Spokeswomen

Guest Post Spokeswoman Hannah reports on her workshop experience in Montpelier

March 18, 2012 Fixing bikes, General, Women 2 comments

I’ve recently moved to Montpellier, France. I wanted to bring my beautiful bike with me from the UK but heard thieving was rife here, so it stayed at home. When I arrived, I found a flea market and acquired an extremely old bike for 25€, which worked reasonably well to start with. However, soon the rear wheel ceased to turn properly. I thought perhaps the rear hub was too tight so did some research to find a bike workshop. I stumbled upon Le Vieux Biclou, a workshop which invites people to use their tools to fix their own bikes with aid from other members – perfect! – a similar philosophy to the Pedallers’ Arms back home in Leeds.

When I went to the workshop, I had been in France for 2 weeks, so my french was very rusty (not unlike my ‘new’ bike). When I entered, there was a stern looking man in his sixties sitting at a desk. I asked if I could use the tools. He demanded to know whether I was already a member. I replied that it was the first time I had been there. He told me I had to be a member and shoved a membership form into my hands. I read through and it was 15€ for a year’s membership. I hesitated as it was nearly as expensive as my bike. I didn’t know if I’d like the workshop, but I felt pressured but told myself it would work out cheaper in the end, I would probably have to fix my bike a number of times throughout the year and I have no tools here with me.

I proceeded to fill out the form and handed over the money, I was instructed to do a few more things, signing a receipt, the back of my membership card, and the membership book – simple tasks, or so I hoped. But, with my French skills not up to scratch, even these were difficult procedures. The man barked incoherent instructions; swallowing consonants left, right, and centre, making no effort to speak clearly. When I asked politely for him to repeat, he obliged, but with barks just as gruff as before. It was clear I could not understand. I felt a right idiot.

Anyway, I managed to deal with the paperwork and I asked how the system worked there; could I just take tools from the shelves? Do I have to ask? Or log it in a book? Was there someone in charge? Etc. The only reply I got was that yes I can use the tools, and I was shown a price list if I wanted to buy parts new or second-hand.

I found the tools I needed and got to fixing. I realised it wasn’t the hub causing the problem. Instead, the dérailleur wasn’t mounted properly and therefore nor was the axel. As a result the wheel was not centred and was sticking on the seat stay. I managed to sort it out.
My chain was filthy and I though the best way to clean it would be to take it off. After cleaning, I put the chain back on, but something wasn’t quite right with the dérailleur and I couldn’t work out what was wrong. I looked at other peoples bikes to work it out, but still no luck. There was one man who seemed as if he worked there, but he was helping out someone else. I waited for them to finish before asking him for help.

While waiting, the man from the desk came over, saw I was stuck, and demanded why I was just standing there; why hadn’t I asked for him for help? Actually, I was too intimidated to ask, but I could hardly say that. Then he proceeded to bark more incoherent instructions at me on how to fix my bike. I managed to do so, but once again felt belittled. He hadn’t given me advice, he had shouted orders at me.

The workshop hours were coming to an end and I had finished my repairs. A man nearby was struggling to reconnect his chain, he had seen me successfully using the chain breaker earlier so asked for some help. I had a shot at it and couldn’t quite manage it, but showed him how to do it – he tried again, as did another two men, but no luck. I then had a final shot and succeeded! I was very satisfied, although it led to inevitable comments of not believing a “girl” fixed it.

As I was going to leave, I was told the “patron” wanted to speak to me (i.e. the man at the desk). The “patron” told me I had to clean the floors of the workshop. I didn’t understand why, I wondered whether it was because I was female, or I had done something wrong, yet I went to do it anyway as I had some time to spare.

I was given a wooden broom, a cloth rag, and a bucket of soapy water. Naturally, I went to start sweeping the floor with the broom.
“NON! Pas comme ça!”
I started.
The man barked that I was doing it all wrong, and ordered me to use the rag instead.
Not knowing the French for broom, cloth rag, bucket, sweep, dunk, or squeeze, did not help matters. I dunked the rag in the water and the put it on the floor and started pushing it about.
“NON! Pas comme ça!”
Did I never clean the floors at home?
I started to feel smaller and smaller.
He’s shouting how I need to dunk the cloth, squeeze it, put it on the floor, then use the broom to push it about the floor, and I’m looking clueless and shrugging my shoulders.
He asks me sarcastically if I understand French. I reply that no, not very well: I’m English.
He snarls that I should say if I don’t understand. I personally thought I had made it perfectly clear I did not understand.
Once I finally understood his instructions, I finished cleaning the floors in his special way, in tears.
I left the workshop feeling about as big as a baby’s toenail.

