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Ride with us in celebration of Mothers of the world and women who bike throughout the world. This Sunday our Women & Bicycles program is joining  BikeArlington and Black Women Bike DC to commemorate Mother’s Day and CycloFemme, the global celebration of women bicycling.

The Mother’s Day Picnic Ride begins in three locations throughout the region and we’ll all meet up at Hains Point for celebratory laps and picnic snacks. To get a better look at the ride routes check out our event map. This is a family-friendly, co-ed “sun dress” ride. We’re inviting the whole family to share the bike love and for the men out there, we encourage you to show your support by wearing your favorite sun dress!

To learn more and share with friends, visit our event page.

Ride with the Marlyand group
Please join WABA at the Silver Spring Metro Station at 12pm. We’ll go for an hour-long leisure ride through the city and meet up at Hains Point. After the picnic, you’ll have the choice to take the Metro home, or return to Silver Spring around 3:30pm.

Ride with the DC group
Meet up with the Silver Spring convoy at 12:45pm at the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza (14th St NW and Park St Nw)

Ride with the Virginia group
Please join BikeArlington at the Ballston Metro Station at 12pm. We’ll go for an hour-long ride on some of Arlington’s off street trails and bike lanes through the city, and we will end the ride at Hains point. After the picnic, you’ll have the choice to take the Metro home, or ride home with us.

New to bicycling?
Fantastic! We’re so glad you can join us. Group rides are great opportunities to hone your bike skills through experience and through conversation. We will start and end the ride with a quick skillshare on bicycling and city streets.

What to bring
Your bicycle and helmet are required for this ride. We also suggest bringing water, sunscreen, a picnic item to enjoy by yourself or share, clothing (your sun dress!) that will keep you comfortable depending on the weather, and bring your friends and family. We will have a bike pump, and basic repair tools at the start of all the rides.

 

 

What is Cyclofemme?  They’re a socially-driven grass-roots celebration of women on bikes, “We are of a growing community, for a growing community, and 100% volunteer-based. Our annual Mother’s Day ride unites riders, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or bicycle preference to share in the joy of cycling.”  CycloFemme is a day of action, a day to follow through with our pledge to get more women on bikes, and a day to hail the growth of the bicycle movement.  In just one year CycloFemme has gone from 163 registered group rides throughout the world, to 227 rides, and we’re so happy to join in on the celebration. #WeRideTogether

When planning your route for bike to work day, consider incorporating other modes of transportation. Your bike ride could be much more enjoyable and convenient when combined with the train, bus, Metro, or even your car.

There are many benefits of multi-modal bike commuting, especially when you’re traveling long distances or the weather is less than ideal. Plus, it’s nice to have backup transportation options if you encounter bike problems, have enjoyed too many libations after work, or if you just aren’t feeling up to the ride home. We’re pretty fortunate in this region to have so many transportation choices in our toolkit, and it’s all about finding the right tools for the right job.

Bringing your bike on the Metro is easy. You can bring folding bikes on Metro cars all hours of service, and non-folding bikes in non-rush hours. Rush hours are from 7-10 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. Some things to keep in mind: You must use the station elevators, never the escalators, and you should find a spot at the front or rear of the Metro car where you have enough room to safely hold onto the railing and your bike.

If biking to the Metro isn’t a convenient option, you can always pack your bike in the car, drive to the nearest station, hop on the Metro with your bike, and bike the last leg of your trip. Some people leave the Metro out of that equation and simply park their car closer to work, maybe at a friends’ house, and bike to their office.

Buses are always a simple option for multi-modal bike commutes. Bring your folding bike inside the bus, or store your non-folding bike on the bus’ bike rack. Loading up your bike on the bus rack can be intimidating at first, but all it takes is some practice. Click here for a good video tutorial to study beforehand.

For folks who regularly use commuter trains like Amtrak or the VRE, folding bikes are allowed on all trains in lieu of luggage, and non-folding bikes can be taken on board if the train has walk-on bicycle service.

Combining bicycling with other forms of transportation certainly isn’t cheating, it’s rarely difficult, and it’s not expensive. The choice to make your commute more easy, affordable, and enjoyable is a good choice, and that’s what Bike to Work Day is all about, celebrating good transportation.

