Jacquie Phelan's Free Women's Mountain Biking Workshop Returns April 12th

Our Women Bike PHL program is bringing back one of our most popular events ever.

Mountain biking legend Jacquie Phelan returns to Philadelphia for the 2nd Annual Women's MTB Clinic, presented by Fuji Bikes.

Jacquie is an undaunted and tireless advocate for women, girls, and non-competitive riders in mountain biking. She is a charter member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, a member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, and founded WOMBATS (Women's Mountain Bike & Tea Society). And she has her own Wikipedia page.

This 3-hour clinic is beginner-friendly, for women only, and is completely free. You do need to bring your own mountain bike and helmet. The group is limited to 35 people and this will sell out fast like whoa.

MTB Workshop, Presented by Women Bike PHL and Fuji Bikes
Saturday, April 12th (rain or shine)
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Pachella Pavillion, Wissahickon Park
Grab your spot here

Gather This Friday in LOVE Park to Ride Some Ladies Out of Town

Start your morning this Friday with a group bicycle ride!

Our Women Bike PHL Coordinator Katie Monroe is biking from New York City to Washington D.C. this weekend as part of the #webiketodc ride. This ambitious plan will bring her and nine other thought leaders in the women's bicycling world to our capital in time for the National Women's Bicycling Forum on March 3rd. The Forum is happening as part of the National Bike Summit.

They leave New York City on Thursday morning and roll into Philadelphia sometime Thursday evening. Friday morning they head south, and there is an organized morning ride to accompany them for the first part of their journey.

Meeting place: LOVE Park
Time: 7:30 AM
Destination: Bartram's Garden, where the #webiketodc women will continue southward and the rest of the group will be led back to LOVE Park. 
Who: This ride is open to all riders of all abilities
Weather: this ride is weather dependent (although the #webiketodoc ride is not)
Updates and routes will be posted on the ride's Facebook event page.

Biking from NYC to DC to Speak Up for Women in Bicycling

The Women's Forum and National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. are coming up the first week in March. While many Bicycle Coalition staff will be there, one of us is getting there via bicycle.

Our Education Fellow Katie Monroe will be joining nine other women in a bike ride from New York City to Washington D.C. These women are activist leaders from WE Bike NYC, Philadelphia's own Gearing Up (Program Director Kaelin Proud), Women Bike PHL, Black Women Bike: DC, and Women & Bicycles and they're undertaking a "purposeful adventure" to get to the National Bike Summit.

Why ride to D.C.?
The number of women who commute to work by bicycle has increased 56% in the last year. Lower-income individuals (earning less than $30,000) accounted for 28% of bike trips as recently as 2009 — more than 1.1 billion bike trips overall. Yet both of these groups are woefully under-represented in national transportation conversations. So the ride's 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.

They are raising funds to make this happen. If you would like to help Katie and her fellow adventurers on their trip to D.C., you can donate at their Indiegogo campaign. You can learn more about the ride on WE Bike NYC's website.

The women will be taking a pretty direct route from New York to Washington D.C (boring). But one stretch goal of their Indiegogo campaign* will allow them to pedal really fast and check out some of the fine small-town bike share programs in the area. (Area = Burlington, Keene, Mt. Vernon, Tulsa, and Chapel Hill.) We think it's doable in three days if they're really motivated and get up early. Plus we hear Keene, NH is beautiful in early March.

3,500 miles divided by 3 days, divided by 20 hours of biking a day...oh, I'm not a "math guy" but I'm sure this is feasible.

*The women doing the ride are unaware of this stretch goal.

Join Us at the National Bike Summit in March

The 2014 National Bike Summit and Women's Forum is coming up from March 3rd - 5th in Washington, D.C. The early bird deadline for discounted registration fees and scholarships is January 22nd.

The National Bike Summit brings together the many voices of bicyclists to advance the issues of bicycle safety, funding, and equity. More than 700 participants from all 50 states will share success stories and best practices from the federal, state and local level; examine new means of messaging and communications; and take on some of our critics’ most challenging arguments against investing in bicycle-friendly policies and funding.

The schedule is as follows:

• March 3rd: the Women's Forum
• March 4th: the National Bike Summit
• March 5th: Lobby Day

The early bird registration deadline for both the Forum and the Women's Summit is January 22nd. Afterwards prices go up. Register here.

If you are a woman or a bike shop employee, there are two scholarship programs to apply for.
Scholarship information for bike shops is here; for women is here.

