as Mayors and Directors of Public Service, grasp that the success of their cities will revolve around transportation options for ALL. City streets need to be re-designed so that everyone feels invited to enjoy their public space, including women. Our city leaders must comprehend that our streets need to be “designed” and not “engineered.” They need to be designed with women and children in mind and, if they are not, then more designing process needs to take place.

In the past two years, there’s been HUGE momentum to decrease the gender gap when it comes to men and women on bikes. When I attended the Women Bike gathering in Long Beach, Calif., I knew what I needed to do when I returned to Columbus: continue the momentum here and create the first Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit. I’m a “do-er!”

Who’s behind this event and how did you rally the coalition / support required to put on the Summit?

One evening, I had asked a couple of colleagues of mine to meet me for a beer. During that meetup, I said, ‘Would you two be interested in helping me organize the first statewide Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit?” Their answers: “HELL YES!” It was a pretty easy sell.

Jeannie McKenna Martin is our Acting Director of Consider Biking and runs her own landscape architecture business and Mimi Webb is the Sales and Operations Manager of the Trek Bike Stores here in Columbus. I specifically thought of these two because they’re ‘do-ers’ as well. We’ve been organizing and planning since last October. I couldn’t have asked for better partners.  Trek Bikes and ROLL are two of the local bike stores that jumped all over this Summit and have been extremely supportive. Support from businesses, city leaders, women and men have been paramount.

Overall, there’s been this missing niche of women-on-bikes empowerment that we’re tapping into—  and people are excited. Women e-mail and tell me ‘Thank you! I’ve been waiting for something like this!’  This past year, Columbus celebrated its bicentennial birthday and our focus was to brand ourselves as “Open & Smart.” The Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit exemplifies this.

Are you focusing in on certain issues or topics? What are the key objectives or take-aways of the event?

The Summit’s mission is simple:  To engage, educate, and activate more women in Ohio to ride bikes. We came up with five categories speakers including economics, fashion, dispelling barriers, bike mechanics and riding for transportation. We specifically wanted to keep the topics broad, so they’re able to reach and touch as many types of women riders as possible. Based upon responses after the Summit, we’ll see which topics were of most value and plan accordingly for next year.

You’ve attended the past two Women Bike gatherings — how have past events informed what you’re doing with the Ohio Summit?

I think / feel that both Women Bike gatherings have guided me towards the thought that no matter where you live (California, North Carolina, or Ohio) the issues that women face and struggle with when it comes to the barriers of riding are the same. How do we achieve “choosing” the bike? It’s going to take years — decades! — here in America but the conversation has begun, and that’s the first step. I think just the idea that we’re putting something together here in Columbus, completely women-specific is bold and says, “Hey, we know the importance of women’s inclusion and understand the leadership that women possess, and if you get women to collectively support a cause with purpose, it usually succeeds.”

Are you getting push-back around it being an event “for women”? Why go this route rather than co-ed?

The only push-back I’ve received is that guys want to attend which is pretty awesome! I went this route because I know and understand first-hand the importance of empowering women. Women and men are different. We work through our processes differently. I have found and watched through both my “2 Wheels & Heels” ladies’ rides and “Girls in Gear” program, that there’s an enhanced comfort level when it’s “women-only.” There’s a greater sense of kinship and encouragement that I’ve seen — and its incredible. The women and girls learn from one another and are more prone to help one another and not judge them for any lack in knowledge. It’s the whole ‘Lean In’ experience that I feel you just can’t have if it were to be co-ed.

What are some cool, innovative things you’re doing with your event that are new or creative approaches?

Well again, I think just beginning the conversation here in Columbus, Ohio of actually having a statewide Women’s Summit is innovative, cool, and creative! People presume that these kinds of events are more apt to be held in bigger metro cities like D.C. or Long Beach — but it’s just as critical of a need here as it is in other cities. This being the innaugural Summit, we’re keeping it pretty controlled. I love measuring outcomes, so after our first Summit, obtaining post-Summit surveys given to both attendees and presenters for next year, will allow us to build and maneuver our creativity and innovative approaches with a bit more ease. This year is about starting the conversation with hopes of watching it blossom into an endless field of women and bikes! (Cheesy but true!)

What are YOU most excited about?

I’m excited that other women and girls are excited. I get pumped when I hear women say, “We need this and I’m excited you’re doing this!” I’m excited that middle and high school girls are attending, as well as grandmothers. I’m excited to continue this Summit to where, two or three years from now, it becomes the “Midwest Women’s Bicycling Summit.” What can I say, I’m a visionary!

Stay tuned to the blog each Wednesday for profiles and coverage of women’s cycling efforts in communities nationwide.

 

The League wants your help in advancing equity and women’s participation in bike advocacy. You game? We thought you might be.

We’ve recently launched two initiatives to start institutionalizing some real change. The Women Bike program is empowering, engaging and elevating more women to get on a bike and ride, as well as influence the bike advocacy world. We’re also developing a full-scale Equity Initiative, with our new Equity Advisory Council charged with guiding the organization’s efforts to become a model for equity, diversity and inclusivity both in its internal and external programming.

Both initiatives are off to a great start — and now its time to make sure we keep the momentum going by highlighting the work you’ve done and are doing around equity and women in biking. We need your help to:

• Identify initiatives related to equity and women around the country
• Understand what resources would be helpful to YOU as we move forward
• Benchmark key demographics among cycling organizations currently

So please take a moment to fill out our brief, online survey by April 12th — and circulate to other organizations that might be interested, as well.

***Extra bonus: Is there work around issues of equity or women in cycling that you can’t wait to tell someone? Well, stop waiting and post in the comments section. Who knows? Your story might be our next post!

(Photo: Eboni Hawkins of Red, Bike & Green – Chicago is a member of the League’s Equity Advisory Council. Credit Brian Palmer)

 

Research consistently shows that women shoulder more of the household responsibilities, including childcare and transportation. Whether running errands or shuttling kids, women often face additional considerations when it comes to getting around by bike.

So join us for our next Women Bike webinar — April 11, from 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. EDT — as we discuss “Getting More Moms and Families on Bikes.” We’ll explore how individual, advocacy and retailer leaders are addressing these unique but widespread considerations and helping to get more moms and families out riding.

Join us for a conversation with:

• Megan Odett, founder of Kidical Mass DC and creator of the National Family Biking Survey

• Kit Hodge, Deputy Director for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the creator of the organization’s “Family Biking Guide” and

• Martina Fahrner, co-founder of Clever Cycles in Portland, Ore., which was among the first bike shops in the U.S. to carry bikes specifically geared toward family transportation needs

Click here to register!

And, if you missed our first two webinars on “How to Start a Women’s Bike Club” or “The Economic Impact of Women Bicyclists,” view the recordings and download the slides here!

(Photo by Leslie Bloom, Alliance for Biking & Walking Photo Library)

 

Last month, we were excited to help launch the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s new “Women & Bicycles” campaign with a $15,000 grant. Revolving around small social gatherings hosted by Roll Models and practical-skill workshops and group rides, WABA’s innovative initiative will engage and provide resources to women in the D.C. area – and, we’re confident, serve as a model for other advocacy organizations nationwide. (Stay tuned for much more on this effort in coming weeks!)

But that’s not all.

In celebration of the launch of the Women Bike program, the League is also awarding $5,000 in mini-grants. We know that it often takes a modest amount of funding to get the wheels turning on a big idea — and the goal of our new Growth Fund is to seed, support and spread campaigns and ideas that are getting more women on bikes.

Purpose: Whether it’s an innovative outreach strategy or a first-of-its-kind event, we know great ideas and efforts are breaking ground across the country — and we want to make sure the best efforts take root and serves as examples for the rest of the nation. The Growth Fund aims to provide best practices on women’s bicycling outreach and engagement to advocates nationwide, by sharing effective strategies, programs and materials to inform and be utilized by other advocacy organizations.

