Tamara Broadnax (right), Rosalyn Davis and Monica Davis (Photo by Jay Paul)
As a heavily male-dominated sport, cycling can sometimes present barriers to entry for women, compounded by the fact that many women don’t feel safe cycling alone. Locally, a number of women’s cycling groups look to address these issues by providing an avenue for riding in a supportive environment that often includes skill sharing.
“I’ve been on the receiving end of an angry motorist, says Erin Shahan, service manager at Carytown Bicycle Co.’s GreenGate location. “Drivers respond differently to a number of cyclists than just one.” Shahan leads the shop’s Sunday women/trans/femme road bike ride, which she hopes to start again this summer. “There is safety in numbers, and it makes you less of a target,” she says.
Shahan’s ride, which was put on hold during 2020, goes up to 25 miles at about 15 mph, typically attracting up to 15 intergenerational women. Shahan’s goal is to make participants feel comfortable and prioritized without the competitiveness found at many majority-male rides.
Tamara Broadnax, a military veteran and nurse administrator at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, has led the Richmond chapter of Black Girls Do Bike (BGDB), a national cycling group, since 2017. The local chapter now has 540 members.
Broadnax says members commute, ride with their kids or use their bicycles to keep fit. Open to women of any race, membership in BGDB is free, and the group is distinct in its uncompetitive, supportive nature.
“The weekly rides give [people] a way to safely join in,” she says. “There are not that many minority women who bicycle, so BGDB makes a difference when we’re out and people see us. We get positive affirmations.”
BGDB’s 2021 schedule includes rides ranging from the 10-mile “Short and Sassy” ride to “Hills on Wheels,” which focuses on the Virginia Capital Trail’s hill, to a 60-mile “Fierce and Fabulous” ride.
Broadnax says barriers for women interested in biking can include feeling intimidated in bike shops while trying to make a purchase or simply knowing how to get started when it’s been years since they were in the saddle.
“The thing I am most proud of is when a new rider joins BGDB and she gains the knowledge, skills and confidence to ride by herself and with others,” she says.
Another group, Bell Joy Ride, helps women get comfortable with mountain biking. “We traditionally have had from 50 to 80 women come participate in fun, social rides,” says Carmen Hamlin, Bell Joy Ride’s Richmond ambassador, in an email. “We break into groups of about eight riders by self-selected levels, then regroup for socializing, food and raffle prizes.” She says the group plans to schedule rides this year, “although the format will be a little different to accommodate COVID guidelines.”
Louise Lockett Gordon, director of the advocacy group Bike Walk RVA, an arm of Sports Backers, notes that Virginia has moved up in the American League of Cyclists’ nationwide ratings due to “advancing some policies to make biking safer ... and increase in funding dedication.
“When we’re planning for bike transportation, it’s important to plan for all ages and abilities and to keep women in mind.”
“Richmond has rolled out a ton of bike infrastructure in the last decade,” says Amy George, who organized the Women’s Cycling Summit in 2014 as a Ride Richmond board member. “I hope women give feedback on the infrastructure and help refine it. A lot of people got outdoors on a bike for the first time in the last year due to quarantine, and I am hoping that the wild popularity of Peloton will result in more women taking up cycling outdoors.”
