During the weekly For Women Only, Duh rides, female cyclists can enjoy biking and hanging out without having to deal with sexism or street harassment. When Lynda Lopez, a daily bike commuter and youth outreach worker for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, came across an article about the event last December, she applauded the concept. But she also noticed that almost all of the women in the photos that ran with the story appeared to be white.
Chicago currently has several groups and events geared toward women-identified cyclists. For example, the organization Women Bike Chicago holds an annual Day of Dialogue and Demonstration, with seminars and how-to clinics. The community bike shops West Town Bikes and the Recyclery host popular weekly open shop nights for women, trans, and femme folks. There’s also the Stabettes, a shadowy bike crew with a punk aesthetic and a Bikini Kill-like media blackout policy. And the Chainlink social networking site has an active women’s discussion page.
I reached out to 19 other Latina, Asian-American, and African-American women and genderqueer individuals who bike in Chicago to get their takes on the subject.
Urban gardener Taryn Randle grew up on the southeast side and currently splits her time between Chicago and Los Angeles. She’s something of an expert on the subject, since she’s been an active rider and organizer with the Ovas, plus a small, weekly Englewood-based ride that’s open to all genders called #2wheelgods. She also participates in Slow Roll and Southside Critical Mass events.