Eligibility: To apply for these funds, an organization must:

• Be a member of the League of American Bicyclists
• Be incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization; grants will not be awarded to individuals
• Propose a campaign or event that is specifically aimed at increasing the number of women riding — with a defined timeline and measurable goals

Grant Amount: Based on applications, the League will award between three and five mini-grants. Maximum application and award amount is $2,500. Grants will be administered by the League’s Women Bike program.

How to Apply: Complete the brief online application here. The application deadline is Monday, April 15, 2013. Grant winners will be announced on Monday, April 29, 2013. Proposals will be evaluated by League staff and the Women Bike Advisory Board.

Reporting Requirements: A final report highlighting the results of your campaign, effectiveness of this grant, lessons learned by your organization, best practices / model(s) to share with other organizations, photos and PR-related materials will be required at the end of the grant period.

For more information about the Women Bike Growth Fund, contact me at carolyn@bikeleague.org. We look forward to helping you grow the number of women riding in your community — and communities across the country!

(Photo: WABA “Women & Bicycles” launch party, credit Brian Palmer)

 

To achieve her dream of waving the Afghan flag at the Olympics, 16-year-old Salma Kakar rises before dawn, to train under the cover of darkness. For the new Afghan Women’s Cycling Team, participating in the sport is a direct — and perilous — challenge to the prohibition against women cycling.

“These women are literally risking their lives to ride bikes,” says Shannon Galpin.

Over the past five years, Galpin has dedicated herself to improving the lives of girls like Kakar through her organization Mountain2Mountain. In 2006, the Colorado trainer and avid mountain biker established her nonprofit to empower women and girls in conflict zones — through cycling.

.According to National Geographic, which honored Galpin as a 2013 Adventurer of the Year: “The 38-year-old has braved some of the most violent periods in Afghanistan—a country considered by many humanitarian agencies to be the worst place in the world to be a woman—to work on women’s education and health. She fostered midwife training to combat infant and maternal mortality in the Panjshir Province. In Kabul and Kandahar, she helped develop reading programs for the daughters of women in prisons, some of whom were jailed for adultery after they were raped or for escaping arranged marriages.”

In 2010, she became the first person to ride across Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley and has been a key supporter of the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team.

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“I started challenging that barrier [against women riding bikes] myself by being a foreign woman and looking for other women riding bikes,” she told NBC Nightly News. “Finding out that a small group of women were riding in Kabul as part of a cycling team it was a really natural segway to work I was doing in Afghanistan to support this burgeoning group of women pushing the boundaries on bicycles… It brings bikes into a whole new realm that could galvanize women’s rights in Afghanistan.”

And, if women like Kakar are willing to take the risk, Galpin says, the least we can do is support them. The first step: gear. The Mountain2Mountain founder has garnered hundreds of pounds of donations from bike shops, industry and individuals in a matters of months. And with her new Combat Apathy campaign she’s encouraging all of us to step up, building a “battalion of passionate mothers, daughters, and sisters, that are willing to sacrifice time, money, and energy to be crusaders of gender equity and human rights.”

Watch the video above to hear more from Galpin — and see the incredible passion of the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team. Galpin, along with Let Media and Side of the Road Sessions, are currently working on a full documentary about the team; click here to learn more and support the effort.

 

Challenge or charity. Fitness or friendship. There are so many motivations to start riding.

For women, the social aspects of bicycling are often a key motivation and inspiration, making rides and races particularly important in engaging and empowering more female bicyclists. At the National Women’s Bicycling Forum this month, we explored ways to break down the road blocks and turn cycling events into gateways for participation.

Moderated by Sarai Snyder, founder of Cyclofemme and Girl Bike Love, the panel touched on charity and social rides, as well as racing and charity events.

Nicole Preston, national campaign director for the Tour de Cure, discussed best practices from one of the nation’s largest charity rides — which engages nearly 25,000 women of all ages and abilities. Tara McCarthy, Race Director Certification Manager for USA Cycling, announced the work of her organization’s new “Women’s Committee” to increase the number of women members and riders from its current 13 percent. And the ever-inspiring and outspoken Jacquie Phelan shared some of her unique insight as a mountain biking champion and founder of the Women’s Mountain Bike & Tea Society.

As a take-away for Forum participants and folks around the country, the group also created a hand-out with 11 tips to engage more women in your cycling events. See below.

.… And stay tuned for more recaps and resources from the Forum.

 

Before there were hundreds of women’s bicycling blogs; before there was a growing number of books and zines and publications showcasing the diversity of bicyclists, there was Momentum magazine. Established in 2001, Momentum has become a growing voice for the cycling lifestyle, putting particular emphasis on women and families and folks who ride for transportation. Amy Walker was one of the key founders and initial owners — and answered a few questions on the start and evolution of the magazine… and the everyday biking movement it’s helping to propel.

What’s your biking background — how did you get into riding?

I biked as a kid and had parents who biked. In the early 1980s, my dad would take my sister and I riding across town by way if the portside roads in Vancouver. These were the DIY bike routes of the day. On the way from East Van to the Stanley Park Seawall he’d teach us how to shoulder check, cross railway tracks safely and be mindful of traffic. He went traveling in France by bike (which seemed very cool) and was a cycle commuter. My step dad was also a cyclist and had taken several cross-country bike trips and was a regular bike commuter. I was quite lucky that I had people in my life who were role models, but I don’t remember them ever being prescriptive or preachy about biking. They just did it. Later on, in high school, I was involved in an environmental conference and I learned about cycling as a form of environmentally friendly transport. I started riding to school (45 min each way) and over the years my relationship with cycling deepened.

What inspired you to even *think* about starting a magazine? Who else was involved in this adventure?

When I was a little kid I remember making fake newspapers. I would write the headlines and make photo-collaged illustrations, then draw in lines instead of story text. I’ve always enjoyed magazines and all forms of visual communication and I loved poring over books of illustration and cover art as a teenager. I was working as a graphic designer in the mid-’90s and I started picking up a free publication called The Spoke ‘n’ Word. It was the newsletter of an organization called B.E.S.T. (Better Environmentally Sound Transportation) and it had an artful style, featured real people who biked and highlighted some of the important issues in bicycle advocacy.

Two of the key people involved in that publication were Carmen Mills and Terry Sunderland. When the Spoke ‘n’ Word folded, I met with Carmen and we started planning a new magazine that was for and about “self-propelled people” (the initial local, non-profit, newsprint incarnation of Momentum, 2001-2003). I learned a ton from Terry Sunderland about creating powerful images and Carmen was a true mentor. She is a brilliant organizer with lots of heart. From Carmen I learned about setting a tone that was celebratory, paradoxical, and peppered with “mind bombs.” She also taught me not to get bogged down with wonky policy details that would put readers to sleep. (You can read Carmen’s Blog at bicyclebuddha.org.)

In 2005, I wrote a business plan and relaunched Momentum on my own. Among the wonderful collaborators for the next phase were Colin Mackenzie, Terry Lowe, Chris Bentzen, David Niddrie, Tania Lo, Mia Kohout and so many other wonderful, creative people. Momentum is a group effort. It exists because of the wonderful people that work together on its creation.

What was your vision for Momentum — and how did it change (if at all) as it gained, uh, momentum?

(more…)

As a bicycle commuter, Adonia Lugo noticed a clear shift in cycling when she moved from Portland to Los Angeles in 2007. For the innovative scholar, that distinction led to a whole new approach to bicycle advocacy.

“I was struck by the impact the transportation culture had on my experience of biking,” she says. “And I also started noticing how race and class distinctions played out in transportation and how, even though I was biking in a built environment really similar to Portland, other road users didn’t respect my way of getting around.”