Since then, I have spoken with friends who informed me that the workshop is an “Association” and therefore every member bears as much responsibility as the next – much like a co-operative. Everyone needs to pitch in with the cleaning and the set up every once in a while – this I have no problem with, actually, I support it. The problem is that I was not welcomed into the space, shown around, informed how the Association worked, made to feel comfortable in the space, as a newcomer, as somebody who doesn’t know everything about bikes, or as a woman. That is the problem. On top of this, the “patron” was not the “patron” (boss), but in fact an “animateur” (co-ordinator or leader). I have since read information on the workshop’s website, which explains that the role of the animateur is to “inform” the public on how the workshop functions and to “welcome” new members to the workshop. I can firmly say that neither of these two specifications were met on my first visit to the workshop.

Something else went wrong with my bike, and it took me a month to work up the courage to return to the workshop, and even then, I ensured that the same animateur was not timetabled to be there when I returned. I have been back twice since and I have observed new members being shown around and inducted into the Association. Everyone has been very friendly, and I now feel comfortable and confident to go to the workshop often. But I’m still avoiding that man from the desk.

Spokeswomen brave rain & snow in Oxford

March 17, 2012 General No comments

On a rainy, sleety and snowy sunday in early March ten brave, bedraggled and rather brilliant women wearing plastic trousers mounted their bikes on a deserted street in central Oxford. The weather may have been dodgie but the atmosphere was full of warmth because we were there to celebrate women and bikes.

The bike has played a remarkable role in emancipation women all over world. Cycling was central to revolutions in women’s clothing and freedom and movement as well as changing perceptions of female athleticism and proper behaviour. But its also the source of personal revolutions. I’ve lost track of the number of friends who have told me about how discovering cycling changed their lives, gave them physical strength, confidence in their bodies, helped carry them through hard times and allowed them to explore their world freely. I too have a story like this. So I thought what better way to mark Oxford International Women’s Festival than to bring a bunch of women together to cycle about and share such inspiring tales.

The plan was to listen to the stories of some amazing local women on route and then retire to the pub for more talk and a nice drink. But alas the weather had other plans. We where drenched by the time we reached the end of the street, so we decided to whiz round the route and do our story-telling in the dry afterwards. Some, due to a lack of waterproof layers, were forced to turn back early. But a good bunch of us made it as far as Kennington along the Thames path (not bad given it was snowing at this point) before the cold and wet got the better of us. As we shivered under a bus shelter whilst I did the quickest puncture repair I’ve done in my life we decided to cut short our journey. We headed back to the cosy refuge of the Isis tavern, to regroup.

Once by the fire we slowly regained feeling in our bodies and with it our powers of speech. Somehow having gone through a bit of adversity together had created a new openness between us and we spent the few following hours discussing bikes, feminism and our lives over tea and beans on toast. One of the best bits for me was the bringing together of a such a cool group of women, of different ages and from as far a field as Birmingham and London, and learning about what role cycling played in their lives.

As a result of the shall we say inclement weather, only one of our story-tellers, activist Rowan Tilly, was able to stay with us and actually to say her piece. But the beauty of blogs is the power to create after the event, so what follows is my attempt to recapture some tales of some amazing women and their bikes.

Pauline Grayson, former racing cyclist and close friend of Beryl Burton.

Now in her 70s, Pauline thought better of joining our chilly ride and instead chatted to a few of us beforehand about her memories. Pauline knew Beryl since they were teenagers the two were brought together by a love of bikes and interest in racing. Beryl went on to be women’s cycling world champion and one of Britain’s greatest athletes. Pauline too achieved great successes and has raced everything from time trails, to trikes and tandems in her time. They remained firm friends for life.

