Tag Archives: biketodc

Who are WE? Nelle Pierson

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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!

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Nelle Pierson

Washington Area Bicyclists Association 

Women & Bicycles

Age? 25 Where are you from? Lakewood, Colorado  Where do you ride? Up, down, over, across, under, and sideways, sometimes above. When and why did you start riding? Started biking when I turned 18 because I could no longer afford my car, and neither could my dad, so I gave my car to him. My mom bought me a $50 cruiser bike to get me around my college campus, and it clearly became the better, faster, stronger way to get around my giant college campus. How has WE Bike NYC (or biking with your org, or as a woman) impacted your life? Biking has changed my life in ways that are often indescribable. Biking has taught me the importance of thrift, allows me to feel better about my carbon footprint, allows me to connect more with my neighbors, other road-users, new roads, new places, new faces, and myself. It’s fun. I get my daily rush, I get wet and cold and sweaty and this makes me feel more alive. Plus, biking gives me the opportunity in my professional career to help make a positive difference in the world around me. I get to help provide a simple, concrete solution to some of our biggest problems. I get to be the change I wish to see in the world. Why do you want to go on the ride? I need to support my gals, and I want to continue raising awareness of the importance of normalizing, and diversifying the biking for transportation- especially among women. Biking is normal, safe, fun and easy for most people, and while we may not have the marketing budgets to sell this message, we do have opportunities with rides like this. Anything else you’d like to add? I will officially be the “Hoop’N’Holler’er” of the group. Contribute here for a HOOP, a HOLLER, a WOOT, and a YAY!

Who are WE? Lesly Jones

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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!

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Lesly Jones

Black Women Bike DC

Age? Really? 50+

Where are you from? I grew up in Berkeley, CA; I currently live in Washington, DC.

Where do you ride? In the Washington DC metropolitan area. Mostly in the city. I have 3 bikes (carbon road bike named KoKo, steel single speed/fixie named Kat and a cyclocross bike named Mac) and no car, so cycling is my primary source of transportation. However, I ride most of my miles for the sheer enjoyment of riding.

When/Why did you start riding? I have never not owned a bike. I have 3 older sisters and riding my bike was the only time I was in charge. For me, biking equates to freedom. Now, I simply ride for the love of being outside. It’s also a great stress reliever. Having a bad day……I just jump on my bike and whatever is bothering me is gone!

Why do you want to go on the ride? I love to share my love of fitness and cycling is a big part of that. I am a member of Black Women Bike DC’s Leadership Team….our vision is that Black women and girls, of all ages, ride their bikes for fun, health, wellness and transportation. Our mission is to build community and interest in biking among Black women through education, advocacy and recreation. Participating in this event is a great way to share our vision and mission.

Anything else? I am a mother and grandmother. I am a league certified cycling instructor. I regularly lead beginner group rides in my community. I am a strong advocate for cycling in my community and belong to WABA, Women & Bicycles and several local bike groups.

Bring Black Women Bike DC’s awesome vision to the national stage by contributing here!

Who are WE? Katie Monroe

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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!

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Katie Monroe

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia: Women Bike PHL

Age? 23

Where are you from? Philadelphia, PA

Where do you ride? All around my city! I am constantly traversing the bustling neighborhoods of Philadelphia on my bike. There is no better way to live and love this city.

When and why did you start riding? I have always been riding bikes for fun, but I only got into riding for transportation consistently when I moved to South Philly about a year and a half ago. It’s cheap, convenient, environmentally-friendly, fast (good for impatient folks like me!), but more importantly it is FUN and it has connected me with an incredibly diverse and passionate community of people, in Philadelphia and beyond.

How has WE Bike NYC (or biking with your org, or as a woman) impacted your life? WE Bike NYC has been a tremendous source of inspiration for the program I founded at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia: Women Bike PHL. I love riding and learning about bikes with women because it’s allowed me to share the skills I have, inspire confidence in others, and learn a LOT. I think the confidence I have as a bicyclist carries over into other aspects of life, too. I feel so independent in my transportation choices and that has a ripple effect!

Why do you want to go on the ride? There are some incredible women moving the bicycling movement forward all over the country. We are strong individually, but together we are way more powerful. I want to deepen the connections I already have and form new ones on this ride — it can only mean good things for the bicycling movement to strengthen solidarity among women bicycling leaders!

Anything else you’d like to add? I am a little scared of doing this type of ride! I mostly ride for transportation around Philly, or on pretty cushy tours on vacation with my family (not as much mileage per day). I am always encouraging women to face their own biking challenges — so this will be a good challenge for me. 🙂

Get Katie through this challenge and into the National Bike Summit by contributing here!

