March 08, 2018 – More and more women are getting on bikes and and joining forces to form clubs, associations and race series, including female-owned bike shops to created positive forces to enrich and encourage participation by other women in their community and across the nation.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2017 here are 10 fabulous Women’s Initiatives from our annual Women in Cycling feature that appeared in Pedal Magazine’s Fashion 2017 edition.
X Elle Women’s Cycling Association is a not-for-profit organized by women for women. In its fourth season, this friendly, shop-neutral road cycling club welcomes all women-identified cyclists and has grown to nearly 100 members. Weekly no-drop rides run May through September, accommodating novice through to advanced riders with four different pace groups led by 17 experienced women ride leaders. X Elle’s robust program also includes monthly education sessions and fully supported destination rides throughout the Okanagan Valley. New this year, X Elle hosted the first annual Black Sage Women’s Road Ride, a 50km jaunt through the South Okanagan’s beautiful wine region, and developed the X Elle Racing Team supporting women of all ages who want to race bikes together. Visit X Elle’s website here.
WOW is an Edmonton-area women’s mountain biking group that encourages women to ride by offering a social, encouraging and non-intimidating environment. Affiliated with Revolution Cycle and Hardcore Bikes, their rides never leave anyone behind and provide coaching and mentoring on more technical sections. Offering Tuesday beginner and Wednesday intermediate rides from April- May to September, there are options for most everyone. Beginner rides focus on skill development and building confidence on the trails. Intermediate rides focus on flow but also include sessions on technical sections. Wednesday rides continue past September, weather permitting, with night rides and winter fat biking. Visit the WOW website here.
Fast and Female, Canmore, Alta.
Fast and Female is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2005 by a young Canadian ski racer from Canmore, Alta. named Chandra Crawford, who went on to win Olympic gold at Torino 2006, and led in the U.S. by Kikkan Randall, a four-time Olympian and world champion. Collaborating since 2008, Fast and Female has grown to reach more than 3,000 girls aged eight to 18 annually. More than 250 athlete ambassadors and sports experts (without whom events would not be possible) have joined, and all are volunteers. In 2015, Fast and Female hosted 50 events all over North America, with ambassadors from 25 different sports. Fast and Female’s mission is to keep girls healthy, happy and active in sports throughout their teens. This mission is actionable and measurable, thanks to past participant surveys. The dream is that girls remain active at least through their teens. This provides them with leadership skills and a foundation to be healthy and active for the rest of their lives. Fast and Female hosts fun-filled, non-competitive events all over North-America. The events come in two formats: Champ Chat (three to four hours) and Summit (eight hours). Champ Chats are steered by Fast and Female event coordinators and athlete ambassadors. To learn more about Fast and Female, become an athlete ambassador (if you are a National-level or Elite athlete) visit here.
Shift Happens Bike Repair, Devon Alta.
As a mom-and-daughter owned bike shop, you’ll find both women on the sales floor and in the service department wrenching on bikes. With years of experience racing, riding, coaching and wrenching, they are experts in the field. And along with that expertise comes the awareness of the barriers and challenges that exist for women in cycling. To combat some of these barriers they offer a number of female-only cycling programs – like a ladies-only basic bike maintenance clinic called Wenches with Wrenches and Wine, and a ladies-only intro to cyclocross and mountain biking. Their focus is on grassroots development in the community and getting more women hooked on bikes. Visit the Shift Happens website here.
The Trek Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps offer personalized instruction, professional programming and an incredibly skilled, enthusiastic and supportive coaching staff. Since 2001, the program has run over 200 weekend camps – women-only and co-ed, beginner through advanced, cross-country, all-mountain and downhill inclined. Their efforts are often credited with being a founder and inspiration for women in mountain biking. Their 2017 season included 16 women-specific and four co-ed camps in BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. All camps offer top-notch coaching, proven progressions and an incredibly supportive community to learn from and ride with. Visit the Trek Dirt Series website here.
Does early-morning riding appeal to you? Biking approximately 40km every Tuesday and Friday at 6 a.m., BOWW is a dedicated space for female-identified, trans and non-binary road cyclists to ride with support and encouragement. Created to promote a welcoming space for women, their mission is to foster a positive cycling community in the city of Toronto by offering an encouraging and challenging no-drop group ride. This benevolent group believes in giving back to the community, and as a collective have raised over $13,000 for various charities in the past year alone. Visit BOWW’s website here.
Shred Sisters is a group of passionate coaches dedicated to providing high-quality instruction that takes mountain biking skills to the next level in a safe, fun and supportive environment. With rides, camps and yoga retreats in Calgary, Bragg Creek, Canmore, Golden and Invermere, they offer a community where women can connect, share their passion and feel empowered to push their limits. Their customized services including private mountainbike and yoga retreats, workshops and lessons for cycling clubs, and cover beginner to advanced mountain biking, cross country, downhill or fat biking. If you like, or think you might like, knobby tires – check them out here.
Pedal Wenches is Saskatoon’s first and only women’s road cycling club that delivers fitness through a fun-first attitude by welcoming riders of all experience levels. At 100 members strong, they help cyclists improve their skills and fitness in an encouraging environment. In the off-season, they also run indoor cycling training sessions to allow riders to build on their spring and summer fitness and prepare for the next road season. Visit Pedal Wenches on Facebook here.
Ride Like a Girl is a BC-based not-for-profit that provides a mentorship and bursary program designed to support young female mountain bike athletes as they develop their talent. They support girls in British Columbia up to the age of 20 who are currently racing cross-country, downhill or enduro mountain biking, or who are honing their skills as a freeride athlete. This support also includes a mentorship program that provides opportunities for young athletes to ride with and receive guidance from professional female athletes in their discipline. In 2017, ten young female riders were matched with mentors. Visit the Ride Like a Girl website here.
Created three years ago by three women passionate about riding, WOWride Cycling Club is more than just a cycling club, it’s a strong movement to bring like-minded dynamic women together to ride in a strong and safe environment. With a brand of #strongertogether, on and off the bike, their goal is to help women be fast and strong while focusing on safe, savvy riding strategies. With 27 ride leaders, or “domestiques”, they offer cycling clinics, riding camps, three weekly rides with varying speed options, training programs for ‘realistic’ racers, support for youth cycling development, and free clinics (cycling and non-cycling topics). Visit WOWride’s website here.