We will be there! If you want to join us for Lobby Day, send us an e-mail so we can organize a meeting with your congressional representative. In addition, we will be speaking:

• Katie Monroe will be talking about Women Bike PHL and hosting a panel on Girl Scouts on Wheels as part of the Advocacy section of the Women's Forum.
• We will be in the "Advocacy Wins" panel of the Forum, telling the story about how we got dedicated bike/walk funding in Pennsylvania's latest transportation bill.

The full programs for the Women's Bicycling Forum and the National Bike Summit are below.

Ride with WBPHL to the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships!

In case you haven't heard, there's a major bike event happening in Philadelphia this weekend: the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships - part race, part party, all FUN.



Never heard of cyclocross? Been curious about it for a while? Just want a group to ride with to the festivities this weekend? This is your chance!

Women Bike PHL leader Katie Monroe and local CX-er Michelle Lee will lead a group ride to the event at Belmont Plateau on Sunday. We'll meet at Bicycle Therapy at 10:00 AM. The races will run approximately 11 AM-1:45 PM.

Our route will be 6 miles, take roughly approx 30 minutes, and be at a relaxed pace. Spectators & out-of-towners welcome. Note: this is a Women Bike PHL ride, so our goal is to encourage women to come out and join in the SSCXWC festivities. However, all genders are welcome to attend the ride. 

The good folks of Philly Pedals will have a tent at the race, ready to welcome us! Everyone who does this ride will be entered in a raffle for a free Philly Pedals t-shirt.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR A HELMET FOR THIS RIDE.

Things you may want to bring to win at spectating:

• Extra jacket for staying warm while standing still
• Cowbell, kazoo, or other fancy instrument
• Cash for food trucks that will be on hand

To RSVP, click here.

Questions about the ride? katie@bicyclecoalition.org

Give Yourself the Early Holiday Gift of Urban Bicycling Confidence

Due to popular demand, we are holding one more Urban Riding Basics class this year. This class will be led by Katie Monroe, is part of our Women Bike PHL Campaign, and is only open to women.

Tuesday, December 3rd
6:00 - 7:00 PM
BCGP office - 1500 Walnut St, Suite 1107
FREE but spots are limited

Description
A 60 minute class for new or inexperienced bicyclists looking to gain confidence navigating streets with cars. Let our Women Bike PHL leader Katie Monroe walk you through everything you need to know to have fun and be safe when riding your bike in the city. Class limited to 15 spots; bicycles not required.

Topics covered include:

• Buying the right bike
• Locking it up
• Helmets and clothing
• Rules of the road
• Biking in the winter

Register to reserve your spot today!

Women Bike PHL Report Released

As the founder and leader of the Bicycle Coalition's Women Bike PHL campaign, I spend a lot of time trying to explain Women Bike PHL to folks in the community. Why do we need more women on bikes? How do we get more women on bikes? What tangible things is Women Bike PHL actually doing?

As part of the answer to those questions, I am excited to release a brand-new report that provides an overview of all we have accomplished in the first nine months of Women Bike PHL. 

Some highlights of what we've done so far:

• Leading Yoga rides, Sandwich rides, Take Your Time rides, and Mother's Day Rides
• Offering Learn to Ride and Urban Riding Basics classes for women
• Creating community online: 400+ members of our Facebook group
• Hosting activist and writer Elly Blue as part of Bike Month; moderating Women & Biking panel at the Philly Bike Expo
• Creating the Girl Scouts on Wheels bike patch, now being earned by Girl Scouts around the region
• Organizing and mobilizing biking parents around ABCs of Family Biking events
• Sharing 12 in-depth Women Bike PHL interviews on the pages of this blog
• Catching the attention of the Philadelphia Inquirer
• Partnering with anti-street-harassment group Hollaback Philly
• ...and more!

Read the full 12-page report here.

Have feedback or ideas for Women Bike PHL? Reach out to me at katie@bicyclecoalition.org. Want to support the campaign? Make a donation. Together we can make bicycling fun and feasible for Philadelphia women of all ages and backgrounds!

Women Bike PHL Class, Seminiar, and Ride at Trophy Bikes this Saturday

A heads-up to Philadelphia's women bicyclists -- there is a terrific Women Bike PHL event happening this coming Saturday at Trophy Bikes!

Arianna Gass, a mechanic at Trophy Bikes,
will lead the group through all the steps
of fixing your own flat tire!

Fix-a-Flat, Prepare for Winter, and Eat a Delicious Sandwich-a-Palooza

9:30 AM: FREE Women's Fix-a-Flat Class taught by mechanic Arianna Gass (pictured). Spots are limited (only 8 total), so find details and sign up here:  https://trophywomensfixaflat.eventbrite.com/

10:15 AM: A chat with Katie and Arianna about how to prep yourself and your bike for winter weather! Stock up on cozy necessities and get your questions answered. (All genders welcome, women encouraged, no RSVP required.)

