Women’s Cycling – A system that works

The women’s cycling scene in Austin, TX is profoundly wonderful and rare. But I’m a little nervous that it has hit its peak, and unless we are intentional about preserving it, it’s going to go away. 

This is a short video essay. I’m coming from the perspective of the women’s cycling community here in Austin because that’s the space where I interact the most, but I imagine the things I’m going to say relate more broadly. Also, I’m going to keep things high level because my goal is to uplift, not drag. It would be deeply ironic if this video created drama.

The idea that the women’s cycling community has hit its peak might sound alarmist. But you have to remember, this harmonious network of femme people who love to ride bikes with others is largely maintained by volunteers. Not a singular organization; just various people that want to bring folks together, so they do. Race directors, ride leaders, bike event organizers, club presidents… these are volunteer roles that people assign themselves. So even though they are acting as independent agents, they are each a spice in this cake, and they determine the overall flavor. So we are so lucky that after years and years of the cycling scene growing and flourishing, most all the flavors have been wonderful. 

Let’s talk about Austin cycling as a system. The cycling community in Austin is as large as it is—and as diverse as it is—because so many people have used cycling to attract folks that share their interests or background or whatever. Perhaps they have formed a team around a very specific style of riding, for example, mountain biking versus crit racing. Or perhaps they gathered together folks who like pairing riding bikes with yoga. There are groups for folks that go slow. There are groups for Asian. Each of these groups creates in-roads for people that are seeking belonging, and riding with other folks that remind them of themselves helps. 

But it doesn’t take long before the sheer joy of riding a bike expands their sense of self. Now cycling itself is the in-road into other groups. “Oh, you have a mountain bike? Me too! Where do you ride? Oh, there’s a group? Yeah, I’d love to come some week. Hey, thanks.” 

Basically, all these little tributaries give folks a way to expand their connections into a large, diverse community. Anyone who knows the joy of riding a bike is part of your tribe. Our silly little human brains need this. We need a sense of belonging, and unless you’re enlightened, your sense of belonging has an upper limit. Your heart is going to draw a circle, and the people inside it feel like kin.

Let’s switch gears and talk about the opposite. Have you ever felt super sad and withdrawn? You can’t face others. You don’t just want to hide, you want to completely disappear. And when others are around, you can’t help but feel extremely self-conscious. This state would be described as depression. That connectedness I was describing before is completely severed.

Think of the continuum. On the far left, we have isolation that can be so painful, it’s dangerous. On the far right, we have mystic levels of connectedness. Now, I’m not saying that cycling is the path to enlightenment, but I am saying that the shape of the cycling community in Austin is perfect for dilating the circle that your heart draws. You start off at a ride with people that remind you of yourself, and then you get dragged along to other rides, and you meet more people, and you find more commonalities, and eventually your sense of kinship grows to include a lot more people.

It’s beautiful.

Okay, so isn’t it bad, though, that the little groups exclude folks? Don’t people feel sad or insulted when they are rejected from a group?

Let’s touch on allyship. Allies are people that are happy for folks that find each other, and they don’t want to interfere with that process. Here’s a really benign example: you’re an artist, and you want to meet other artists. You decide to host the art ride. You get to the park where everyone is supposed to get out their art supplies and paint, but almost nobody brought anything. They don’t even care about painting; they just saw there was a ride. Seeing this, you cut the painting segment short. Turns out, a minority of the folks that showed did bring paints, but they felt weird about pulling them out of their bags because no one else was doing it. All of the non-artists that showed up interfered with the artists’ ability to meet each other. They weren’t being malicious; they just didn’t understand that their participation blocked up the in-road for some people.

In the beginning I said the women’s cycling community might have hit its peak in Austin. Well, this coalescence I’ve described is fed by community builders. Even if a ride leader or club just wants to focus on bringing in a tiny segment, they are presenting an in-road to the larger network. The rest of the journey is up to the rider. And, in the spirit of community, and connection, no one should feel ashamed to explore. And no one’s belonging to one group should be defined by their absence from another. 

I’ve observed folks openly disparage groups of cyclists that they are not part of. I’ve observed folks forbid members of their groups from associating with members of other groups. This is the definition of toxic behavior. 

Why would someone declare, “I can’t stand to be around those people?” Or “they’re not like us.” Well, maybe the person that says that is insecure in their own identity. They are struggling to relax into who they are, so they feel like they need to establish who they are not. Maybe that person has a personal vendetta, and they care more about punishing so-and-so than they care about you. Or, maybe this is how that person learned to bond with others. Maybe they come from a very negative household. Who knows?

Look, you deserve a wonderful sense of connectedness. You are a multi-faceted person, and you deserve to find all sorts of people that remind you of all the parts of yourself. And the more people like that you meet and love, the more you can love yourself and forgive yourself. Don’t let toxic people interrupt your journey. 

I have one final thought about the organizers themselves. First of all, thank you for all the time and energy and even personal savings you have invested in this community. You are the type of person that doesn’t complain and wait for someone else to take action; you just get things done. A lot of people would consider that to be super brave. So I hope you feel appreciated. And I hope, too, that this recognition of your larger contribution is validating. So I hope you’ve touched lives, and I hope that you feel a mutual appreciation for all the other ride leaders and bike event organizers who have touched lives as well.

If you feel somewhat perturbed because the toxic behavior describes you, don’t worry. People are constantly changing. If you decide that hey, you want to be more positive moving forward, do it. Lead the way. You’ve trained the people around you to win your favor by validating your negativity. But they just want to please you. So if you turn a new leaf, they’ll probably just go along with it. What kind of person is going to hold you to your grudges or intolerances? If anyone does that to you, they aren’t letting you grow. They are blocking your flow. Maybe they should watch this video.

Thanks for making it to the end. I don’t know if anyone is going to comment on this, but if you do, let’s keep it loving.