In the “Community-Based Bicycle Advocacy” session at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum, Lugo explained some of her research into L.A.’s transportation culture — and her work co-founding CicLAvia and City of Lights (now Multicultural Communities for Mobility), both campaigns that have broken new ground and succeeded at empowering communities that are underrepresented in traditional bicycle advocacy.

For Lugo it all led to a new and critical frame to engaging more people in biking: “human infrastructure.”

What does the phrase mean? Well, human infrastructure is the existing social networks, community groups, and shared ideas about transportation that affect how people think of streets — and what is possible in them. And underlining this concept is a critical and optimistic question: “If we respect present differences, can we create future consensus?”

Too often in bicycle advocacy, we equate opposition with ignorance or misunderstanding. We jump to the conclusion that people opposed to bike lanes just don’t get it, or don’t have all the compelling facts that clearly show the merit of our positions. Lugo has been a strong voice — and has set a clear example — for shifting that thinking and, instead, actively working with community leaders to understand the cultural and community dynamics that shape perceptions of bicycling and transportation.

That’s the basis of human infrastructure. As Lugo showed at the Women’s Forum, the concept is based on two important pillars:

• Research: Recognizing the multiple cultural meanings of transportation
• Community-based advocacy: Starting from a respectful understanding of community concerns

One way she’s putting that concept to work is with the Seattle Bike Justice Project — an effort to aimed at “questioning the idea that bicycling is a luxury for a privileged group, or a burden for a marginalized group.” Over the course of several months, Lugo interviewed nine leaders from communities of color — folks outside bicycle advocacy circles — to better understand their ideas about biking and public spaces.

She’s also spearheaded the creation of Bicicultures, a network of scholars who study bicycling as a social and cultural phenomenon, aiming to shed light on the many bicycling cultures taking place alongside each other in our cities and towns. (Learn more and register for the group’s first event: Bicicultures Roadshow on April 16-17 in Davis, Calif.)

So how do you start these conversation and build this type of human infrastructure in your community? The panelists for the Community-Based Bicycle Advocacy session put together some key questions you can consider in your work.

Read more about the “Community-Based Bicycle Advocacy” session:

• Jenna Burton on Creating Black Bike Culture
• Megan Odett on Empowering Moms to Ride

And stay tuned for more ideas, recaps and resources in coming days…

(Photo of Lugo by Brian Palmer)

Guest post by Fionnoula Quinn, civil engineer at Alta Planning + Design and board member for Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling

Mia Birk fell in love with bicycling while attending graduate school in Washington, D.C.

Having grown up in suburban Dallas, Texas, she was used to driving everywhere. Informed that there was no parking available near her school, she borrowed her brother’s 10-speed Schwinn. Within a few weeks, she was in the best shape of her life and a lifelong love affair had begun. Since then, she has been a dedicated bicyclist for recreation, touring, exercise, and daily utilitarian trips.

For four years she was an advocate with the International Institute for Energy Conservation, and in 1993 became the Bicycling Manager for the City of Portland, Oregon, where she helped get the city to adopt a ground-breaking Bicycle Master Plan and network expansion. The implementation of Portland’s visionary concept has been an inspiration throughout the country for the development of bicycling-friendly infrastructure.

In 1999, Birk left government to help found Alta Planning + Design, of which she is now President. Alta has become one of the country’s pre-eminent bicycling and pedestrian planning, design, implementation and encouragement firms. Its affiliate, Alta Bike Share, deploys and operates public bike share systems in Boston, Washington, D.C.; Melbourne, Australia; and Chattanooga, Tennessee; and is working to launch systems in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Columbus, Vancouver and Portland. Through her role at Alta, she has been involved in helping many communities and individuals, expanding the industry, and creating jobs around the country.

As a leader of Alta, Birk has been at the forefront of developments in the bicycling world, helping write a major study on Rails with Trails for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which opened the door to hundreds of miles of Rails with Trails project across North America. The various studies of new and innovative facilities such as blue bike lanes, sharrows and bike boxes led to the development of the Urban Bikeway Design Guide for the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). The NACTO Guide is advancing the craft of building protected bike facilities and bringing about bike-friendlier streets. Her favorite projects have been those that have the biggest, most long-lasting impacts.

Birk has always believed strongly in the importance of advocacy and education. She was a founding member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals (APBP), which named her “Professional of the Year (Private Sector)” for 2007.  Since 2002, she had been an Adjunct Professor at Portland State University where she was co-founder of PSU’s Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI).

She authored Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet (2010) about the story of Portland’s journey to bicycling mecca. The book describes in equal parts, the delights and frustrations of dealing with municipal and elected officials and getting things done. Her story has proven very inspirational to many working to change their own communities and she loves connecting directly with so many great people through the book.

Birk can frequently be seen bicycling around her neighborhood in Portland. As a business leader, professor, advocate, author and mother of three young children, Mia doesn’t have time to waste on finding a parking space.

Hear more from Birk on the “Women’s Work: Bicycle Friendly Communities by Design” webinar from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals this Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern. On this free session, Birk will be joined by Linda DuPriest, Member and Mentor, Women’s Transportation Seminar; Jennifer Hefferan, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, District of Columbia Department of Transportation; Norma Moores, Senior Transportation Engineer, IBI Group – Toronto; Jennifer Toole, Principal, Toole Design Group. Click here to register!

Photo by Jonathan Maus / BikePortland

 

Guest post by Stefanie Seskin, Deputy Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition

Complete Streets.

The phrase feels so natural and obvious now, almost as though it appeared in our vocabulary one day, a happy accident of words. But without the tireless efforts of Barbara McCann over the last decade, the entire Complete Streets movement is unlikely to have the success and widespread acceptance as it does today.

McCann began her career at the fledgling CNN, where her journalistic skill was recognized and applauded. But 13 years in Atlanta also brought something else: an increasing awareness of how hostile our transportation system is for anyone not driving a car. Frustrated by her inability to simply ride a bike to work safely, Barbara became active in the local bicycle advocacy scene.

An opening at the Surface Transportation Policy Project – the Transportation for America of the late 1990s and early 2000s — brought her to Washington, D.C. While at STPP, she authored many reports, including the high-profile Mean Streets series on pedestrian safety and Driven to Spend, an early report on the impact of sprawl on household transportation expenses. She took on the role of Director of Information and Research at Smart Growth America, where she continued to work for bikeable, walkable communities. Her Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl was the first report to explain how the built environment is linked to physical activity and health. She co-authored Sprawl Costs and worked the media to get coverage of these topics across the country.

In 2003, Barbara joined forces with the America Bikes campaign, led by the fantastic Martha Roskowski. Martha recalls:

Barbara was providing communications and messaging for the America Bikes campaign to get good stuff for biking and walking into the next federal transportation bill. One our of asks of Congress was ‘routine accommodations,’ the idea that any project that used federal money should routinely accommodate people on foot and on bikes. We’d say ‘routine accommodations,’ and congressional staffers would respond ‘what’s that, cheap hotel rooms?’ We’d say, ‘It’s a lousy name, but a great concept.’ We weren’t finding much support. So we decided to come up with a new name. Barbara pulled together a meeting of smart marketing folks and we brainstormed over cheap pizza. Barbara led the process with her usual understated brilliance, and launched a powerful concept into the transportation world.

