Photo by Dmitry Gudkov

Laura Solís

Outreach Coordinator

Age? 27

Where are you from? The Bronx

Where do you ride? I usually start out in the Bronx, and somehow I end up in Brooklyn, or Queens, often Manhattan, a couple times in Staten Island and most recently in Philly!

When and why did you start riding? Back in the Summer of 2011, I wanted to go see a roller derby match that was not very easily accessible by public transportation. The smart guy I was dating, recognizing that there was a beautiful steel pony not being utilized in my living room, suggested we take our bikes on the train as far out as we could and then ride the 5 miles out to the venue. The ride to the venue was a voyage, it was my first day riding a bike as an adult, I was a bit squirrely on a ride that started on a very busy and dangerous Flatbush Avenue. We got there, I was sweating in new places, and I felt invigorated. There was no turning back after that. The ride back to the train station was a rainy one, which certainly motivated my legs to pedal faster, especially considering my afro-textured hair is not waterproof 😉

How has biking with a women’s organization like WE Bike NYC impacted your life? WE Bike NYC has exposed me to different parts and people in the #bikenyc cycling community. As it is in my “only-child” nature, I have always felt compelled to connect people and create a family around me, the cycling community is perfect for that! I attended my first WE Bike NYC meeting on March 30, 2012, after I purchased and figured out how to mount my first (adult) bike at Bicycle Habitat. The physical transformation is apparent to a few, but my personal transformation has been apparent to all.

Why do you want to go on the ride? This is going to be an incredible journey and I want in on it! I also want to see more people like me at the National Bike Summit. “People like me” are people from low-income neighborhoods, with limited resources with the odds against them, but with a strong desire to see beyond what’s at their immediate grasp. A machine as simple as a bicycle could inspire hope in many that find it difficult to do so for themselves. Riding a bike requires a lot of self-reliance, which often times is not presented in the best manner in neighborhoods that may be lacking opportunity. Oh yeah, I am also a women of color, but that is secondary.

Anything else you’d like to add? This is going to be EPIC.

Help Laura bring her enthusiasm for cycling to a whole new network by contributing to our ride: Click here!

WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

For the next week, we want to introduce you to our riders and generous sponsors…

Liz Jose

Founder of WE Bike NYC

Age? 30 (at the time of the tour)

Where are you from? Born in Minnesota, spent half my childhood in Massachusetts.

Where do you ride? I mainly ride in New York City, but I have also done tours all over the United States, Chile and South Africa. Oh and I did bike share in Mexico City too!

When and why did you start riding? I have been biking ever since I was a child. My dad was a big cyclist and we used to bike as a family to a pizza place to dinner about once a month. Biking has always been a mode of transportation as much as a way to exercise. In my adult life, I fell into biking again in college when I found a free bike and fixed it up as a way to get to campus in Santa Cruz. It doesn’t snow there, so it was a great way to travel all year. Since then I just keep biking more and more, and more than anything, the thing that keeps me coming back are the people. Biking seems like a solitary sport, but really, it puts you in a situation where you are forced to interact with people, and that can be really wonderful and important.

How has biking impacted your life? Like I said above, biking for me is all about the people, however, in NYC I felt very alone on the road. And strangely, so did all the other female cyclists I knew. By riding with WE Bike NYC I have met the BEST women I could imagine, and also so many people I would not have crossed paths with otherwise. When I am biking with my male friends, it becomes about the struggle in my head- “can I keep up? Will they think I’m slow because I’m a woman? What if i need to pee? I’m going to prove this to them once and for all…” But when I’m biking with WE Bike NYC it becomes all about the celebration! “Here WE are! Where can WE go next? What is the farthest WE can make it? How many ice cream cones is too many ice cream cones?” Finding this celebration, again, on my bike, and being part of this community has been one of the most important anchors and motivating factors in my life in New York City.

Why do you want to go on the ride? I want to be on this ride because it is one more way to celebrate being on a bike and it’s a way to make more visible to vibrant and diverse community of female bicycle riders here on the east coast. I see this as a way to make a statement, as a way to have fun, as a way to meet new people and to meet new sides of people I’ve known and worked with for almost two years now! WE are riding. And WE are loving it. And WE’d really like to have a voice in the national conversation about our passions!

Anything else you’d like to add? I’m sooooo excited! I just can’t hide it!

Help Liz bring the cycling celebration down to DC by contributing to our IndieGogo campaign: Click here!