Gay cycling club chicago
A nonprofit, independent chicago organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. The WCCC formed in to get the wheels of fellowship turning among lesbian and gay folks. Grist thanks its sponsors. Become club. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist.
Here's How. Nowadays members lead mellow bike path cruises as well as speedy training rides and rugged off-road excursions. Since the Chicago area is mostly pancake-flat, the club also arranges trips to Wisconsin and Michigan for more challenging riding, plus bike vacations to Ireland and the Texas Hill Country.
During the winter, the WCCC organizes get-togethers for cycling, sledding, skating, and spinning, and members also support bicycle advocacy by volunteering with the Active Gay Alliance, which lobbies for better biking, walking, and transit conditions. From spring to fall, the ride meets on the first Saturday of the month for a relaxed spin through Northwest Side forest preserves to the serene Chicago Botanic Gardens.
Windy City Bike Clubbers gather for drinks and a little camaraderie. Photo by John Greenfield. Each ride draws as many as 40 women, plus an occasional man or two, since all club members are welcome to participate. Munching a veggie burger at a nearby table, Drew Jemilo, a spinning instructor who founded the Chicago Razors gay triathlon team to compete in the Gay Games here, says he only rides with LGBT clubs.
That community can be quite empowering. Ina bus struck Susan Levin on her bike, causing a concussion, a fractured elbow, a hematoma in her hip, and severe road rash that required a skin graft. She started riding with Dykes Pedaling Bikes in as a way to feel comfortable on a bike again.
LGBTQ+ cycling club builds both community and awareness
Really, the only difference is who you flirt with. I met my last girlfriend on a Dykes Pedaling Bikes ride and I know people who met on the ride who are now married. After the bartender buys us all a round of marshmallow-fluff vodka shots, Lisa Bigelow and her buddy Sue tell me they dig the social aspect of Dykes Pedaling Bikes.
And all women, not just lesbians, are welcome on the ride, they say. A message from. Grist is the only award-winning newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. Instead, we rely on our readers to pitch in what they can so that we can continue bringing you our solution-based climate news. Get your weekly dose of good climate news to your inbox.
Email Address. Photo by luxomedia. Claire Thompson Food. Rod McCullom, Undark.