Introducing Intern Lucy

Women Bike Chicago is pleased to welcome Lucy Freccia as our newest intern. 

Lucy lives in Rogers Park and graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Loyola University Chicago in spring 2013. A Columbus, Ohio native, she is a lifelong bike lover, most notably known around her hometown for her off-brand bright pink cruiser from high school. Since moving on to a more practical model, Lucy enjoys the ease and pleasure of a long bike commute as well as the geographical and community awareness it has brought her. Lucy feels closest to her city while bike riding, and hopes to advocate for women who feel the same way.

We also sadly must bid so-long to Intern Liz, who moved downstate to take a position with CNT Energy as a Field Organizer.  Congrats, Liz, and thanks for the work you did for us in your short time with WBC.

Also a huge Thank You! to Active Transportation Alliance for sponsoring the internship, and providing office space, e-mail and all that.

Update on Second Annual Day of Dialogue and Demonstration

Do you believe that it snowed again last night and this morning?

Despite the record breaking cold and snowfall this winter, we are excited about our upcoming event and wanted to share some of the details.

April 12, 2014
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Dvorak Park
1119 W. Cullerton
Chicago

One of our group is in charge of making sure it is a nice day!

We will have child care for those of you who need to or want to bring your children.  Other moms will be there to tell you how they cycle with children from infants to grammar school age and beyond.

Our kick-off speaker is a dynamic lady who started riding last year as a result of Go Bronzeville.  She will tell you how she did it!

Three women who own bike shops are going to tell you what you need to know to confidently go into a bike shop for repairs or to buy a bike.

One long-time bike commuter and one new bike commuter will show you how to go where you want to go without being intimidated.

Bike shops and bike owners will have bikes available for you to ride so you can see how different bikes feel. And there will be space in the park to ride without dealing with traffic.

Divvy will be there!  Have you wondered how the bikes are to ride?  Do you want to know how the system works?  Learn it all on April 12.

Register here!

Second Annual Day of Dialogue and Demonstration -- easy as riding a bike

As I write this, it is snowing once again and the forecast is for five to eight inches more of the stuff.  Sigh!

But--it will melt eventually, the sun will come out, the temperatures will rise, and it will be a gorgeous day to ride a bike.   Like this:

Looks like so much fun, doesn't it?

So, ladies, whether you are thinking that you want to ride a bike again after many years of not riding, or you ride a little but you want to ride more, ride for different reasons, ride with different people, come to the Day of Dialogue and Demonstration on April 12, 2014, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Dvorak Park in Chicago.

This day is by women, for women.   Women who commute to work , women who ride with their children, women who ride in their neighborhoods, women who ride on bike paths, women who own bike shops, women who race bikes, women who use their bikes to run errands, women of every shape and size--all will be there to help you become comfortable riding a bike for whatever reason you want to ride a bike.  Need to know how to dress to ride your bike to work without having to carry your wardrobe on the bike? We can help! Want to learn about riding on the street?  We can help!  Looking for safe routes? We can help! Looking for bike paths and trails? We can help!  Looking for another woman to ride with?  We can help!

There will be bikes there owned by women who ride them all of the time--hybrid bikes, bikes with skinny tires, bikes with those curved handlebars, bikes that let you sit up while you ride, step-through bikes, cargo bikes. The bikes will be there for you ride outside in the park.  Women bike shop owners will be there to tell you how to go to a bike shop and get the bike YOU want--not the bike the young salesperson thinks everyone should have.  You can get tips about how to get a bike that fits you whether you are looking for a new bike or a used bike.  You can get some basic information about simple things you can do to maintain your bike or even learn to change a flat tire.

Maybe best of all, spend the day with other women who ride.

Go to our registration page to sign up and for time and location details.  Women Bike Chicago is looking forward to meeting you.

Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop

I have a confession to make: for as much as I wax poetic about loving my bike, I don't know how to change a flat. This helps to explain my excitement about Women Bike Chicago's upcoming workshop on basic fix-it tricks.

Here's the scoop:
When: Sunday 2/16/2014 from 9:30-11:30 AM
Where: Rapid Transit, 1900 W. North Ave.
What: We'll cover topics like the ABC Quick Check, changing a tire, basic things to check for with wheels/spokes, and basic chain maintenance and adjustment.
Bring your bike if you have one- if not, come anyway!

Interested? Space is limited so RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/basic-bike-maintenance-tickets-10551460703

Women and "City Cycling"

How was resistance to women cycling expressed historically? What were the early politics of cycling as it related to emancipation?

How do women serve as an "indicator species" for overall biking conditions?

And while in many contexts there are fewer women than men cycling, this is not the case everywhere. What is happening in countries like the Netherlands where this trend is reversed and women outnumber men for trips on bikes?

For insight into these questions and more, check out: http://www.ecf.com/news/cyclingandwomen/. The article focuses on "City Cycling," which includes a chapter written specifically on women and cycling by Jan Garrard, Susan Handy, and Jennifer Dill.

Dykes Pedaling Bikes

Come join Dykes Pedaling Bikes for the 5th Annual Off-Season Social!
Here's the scoop:

When:	Sunday, Feb 16, 2014, 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM
Where:	Hamburger Mary's - Mary's Attic 5400 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL
Contact:	Carrie Hirsch Email culturperc@mac.com

This is a social event--no pedaling this time--and everyone is invited to come and hang out.  

For more information, and to RSVP (recommended but not required), visit
the Windy City Cycling Club site and calendar

Want to learn more about Dykes Pedaling Bikes? Check out John Greenfield's article on the group (and the broader LGBT bike group, the Windy City Cycling Club) here:
http://grist.org/biking/out-spokin-lgbt-bike-group-rides-with-pride/.