They probably got along so well because they both learnt about work hard and self reliance from a young age. Pauline’s father built bikes on the Cowley Road, he was an avid cyclist despite having only one leg. He seems to have been a hard character who expected Pauline to hold her own – something which she freely admits set her up well for a life of competing in ‘men’s’ trades and sports. His approach is typified in a story Pauline tells about one evening when she got stranded many miles from home with buckled wheel and her dad, true to form, told her to walk back. This she duly did only to arrive home just in time to eat some breakfast and head to work. ‘People had to be tougher in those days,’ she chuckled.

Pauline talks of Beryl, who died in 96, with the warmth and pride of an old dear friend. She tells of one day when Beryl was fed up with the lazy ‘freewheeling’ of the women’s cycling club and tired of being left behind by the mens and decided something had to be done. So she secretly went out alone everyday for several weeks to work on her speed until she could rejoin the men. This work ethic and determination to achieve her best seems to sum up Beryl who ended up setting the record for the women’s 12 hour time trial – which exceeded the men’s record for 2 years! Pauline describes Beryl as a straight-forward northern women whose success in her field was built on hard grind and brought financial sacrifices rather than rewards. There was little money and sponsorship in English racing in those days, especially for women. Beryl paid all her racing and transport costs herself (so she usually cycled to events – even if they happened to be in France). As a result she couldn’t afford a television or a phone. Taking time off work to race on at lest on occasion cost her her job. And to think she was bringing up a family at the same time. I wonder what she would make of the continued lack of investment in women’s amateur racing today.

Rowan Tilly, activist

Rowan named her bike Christobel Pankhurst, because she (the bike) is often chained to railings. As a child Rowan was nearly put off cycling because she thought she no good at it. She struggled up hills on her shopper as her brother whizzed by on his boys road bike. When she realised it was the bike she was given because she was a girl and not the fact that she was a girl which was slowing her down (a metaphor for life I think) she set about to find one that suited her better. This mission was part of a journey of political awakening and practical skills learning which has meant that bikes and radical politics have always gone hand-in-hand in her life. In the early 80s it was impossible to buy good lightweight bikes small enough for women so Rowan built Christobel herself following instructions from a book, borrowing her brother’s tools and using a hand built made to measure frame. Rowans politcial activism began at Greenham Common women’s peace camp – a 10 year occupation of RAF weapons facility. And bikes were a big part of her contribution. She put her new skills to into action building 20 for the camp to facilitate better communication and mobility among the women. Rowan went on to campaign on deforestation, GM crops, weapons and climate change, she also added a recumbent named Emma Gold[wo]man to her fleet.

Clare Cockrane, Artist and activist, a poem…

After Worker
From work I take the scenic route, it’s still light
Although it doesn’t feel like summer anymore – dark
Clouds crowd the edges of the sky. I cycle
Quickly, fearing the weather will shrink my world
As it soaks the streets, makes the road
Treacherous, threatening, chasing me home.

I pedal hard, conjuring images of my cosy home;
All thoughts are focused there: the warm light
Of the ochre-walled sitting room, with a view of the road
Lined with false cherry trees, their leaves now turning dark,
Their sap sinking into autumn, waiting for the world
To turn one more half-round, complete the cycle

From spring to full-blossomed, frowsy spring again. I cycle
Faster now, as though my pumping heart will bring me home
To this – the comfortable, cosy world
I have tried to make for us, where we can shut out light
And noise – the static of a crazy world – and share the dark,
Hold hands, be always linked. I’m on the road

On my way to you, guided by the markings on the road.
Will you be glad to see me?
Will you hear me cycle
Quietly through the first pitter-patter rain up our now-dark
Street? Are you preparing to welcome me home?
Are you drawing the curtains, turning on the bedside light,

Filling up the kettle, making the dinner, our world?
Or are you just waiting for the sculptor of your world
To make her way back from work, flying along the road
Wishing with all her heart for a ray of light
To pierce the twilight, nudge the rhythm of the cycle
Get some movement going, breathe air into her home, Blow, blow, blow away the dark

Mist that hangs in every corner, the dark
Dread of loss, no longer held at bay, out in the world;
Now it has invaded, has come home
To us. That avenue that led away from warmth, the road,
Now presents a route to freedom. With strengthening legs I cycle
Gladly away, loving the night air and my little flashing light.

When you look out into the dark you cannot see the road,
You cannot glimpse my world or sense me cycle
Away from home, following my light.

