HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY!

On international woman's day, it's good to remember the connection the early 20th century's woman's movement had to bicycles. They got us out of the corset, provided mobility and independence, and were a symbol of freedom and modernity.
 
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom by National Geographic. I haven't read this book myself yet, but I want to, especially with the author Sue Macy giving rad answers like this:

Q: Why are bikes still important to women?
A: I think that Leah Missbach Day does a great job in the foreword to Wheels of Change of explaining how bicycles are still important to one population of women--those in developing countries who are able to increase their mobility astronomically with the bicycles they received through World Bicycle Relief. But today in the U.S., bicycles are important to everybody. They allow people to do errands without using fossil fuels, to get great cardiovascular exercise, to see their surroundings in a whole new way. My neighborhood isn’t great for cycling--too much traffic and too many hills--but I try to ride at least once a week in the spring, summer, and fall, usually stopping at a nearby farmers' market to restock on fruits and vegetables. It’s a healthy way to live.  

Here are three rad rad female and bike related videos for your eyeball and ear pleasure.


This week at the National Bike Summit, Veronica Davis, the founder of Black Women Bike, gave this inspiring talk about her background, community and passion. I took away many tid-bits of insight and wisdom on unconventional engagement and breaking down barriers, along with being inspired by her incredible work ethic and dedication.

Ladies Army 5 from Geoffrey Tomlin-Hood on Vimeo.

Next up- Ladies Army 5. This year it's in Vancouver- sorry, EastVan. If you can get your gears to Vancouver, do so. It's beautiful, laid back, and beautiful. But watch out, the beauty is going to cost you. Rent, food and alcohol are more expensive in Beautiful British Columbia. Some say BC stands for bring cash. So plan ahead ladies.



Last, but not least, the incredible Jenna Marbles on "Why Girls Hate Each Other." Don't think it belongs in with this other list of awesome I just put above?  Let's be real here girls. Jokes like this don't take over the internet for no reason. We got to address some things. In throwing off the shackles of oppression, it's good to throw out the BS that came along with it, like comparing, competing and judging each other. When we do that "...we can just be b*tches together... you know, vaginas unite!"

Think about it. If you disagree, the comment box bellow is a safe space to say so.

xo

The Right to Cycle

From June 26th to the 30th I was fortunate enough to attend the keynote sessions of Velo-City 2012 held here in Vancouver, BC.

For three days I was truly blew me away. There is a steep hill to climb and a lot of work to be done to make the rest of the world like Copenhagen, but with such brilliant and hard working professionals dedicated to this task, it's going to happen and it's going to be amazing.

I love Notable Quoteables, so took some of the best from the international speakers and submitted them Toronto's lovely Biking Toronto and Australia's Treadlie.  Broken down into four parts, (seriously so much good came out of those presenters) they are meant to inspire and inform. Follow the links wiki-styles and dive deep into the world of cycling politics and infrastructure.

“Creating cycle friendly cities. It’s child’s play.”
Dr. Paul Tranter- Associate Professor in Geography, University of New South Wales

This year the European Cycling Federation and Velo-City presented The Charter of Vancouver, which is a call to the UN and all nations to acknowledge the right for children to cycle. Biking improves so many aspects of a child's life; their health, independence, personal mobility, cleaner enviornment, and the list goes on and on.... You can read the notes from the Children's Keynote in Part 4 of the Biking TO segment. 



The closing of the conference called for all to sign the charter in suport. I was a privileged to ad my name, and signed on behalf of the Deadly Nightshades. It's not just NGO's who are working to make this world a better place to live and bike, us #girlbikegangs have a role too.

1Love.

xo

HOT BABES VOTE VIA BIKES

My friend Adrian Sinclair is a babe on a bike. He does many rad events and projects, and this one is just blowing me away.



So I am going to sign up to volunteer to help people exercise their right to vote!.

You can learn more about this project and many more at Transformation Project's website.

And if you haven't been a young Canadian on the internet in the past week, here is the massive viral video of my friend Ajay from BEE Vancity not being Mr. Dressup.



And they are having a dance party. Maybe they'll host a Dance-Off?



I'm not a DJ but I was offended. But you know me, I'm just a part of that left wing fringe group known as being a woman....

NOW GO AND VOTE. A lot of people just recently died for the right to do so. Not jut in Federal elections, provincial and municipal. Care about the streets you live in and the air you breathe. Participate in creating the world you live in, or live by Plato's famous quote:

"Those who do not participate in politics are doomed to be governed by their inferiors."