11:30 AM: DELICIOUS SANDWICH RIDE leaving from the shop. (All genders welcome, women encouraged, no RSVP required). We will do a 10-mile loop ending at nearby Paesano's on Girard (yuuum).

ALL DAY: Women, mention Women Bike PHL at Trophy Bikes and get a 10% discount on any existing stock of bicycle accessories, outerwear, and apparel.

Come for some, come for all, take advantage of that discount! Woohoooo!

Note: If you are planning on attending the winter workshop or the ride but NOT the fix-a-flat class, please do not sign up on the Eventbrite. We're just using that for the fix-a-flat. Thanks ladies!

We're Offering Two Women-Only Urban Riding Basics Classes This Month

Fall is one of the most enjoyable times of the year to bike in Philadelphia. Not too cold that you must bundle up, not so hot that you get instantly sweat.

Have you considered bicycling in Philly but have questions or concerns? This is the month to take charge! Our Women Bike PHL campaign is holding two urban riding basics classes in October.

These 60-minute evening workshops will give you the motivation and confidence to dust off that bicycle (or finally buy one) and start bicycling around town.

Spots are limited, so grab yours right now! You'll be glad you finally invested in your bicycling.

Urban Riding Basics - WOMEN ONLY
Tuesday, October 15th
6:00 - 7:00 PM
1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1107, Philly
Register here

Urban Riding Basics - WOMEN ONLY
Tuesday, October 29th
6:00 - 7:00 PM
1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1107, Philly
Register here

The classes are free and you do not need to bring a bicycle. Question? Contact Katie Monroe.

UPDATE: an earlier version of this post incorrectly listed the workshops as lasting 60 hours. Freudian slip? We do love bikes...

Learn About Women Bike PHL with Talk and Ride This Saturday

Our Women Bike PHL campaign has received some good press recently. Want to know what it's all about? Join us this Saturday for a talk about gender and the bicycling movement, followed by a food-themed bike ride!

Saturday, September 21st
10:00 AM - Noon
At: Circle of Hope / Broad and Washington (1125 S. Broad St)

Katie Monroe will talk about her work with the Bicycle Coalition and the broader issues surrounding gender and bicycling. Then after a quick review of urban biking safety tips, those who have brought their own bikes and helmets can join up for a casual South Philly bike ride to a food destination!

The ride will double back to Circle of Hope by noon. While this is a Women Bike PHL event, all genders are welcome!

Calling All Girl Scout Leaders...Girl Scouts on Wheels!

Some exciting news from our Women Bike PHL campaign this week: we are officially launching the new "Girl Scouts on Wheels" bicycle patch (pictured). We are now actively seeking area Girl Scout leaders interested in helping their girls build confidence and skills on their bicycles through earning this patch as a troop.

The patch requirements will take girls through the basics of bike mechanics, bike safety, choosing safe routes, and exploring the diverse world of bicycling. The patch is aimed at Junior Girl Scouts, but could be adapted for younger or older girls. For patch requirements, email Katie (katie@bicyclecoalition.org). Katie is excited to help you through the process of earning the patch, so no need to worry if you are a leader with minimal bike knowledge!



This effort is funded in part by a grant from the League of American Bicylists' Women Bike Campaign. To learn more about this national effort, visit www.bikeleague.org/womenbike.

Women Bike PHL #12: Claudia Setubal

Claudia Setubal has been our interviewer for the Women Bike PHL interview series. She reflects on the stories she has heard and the doors that bicycles can open.

I started volunteering with the Bicycle Coalition in March, right around the time they launched the Women Bike PHL campaign. I’d started commuting by bike less than a year ago, and like any new convert, I was eager to share my newfound excitement about cycling. The BCGP gave me the opportunity to conduct interviews with women who bike, and for the past four months I’ve been riding around Philly and meeting some amazing women who shared their stories with me.

It only seems fitting to share mine as well. For as long as I can remember, my dad has biked to and from work everywhere we’ve lived, through the Seattle rain and in the Brazilian heat. My first bike was pink and purple, and I’d ride around with the neighborhood kids who were all older. One day I realized none of them had training wheels, so I marched home and insisted that my dad take mine off.

Fast forward to 2008, when I moved to Philadelphia after college. I was given a free old Schwinn and started doing a little bit of urban cycling. I was terrified of riding in traffic, and my bike kept getting flats and having issues with the gears. I felt pretty dumb every time I went into a bike shop, and it seemed like more trouble than it was worth, so I gave the bike to my brother and kept taking the bus.