Guest Post Female Mechanic Now on Duty or, some advice about becoming a bike mechanic

March 6, 2012 General 2 comments

This time last year (to the date nearly), I was at Bristol Bike Project at a beginners bike mechanics evening class that my friend was teaching. I pretty much only knew how to change a flat and put my chain back on if it fell off the chain rings. Thanks partly to Bristol Bike Project generally, and especially the women’s night there, I got totally hooked, and had a space to volunteer fixing bikes for project users, and sharing knowledge with other mechanics on various stages on the road to ‘knowledge’. 12 months later, and I’ve literally thrown myself into this stuff, worked really hard, and found myself at a skill level where I can get paid work as a mechanic. I now work 3 days a week fixing up donated bikes for sale for Bikeworks, in London.

I thought this story might be interesting to people in a similar position, who are really interested in doing bike mechanics professionally, or at least spend more of their time doing it, but have limited access to the means of doing so, or don’t know how to progress.

The main factor in improving your skills is access to a workshop. Tools for fixing bikes are pretty expensive, and even if you have some, putting your gears out of adjustment and tuning them over and over again with your bike turned upside down in your garden will only get you so far. Only working on a wide range of bikes and problems, and a workshop’s worth of tools (costing £1000+) will start to prepare you for work as a paid mechanic. Many women and gender-variant people (myself included), aren’t taught mechanics by our Dads (or Grannies or whatever!), and don’t grow up fixing our bikes, and don’t often have a natural progression into paid work as a mechanic. So public workshops, and women and gender-variant spaces are especially important for ‘us’ to gain any access. Unfortunately, they’re still few and far between, but many are mentioned on this site, and include: the Bristol Bike Project, the Pedaller’s Arms in Leeds, and 56a Bike Project in London. I’m working on setting up a dedicated night with London Bike Kitchen, and I’ll keep you posted on that.

Once you have a dedicated space, you can volunteer (and volunteering for good organisations of course has all sorts of other great outcomes). But I think ideally you’ll also need some ‘teaching’. Now I know that a lot of people prefer the idea of skill-sharing, and learning informally from your peers and friends in the workshop, and I think this has a lot going for it, especially if you don’t mind taking your time in learning new things. But if you want to learn quickly, and have more well rounded skill-set, then maybe a course is the way to go. I personally got unsatisfied with learning slowly, the pieces of the puzzle weren’t fitting together, and there were so many questions I didn’t know the answer to, and couldn’t hassle my more experienced mechanic friends about, so I decided to take a formal course. Luckily I could pay for this, but Bikeworks for example has the Cycle Into Work course, which trains vulnerable adults as bike mechanics for free, there are also short courses for less than £100 run by many different organisations. But for a comprehensive, longer course Cytech level 2 is the industry standard training, and a well recognised qualification in most bike shops, but I chose to be trained by Bikeworks, because politically they are a lot ‘better’, being a not-for-profit social enterprise which does all sorts of good stuff (see their website…). The City & Guilds VRQ level 2 training they offer is very similar to the Cytech course, and it has got me a few job offers already! I did the course on weekends in London, and I learned systematically all about how bikes work and how to fix them. The highlight was probably building wheels, something you don’t often get to do even as a professional mechanic.

By Fenn

Superduper talk for the London folk or those interested in a jaunt to the big smoke

February 23, 2012 General No comments

Cycling to Suffrage: The Bicycle and Women’s Rights, 1890-1914

Thursday 14 June, 7pm (70 mins)
£8 / £6 concessions

Dr. Sheila Hanlon discusses her research for the display and highlights some major issues in the gender politics of cycling past and present. Illustrated with materials from The Women’s Library collection, this talk considers the place of the bicycle in women’s lives for leisure, transportation, sport and activism with a focus on suffrage era Britain.

Supporter event: If you a Patron of The Women’s Library please email supporters@thewomenslibrary.ac.uk to reserve your complimentary ticket to this event.