That concept? Oh, just the Complete Streets movement. By 2005, the initial collaborators had been joined by several more. Barbara recognized the potential power of this group, and they recognized her commitment and skill. McCann, now a consultant, was hired to run the newly formalized National Complete Streets Coalition, housed at Smart Growth America. Stephanie Potts, who worked for SGA, on the early years of the Coalition:

I joined the staff when the Coalition moved to its new home at Smart Growth America. At that time, Barbara still called herself the ‘Coordinator’ and pretended like she could still work on other projects. As the coalition membership expanded and the Complete Streets movement gained traction across the country, we both realized that we needed more help and hired the first full time staff person for the coalition. Barbara gave up trying to have a life outside Complete Streets and stopped correcting people when they called her the Executive Director — a title that was a much better fit for the amount of energy and passion she dedicated to her work. Through Barbara’s communications savvy and our strong partnerships, Complete Streets became a common-sense policy that local and state governments of all sizes and political leanings adopted. We even made it on to the cover of USA Today!

As that first full time staffer, I have been fortunate to work with Barbara and appreciate her leadership and deep belief that this movement was something that would change the country, that would bring equity and access to everyone. While her work has been lauded by many, she has never taken sole credit for what she’s created. She’s worked tirelessly to build partnerships and instill some spark of her Complete Streets fire in almost everyone she’s met. As a result, the movement has grown stronger and more powerful than if it had One Great Leader.

Last summer, Barbara recognized an opportunity to step back from the everyday management of a national organization and, in doing so, push the Complete Streets movement forward a huge step. Just a week ago, she turned in a manuscript for a book about Complete Streets to her editors at Island Press. The book explores the three (surprising) keys to the success of the Complete Streets movement and how transportation agencies across the country are making Complete Streets a matter of routine. It’s due out this fall.

On a final note, Barbara created a movement that is full of strong female role models, leaders, and contributors. In addition to Barbara and Stephanie, I’ve been honored to work with Christine, Krystle, Eryn, Catherine, and, now, Laura and Lily as colleagues at the Coalition. Our Steering Committee includes powerhouses such as Debra Alvarez of AARP; Stacey Williams of the American Planning Association; Roxanne Blackwell of the American Society of Landscape Architects; and Yolanda Savage-Narva of America Walks. We’ve also called on the skills of Caron Whitaker at the League of American Bicyclists, Kit Keller and Linda Tracy of the Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals; Coralette Hannon of AARP; and Martha Roskowski of the Green Lane Project. Women such as Kim Irwin in Indianapolis, Karen Nikolai in Hennepin County, Minn., and Cathy Costakis in Bozeman, Mont., are making real change in their communities. And there are so many more.

That’s one of the intrinsic beauties of Complete Streets: without a diversity of voices — without women — it would be another “special interest” and not the gamechanger that it is.

Learn more about Complete Streets at www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets.

 

When she got pregnant and had her first child, Megan Odett knew her life would never be the same: “I thought I lost everything I liked about the person I used to be.”

The top of the list from her old identity: Riding her bike just about everywhere. Like so many mothers, complications during her pregnancy and having a new tiny passenger kept her from cycling. “So one day, I decided, screw this,” she said. “I’m going to get back one thing about the old me.”

Already, Odett had noticed more parents and families riding on the streets of D.C. “But I hadn’t seen any movement or network bringing them together,” she said. So that’s exactly what she did, bringing the Kidical Mass concept to the nation’s capital, in a big way. In less than two years, Odett — pregnant now with her second child — has created a growing community of family riders and been a strong voice for mothers in the discussion on engaging more women in bicycling.

Odett described her work to get more moms on bikes at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum this month. Part of the “Community-Based Bicycle Advocacy” session, she outlined some of the unique barriers to family riding and solutions to overcome them.

One key example? Equipment and gear to accommodate kids. “The equipment is hard to get and often it’s not stocked in bike shops,” she said. “You have to special order it, so you can’t try it before you drop a lot of money. I wanted to find a way to make it easier for people to learn about different equipment and see it all in one place, before dropping hundreds of dollars on something their kids might hate.” So Odett organized a one-stop shop for moms and dads in D.C. — An ABCs of Family Biking event that gathered current cyclists to share their stories and solutions, and put many of those tools on display for folks to test drive.

Having hosted monthly rides, in addition to special events, Odett identified some key tips for getting more moms — and women overall — on bikes. As Tanya Snyder, over at Streetsblog, summed up:

• Identify the most likely prospects: The “low-hanging fruit” for family cycling are people who rode before they have kids, who live in a dense area, and who have moderate or high incomes (because there can be expensive equipment involved), said Odett. People with somewhat flexible schedules or work from home are also likely candidates for cycling. “I think that the core audience for family cycling and ‘mama-biking’ hasn’t really been saturated yet,” Odett said.

• Saturate the core audience: “You want to looking at saturating this core audience first, and then letting this movement expand out to some of the higher hanging fruit,” Odett said. “That’s going to make it much more ‘normal’ to bike with kids. It’s also going to create a used equipment market, which will help lower the barrier to entry to cycling with children.” And that will expand the demographic base outward from that initial high-income set.

• Model the benefits: Odett says women are barraged with advertising messages, as are parents – so moms learn to just tune it out. An organized PR campaign aimed at getting moms to bike might not work – but they’ll notice when their friend rides right up to the school’s front doors with a happy, smiling child on the back and everybody else has been stuck in traffic. “When I ride, I think of myself as PR for bicycling,” Odett said. “I’m on this bike because it’s an amazingly fun thing to do with my son.”

Eager to understand other families’ experience, Odett recently conducted a Family Biking Survey, that garnered responses from nearly 100 people in 21 states and four countries. The survey gathered insight on what equipment families are using, what resources helped them get started and barriers to riding more. Among the top obstacles for women: effort, safety and distance.

The survey also included a question on what parents would say about the national conversation to get more women riding.

“It’s just plain more complicated for me than it is for my male colleagues who 1) have no hair and 2) don’t have to transport young kids,” said one respondent. “The level of infrastructure and institutional support that’s sufficient for them isn’t sufficient for me. I want to bike with the kids but it’s taken a huge investment to do so. First a bike seat (not such a big deal), then a trailer, then an entirely new bike. Plus lots of time and energy to figure out the logistics. We have an awesome bike share program in Boston that is inaccessible to riders with children. So I don’t use it. What a shame!”

“Good infrastructure is really, really important, as is easy access to route-planning tools,” said another. “I’ve talked to other mothers that don’t bike in our area because there aren’t or they don’t know about good routes (the quiet streets, the dead-ends that go through for pedestrians/bikes, etc.).”

“I wish there were more family bikes found in more shops,” said Shane MacRhodes, the co-founder of the first Kidical Mass in Eugene, Ore. “I want them affordable but I also want people to recognize that they aren’t a toy and aren’t cheap for a reason. People are willing to spend hundreds (or thousands) on a single car repair but gasp at $1,500 for a family bike that can last them more than a decade and give them freedom, exercise, joy and save them thousands over that time. The industry needs to grow and change but so do people’s understanding of what cycling is and is worth.”

Click here to download the summary of results and stay tuned for more recaps from the Women’s Forum. In the meantime, don’t miss “Jenna Burton on Creating Black Bike Culture” from earlier this week.

 

Guest post by Margo Pedroso, Deputy Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership

As the founder and director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Deb Hubsmith has made it her life’s work to ensure that kids can safely ride bicycles and walk.

Paradoxically, she got her start in the bike movement as a driver. Nearly 20 years ago, another driver crashed into Deb’s car, and she swore she would not get another. Following through on that promise proved challenging — her home base in Marin County, California, lacked safe bicycling and walking infrastructure. This propelled Deb to get involved in bicycle advocacy.

In the late 1990s, Deb rode a solar-powered electric bike to schools to speak about walking, bicycling, transit and these connections to health. Public attention from that project snowballed into Deb becoming the executive director of the newly formed Marin County Bicycle Coalition, where she led many campaigns, including securing funding for much of North/South Greenway, which will be a 90-mile pathway along a rail line from Sausalito through Sonoma.