Last summer, I moved from Center City down to Graduate Hospital, and discovered that my commute on SEPTA went from 20 minutes to 45 on a good day. One Friday afternoon I sat on the bus as it was stuck in traffic on the South Street bridge and watched as cyclist after cyclist passed by. That same weekend I dragged my boyfriend to Firehouse bikes and emerged with a bright orange 80’s Diamond Back. I named her Tangerine.

Women Bike PHL #11: In the Advocacy Trenches with Sarah Clark Stuart

Sarah Clark Stuart is the Policy Director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. She has been with the Bicycle Coalition since 2008.

How did you learn to ride a bike? What is your history with bicycling?
I learned by being let go down a hill by one of my cousins. I was between five and ten. I grew up in many places; Europe and in Washington DC, but I would spend summertime with relatives in Southeastern Connecticut, right on the water, and that's where I learned to bike. I recall smashing into a mailbox when I didn’t have a proper light when I was a teenager.

I went to Pomona College in California, and I had to have a bike to get around the big footprint of the Claremont Colleges. I lived off-campus and biked to and fro. After college, I always had a bike, but after grad school I moved to New York City and I never for a second thought of biking there, because not very many people biked in Manhattan in the mid-eighties. Once my husband and I moved down to Philadelphia in 1993, he bought me a bike and it seemed a lot more doable to bike around. Gradually I got used to riding in traffic, which was not where I was accustomed to riding before. But I didn't really consider myself a bicyclist; to me, bicyclists were either messengers or were people who did road cycling on weekends, and I was neither. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but for me, riding a bike was utilitarian. I was more interested in riding around to run errands and get back and forth between places, because I'm chronically behind schedule, and walking takes too long. Philadelphia is so easy to bike in.

Can you tell me how you got involved in the Schuylkill campaign? It was an epic fight that just concluded now with the building of the bridge. 
Yes, the connector bridge opened in October 2012. When we moved to Philly in 1993 and bought our house in the Logan Square neighborhood, we were told by our realtor that a park would be built down by the Schuylkill River, a few blocks away. Until the park was built in 2003, I crossed over the tracks with my dog and my babies on my back and walked around the scrubby and unlandscaped riverfront. I got interested in the issue when construction finally began because it was clear that no one had a good answer of how we were going to be able to get into the park once it was built. The first thing that was done on the construction site was the installation of a fence. A group of us who were neighbors in the Logan Square neighborhood started meeting and getting to know people in the Fitler Square neighborhood, and together we went to meet with the Streets Department, the Law department and the Schuylkill River Development Corporation to find out how to keep the crossings open at Race and Locust Streets. It was clear that we were going to have to take this on, because CSX was not interested in permitting pedestrian crossings over its freight lines.

We knew we had to wage a citizen action campaign, so we formed a campaign called Free Schuylkill River Park. This was 2004, and we created a blog, and my husband was able to set us up with a fairly new thing called an e-mail action service. We started to link from the blog to where you could send an e-mail, and we put the e-mail address for the head of CSX, the Mayor, City Council, anyone who we needed to convince to keep the crossings open. We also created an online petition and went down to the path to ask people to sign the petition. That helped us build up an email list.

It took two years but the City and CSX finally came to an agreement, which was that CSX would allow the two “at grade” crossings to remain open with gates and fencing, and the city would build a bridge in the vicinity of Locust Street to provide an “above grade” crossing. That was signed in 2007, and it took till 2012 to get the two crossings and bridge all done.

It must have been a pretty great day when that bridge opened!
It was a great day. I was very gratified, and pretty humbled too. It's awesome to have been part of making such an appealing piece of infrastructure possible.

I want to talk about Women Bike PHL, and how it fits into the greater narrative of bicycling advocacy. How does the advocacy that you do tie into making cycling more attractive to women?
I work both on getting trails connected and building out the trail network, The Circuit, and I also work on building the city's bike network. I think the more the city and region builds longer, connected, on-road and off-road networks that make people, especially women, feel safe, the more both men and women will want to use them. The safer the roads and trails appear to be, the more women will want to bike on them.

Women Bike PHL #10: Janique from Neighborhood Bike Works

Janique is a graduate of Neighborhood Bike Works’ Earn-a-Bike program, and continues to volunteer at NBW regularly.

Tell me how you got interested in bikes; what made you come to Neighborhood Bike Works for the first time?
A few years ago, a man named Leonard, who is still a close friend, was running a nonprofit program for the children around the neighborhood where we lived and he was taking kids on field trips and bringing them here during the school year to join Earn-A-Bike. One day he asked if I wanted to go, and I said yes, and he brought me here and I just started and I continued to return after I graduated from the class.