Ride out the recession – DIY and the bike

February 13, 2012 Fixing bikes, Tips and advice, Women 2 comments

It’s long been my mantra that the best ways I know to live cheap are 1) packed lunches and 2) riding a bike. Its my experience that every cyclist, especially those of us who live by our bikes and find it difficult to conceive of other ways of getting to work, to the pub, out to the country and just about anywhere are, at some point, going need to know how to fix them. Its not mountain biking or road racing that knackers a bike its the dirty gritty city roads. Its the daily grind, the workhorse not the weekend bike that takes a beating. Its sitting outside in the cold weather and being clipped by cars, propped up against railings outside pubs that leads to wear and tear. And its the inability to be parted from our bikes, even for a few days in the workshop, that allows them to go to rack and ruin. This is totally understandable but it means that every cyclist who does not have money to throw at their bike related problems (which is all of us at the minute – right?) needs to be a mechanic as well. This is a great thing, is an impetus to unleash your inner mechanic! If that sounds daunting, here a few pointers to get you started:

fun at beryls' night

1.Take a class

I am of the opinion that everyone can be a mechanic. If you tell yourself you not ‘mechanically-minded’ you’ve lost before you’ve even started. If such a thing as mechanical-mindedness exists, these people are very lucky most of us simply need practice and patience. Approach it like you would anything new, get some instruction (there is no shame in it – really!). There are more and more courses offered by all kinds of organisations ranging from a few days intro for £60-100 to a full-blown profession qualification which will set you back a grand. Start with an ‘intro’ course, if you get into it you can do something more advanced, never fear repeating the same material you’ve already covered on an earlier course – you literally cannot repeat stuff enough its the best way to get your head round it. Opt for independent workshops and bike coops especially those which will offer you access to their space once the course is completed. I have made a (far from definitive) list of these places at the bottom of the page.

truing wheels at Beryls' Night

2.Join a DIY workshop

This is the key. Once you’ve done a course, unless your a secret millionaire, your not going to be able rush out and buy all the tools you need to start home mechanic-ing. So you gotta find a bike stand, tools, access to parts old and new and comradary/support for those tricky moments. Thats why you need to find a DIY bike workshop near you. Many of these exist to educate people about bikes, enable shared ownership of resources and bring people together around cycling. So support them, don’t faff about getting frustrated in a dark cold garden/garage by yourself, become a member and step into the light…workshop. Some even have women’s nights. (again see list below)

3.Get a guide book: I went through a few before I found one I got on with but when I did it was my absolute security blanket until I gained the experience to out grow it. The internets good and that, you can find literally reams of info on Sheldon Brown’s website but if you are like me a get along better with a proper instructional manual you can take into the workshop I recommend Chainbreakers bike book unreservedly. Its not only easy to follow and covers pretty much everything for the amateur mechanic, its got politics! Its non-commercial, feminist, recycle and reuse message, not to mention the radical New Orleans bike zine reprinted in the back are like chicken soup for the soul of any cyclist who sees bikes and DIY as part of making our material world a bit more authentic. There are others of course so, in order of worth havingness: Park Tool Big Blue Bike Book: lots of pictures but it is just a big advert of Park Tool, Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance, Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance: these are very detailed and probably not the best when just starting out, Haynes bike book is very basic and I don’t really rate it. Feel free to add your own reviews to this.

Well hope thats helpful. Lets get to it.

a list of DIY bike spaces offering tool clubs, cycle groups, courses and even bike ballet:

London
56A bikeroom
London Bike Kitchen

Oxford
Oxford Cycle Workshop Training
Women only session Beryls’ Night Wednesdays fortnightly.

Bristol
Bristol Bike Project
BBP women’s night
Kebele Community Coop bike workshop

Birmingham
Birmingham Bike Foundry

Leeds
Pedallers Arms, with monthly women and trans drop-in session

Manchester
I Bike MCR

Newcastle
Recphy yer bike

The Marketisation and Londonisation of cycling provision

February 9, 2012 General No comments

I’ve been reading a lot this week about The Times’ cyclesafe campaign.

