Yesterday I joined a group of lady bikers (not the harley kind) named VeloFemmes on a super fun group ride and event! VeloFemmes is a new women's bike group focused on getting more ladies on bikes and creating a great community of female bikers in the Tacoma area. Unfortunately Tacoma decided to be ultra-Tacoma and it rained on us pretty much the entire time, but hey, it just shows how dedicated these ladies are! The event started off at Tollefson Plaza with great booths, and music from Barleywine Revue (check them out, they're awesome!) 2nd Cycle, a super awesome bike shop focusing on helping people learn how to fix their own bikes and cultivating a shop full of used parts which help bicyclists fix their bikes on a budget, was one of the booths. 2nd Cycle runs events specifically targeted at non-male bicyclists to teach basics about bike upkeep and care. It's a pretty sweet organization. There was also a fun booth where you could get a helmet-friendly hair style. I showed up with my helmet-friendly hairstyle (fishtail sidebraid FTW!), so I didn't use their talents, but they had lots of pictures of fun ideas for cute hairstyles that are also helmet friendly, which was inspiring. I think it'd be fun, now that my hair is long enough, to do a helmet-friendly hairstyle tutorial series here on the blog, eh? Especially since it's bike season, woo!
After the initial event in Tollefson Plaza we all gathered our bikes and took the scenic route to the Harmon Tap Room for some beer, food, and raffle prizes! I was in serious need of beer and food. I proceeded to order pizza. And the Lord sayeth, It was GOOD. Seriously. After riding miles in the rain, a gulp of cold brew and a bite of hot pizza brought me back to life. The ride wasn't difficult, mind you, but it was rather chilly compared to the weather we've been having recently, so warm food in the belly was much appreciated. Oh! And I won something in the raffle! Well, everyone did, because there were enough prizes for everyone, but I got a Seal Line bag! So perfect for riding in Tacoma, especially in winter since they're waterproof. I like carrying my small bag, or my computer/camera bag when going to the coffee shop regularly, but in the winter it's nice to know your stuff isn't going to get soaked. Dan has a nice, waterproof Timbuk2 bag, and now I have one too!
It was really awesome to have a group of biking ladies from all walks of life there. There were a couple bike-in-dresses types (hey-yo), regular commuters, younger people, older people, and some people who simply looked like they walked out of an REI ad. But it's cool to know that we're all women who bike, supporting one another. It doesn't matter if you wear clip in shoes or heels, spandex or tights. I've long wanted to organize some bike events with ladies in the Tacoma area, but have never felt like I had the infrastructure or a way to reach those biker chicks, and now with VeloFemmes I do! Hopefully we get to do a few more events before the summer ends and we're back to daily rain-biking.