Who are WE? Ayesha Rosena Anna McGowan

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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!

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Ayesha Rosena Anna McGowan

Age? 26

Where are you from? Piscataway, NJ

Where do you ride? Anywhere and Everywhere!

When and why did you start riding? When I moved to Boston for college, it would take me an hour to commute to school. I decided to take my mom’s bike from the basement. When i took it to the shop for a tune-up, it still had the baby carrier she used to tote my sister around attached to it. My sister is 8 years older than me. The bike got an overhaul, and my commute was cut down to twenty minutes!

How has WE Bike NYC impacted your life? It has given me an amazing set of inspiring women to ride with and learn from. I’m not a very social person, but WE Bike NYC has created a social environment where I feel comfortable enough to leave my bubble and be a part of a group!

Why do you want to go on the ride? I think it would be an incredibly challenge and a milestone in my journey as a woman and a cyclist. I love the idea that this band of unusual candidates is going to ride down to DC and break down several barriers that are regularly a part of the National Bike Summit. Women and minorities are depressingly under represented, WE are definitely going to help remedy that this year!

Anything else you’d like to add? Is there a way to textually represent a victory dance? WOOOHOOO!!!!!

Support Ayesha in filling her dance card with advocacy and community building by clicking here!

Who are WE? Kristina Sepúlveda

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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. For more about the ride,check out our fundraising page HERE!
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Kristina Sepúlveda

WE Bike NYC

Age? 33

Where are you from? New York City (with a 12 year layover in Florida)

When, where, and why did you start riding? I started riding a bike when my family left the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the sandy beaches of Florida when I was 10. I was pretty hardcore about it throughout middle school until I discovered adolescent vices. Fast forward 18 years and on a whim I bought a rusty little beater I affectionately refer to as Triumph the Insult Comic Bike. Since then Triumph and I have ridden all over NYC and New Orleans, LA. She’s lost some parts and I’ve lost some pounds these past few years, but we’ve made it this far.

How has WE Bike NYC (or biking with your org, or as a woman) impacted your life? I got hooked up with WE Bike NYC when I rode with them for the 5 Boro Bike Tour. The year before I had done it alone and while that was a great experience, it did not compare to riding in a supportive group of women who cheered me on as Triumph and I struggled up the bridges.

Why do you want to go on the ride? I’m riding this ride because I believe strongly that “the personal is political”. Investing in efforts to get more Latinas biking throughout New York City is about increasing levels of health and wealth in my community.

Anything else you’d like to add? Triumph is really mad she’s going to have to sit this one out.

Invest a little in your community by supporting Kristina on this ride: Click here!

Who are WE?: Mary Shyne

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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!

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Mary Shyne

WE Bike NYC

Age? 25

Where are you from? Outside of Chicago originally, but have lived in NYC for 7 years.

Where do you ride? My daily commute from Bushwick to Midtown West along the West Side Greenway, as well as various long-distance hauls on the weekend. Most recently I went on solo expeditions from NYC to Philadelphia, and later, NYC to Atlantic. Basically I’ll bike wherever there are roads (and sometimes, when Google Maps messes up, where there are not).

When and why did you start riding? I’ve been riding since I could fit into a bike seat thanks to my parents. When I moved to NYC I took a little hiatus from biking, save for a summer in college when the L train was literally never running. What really got me back on the bike, though, was the subways shutting down for Hurricane Sandy. I decided to take my red, gathering-rust Ross Compact over the bridge to work. Doing so reminded me of what I had loved so much about biking in the city: it frees you from the constraints of public transit while making the city seem so much more compact & accessible.

How has WE Bike NYC impacted your life? Cycling in New York can definitely be a boy’s club — riding through my first winter in 2013, my main cycling contacts were the guys at the bike shop, and while they were super helpful, it did feel like I was the only woman on the road. There were things I wanted to ask that I wasn’t always comfortable asking men about (SADDLE SORES, AMIRITE, LADIES) Similarly, many of my gal friends would go on rides with me, but weren’t as interested in the geeky “OMG salivating over that Colnago crankset” aspect of biking, or had bikes that couldn’t sustain the distances I wanted to go. WE Bike NYC put me in touch with a community of like-minded ladies who are just as into bikes as I am, both from a technical and on-the-road standpoint. (And also give GREAT advice on saddle sore treatment, NAMEAN?)