Here are the details:
The Times has launched a public campaign and 8-point manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists:

***Lorries entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels.
***The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side.
***A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety.
***Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision.
***The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.
***20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes.
***Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London.
***Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

This is a commendable list and the fact that all the important white men are lending their support would indicate that at least some of it might happen. Excuse me for a minute whilst I am a little critical. I live in Leeds, where cycling is a masterclass in pothole dodging and the around-taxi swerve. God knows we need better cycling provision. But why is this still the case when a few years ago the council decided to ‘invest’ in cycling infrastructure for the city? This manifested as cyclepoint, a huge, shiny pod of a building outside of the train station. This cycle storage facility is sub contracted to Evans, and there is a daily charge. Hence the lycra-clad carbon specialized riding business blokes that commute in from Harrogate every day are well catered for (I hear business is not doing too well though!). But what about the rest of us? Well a few more blue signs have appeared telling us to use the pavement/pedestrian crossings (lucky pedestrians!) but none of the basic road maintenance or justafewmoresheffieldstandsonplatformoneplease that we were hoping for. Perhaps I’m being too kneejerk-critical. I’m sure in London, actual cyclists are involved in the planning of these things and that Barclays are actually a bit annoyed that everyone calls them ‘Boris bikes’. But is it just me that is hesitant to throw my support behind something that Cameron is SO enthusiastic about? Why should we give him such easy brownie points? Shouldn’t we be fighting for fewer cars on the road and against the marketisation of the best, most radical and most antagonistic form of transport? I’d be interested to know what others think.

Great British Bicycle Politics (from 1895)

January 6, 2012 General 2 comments

A very brief post for inspiration in 2012 -

Clarion Cyclists from Bolton Wood Socialist Club 1939 (available from Leedspostcards.com)

I’ve never come across any Clarion Cyclist groups before, just loved the picture sitting in my kitchen, but it seems they’re still in full spin across the country.. My new years resolution was to fix the racing bike i’ve been loaned (tick) and get out on the road more (today is a beautiful day, i’m off to take advantage of it). Happy New Year all round xx

‘Our aim is to combine the pleasures of cycling with support for the Principles of Socialism’

The Clarion Cycling Club was founded in February 1894 by six young cyclists who were members of the Bond Street Labour Church in Birmingham. Their aim was to ‘combine the pleasures of cycling with the propaganda of Socialism’… The object was to be ‘the association of the various Clarion Cycling Clubs for the purpose of Socialist propaganda and for promoting inter-club runs between the clubs of different towns’.

Taken from the National Clarion Cycling Club website -

The National Clarion cycling club grew during the early 1900s with 8000+ members at one time and with sections all over the UK. Working class people were getting their freedom on bikes in the countryside and the Clarion was spreading the word and the newspaper to industrial towns and villages. In those days before most people could own a car, the bike gave freedom and fellowship…the Clarion thrived.

We now have some nearly 900 members in 28 sections, which makes us one of the bigger cycling clubs in the country. Bikes still give us our freedom, freedom from the motorcar, the stresses of the rat-race and gives us great friendship, great friends around the country.

Links:

National Clarion Cycling Club

National Clarion Cycling Club 1895 (North Lancs Union), formed in 2006

A great blog by a collaboration of dedicated bikers from around the UK : Cycle Seven – News and views from seven cyclists in the British Isles and Republic of Ireland (+ sometimes Canada)

Guest Post A Fair Slice

November 29, 2011 General 9 comments

Guest post from Kat of Newcastle (@KatsDekker)

It is a woman’s territory to keep their loved-ones save: women take household decisions, lead and guide their families with save and caring hands. It is no surprise therefore that the Newcastle Cycling Campaign is led by womenfolks and steered by women’s view of the world. Cycle campaigning is inherently female in its cry for save space, save conditions, save cycle systems.

The campaign wants everyone to be able to enjoy cycling, easily and safely, on attractive and pleasant routes, paths and streets. We want our (hypothetical) eight-year old to be able to cycle to school. All by themselves. Soaking up the independence, freedom and sheer joy that comes with the wind in your hair, gliding along, cycling. Growing up and gaining self-confidence with every pedal stroke.

At the campaign we have this simple and quite ordinary vision – but we also know that not many share it with us. Not yet anyways. “I couldn’t possibly cycle, there’s too many cars” people say before slinking behind the (steering) wheel – not even noticing the irony of their action.

We know we’ve got a long way to go. Though a simple and rather ordinary idea, liveable cities with their people-sized transport systems, allowing free walking and cycling, seamlessly linking to buses, metros and trains, is something people experience only on their holidays – Copenhagen and Amsterdam to name the King & Queen of pro-people places. So close but yet so far. We marvel at their variety: relaxedness, inclusiveness, friendliness and attractiveness.

