A successful movie night!
Last Monday, 26th August, we screened the film Women Don’t Cycle at the National Film and Sound Archive. Almost 200 Pedal Power members and supporters joined us to watch the film.
Women Don’t Cycle captures Manon Brulard and her partner Dries’s incredible 11 month cycling journey from Brussels to Tokyo. They travelled to countries that aren’t usually known for their cycling, breaking down stereotypes and proving that women do cycle.
From Olympic women's cycling teams training before the sun rises to women leading critical mass protests for safer infrastructure or getting dressed up for the Fancy Women Bike Ride that started in Izmir, Türkiye and is now a global movement. These women are the pedaling force making cycling safer, more enjoyable and more accessible to everyone.
Since the trip, Manon and Dries have co-founded Welcome To My Garden which is a network of people offering free camping spots in their gardens to slow travelers (travelers biking and hiking). Check out the map to find slow travel stay locations around the world, in Australia and even two in Canberra!
Our panel discussion after the film, showcased four inspiring speakers all working to break down barriers to women and girls cycling in unique ways.
Chloe Hosking, Olympic Cyclist, talked about different opportunities given to professional athletes depending on their gender and how she called out injustice in the sport. She also spoke about leading a junior cycling group, Hosking Junior Bunch building skills and friendships that were a vital part of what kept her cycling during her teen years, a time when many girls step away from sport.
Kate Bradney and Paris Lord discussed their motivations for creating the Lyneham Bike Bus, activating a hyperlocal community of children and families to get to preschool and school safely, with friends and music! They are looking for more volunteers to help with bike marshalling to ensure the safety of all riders on the bike bus. Please get in touch if you can help.
Wendy Studman shared her experiences teaching children and adults to ride a bike. She highlighted success stories of women who learned to ride and built confidence through the New Horizons program, who are now participating in regular social rides and taking on even bigger cycling challenges.
There was support from the audience for reigniting women only races such as Tour de Femme, providing women only social rides and potentially hosting a Fancy Women Bike Ride of our own.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our wonderful panellists.
If you missed the event, you can still watch the film online at Women Don’t Cycle and come along to our next film night on 5 November to see the film Anytime.