Next Wednesday, we’ll tell you why you should register for Bike to Work Day—as if you don’t have enough great reasons already! Sign up for Bike to Work Day now!

After officially launching our Women & Bicycles Program, we’re ready to unveil the program’s 10 Roll Models! You likely already know this program is a season of workshops, rides, and meetups for women who already ride bikes to join together with women who are interested in bicycling.

The Roll Models provide a critical link between these two parties, so we’re incredibly fortunate to have 10 women who are dedicating their time and energy to getting their peers on bikes. Mentorship is the core aspect of Women & Bicycles: Throughout May and June, Roll Models will host friendly, facilitated roundtable discussions with the help of the Women & Bicycles workbook. Throughout the season they’ll follow-up with these soon-t0-be bicyclists to the best of their abilities, and be the resource to keep them rolling.

But our official Roll Models aren’t the program’s only mentors. We encourage all WABA supporters to reach out to women in their lives who might be interested in the program and encourage them to participate. The best way to do this is to get them signed up for the Women & Bicycles Bulletin to find out about upcoming events.

Check out short profiles of all the Roll Models below the jump.

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The D.C. Independent Film Festival’s screening of two bike-related documentaries, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, is on for tonight.

Bike Documentary Night at DCIFF
Wed., March 6, 6 p.m.

The New Woman: Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky and Ginger Ninjas, two bicycle-related documentaries, will screen on the opening night of the D.C. Independent Film Festival. The screenings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Naval Heritage Center in Penn Quarter and will be followed by a Q&A and reception. The evening is cosponsored by Docs in Progress and WABA; $3 of every ticket will be donated to WABA. Find out more about your films and purchase tickets here.

Date: Mon., March 11
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Naval Heritage Center (Penn Quarter/Archives Metro Station)
Buy tickets

 

It feels like we’ve been talking about our Women & Bicycles program forever. We’re preparing to finally, finally launch it officially in March—and we’ve got a lot to do before then. We sent out the first Women & Bicycles Bulletin to those who signed up for our email list today, and we’re reposting the information here. If you’d like to receive these updates (they’re bi-weekly notices about what’s going on in the program) in your inbox, sign up here if you haven’t already. Otherwise, read on!

A brief review of the Women & Bicycles philosophy: This program is designed to create opportunities for helpful exchanges between two different groups, women who already bicycle and women who are interested in bicycling. To do this, we’re sponsoring a season of workshops, rides, and meetups, all of which will encourage skillsharing. This type of community-based guidance has worked for ages, but it’s a new approach to getting more people on bicycles; WABA’s program is the first of its kind in the country.

Here’s some news and ways you can get involved:

Become a Roll Model
We are looking for 10 women to serve as the program’s bicycling mentors, known as Roll Models. For more information on the role of Roll Models, expectations, time commitments, and the many benefits of getting involved, click here to visit our Roll Model Application. Take a look, pass it along, and apply! (Please submit by Friday, Feb. 22nd.)

Our Logo
We released our logo a few weeks ago. Some people love it, some don’t heart the hearts, and some have questioned the utility of the logo-bike’s wheels. We appreciate the feedback! Women & Bicycles is intended to initiate a regional discussion about perceptions of gender and bicycling. We’re keeping the logo: It originated from a doodle that program coordinator Nelle has drawn on notebooks, dry-erase boards, and thank-you notes since she started biking.

Interact With Us
We’ve set up a Facebook page that we hope will become a consistent resource for all women who bike. It will serve as a place to ask questions, post ideas, upcoming events, new discoveries, and share general bicycling cheer. Click here to join. It’s a private group, but we encourage you to invite your friends.

And we’re on Instagram! Check us out, follow our account (“womenandbicycles”), and tag your women-and-bikey photos with #womenbikeDC. Your photos will be posted directly to our website to show the program in action.

Women & Bicycles Launch Party, Presented by the League of American Bicyclists
We’re throwing a party with Women Bike, the League of American Bicyclists’ National women’s outreach program. It’s also the kick-off to the second annual National Women’s Cycling Forum, part of the National Bike Summit. Join us for drinks, hear updates on the program, learn about what the League’s doing, and interact with women from all across the U.S. who bike for transportation. Click here to learn more and register for the Launch Party.

