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:
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!!
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.