As part of her growing involvement, Deb traveled to Europe to see their bicycle infrastructure and activities and was inspired by the Sustrans Safe Routes to School program. She brought that information back to the states and started working on efforts to get more kids walking and bicycling to and from schools. Word eventually spread to then-Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), who secured $50,000 in pilot program funding for Marin County to run a Safe Routes to School program.

Deb kept in touch with Oberstar, and with advocacy help from the America Bikes coalition, the pilot led to the establishment of the federal Safe Routes to School program in 2005. As a result of that legislation, more than $1.1 billion was made available over the course of the next eight years to all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

At the same time, Deb officially launched the nonprofit Safe Routes to School National Partnership, after more than two years of planning, with help from the League of American Bicyclists. Bikes Belong agreed to host the new organization, and Deb secured additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, cementing the linkage between Safe Routes to School and the campaign to reverse childhood obesity.

Since then, it’s been a fast ride for Deb. As director of the National Partnership, Deb sets the vision for the organization and provides leadership, oversight and direction for programs, policies and staff to build a national movement that advances street-scale improvements and shared use agreements through programs, policy change and publicity. The National Partnership now has a $3 million budget, 25 staff and more than 600 organizational partners. Collectively, the Safe Routes to School federal program has funded more than 14,000 schools, and the movement extends beyond the federal funding to thousands more schools and millions of children nationwide.

Schools are at the heart of communities and health for our nation. Building from Deb’s commitment to collaboration and future generations, the National Partnership and its supporters have propelled the movement into a catalytic change-maker, helping the public and policy makers rethink how we design our communities and schools so that they are walkable and bikeable for kids and everyone.

Learn more about the Partnership here.

 

Guest post by Marya McQuirter

Years ago while working on her dissertation on the social history of blacks in D.C. during the first half of the 20th century, McQuirter came upon an article about five black women who biked from New York City to Washington in 1928. She is trying to gather as many details she can about their three-day, 250-mile trip.

Decades before AIDS Rides, Critical Mass, Tweed Rides and more, five women embarked on a group ride from New York City to Washington, D.C. during Easter weekend in 1928. Yes, 1928! These five New Yorkers — Marylou Jackson, Velma Jackson, Ethyl Miller, Leolya Nelson and Constance White — biked 250 miles over three days.

On the first day of their ride, they biked 110 miles to Philadelphia. The second day, they biked 40 miles to Wilmington, Delaware. The third and final day, they biked more than 100 miles, arriving in Washington, D.C. around 9pm. Once in D.C., they did some sightseeing around the National Mall and Howard University.  They also took time to have the above photograph taken. I love how they sit so confidently on their bicycles, resplendent in their leather jackets, caps, bloomers and stylish socks.

When asked what motivated them to embark on the group ride, they responded that they were motivated by “the love of the great-out-of-doors” that each of them cherished.  Interestingly, they also challenged other young women, 21 years old and older, to replicate their trip in less time. What are we to make of this challenge, the professed love for “outdoor” culture and the trip, in general? And what was happening in 1928 that provides a context for the ride?

Clearly, they were all avid cyclists. It would be impossible to complete this type of ride without serious conditioning, training and skills. Further, two of the cyclists were active in the field of physical education — one at the Harlem YWCA and the other at the Sargent School of Physical Training. It seems very likely that they were in the forefront of promoting women and sports.

Cycling in 1928 was a low-key, mixed bag. There were definitely cycling clubs active in New York City. And I’m certain that the cyclists were members of a cycling club. At the same time, recreational cycling came to be seen as an activity for the young — particularly males. It wasn’t until the late 1930s that we begin to see an uptick in adult cycling.

One of the most popular activities for professional cyclists and fans in the 1920s was six-day races — track cycling races that usually involved a team of two cyclists. These races were primarily the domain of white male cyclists. Perhaps the five women were fans of the six-day races that took place in Madison Square Garden and sought to publicize women cyclists and to replicate competitive team cycling on the open road.

While we may never get the full answers to these questions, it is exciting to know about these five women and their bike trip and to imagine how many others are out there that we haven’t discovered yet.

Marya A. McQuirter is writing a book and producing a film about the five cyclists and their trip. She can be reached via email, mmcquirter@gmail.com

 

Veronica Davis couldn’t have put it better: “A lot of times we try to make women this monolithic group — but we’re not.”

From the Fender Bender LGBT crew out of Detroit to the Kidical Mass moms of Washington, D.C., there are countless subgroups within the women’s cycling movement — and, of course, bicycling at large. At the National Women’s Bicycling Forum we hosted a session on “Community-Based Bike Advocacy: Building the Movement from the Groud Up,” to unpack the diverse definition of “bicyclist” and explore how to encourage and engage underrepresented communities to ride.

With Davis, the co-founder of Black Women Bike DC (and member of the Women Bike Advisory Board) at the helm, we heard from three leaders from across the country: Jenna Burton, founder of Red, Bike and Green; Megan Odett, founder of Kidical Mass DC and Adonia Lugo, co-founder of CicLAvia, City of Lights, and Bicicultures (to name a few of her endeavors).

For Burton, the birth of RBG came from her desire to build a lifestyle around riding a bike — but seeing few other African Americans on Oakland streets or within the local biking culture. But, for Burton and RBG, cycling is a tool to building community. Here’s some of what she shared:

Drawing on black history: We carry with us this element of black history and people notice in the mission that we’re talking about more than just bike riding.We’re talking about health, we’re talking about sustainability, we’re talking about economic and environmental conditions. Our mission expanded into this three point plan that parallels the 10-point plan the Black Panthers came up with… The second element of history you can see in our aesthetic and logo and colors we wear: red, black and green. That’s really how we found the inspiration for the title of the organization.

Creating space: We put on community bike rides and the purpose of these rides is to create space for African Americans to come together and enjoy each others presence and ride bikes together. We go on two- or three-hour bikes rides that are intergenerational: It’s for families, for young people, for elders.

Being visible: We are establishing a presence, not only in the Oakland community, but among the African American population within the Oakland community. We’re creating visibility, representing an image of what bike riding can look like within the black community. The more people see it, the more it becomes commonplace and less intimidating.

Empowering riders: Our bikes rides serve a number of purposes. It makes it less intimidating. Some of our cyclists come on a bike ride for the first time in their lives or since they were 9-years-old. After that first bike ride, it becomes easier and easier to form a lifestyle around bike riding.

Addressing gentrification: Oakland is part of a larger metro area that’s rapidly changing. It’s economically changing, changing what it looks like in terms of the people who live there and don’t live there. These bike rides are a social response to way those communities are changing. Just that visibility is a reminder that this is also a space where African Americans have been living for generations. A lot of people say that bike lanes are the first sign of gentrification, but by using those bike lanes and taking up that space, it’s a reminder that these bike  lanes are for us, as well. It’s a great way to engage in community and to have these conversations that are about more than just bike riding.

Establishing a new bike culture: The great thing about what we’ve been doing over the past few years has been establishing a culture around bike riding. We talk a lot about how we need to diversify the bike movement and diversify cyclists and the industry, but the change needs to happen within communities themselves, especially underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. One of our favorite sayings is “It’s bigger than bikes.” We’re using bikes as a tool for community development. We have this aesthetic — we’re wearing the colors and the history and the style that is unique and well-received with black community… We use the black power fists in some of our images and, as it becomes part of the culture, we’ll start to see more black people getting excited about bikes — for reasons we don’t think about right away.

Click here to watch Burton’s full presentation — and stayed tuned for more insight from the panel tomorrow.

 

To say the history of the League of American Bicyclists is incomplete without recognizing Phyllis Harmon is an understatement. There simply would be no modern history of the League to write if it weren’t for Harmon, a human dynamo with a passion for cycling – and the League – that will likely never be equaled.