What did you think would happen when you came to Neighborhood Bike Works for the first time? Did you think you would get excited about bikes?
I was already excited about it. I'm a very active person and I like hands-on things, and I already knew I was going to be interested and really involved in bike related activities.

What's your favorite part about working with bikes?
It's a positive thing I feel. This is a skill for me, and I didn't really have anything else to do so I invested my time a lot into learning about the maintenance and repair of bikes. I really enjoyed learning about it and I enjoyed coming here and I just got into it.

How many hours a week would you say you spend working on bikes, riding bikes, etc?
In my youth I used to ride everywhere. I came to Bike Works every day, I always did something with a bike. I don't know, maybe 2 or 3 hours, I used to volunteer here and take classes.

What kinds of rides do you do?
Way back when, when I was first getting into it, I'd just do short rides from my house to here, or any rides that NBW was coordinating, so not any heavy long stuff, but just to and fro places within a few miles.

Have you been on any longer rides?
Twice I went on the yearly fundraising ride that NBW holds called the Ride of Dreams. It's 200-some miles from here to DC. Last year we did from here to the Poconos.

Are there any projects that you're especially proud of that you've done here? A bike that you built, a tricky mechanical problem that you figured out?
I do that a lot when I come here and volunteer. A lot of the adults I feel look up to me as like a second opinion-type person. Like Liz here, she's adequate. (laughs)

Liz: I think I'd get a D grade. [Note: Liz Pisarczyk is NBW's Program Director]

Women Bike PHL #9: Women As Bicycle Customers and Racers, with Julia Hillengas

Julia Hillengas grew up in Philadelphia and is back in the city after living in the Bay Area, where she joined a cycling team and worked in a bike shop. 

How have bikes been a part of your life?
Growing up in Southwest Philly, there was a lot of concrete around, and not a lot of structured activities. As soon we all had bikes, they were our gateway to go far away, to explore more, to not be confined to our one block. It really opened a lot of doors for us, and as I got older especially, and I know this is true for some of my friends, it was really empowering. When you were going through something you would leave your house, temporarily leave your neighborhood, to go for a ride and then come back. Of course we were too young to drive and you couldn't take the bus everywhere, so it was just a way to give you an outlet.

As I got into college I started to commute by bike. It got me from A to B, a lot quicker than SEPTA, it was cheaper and I was on a budget, so I fell back in love with it again. I've been an athlete all my life, I was a college soccer player, so when I stopped playing college sports I was like, well, what about racing, what about cycling? So I picked up triathlons, and then I really got into bike racing in the Bay Area. Every time I found some new facet of cycling I got instantly hooked again.

You worked at a bike shop in the Bay Area. How did you get involved with that side of the cycling community?
I was working multiple jobs and trying to find another one, and I was thought, "Well, what do I want to do if I'm going to work in retail or customer service?" I would totally love to sell people bikes. I think really what got me in the door was that the manager wanted a woman in the shop. I had done pretty entry-level bike mechanic stuff before, so I was knowledgeable enough and knew enough how to speak about bikes, so he was willing to train me on the job. They were a much bigger shop and they would get a lot of rookie cyclists coming in, and I think they didn't know how to handle their women customers. They weren't sure how to sort of bridge the anxiety, and they wanted another woman to talk to them.

Did you ever sell women-specific attire?
We definitely had women-specific attire, and honestly, I wouldn't wear any of it. There was always debate over who we were ordering from, what people wanted, and what the clientele was. Even the color of women's bikes was always in contention. We had women who came in and wanted pink shorts, and a lot of women who came in and didn't want pink shorts. So it always felt like, as someone working for a shop, you couldn't win. But I think the thing is, compared to the number of offerings you have for men, you only have a fraction of that for women. And the solution is you need to stock more things. Women customers are not a monolith, it’s not one profile. And having more options instead of saying, "Oh, you're a woman, here, this is for you," is going to make people more comfortable.

Do you have any ideas on how to make it easier for more women to start cycling? How to overcome that anxiety you talked about? How do we find that tipping point that makes people willing to try it?
I think it starts with a buddy. You need someone who's going to be there to introduce you to it and answer all your silly questions, like what do I do when I get to work, and what should I wear? Have someone who can answer those questions and then sort of pressure you into it, like, hey, we're going to go out tonight, let's ride. And give you that encouragement and that push to do it. A lot of my peer group, we ride to wherever we're going, so that's always a push. And when someone is visiting from out of town, it all of a sudden changes your social sphere, because they don't have a bike, what are we going to do? [Ed: Bike Share!] And I think when you notice that’s happened to you, when you don't know what to do because your friend came to town and they don't have a bike, that's when you know you're totally bought in. 

