DONOR THANK YOU: Swift Industries

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, Pearl Izumi, Velojoy, Bike New York, InTandem, and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. Today, Katie shows us how Swift Industries answers the ever present “lugging” issue in long distance touring.

Swift Industries is a Seattle-based small business that makes customizable bicycle bags that are “fun, classic, and functional.” They are a woman-owned company and their bags come in a MILLION AWESOME COLORS. WE are incredibly grateful to have them as a sponsor for our ride!

Personally, I’ve always had trouble finding bike bags that I find both functional and fashionable. Both are important to me, and I have no interest in plopping down my hard-earned cash for a bag that doesn’t fully satisfy both of those requirements. When I asked the Women Bike PHL Facebook group for favorite pannier brands a few months ago, I distinctly remember Swift being among the strongest recommendations.
WE appreciate that Swift believes in our purposeful adventure.

Check out the Swift story below. My favorite quote? “They’re interested in people…not a thing. Their products are meant for empowering you to DO something.”

Spotlight on Tina

Katie of Women Bike PHL shares one of her favorite success stories…
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, Pearl Izumi, Velojoy, and InTandem, and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!  Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors.

I’ve had a lot of wonderful moments in the first year of Women Bike PHL, but one of my favorites had to be seeing this post from Tina pop up on my newsfeed:

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Click the image for a close-up

Tina is a woman with gumption. After not having ridden a bicycle since she was a kid, she showed up to a Women’s Urban Riding Basics class at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia office last year and sat through an hour of classroom-style advice about how to ride a bike in the city (offered by yours truly). She also showed up to an Adult Urban Riding Basics class offered by the Bicycle Coalition in Eakins Oval, and after a few minutes of wobbling, she totally had her balance back and was pedaling with confidence. Next, she came to a women-and-bikes potluck Women Bike PHL held, modeled after Nelle Pierson’s Women & Bicycles Program in DC, and we talked through a few more questions about biking in the city (over some delicious food). Lastly, she came on a Women Bike PHL ride to a First Person Arts storyslam at World Cafe Live and mastered Philly’s weird left-side-of-the road bike lanes on Walnut Street.

And now look at her!!

tinapic

Tina is an example of what programs like Women Bike PHL can do — they create spaces where women feel comfortable learning the skills they need to embrace a whole new transportation option. I’m so excited for her, and I hope I can help lots more women achieve what she did in 2014.

Trying New Things: Two Women Bike PHL Stories

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 WomanToursBicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Katie Monroe shares two major highlights from her work with Women Bike PHL.

Part of why I love biking is that it exposes me to new people, places, and things ALL THE TIME. With Women Bike PHL, one of the goals is helping more women to try new things via bicycles — together! Here are two of my favorite “trying new things” stories from the last year of Women Bike PHL:

1) The Mullica Hill Women’s Triathlon Club is an inspiration to start out with — what started as four women in 2009 has grown into a positive, supportive club for 700+ women from the New Jersey and Philadelphia region working toward their personal fitness goals. One experience that not a lot of MHWTC ladies have had, however, is riding a bicycle in the city. Women Bike PHL offered a few urban rides for ladies from Mullica Hill last year. One of them looped around Philly’s gorgeous riverside paths on either side of the Schuylkill River, and wound its way through West Fairmount Park. Most of the women had never seen this part of Philadelphia before — I was especially excited to share the gorgeous, tucked-away ‘Pavilion in the Trees,’ a treehouse-inspired sculpture by Martin Puryear in West Fairmount Park. It’s not something one would be likely to run across without a bicycle and a sense of adventure. It was so gratifying to be able to show these women who were totally badass cyclists (they can go a heck of a lot faster than I can, that’s for sure) to a different type of ride, and a new perspective on Philadelphia.

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2) In early December, Philadelphia hosted the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships, a crazy party of a bike race where the competition is real — but so is the silliness. Women Bike PHL led a ride starting from a centrally-located bike shop and heading up to the race (to spectate, not participate). Personally, I’d never seen Cyclocross before. When we pulled up to Belmont Plateau, where the course began, I couldn’t believe my eyes — there were hundreds and hundreds of people on bikes all over the Plateau, and they were all wearing RIDICULOUS costumes – everything from a lobster, to Dick Cheney, to a gorilla, to ET. As the men’s race began, snow began to fall lightly, and then harder. Some of the more scantily-clad riders seemed in danger of frostbite, but I think they had a lot of beer in their bellies to keep them warm…It was definitely one of the more surreal events I’ve ever attended. A cohort of riders (including myself) ended up having to head back a bit early to avoid getting stuck in the snow — even so, making it home in the snowstorm was some of the most treacherous (and fun) riding I’ve ever done. I don’t think I would have attended this event without the support of a group of women bicyclists going with me. And I’m so glad I did!

cxrace

It was exciting to realize that the community that Women Bike PHL is creating can give back to all different kinds of cyclists. Triathletes get to explore explore Philly’s hidden gems, commuters like me can check out crazy Cyclocross races. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on the new experiences that bicycles can connect people to. The ride to DC will be one more such “new experience” — and I can’t wait.

Spotlight: Gearing Up

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! Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. Here is a participant from Philly’s Gearing Up receiving an award for dedication to her #bikelife

Video by Juliet Shen – friend, videographer and volunteer of Gearing Up! Gearing Up provides women in transition from abuse, addiction, and/or incarceration with the skills, equipment, and guidance to safely ride a bicycle for exercise, transportation, and personal growth.  In June 2011, one of our extremely dedicated clients was offered a brand new Fuji bicycle because of her commitment to her sobriety and our organization.   This video is proof as to why I have the best job in the world! To this day, it is one of the proudest moments I have with the organization: watching a client receive an award to celebrate her hard work, dedication as well as her love for cycling! – Kaelin Proud, Program Coordinator of Gearing Up. Thank to the generous donations received so far, Kaelin will be able to bring experiences like this one to the National Bike Summit. Please click here to help sponsor more voices in DC.

Spotlight: Women Bike PHL

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!

Now that you have gotten to know who WE are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. 

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When organizing this ride, WE knew Katie would be an excellent teammate as the founder of Women Bike PHL (as part of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia). Click here for more information on the work of this stellar organization.