The League of American Bicyclists is supporting a program to encourage women to ride in Washington, DC, with a $15,000 grant.
The League is announcing the grant for the Women & Bicycle program, on the eve of the National Women's Bicycling Forum held here on Monday.
Supporting promising pilot projects like the DC program is an aspect of the League's new Women Bike initiative, a national advocacy campaign aimed at engaging, empowering, and elevating women in all aspects of the bicycle movement.
"One of our primary goals is to seed, support, and spread new campaigns and ideas that are getting more women on bikes," said Carolyn Szczepanski, the League's director of Communications and Women Bike. "We're excited to partner with them on a project that could be a model for communities nationwide."
The Women & Bicycles program will kick off on Sunday with a launch party from 8 to 11:30 p.m. at Busboys and Poets (1025 5th St. NW). Featured speakers will include Nelle Pierson, WABA's outreach coordinator, and Elly Blue, founder of Taking the Lane Media and author of Everyday Bicycling, a guide to cycling for transportation.
"Generally speaking, women admit to being more intimidated by the perceived risk of bicycling, maintaining appearances, and the responsibilities that come with being a primary caretaker in the household," said Pierson.
"What we've found is that we all just need a little encouragement, and a place to go to ask questions. So we're going to provide a gentle nudge, and create spaces to tackle these perceived barriers together at meetups, workshops, and group rides. And we're going to have a lot of fun in the process."