For starters, she joined the League in 1937. Riding with the Evanston Bicycle Touring Club, she became a fixture on club runs (often in conjunction with a train ride to Wisconsin) and was editor of the League’s newsletter for nearly 20 years; even through the war years.

The League was inactive from 1955-64; although I somehow doubt the same was true for Harmon. Under threat of having the State of Illinois claim the League’s funds from an inactive bank account, a last-hurrah dinner actually provided the spark to revive the League. Harmon once again took on the publication of the bulletin — and the League started to grow.

She was the first paid employee of the organization in 1972 and became executive director (temporarily, for four years) in 1975. After the League moved to Baltimore, Harmon took an honorary role on the board (and is still the emeritus editor of American Bicyclist in recognition of her enormous contribution) and remained a force to be reckoned within the organization for many more years.

Harmon was also a powerful influence in the Chicago-area cycling scene. This year, the Wheeling Wheelmen (founded by none other than Phyllis Harmon) celebrates the 44th annual Harmon 100 ride on September 8 with rides of 25-100 miles starting in Wlimot, Wis., and the promise of excellent food at the rest stops.

I had the privilege of accompanying Harmon to the ceremonies in Newport, Rhode Island to mark the 125th anniversary of the League in 2005 – she was there for the 100th and shows every sign of making it to the 150th at this rate. It was a huge honor for me to introduce Harmon at her (well-deserved) induction into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame just a couple of years ago.

True to form Harmon kept riding well into her 70s — not just around town but across the country and leading tours in New Zealand. In her later years – by which I mean the upper 80s and early 90s — she wasn’t able to ride because of size and fit reasons. Until, I was told, she sat on a recumbent at a local bike store and she just took off, discovering the joys of cycling all over again!

Click here for a 2011 interview with Harmon (“The Grand Dame of Chicago Bicycling”) on Grid Chicago.

Even at age 83, even suffering from lung cancer, Ellen Fletcher rode her bike to City Hall for a hearing on bicycle improvements this past summer. That was the level of dedication that made Fletcher not just a local hero, but a national inspiration.

As a Gold level Bicycle Friendly Community, Palo Alto remains a model for cities nationwide — and Fletcher was instrumental in pioneering innovative infrastructure and putting the California city on the map.

As a mother concerned for the safety of her children; an advocate for clean, sustainable transportation; and an elected official who was intent on creating a better community for all, Fletcher was a leading voice for bikes long before there was a growing chorus of support for active transportation. Her efforts ensured that, when she passed away in November, nearly half of the attendees to her memorial pedaled to the service.

Talk about a legacy.

According to Richard Masoner: “Ellen escaped Berlin as a Jewish child on the Kindertransport trains and spent her teen years as a refugee in World War II London, where she biked to her factory job. She eventually ended up in Palo Alto, California, where she got her start in cycling advocacy as safety chair of the local PTA when she saw that the best way to protect school children from their greatest danger was by reducing auto traffic around schools. She revived the Santa Clara Valley Bicycle Association (which exists today as the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition) in the early 1970s.”

That was just the beginning — Fletcher was also a vanguard for better bicycle infrastructure that would soon be adopted nationwide. As Bob Mack, publisher of Cycle CA! magazine, noted on the SVBC blog: “When the first bike lanes were proposed Ellen was on the front lines. No one knew what a bike lane was or why we needed them. She led the fight and helped create a network of green (yes, pea green) bike lanes to connect schools, parks and neighborhoods in the city. This transformed transportation for those without cars.”

Fletcher also pioneered the first bike boulevard in the U.S. As Naomi Bloom recounted: “In 1973, Ellen Fletcher joined Palo Alto’s fledgling “Citizen’s Technical Advisory Committee” on bicycling. By the next year she was the committee’s chairperson, the guiding light of what was to become the Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Committee. One of PABAC’s original campaigns was a (then) innovative bikeway concept — a street where automobile access would be limited (but not restricted), offering cyclists a relatively safe alternative to other routes with heavy motor traffic. They dubbed the concept a “bicycle boulevard.” Surprisingly, there was little resistance from the City, which chose Bryant Street for a six-month trial period. Bicycle counts showed a dramatic increase of cyclists on Bryant and a corresponding decrease on the busiest parallel arteries. The first of its kind in the country, the Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard later expanded north to the Menlo Park border, and has served as a model for similar bike routes across the country. And now it’s been dubbed the “Ellen Fletcher Bicycle Boulevard.”

Fletcher kept her seat on PABAC for nearly 40 years and also served on the city council from 1977 to 1989. As her daughter rightly pointed out at her memorial service, Ellen’s name was “virtually synonymous with Palo Alto’s bicycle improvements,” earning her a number of recognitions, including the League’s Paul Dudley White Award in 1996.

Just last May, Ellen contributed to our “Why I Ride” series. Click here to read about her impact in her own words.

(Photo by Palo Alto Weekly)

 

It took her three months to get a handle on “Gladys.”

Frances Willard, a suffragist and temperance advocate based in Illinois, learned how to ride her bike, “Gladys,” at age 53. But Willard had already made a name on doing things she wasn’t supposed to.

Willard served as the president of Evantston College of Ladies and later as the Dean of the Women’s College when it was subsumed by Northwestern University. She then took the helm as a founding member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. And in her struggle for temperance, she found what she believed to be a great tool: the bicycle.

“She believed that biking was a wondrous social invention, key to keeping young men from the evils of alcohol,” writes April Streeter in her book Women on Wheels.

Willard took up bicycling in her 50s, and she reported that it took her about three months of serious practice to feel comfortable.

“At 53, I was at more disadvantage than most people, for not only had I the impedimenta that results from the unnatural style of dress, but I also suffered from the sedentery habits of a lifetime,” Willard wrote, according to Streeter’s book. “And then that small world of those who loved me best… did not encourage me, but thought I should ‘break my bones’ and ‘spoil my future.’ ”

No so, Willard said.

“I learned to bicycle when 50… and I think it is one of the best things I ever did,” Willard wrote. “What pleases me is to see other worn-out women take it up, and fine a new lease of health and life thereby. The little book I wrote on the subject has reached thousands of women who, perhaps, might not otherwise have looked with favor on the innovation.”

That little book, A Wheel Within a Wheel: How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle, With Some Reflections by the Way was published in 1895. You can read it in its entirety here.

Check back here on Monday for our next profile in our ongoing Women’s (Bike) History Month series!

 

Guest post by April Streeter, author of Women on Wheels

Breaking ground in women’s cycling back in the early decades of biking wasn’t just for the racing types like Tillie Anderson and Louise Armaindo.

A strong, audacious woman named Belva Lockwood is considered Washington DC’s first female cyclist.

Born in 1830, Lockwood was used to breaking down gender barriers. A schoolmistress who wanted to study law before women were “allowed,” she got tutoring and set up practice in the nation’s capital in the late 1870s.

Lockwood soon noticed that her lawyer-ly colleagues were delivering documents by bicycle, speeding up their work considerably by way of two wheels.

She was a well-known figure in D.C., always dressed conservatively in a black velvet gown, which made riding the high-wheeled bicycle virtually impossible. Lockwood instead chose an adult tricycle as her transport of choice. Even displaying an inch of ankle was considered by some immodest, and Lockwood caused quite a stir with her “wheel.”

Such a stir, in fact, that Lockwood says President Grover Cleveland issued an “edict” telling the wives of his Cabinet officers that he did not wish them to ride bicycles.

In March 1879, Belva was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court, the first woman to ever appear there.

In 1884 Lockwood used her “wheel” to get to the post office to mail her letter accepting a nomination as presidential candidate – for the National Equal Rights Party. She received over 4,000 votes, an amazing feat considering her women supporters didn’t yet have the right to vote.