Why do you want to go on the ride? Long rides are my jam! After riding the NYC Century Bike Tour in September 2013, I knew I needed to get out on the road for longer distances — I’m addicted to the feeling you get fifty miles in where all your inner anxieties are wiped away, and all you can focus on is your body moving forward. It’s a strange but amazing kind of physical meditation. Unfortunately, I’ve had to pursue many of these rides alone; not for lack of willing companions (like I said, WE Bike NYC ladies ain’t afraid of no mileage), but because of conflicting schedules. This is a chance to get on the road with my friends and eat up those miles! Of course, I’m in this for more than selfish reasons, too. Not only is this an opportunity to get out of the road with some of my best cycling gal pals, it’s an opportunity to show the cycling community that women’s cycling groups exist, an opportunity to show women that they don’t need to go into cycling expecting to be the “Smurfette” (i.e., only woman in the wolfpack), and in turn, hopefully motivate other women to get out on their bikes more often and for more miles!

Anything else you’d like to add? D.C. OR BUST!!!

Push Mary forward in keeping us on keeping on this ride: Click here!

Who are WE?: Casey Ashenhurst

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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!

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Casey Ashenhurst

Administrative Guru, WE Bike NYC 

Age? 28

Where are you from? I’m a transplant from Oberlin, OH. I’ve been in NYC almost 5 years.

Where do you ride? In New York, I mostly ride to get around, and because it’s fun- so… everywhere! For commuting, meeting up with friends, and generally exploring the city, I prefer to be on two wheels. Though I have gone to Prospect Park to do laps on occasion as well, for conditioning and exercise.

When and why did you start riding? I learned to ride a bike as a little kid, for fun and to get places: When my brother and I got to be stronger riders, our mom would take us on little bike trips around town a lot– to the pool, the playground, wherever.I’d say I got a more into it as a sport in middle school, when I went on my first multi-day supported tour in Canada with a friend and her family. It was a lot of fun; I was able to really push myself physically in a new way, and the scenery was amazing. After that I did a lot more riding on country roads around my hometown, and doing longer weekend rides with my mom or with friends. I’ve always liked that riding a bike is a form of exercise that can get me places, but at a pace that I can really take in the sights around me.

How has WE Bike NYC impacted your life? Riding with WE Bike NYC has been an avenue for me to bike with women in a fun, supportive environment, which was something I had been looking for for awhile. I’ve made a ton of new friends, and I love that WE’re so inclusive, because I’ve met people who ride all different kinds of bikes, and are all different levels. But besides being a social thing, it’s also been an outlet for me to work for an organization that’s doing something I feel passionate about: cycling, and programs for women. The work WE do– getting women together to participate in a positive, physical activity, all while enjoying themselves and feeling empowered– it’s soul-feeding stuff for me.

Why do you want to go on the ride? I’m invested in the greater national cycling community seeing how women are getting more and more involved in cycling as a sport and activity, and carving out more space for us to be part of the bigger conversation- and I’m hoping our ride to the NBS can help do that! Plus, I haven’t done a longer tour in a long time, and I feel like this would be the perfect way to get back into it.

Anything else you’d like to add? WE’re ready, WE’ve got this, and WE’re PUMPED!!!

Invest in Casey investing in women cycling: Click here!

Who are WE? Laura Solís

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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!
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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!

Who are WE? Liz Jose

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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

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!

WE Bike to DC!

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#webiketodc           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 Bike NYC is a group based in New York City open to all women, female identifying, and gender nonconforming people who enjoy biking or think they might. WE Bike NYC aims to break down barriers to cycling by offering social rides, training rides, mechanics workshops and ride scholarships.

            Representatives from Gearing-Up, Black Women Bike DC, Washington Area Bicyclist Association: Women and Bicycles, and Women Bike PHL will join WE Bike NYC on this adventure! While in DC, WE will advocate for women of all backgrounds to have a seat at the table that sets national transportation policy. Despite being woefully under-represented in decision-making, the number of women who commute to work has increased 56% in the last year. Lower income individuals (earning less than $30,000) accounted for 28% of bike trips in 2009 — more than 1.1 billion bike trips overall. Our goal is to support the League of American Bicyclists’ efforts to include underrepresented cyclists at the decision making table through the inclusion of ten voices that would not be able to attend the summit without the financial support generated by this ride.

           This trip will be the kickoff event for continued work in 2014 to create more opportunities for women to have a voice in the national cycling and transportation conversation. On Tuesday, December 17, WE Bike NYC will launch #webiketodc, a multimedia initiative, to highlight the importance of increased inclusivity in the cycling community through rider stories, web videos, cycling tips, and sponsored content. For more information on how you can support us, please click on our IndieGoGo link here.