It is where space is save and seemingly plentiful, space is purposefully designed by people for people with people in mind. That’s our vision for Newcastle. And of course the bicycle is at the very heart of that transformation. Centre piece. The bicycle is the indicator species for liveable places.

In the Netherlands these save towns and cities happened because people asked for them. They asked for them to be created for their children. They stood up and shouted “Stop child murder” – they had understood that ever-wider roads and unfettered car use are diametrically opposed to people-sized neighbourhoods and child-friendly street networks. Society had changed, and the road space and streetscape changed with them.

We now start to see a similar outcry for fairly and clearly delineated space in our country. And it comes from none other than the ‘squeezed middle’ – people on bicycles. People who have decided – more often than not by choice – to get around by bike. Pushed in the gutter on the road, and not welcome on the pavement, the sense of solidarity in a marginalised community keeps growing, getting stronger and gathering pace.

And so the UK cycling community is gaining confidence. Demanding their fair share of that space. Safe. Even pleasant. Like Copenhagen. Like Amsterdam. For an eight-year old to be pedalling, happy and healthy, growing up.

Cycling is undoubtedly here to stay. How many new people will cycle is vastly dependent on the amount of space that set aside for cycling. Let’s speak up. Self-assured. With confidence. For our slice of the cake.

And with cycling it’s simple. Once you have your cake, you can eat it too!

Why Women only?

November 23, 2011 General, Women 4 comments

I’ve been running women’s bike mechanics sessions for a while now, knowing that for me this is incredibly empowering. The cycle shop environment is male dominated and often I have found myself watching men do things for me. This is something I wanted to change.

In a recent workshop I went into I TOTALLY realised why I started a women-only space. Before the session started two women were striping down a bike with the help of a man. Great! I thought. Sure enough, after telling the women what to do they had a go. After two or three tries they had not managed the task, the man actually took the tools out of the women’s hands and did it for them.

Lights on! Boom. That is why I know that women’s spaces are important. It might take longer, but we will get there in the end.

I got the feeling that this is happening all the time, and what it means is, although normally well meant, is that we stay stuck in the same place of not being able to do something. Some women might like the offer if help with a ‘well I can’t do it anyway’ – but certainly not all.

Another amazing thing happened later in the workshop. It made me realise that we need to have a conversation with everyone there about women only spaces. Men came into the group and offered us a cup of tea. Great! But not without some kind of bizarre comment; ‘So. Err. I’ll make the tea shall I? Me? I’ll make it for you! Goodness a man’s work is never done.’ It happened again later with the washing up. It’s not great for either gender if you can’t relate to them and have a good positive relationship with them. I hope we can get to that point with this workshop for the sake of both males and females.

I’ll let you know how the meeting goes…!

Beryl’s Night launch

November 11, 2011 Fixing bikes, Women One comment

Last Wednesday (9th November) saw the very first women-only workshop session at South Oxford Community Center: Beryl’s Night. I’ve been working on this project since May is it was flippin’ great to finally get started. We named the night for the female cycling hero Beryl Berton. Having been to lots of open access DIY bike workshop I always noticed a gender bias toward men. After thinking about why this might be and talking to Dan at OCW who told me they have a near enough 50/50 on the maintenance courses they offer but that this falls away when it comes to women using the workshop on an adhoc basis we decided to make Beryl’s Night a bit different…

We start with an hours taught workshop 6-7pm on anything from brakes and punctures, to looking after bikes in winter, then we have bit of dinner and a natter followed by time to tinker with your bike doing stuff learnt earlier or your own projects till 9pm.

This was an experiment to make the session more sociable and open to the less-experinced, less-condifent as well as those who have skills to share. It worked amazingly! I was really surpirsed that we had a big group right from the start (they we there before I was) and everyone stayed till near enough the end. Big up Cass, Lucy and Grace the volunteers who made it possible! The project is still in its infancy but there is obviously an appetite for it and I want everyone who fancies getting involved to be part of it develops as a volunteer or participant.

We’ll be covering different topics each session so check out the calander for dates, topics and details. As I said we’d love to have your input weather you have a bit of experience to share or if your totally new to bike fixing come along and be part of creating a space were everyone feels comfortable to learn and ask questions!

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