Windy City Cycling Club
Photo by John Greenfield, Grist.org

As Greenfield mentions, Dykes Pedaling Bikes welcomes all women, not just lesbians.

Events

After coming together for the March 2013 Day of Dialogue and Demonstration, Women Bike Chicago sponsored a variety of smaller events to keep us connected and provide opportunities for women to test out, learn about, or get back on two wheels.

There was the Going South Bike Tour which culminated at the Pullman House for tours. Talks were held at Women and Children First on Bike Commuting and Bikes on Transit by Anne Alt, and on Crash Recovery by Susan Levin and Leah Jones.

When the snow began to thaw, the Cherry Blossom Ride led the group to Osaka Garden in Hyde Park. Summer kicked off with a Ride to Chinatown, followed by a Tour de Divvy which was an opportunity to learn about Chicago’s new bike share by testing it out with a Divvy ambassador (and free passes!). Finally, a group headed to Millennium Park, picnicking to the sounds of Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, the first all-female mariachi group in the U.S.

The Day of Dialogue and Demonstration will be back this spring; look out for details in the coming weeks. What other events would you like to see happen? Would you like to lead a workshop, ride, talk, or other event? 

Reflections on Winter Biking: My Maiden Voyage



I love my red Nishiki road bike. She was a gift from my Dad to my Mom three decades ago, and somewhere along the way she became mine. Together we’ve watched the sun rise at Montrose Harbor and the seasons change riding alongside Urbana cornfields. This fall she would faithfully wait for me to finish work each night, guiding me around pot holes and under bridges, home through humid August air and soggy October evenings.  

And then it got cold. It snowed.   I put my bike in the basement and resigned myself to taking the bus. I missed the consistency with which biking makes me feel better when I hop off then I did when I got on; I missed the feeling of being fully present, alone with my thoughts but also aware of my surroundings;  I missed sleeping better, eating better, moving better that  came with commuting on my bike.

Thankfully, collaborating with Women Bike Chicago and Active Trans means that I’m surrounded by folks who are doing what I had decided just wasn’t going to work. With this mental block out of the way, I needed to get a handle on how I was going to make this work.

First up: I did some research to prepare myself for my first foray into winter riding. Women Bike Chicago’s own Anne Alt has a helpful summary here:
http://www.urbanimage5.net/wbc/WBC_presentation_gear%20for%20weather.pdf.
Because, as Anne says, “Fenders are your friend,” my next stop was the bike shop to get front and back fenders put on (somehow, I didn’t find getting up-splash from the rain quite annoying enough to do this when I should have, long ago). With the exception of some socks to beat my fear of getting cold feet, I resisted the temptation to buy out the clothing section, in favor of sticking to my budget and trying to make what I already have work first.

I stuck mostly to larger streets to avoid some of the lingering ice & slush on smaller ones

In terms of keeping myself warm, my face and neck were my biggest lingering concerns. How do I keep my neck warm without investing in a balaclava from the bike shop (for now, anyway)? Here’s a cool photo shoot from Bike Winter, with some inspiration: http://bikewinter.org/photo_shoot_2011_Done.

This time I got away with pretty light clothing. Chicago has recovered from its cold spell and is back in the 30s. It was a good day to ease into winter riding- for now, I’m going to commit to riding when the weather is above 20 and there isn’t enough residual snow on the major roads to be an issue for me. The long term goal is to have temperature be a non-issue, and to better understand and equip my bike to get through winter elements.

My first winter ride was different than I had expected. Some drivers made an extra effort to give me a wide berth or let me merge. Others drove per usual. And one or two was particularly frustrated and frustrating. It helped that I allowed plenty of extra time so that my focus could remain on the ride itself. I wasn’t cold. I was a bit uneasy. I wasn’t sure how my Nishiki would react to the snow and slush. Overall, it did fine. Tomorrow, I’ll be better able to gage my beloved bike’s reactions to our new riding conditions, and the day after more still. Already, my body and my mind are thanking me.
 

Remembering Carmelita

Many of us were shocked and saddened to get the recent news that Carmelita Sams has died of cancer. She was a big part of the outdoor/demo portion of our Women Bike Chicago event last March, demonstrating basic bike repair skills and checking out bikes brought to the event.  Her positive energy and words of encouragement were priceless and magical. 

Carmelita checking a bike - photo by Jane Healy

Carmelita checking a bike - photo by Jane Healy

Susan Levin recalls "I did not know Carmelita well, and was not even sure whether she knew my name, but she always recognized me and gave me a huge smile and warm hug of welcome when we saw each other.  She was amazing.  I will always remember her as the confused-then-confident bike rider character in the Bike to Work Week video produced in 2013."

Carmelita has been a role model to many girls and women as a longtime staffer at West Town Bikes.  Her involvement in the girls' bike club and women & trans open shop nights set a positive example to inspire girls and women to ride and maintain their own bikes.

We will miss her smile, her encouraging words and her skill with bikes.  We hope that other women and girls will be motivated to follow in her footsteps.

    - Anne Alt

Welcome new WBC intern

Liz Corrado is excited to partner with Women Bike Chicago as the organization’s first intern.

Liz’s academic background in urban planning and active transportation has fused with an independent streak, a dislike of scheduled exercise, and a love of the outdoors to make cycling advocacy for women a perfect match.  She’s looking forward to getting to know more inspiring female bikers this spring, and hopes that you’ll reach out to her with your questions and ideas.  Her e-mail is liz.corrado@activetrans.org.

Anna Schwinn - bikes for women and engineering

Who's seen the current issue of Bicycle Times?  They have a cool Q&A with Anna Schwinn, daughter of Richard Schwinn. She speaks her mind on designing bikes for smaller women, life as an engineer, and how she got where she is now.

Style File

Velojoy's Style File features a selection of sources for women's cycling wear and other gear.