In 1890, the Wheel and Cycling Trade Review reported that Lockwood – now 60 years old – had retired her tricycle and “now devotes herself to the ladies’ safety, on which she is as expert a rider as she was on the three-wheeled machine.”

Read more about women in the bike movement in April’s book, Women on Wheels…

 

Even before the turn of the century, Maria Ward was teaching women to wrench.

During the bicycle craze of the 1890s, Ward published a popular book aimed at getting more women riding. But “Bicycling for Ladies” was more than a primer on choosing a bike and learning to ride. Ward aimed to empower women by teaching them to master their machines, as well.

According to Sheila Hanlon, a bicycle researcher in London:

Bicycling for Ladies was a catch-all guide to cycling, covering everything from choosing a bicycle and learning to ride to health and dress. What distinguished Ward’s manual from the wider genre of women’s cycling instruction — the majority of which was aimed at leisure riders and focused on genteel riding etiquette — was its attention to mechanical detail. Among its more forward-thinking chapters were “Women and Tools” and “Mechanics of Bicycling.” Ward’s objective was to emancipate her lady cyclist readers by teaching them the “laws of mechanics and physiology.”

Ward explained her approach in the introduction to “Women and Tools,” writing: “Most women can sew on a button or run up a seam; sewing, in fact, is regarded rather as a feminine in-stinct than an art… I hold that any woman who is able to use a needle or scissors can use other tools equally well. It is a very important matter for a bicyclist to be acquainted with all parts of the bicycle, their uses and adjustment. Many a weary hour would be spared were a little proper attention given at the right time to your machine.”

Lucky for us, the whole book — published in 1896 — is online. Check it out here!

 

As Steven Rea showcased in his beautiful book “Hollywood Rides a Bike,” movie stars have long been pedaling the joys of bicycling on the big screen.

But few have adopted cycling in their daily lives like actress Katharine Hepburn.

Born in 1907, Hepburn missed the first bicycling boom by a decade, but loved to ride from early childhood to old age. In fact, Hepburn shared her memories of bicycling in a biography of her life written by Charlotte Chandler.

As historian Sue Macy recounts on her blog:

“I saw my parents riding their bicycles, and my brother Tom had his bicycle, too,” Hepburn is quoted as saying. “It looked like a lot of fun.” She related how, at age three-and-a-half, she learned to ride a special children’s bike her dad had made for her. Her first ride took place when he brought her to a hill in a nearby park, placed her on the bike, and gave her a shove. “He had a philosophy, you see,” she recalled. “He believed people will do what they have to do.”

Hepburn survived that ride, though her dad had neglected to explain the use of brakes. She only stopped when she ran into a man at the bottom of the hill — but that didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. “The bicycle offered a wonderful chance to see the world,” she said. “I rode all over the city on my bicycle. I don’t know how Mother would have felt if she’d known how far I went. A city seen from a bicycle is an entirely different city.”

That wonder didn’t wear off once she became a movie star, either. According to April Streeter, author of Women on Wheels, Hepburn “was one of the few Hollywood starlets shown in bike glamour shots of the 1930s and 1940s who actually enjoyed a cycling habit.”

Publicity shots with movie stars on bicycles were particularly popular in the late 1930s all the way through the 1950s, and there are plenty of Kate. Fellow actor Theodore Bikel said she was the only superstar that actually regularly rode her bicycle around the Warner Brothers lot. In fact, Hepburn enjoyed cycling nearly everywhere she went. On many movie locations, her pattern seemed to be: work all day, take a bike ride in the afternoon or evening, and retire early. Later in life, she could be seen in slacks and a shirt and sweater, cycling undaunted through Manhattan traffic.

After all, in Hepburn’s day, bicycling made sense from an economic standpoint. “In the Depression, the bike was a viable means of transportation, and then in World War II there was another push for people in the U.S. to ride bikes to save gas and rubber,” Steven Rea told Women Bike Advisory Board member Melissa Balmer. “Hollywood was also encouraging people to be active and healthy via bicycling and other forms of exercise.”

That healthy lifestyle certainly served Hepburn — who lived to be 96-years-old. Long after she retired, she was often seen riding near her ocean-front home in Old Saybrook, Conn. Here’s hoping more modern-day stars step up to Hepburn’s example in promoting bicycling for health, happiness and transportation!

 

Miss “Merrie Wheeler” was a cautious pioneer by modern standards.

Mary Sargent Hopkins, who became known by her penname “Merrie Wheeler,” established her magazine The Wheelwoman in 1895 in Boston. At the time — the heyday of the U.S. bicycling boom — Hopkins was the face of women on bicycles.

Before establishing The Wheelwoman, Hopkins was published in Bicycling World and L.A.W. Bulletin, New England Kitchen Magazine and Good Housekeeping, among other publications. Her cycling journalist contemporary, Ida T. Bell, wrote that Hopkins’ “name has become a household word wherever the bicycle is ridden,” according to a forthcoming book by historian Lorenz Finison.

Hopkins was a champion of women’s health, and much of that focused on outdoor recreation.

“The wheel is today the greatest emancipator extant for women — women who are longing to be free from nervousness, sick-headache, and a train of other ills,” Hopkins wrote, according to Finison. “Indeed the bicycle for women deserves to rank with the greatest inventions of the century.”

And while Hopkins identified as a women’s health advocate and bicycle enthusiast, she also believed a woman’s role was a domestic one. Her better health, she argued, would enable her to fulfill her domestic duties with more vigor.

Finison writes of this common-held belief at the time: ”Despite much emancipatory language, The Wheelwoman espoused conservative notions of femininity that coexisted during the bicycle craze of the 1890s. Hopkins advocated  gradual changes, comforting her middle class readers. The New Woman of Hopkins’ cycling imagery remained assuredly feminine. But she also had the capacity to reform men, and the world.”

Though there was a small but growing movement to reform women’s dress, Hopkins didn’t subscribe to this notion. After initially decrying any type of dress reform, she ultimately endorsed women wearing “short skirts” (about 4 to 8 inches from the ground), instead of the traditional floor-length garb, for bicycling.

Much unlike our previous profile of Amelia Bloomer, Hopkins was averse to all things “bloomer.” Instead she wrote: “It has made my heart sore to see the women who have been putting on knickerbockers, riding the scorching with the men.”

But at the time, Hopkins played the important role of happy medium between two often-quarreling sides. “For opponents of women’s rights, the bicycle exemplified the physical and moral dangers ensuing from any changes in the female condition,” Finison writes. “Mary Sargent Hopkins… produced an image of the female cyclist that was a compromise between the poles of this debate… She ingeniously described the New Woman as free yet morally constrained, athletic yet feminine, strong yet yielding, and not subjugated yet serving men.”

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next profile in our Women’s (Bike) History series!

 

Looking out at the incredible crowd, it was hard to believe it had only been one year.

On Monday, I recognized many familiar faces at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum. Many folks who had attended the first event at the 2012 National Bike Summit were back to continue the conversation about engaging more women in bicycling. But even in such a short time, the Forum felt entirely different.

Instead of a two-hour panel discussion, this year’s Forum was a signature aspect of the National Bike Summit with nearly 30 diverse speakers; four in-depth break-out sessions; keynote addresses from Georgena Terry, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth and NYC Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan.

At the start of 2013, the League made gender equity a national priority by launching Women Bike — and we’re not alone. A growing number in local advocacy organizations, leaders in the bike industry and transportation planners at all levels are tackling this divide in innovative and effective ways.

Our hope was that the National Women’s Bicycling Forum would inspire and inform those efforts — and, well, I think we hit the mark.