Register for the National Women’s Bicycling Forum
The day after the launch party is the National Women’s Bicycling Forum, the opening event of the National Bike Summit. The Forum hosts groups and individuals who work throughout the country to get more women on bikes. Check out the program and you’ll notice there are many D.C.-area bike advocacy stars in the line-up. Click here to learn more and register for the Women’s Bicycling forum.

We hope to see you online and in real life soon!

WABA is looking for an East of the River Program Associate. See our jobs page for more information, or read below the jump.

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On Fri., Feb. 8, we’re partnering with Dr. Ted Eytan, a full-time promoter of active transportation within Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health, to lead a public meeting on how to make bicycling a part of your everyday life, and how decisions like these lead to a healthier life.

We’ll begin at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health and head to a local bikeshare station, where we’ll discuss bicycling in D.C., incorporating biking into the lifestyle of a person and a healthy community, and the power of social groups to change the culture of health

Why will this public meeting happen while we’re moving around? Walking meetings are an approach appearing on work calendars across the country as a simple way to incorporate healthy activities into an everyday routine. Dr. Eytan has affirmed this with research and suggestions on how to make exercise a feature in your own work environment.

Dr. Eytan’s public meeting series, Walk With a Doc, seeks to raises awareness surrounding active transportation in the D.C. area. All the meetings are free and open to the public.

In addition to Dr. Eytan, we’ll be walking and talking with members of Black Women Bike DC, who will talk about the group’s mission and work in the D.C. area.  D.C. bike ambassadors will also be present. So join us for a brisk walk and a little bike talk!

Date: Fri., Feb. 8, 2013
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Location: Kaiser Permanente Center For Total Health, 700 2nd St. NE, Washington, D.C.
Click here to view the Facebook event page.

 

The Women & Bicycles program will officially launch at the beginning of March. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our website to sign up for the Women & Bicycles email list–that way, you’ll receive bi-weekly updates on the program’s status and launch.

We have lots of news on the way, so look out for our launch festivities, information on becoming a Roll Model or participant in the program, and how to get your very own Women & Bicycles T-shirt!

 

As many WABA members know, we–led by our D.C. Bike Ambassadors–annually give out hundreds of lights to cyclists who are riding unlit at night. This program is funded through by the District Department of Transportation, so the lights are given out only in D.C. It is a wonderful program, and we would love to expand it regionally and to targeted areas.

If your business or community organization would be interested in helping to fund the purchase of additional lights that can be used in other parts of the region or as part of additional outreach in D.C., please email us so that we can discuss the details. We will be placing our main order within the next couple of weeks, and we invite groups interested in helping to provide lights to be in touch.

 

Last night, ANC 6D, which represents residents from the 14th Street SW bridge to the 11th Street SE bridge, unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Tour de Fat event and bicycle parade. The resolution, brought forth by Commissioner and Vice Chair David Garber, highlights the Tour de Fat as a “fun and eclectic way to introduce and highlight the ease of accessibility to and around the Navy Yard Neighborhood.”

 

The Tour de Fat is a family-friendly rolling bicycle festival put on by New Belgium Brewing company. It visits 15 metropolitan cities throughout the United States. Imagine a county fair meets Bonnaroo meets kinetic art festival, all in the name of bicycling. For a better look, check out BicycleSPACE’s video of last year’s event, which was the first ever in D.C. and which 2,500 people attended.

New Belgium Brewery donates all proceeds from a city’s Tour de Fat to local nonprofit partners. Last year, over $20,000 was donated to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Black Women Bike DC, The Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, and the Mid-Atlantic Offroad Enthusiasts.

This year we’re expecting 5,000 attendees and a bike ride like D.C. has never seen along a route that traces neighborhoods in Navy Yard, Capitol Hill, and Barracks Row. Due to permitting issues with the local government, last year’s parade was limited to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and the RFK stadium parking lot. Community support from bodies like ANC 6D will aid WABA in obtaining the Tour de Fat parade permits, ultimately bringing D.C. a bona fide bicycle parade.