Get Involved In Women Bike PHL (Part 4)

This week we've introduced our forthcoming Women Bike PHL Campaign - the aim of which is to address the gender gap in bicycling and make riding a bicycle more fun and feasible for Philadelphia women of all ages and backgrounds.

On Monday we introduced the problem.
On Tuesday we highlighted what's happening at the national level.
On Wednesday we introduced the classes, rides, and events we are organizing over the next three months.

Today, we conclude with visions for the future of this campaign:

• Expanding our adult "Learn to Ride" classes and promoting them to women.
• Additional themed social rides: brunch rides, midnight rides, and more... 
• Working with Bike Temple on programming to encourage more women to ride on their campus.
• Supporting new Girls Bike Clubs at area schools.
• Recruiting more girls to Neighborhood Bike Works programming.
• Outreach to parents: Many Philly parents bike with their kids, but it can be intimidating at first. We want to connect interested moms and dads with the mentors, and the gear, to make it feasible.
• And more unexpected action as we meet new partners and new engaged bicyclists!

Anne and unidentified ride leader, Schuylkill River Park, 2012

It's clear we've struck a resonant chord. The first three blog posts in our series have already been read and shared more than 1,000 times. We've received feedback that's ranged from, "We love this!" to "Who cares?" (Note: when you take the time to write 'Who cares,' you obvious care or you wouldn't bother to write.)

If you care about making our region a better place to ride a bicycle, period, you care about lowering gender barriers to bicycling. How you can get involved:

• Join the conversation! Talk to us on Facebook and join the Twitter conversation with the #womenbikePHL hashtag.
• Sign up for our upcoming classes, rides, and events.
• Support our work by making a donation and becoming a member of the Bicycle Coalition!
• Host a women's Urban Riding Basics class at your church or workplace!
• Partner with us to start a ride, a women's group, or a girls bike club!

By attending an event, making a donation, or taking a friend on an encouraging ride, you can be a part of Women Bike PHL! Katie Monroe is our lead staff person on this campaign, and she wants to hear from you! Contact her at katie@bicyclecoalition.org.