The keynote addresses were absolutely phenomenal; the break-out sessions were fresh and informative; and the photo booth and Women Bike Pop-up Shop added a new dynamic to the already high-energy event. We’ll be posting more in coming days but, in the meantime, watch recordings of all three keynotes below!

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There was no denying that Miss Katie Knox was a card-carrying member of the League of American Wheelmen, but her attendance at the annual meeting in 1895 lit a fire that sparked newspaper headlines from coast to coast. Only 21 years old at the time, the bi-racial seamstress and cycling enthusiast dared to challenge the new “color bar” instituted by the League just one year earlier.

Even before the controversy at the 1895 meeting, Knox had made a name for herself in her hometown of Boston. In 1893, the Riverside Cycling Club became the first black cycling group and, according to historian Lorenz Finison, Knox was among a “small coterie of black women cyclists in the early part of Boston’s [bicycling] craze.” In 1893, the Indianapolis Freemen, a black newspaper of the time, reported on Knox and Viola Wheaton performing “graceful” cycling at a meet-up in Martha’s Vineyard. That same year, Knox was listed in the rolls of the Bulletin — the League’s newsletter of the time — as a member of the growing ranks of the Wheelmen.

But controversy was brewing…

In 1894, despite strong opposition from many local affiliates, including numerous cycling clubs in Boston, the League passed a color bar. Spearheaded by Colonel W.W. Watts from Louisville, Ky., it was resolved at the annual meeting in 1894 that “none but white persons can become members of the League.” Since Knox was already a card carrying member — one of just a few hundred women at the time — it set the stage for an possible showdown at the 1895 meeting.

But Knox wasn’t one to shy away from the spotlight. In fact, in the run-up to the League’s annual meeting, she pushed the boundaries of women’s dress, winning a July 4th costume contest at the Waltham Cycle Park — clad in a gray knickerbocker suit. “Knickerbockers referred to what had been typical men’s and boy’s baggy trousers,” Finison writes in his upcoming book. “That Kittie won with such a uniform was quite astounding, and a testament to her seamstress skills, given the animus in some quarters against women of the time wearing anything but skirts – and long skirts at that.”

Knox must have been prepared for some animus from members when she joined thousands of cyclists in Asbury Park to participate in the League Meet. What happened when she arrived isn’t entirely clear. Some newspapers described Knox being refused entry — and either withdrawing quietly or walking out defiantly — while other reports denied her exclusion. As Finison describes it:

[Knox] was entering a socially segregated space – the Asbury Park hotel district, and given recent history, she must have known the controversy her appearance might create. However, she had the support of her Boston cycling companions, and her entrance was featured in many of the national and local newspapers, which seemed to regard her as a full member of the Boston cycling contingent, despite the existence of the color bar.

The New York Times reported: “With the Boston delegation is also Miss Kittie Knox, a pretty young colored girl, who rides in the Riverside Cycle Club, Boston’s only colored cycle club.” The Times got quickly to the heart of the conflict: “This afternoon Miss Knox did a few fancy cuts in front of the clubhouse and was requested to desist. It is thought that this episode will result in temporarily opening the color line question. Some of the Asbury Park wheelmen officials, it is said, will protest against permitting Miss Knox to remain a member of the league…  [and] the local ‘kickers’ say they will have a reckoning with the League Secretary, Abbot Bassett, upon his arrival.”

Guest post by April Streeter, author of Women on Wheels

It’s little known that bike racing for women flourished even before 1900. In the late 1880’s, a group of great athletic women including Louise Armaindo, Jessie Oaks, and Helen Baldwin raced their high-wheel Ordinary bikes in impromptu six-day races across the country.

When the so-called pneumatic ‘safety’ bicycle arrived around 1890, it was the vehicle that would get hundreds of thousands of women out riding. With two similarly sized wheels sporting inflatable pneumatic tires, it was definitely a smoother, more comfortable ride — and its low-slung frame allowed women in skirts to more easily mount and unmount than the practically impossible high-wheeled Ordinary.

By 1895 a new crop of athletic young women were defying disapproval from parents and paternal types to race diamond-frame, safety-style bikes — and one woman quickly rode her way to victory and newspaper fame: Tillie Anderson.

Anderson was a Swedish immigrant who arrived in Chicago in 1889 as a teenager. A seamstress, Anderson caught bike fever and saved for a bicycle. Soon she wasn’t just riding but also racing. Her beau Philip Sjöberg realized Tillie was a stronger rider than he was and shelved his racing aspirations to coach and train her.

Tillie seemed to win nearly every race she entered – taking first place in 123 of 130 races. In the 1890’s, these races were generally six-day events, with the women racers riding two hours per day on a banked velodrome track of eight laps to a mile. The format favored riders like Tillie with track-tested endurance. Yet Tillie’s secret seemed to also be, as one newspaper commented, the ability “to ride and think at the same time.” She liked to keep the lead but always looked shrewdly for the best moment to spurt ahead of her fellow riders to the finish line.

Six-day races were popular, even raucous events, and Anderson was a modest yet assertive champion of the form. Long before Tillie’s legs gave out her racing days came to an end – in 1902 women were barred from racing after another racer, Dottie Farnsworth, was killed in a non-racing circus cycling event.

Anderson lost her husband Sjöberg that same year, 1902, to tuberculosis. She became a masseuse and lived a quiet life. Decades after Tillie’s death, Alice Olson Roepke brought her great-aunt Anderson’s achievements to light, and Tillie was inducted into the Biycle Hall of Fame in 2000.

Find more tales of early bike heroines in bike blogger April Streeter’s handbook for city cyclists titled Women at Wheels.

 

Guest post by Gillian Klempner Willman 

In 1895, Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky, a 23-year-old Jewish immigrant and mother of three, was visiting Stockton, California while on a cycling journey around the world — the result of an alleged bet among men that no woman could accomplish such a feat. Annie’s challenge was to circle the globe by bicycle in 15 months, earning $5,000 en route.

This was not only a test of a woman’s physical endurance and mental fortitude, but also of her ability to fend for herself in a man’s world. When Annie set out from the steps of the Boston Statehouse on a 42-pound Columbia bicycle she pedaled to prove the men wrong and to score a victory for the “new woman.”

“You want to know what I think about the bicycle for the physical development of women?” she mused rhetorically to a reporter for the Stockton Evening Mail that day in 1895. “I know from experience that there is nothing better than a wheel to build a woman up. The fact that women will wear corsets when riding is the reason so many suffer from the exercise. Tell the women to discard their corsets. If women will exercise properly on a wheel, they will have nicely rounded figures, bright eyes, and healthy cheeks, and will feel well the year ‘round.”

When she began her ride, Annie was neither a cyclist nor a feminist, but she gradually became an outspoken supporter of both causes. The (often) positive attention she garnered throughout her journey demonstrated that femininity and physical strength were not mutually exclusive. To the readers of the Stockton Evening Mail, she not only advocated for cycling and the benefits it could deliver to women, but for something more — the liberation of women from their corsets, both literally and figuratively.

Annie’s journey was more than one of miles: She left in full skirts as a 19th Century housewife and returned in bloomers as a celebrated (and controversial) heroine of a new era. At the time, The New York World called her trip “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman” and said it marked the birth of “the new woman” — independent, dynamic, and free.

There’s no way to measure the impact of Annie’s ride on her Victorian peers — of how many women she inspired to take to their wheels, to pursue their dreams and create their own destinies.

But Annie continues to inspire women today. A Washington, DC-based documentary film director, I’ve made it my mission to bring Annie’s story to life for film audiences — and, after seven years in production, The New Woman: Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky will premiere at the DC Independent Film Festival tonight! If you’re a DC local or here for the Summit, click here for tickets!

For more information about the documentary, visit the film’s website or Facebook page.