Women Bike PHL Interview #8: Biking as Lifestyle, with Katie Van Vliet

Katie Van Vliet works at Moore College. She is an artist and has been biking in Philadelphia for eight years.

What's your bike history?
Growing up in the Poconos, I didn’t use bicycling for much other than fun. I used hand-me-down BMX bicycles to get to friends’ houses. I did learn to ride a bike on a banana-seat bike that my father lovingly built

for me when I was 4 or 5. He passed away last year but when he was a teenager he was an apprentice at a bicycle shop in Scotch Plains, NJ. He eventually moved on to cycles with engines, but passed on this love of vintage bicycles to me and my brother (who also bikes daily in Philadelphia). I started biking in Philly in college. I went to Moore College of Art & Design, and I spent a year in the dorms and after the year was over I realized I wanted to live in the city. I moved to West Philly and had a two mile commute, so I started using my bicycle. The first day I rode I felt so liberated, like, “this is so freeing…so fast, and I feel like I'm getting exercise.” I rode a lousy mountain bike for two years before saving up to buy this beautiful vintage mixte road bike, with double crossbars on the top tube. I bought it at Via Bicycles in South Philly and as soon as I saw it I knew it was mine. That bike was built by a company called Flandria. I love things with history, so after I researched the bike I found out it was from Belgium, but has French and British parts and was a dominant force in professional cycling in the 60’s and 70’s. It's a really beautiful bicycle. I retired it last year; it just cost too much to get the crankset rebuilt every single year because I'm a really aggressive rider.

Can you tell me a little bit more about your commute now?
Most of my commute is on Spring Garden St, where there's a bike lane. I'm coming from Fishtown, and one of my least favorite streets to ride on is Girard Ave (I’ve crashed on the trolley tracks twice), so I try to bypass it and take Master Street and 4th Street instead. 4th Street between Girard and Spring Garden dips into a valley so there's a hill both ways. And on my way home I just have to climb 20th Street to get to Spring Garden, but it’s very easy. Most of the time I don’t bother to change gears.

You've retired your old bike, what do you ride these days?
I have a new ladies' mixte road bike by Torker. It's the same build as the other one but a little bit modernized. I have the Flandria in my basement-can’t bear to get rid of it. I converted the Flandria to a single speed and this one is a 10-speed. I use two gears, and that's it. They are there if I ever decide to do a longer ride. The Torker needed a little bit of bling so I upgraded to a sparkly gold saddle by Soma Ensho.

Women Bike PHL Interview #7: From Commuting to Cross Country, by Kirin McElwain

Kirin McElwain is a cellist who lives in Philadelphia and cycled across the country last summer.

Tell me about your bike history.
I grew up in Bucks County and rode a bike as a kid. I took some time off before going to college, and I decided I was going to get a bike to ride to and from my job. So I bought myself a $200 hybrid and got around on that. The summer before I went to college I somehow got into my head that I wanted to be a bike messenger, so I worked as a bike messenger for about four months in Philadelphia. I was probably one of maybe two female bike messengers in the city at the time, and I was terrible at it. I did that for a few months and then I went to college and brought my bike up but I never rode. When I moved back to Philly for graduate school I was like, I'm going to be in the city again, I'm going to need a bike. So I had a beater 90’s mountain bike that belonged to my dad and was just getting around on that until I graduated to a nicer Fuji Cross Comp. And then last year my boyfriend and I decided to bike across the country. Last spring all in the space of a month I got a touring bike, learned how to use clipless pedals, and then we left in May and biked to San Francisco this past summer.

You certainly have gone through quite the transformation from being a bike messenger to being a commuter to biking across the country! So what's the next step with cycling?
I've been enjoying riding this year casually. I'm training for my first triathlon and two of my friends have gotten into cycling in different ways. My friend Richard is working on my swim technique with me, and I'm helping him with cycling, since we’re doing a triathlon together. My friend Emily, who was always a very hardcore commuter, is training for a four-day ride to Harrisburg, so we’ve been doing some riding together as well. My boyfriend and a lot of his friends are competitive mountain bikers and they do road racing and cyclocross. I've had my eye on cyclocross for a few years, so my goal is to spend the summer getting my skill set up to speed to try a few cross races in the fall.

Could you tell me a bit more about cyclocross? What got you interested in it?
In cyclocross, you ride on a loop that is approximately two miles in length. Since you ride multiple laps around the loop, it’s very spectator-friendly. There's mud and sand that you have to ride (or run) through, but it’s not as technical as say, downhill mountain biking. But the tricky thing about cross is that there are barriers, so you have to get off your bike and leap over the barriers with your bicycle, and sometimes parts of the course are unrideable, so you're allowed to shoulder your bike and run with it. I get the impression that it is like running a 5k for 45 minutes, very high intensity. I love spectating cross races, they are so much fun to watch, and the crowd is always really friendly. Actually, I think people who ride bikes are pretty awesome in general.

Women Bike PHL Interview #6: Nancy Leon

Nancy Leon splits her time between Philadelphia and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She rides here, there, and all over the world.

Did you grow up riding a bike?

I think I've always had a bike. Growing up, I had a bunch of friends who were guys, and we all had a bike. In grade school, I had a stingray, then got my first ten-speed – a French Peugeot. Thanks to one of my friends, I learned to take it apart, put it back together, grease it up down to the bearings, and take the chain off. I lived four blocks from school, and I would always ride my bike to school and to friends’ homes.

When I went to the University of Denver, l took my bike with me. I commuted to classes and the NPR radio station where I worked part time. When I went to France for a study abroad program, the first thing I did was to borrow a friend's car and drive to Italy to buy a bike, because I wanted to get an Italian bike (Campognolo was the “best” in those days). I spent what for me was a lot of money, and I got this great bike…I lived in the French countryside with a family, and I commuted 13 Kilometers into Aix-en-Provence each way on my bike.

When I moved back to the States, then to the French Alps, and eventually to Australia, I took my bike with me everywhere. 18 years later, I moved to the Silicon Valley. Of course in California, there was tons of mountain biking and road riding, and I hooked up with some work friends and just started riding regularly ( 2-3 days/week), longer distances and weekend tours. Five years ago, I moved to Jackson Hole, got re-married and so now I ride in the summers mostly in Jackson, and in the spring and fall in Philadelphia.

How does riding in Sydney or France or Jackson Hole compare to riding in Philly?

Around the country it blows me away how in the last five years cycling has really gone mainstream in the over-50 bracket. To me it's really exciting how biking has become something more user-friendly, and people who are not your typical cyclists are buying bikes. It's a great trend to see happening. People are moving into it as they get older. Biking is a great social thing as well. To me it’s such an easy fun way to get out, get exercise, and see the countryside. As for places I enjoy riding, I prefer the open country roads to urban roads. In Sydney, the roads are narrow and traffic is intense – not bike friendly. We used to get out and ride from 6-9am on weekends to beat the traffic. Jackson Hole has fantastic bike paths around the valley and in Grand Teton National Park. The Jackson Hole Valley is relatively flat and easy for cyclists of all abilities, with mountain passes and side valleys that have plenty of climbing options. Here in the Philadelphia region, I really enjoy Chester and Bucks counties. There are world class country roads, very few cars, scenic routes – reminds me of the back roads of France and Italy.

Have you done any bike tourism, any touring?

When I was in college in Europe, a friend of mine from the States flew over and the two of us just put our bikes on the train to the Loire Valley and rode our bikes through the Loire Valley for six days. No one was organizing it; we just went from place to place and visited the chateaus. I did a short four-day trip organized with friends last June. I am looking to do more – it’s so easy when it’s all organized, and the best cycling routes are mapped out – in interesting places. Vietnam, Spain, and Argentina are on the list.

What are your rules of thumb when buying a bike?

Lightness is key. I figure, why push a heavier bike uphill? Then you're much more agile. I would really encourage people who are looking at bikes to take a friend who knows bikes, but also to ride the bikes. Even when I was getting this last bike that I have now, which is a Giant Carbon TCR from Breakaway, I tried probably a dozen different bikes. When you get on a bike there's so much difference from one model to the next, even within the same brand.

Women Bike PHL Interview #5: Shelly Salamon

Shelly Salamon owns Fairmount Bicycles, a full-service bike shop located at 2015 Fairmount Avenue that opened in June 2010.

What's your history with bikes?
I rode a bike as a kid, but I didn't really think of it as a mode of transportation until I moved to Philly. Once I started riding, I fell in love with bikes. Getting directly from point A to point B is just awesome, and you never have to pay for parking. Initially, I had no interest in learning how to work on them.

How did you start using bikes as transportation?
I have a car, and I enjoyed driving in the city. It seemed like somewhat of a puzzle figuring out the best way to go. I had friends who weren't afraid of biking in the city, and they encouraged me to try it. Riding with other people was really helpful. Applying that same puzzle mentality to bikes was even more fun.

How long have you been biking in Philly?
About 8 years.

What was the incentive for opening your own bike shop?
A friend of mine worked on bikes for fun, and he started putting ads in a newspaper in the suburbs saying "bicycles wanted". He would fix them up and sell them on Craigslist. I suggested that we go in on it together and get warehouse space. We found a reasonably priced warehouse space in Kensington and signed a lease. We'd go out to the burbs to get bikes, bring them back to the warehouse, fix ‘em up, and list them on Craigslist. That’s where I learned the basics of working on bikes.

I was living in West Philly, and the warehouse space was across town in Kensington. Initially, I would bike there by going to Center City first and then head north. I was trying to find different routes and eventually found Fairmount Ave. It’s a nice wide road with coffee shops and restaurants, but did not have a bike shop. I talked to a couple of friends that lived nearby, asked them where they went to get their bikes serviced, and they said, “Oh, I have to go all the way to this neighborhood, or that neighborhood.” That’s when I started looking into the possibility of opening a shop. Once I had that idea, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I took a business course at Entrepreneur Works, which helped me with the basics of getting started, and here we are.

How has being a shop owner changed your perspective on biking in the city, if at all? Have you been exposed to parts of bike culture that you hadn't encountered before?
I guess I would say that I used to be turned off by cyclists who wear spandex. My perception of them was that they must feel superior to us commuting cyclists, so it just seemed that we were at odds. But that’s obviously stupid because we all agree that bikes are awesome. They’re having fun on their bike, just like I’m having fun on mine!

I also tried mountain biking for the first time last summer, which is so fun. A lot of the folks that work at the shop went mountain biking weekly, and that's how I got interested in it. I started seeing everything you can do with a bike, whether it’s utilitarian or just for fun.

Do you know what percentage of your customers, as a ballpark, are women versus men?
I don't have actual numbers, but I would estimate that it’s close to 50/50.

One common question that comes up frequently in women and biking is the issue of companies not making women-designed gear, especially racing and touring stuff. Are there any equipment purchases that you make especially with women in mind, or anything along those lines?

Women Bike PHL Interview #4: Ashanti Martin

Ashanti M. Martin works at the University of Pennsylvania and is mom to Silas, with another one on the way. She is currently on hiatus from biking during her pregnancy, but hopes to start again in a few months.

How did you learn to ride a bike?
I was about five or six years old, my dad taught me. I grew up in Yonkers, New York, and my friends and I rode a lot around the neighborhood, but I didn't start biking as an adult until 2009 when I was living in New Brunswick, NJ. I lived really close to my job, it was a 3-5 minute drive, and a 12-15 minute bike ride. A couple of years after getting married to my husband, Craig – who has lived here for 20 years – I moved down to Philly in 2011, just before my son was born. Once I got a job and was settled, I started thinking it would be really cool to ride a bike again. I was seeing so many people riding bikes, and a lot of good bike lanes, and believe it or not, cars really do share the road. Especially on a nice day, there are a lot of people on bikes, and it made me say, "there's no reason I can't do this."

So I got my bike tuned up, and started riding to work. I don't know why I didn't do a test run, I was just like, “It's Monday, I'm going to ride my bike.” I was nervous because it had been a while since I had been riding regularly. I regained my balance and speed after a day, and after a few weeks I was practically riding with no hands, but that first day or two I was really shaky. I got to work and I thought, “I can't believe I just did that!”

You were using the Spruce and Pine bike lanes?
That was a big reason why it immediately became a permanent thing. It's so easy, because I take Spruce to 24th, down to Lombard to take the South Street Bridge, and then take Pine back. I knew that the South Street Bridge had a great buffered bike lane, but recently I've been walking across the Walnut street bridge and their bike lane is better than I thought. So I probably would try Walnut Street again.

Can you talk about your experience buying your bike?
I bought my bike at Kim's Bike Shop in New Brunswick. I love them, I'd recommend them to anyone in the area. I also really love Bicycle Revolutions across the street. The girl who works there is awesome. I really like going in there and being able to interact with a woman.

I was a little nervous. I wanted to look at single speed bikes because they are supposedly lighter, but at Kim's all the single speeds were big, they were for guys, and they were heavy. I felt, “This is not going to work.” I told the guy that I needed something light because I lived on a second-floor walk-up, and I needed a commuter bike. He said, “Well, try this!” It was a 2009 Specialized Vita and I loved the way it looked, it was a metal lavender color, and when I lifted it up it was like lifting nothing. And between that and the way it rode I decided to buy it after a couple of rides around the block.