What Do You Call a Flock of MAMILS?
A Sportive!
There is a rumour cycling around that the percentage of women participating went down this past Ride London. (I’m trying to find exact stats, if anyone has those, send em over.)
Kind of unsurprising considering it was held in Essex, den of self-centred petrol heads. I once had a person drive AT me while in Epping. I quit road cycling after that.
Disturbing news emerged after Ride London: a car had driven into someone causing live-changing spinal injuries. (The irony is that it was a Ford, and the event was sponsored by Ford…🤔)
Essex Police (along with the BBC) have still not sorted out their passive tense writing style for road collisions. (At least they used collision and not accident?)
And a flock of cyclists rode into a solo woman rider, putting her in the hospital with a broken arm. They did not stop to check on her.
Funny how the driver and the cyclists in these instances behaved exactly the same way. It's almost as if it's not the vehicle that's the factor here, but the person operating said vehicle.
Listen, I am all for changing our road infrastructure to make it safer for people cycling or walking.
But if you've got a gremlin in your head telling you that other people's lives aren't worth as much as your own, the problem starts there.
I can’t think of any solution to this other than be excellent to each other and look out for one another. We’re all human beans.
NEXT ONLINE CLASS
I am teaching an online class for our newsletter supporters next week Monday 17 June at 730pm. Topic? How to Prepare Your Bike for a Big Ride! “Big” is subjective here, it could be a day ride on your own, or a sportive in a herd. (Can you tell I don’t like group cycling 😹)
I recently taught this online to Fund Her Tri, a charity that gets women and non-binary people started on their triathlon journey by providing free spots to events, and training beforehand. Get in touch if you’d like me to teach some bespoke online classes! I love these!
I’ll be talking about the simple bike checks you can do to make sure you bike is safe to ride in the first place, plus what to pack with you. I’ll touch on how to flip your bike over without hitting yourself in the face, and how to do a quickie puncture repair. And come with questions! We can talk about food or this new rechargeable bike pump that could replace single use CO2 canisters. (I cannot vouch for it, but I am hopeful.)
Topic: How to Prepare Your Bike for a Big Ride!
Date: Monday 17 June
Time: 7:30pm - 8:10pm (40 mins)
Link to join will be emailed to you if you’re a supporter.
A recording will be available too!
UPCOMING CLASSES
How to Pack & Rebuild Your Bike for Travel
Introduction to Maintenance
Emergency Roadside Repairs
Disc Brake Home Maintenance
How to Replace a Spoke & True a Wheel
How to Lace & True a Wheel
How to Replace a Chain & Cassette
Introduction to Indexing Gears
BAN ISRAEL FROM THE 2024 OLYMPICS
The Olympics have a history of banning countries from participation, including South Africa for its apartheid government.
Here is more info about the current situation between the IOC and protestors. The hypocrisy of the IOC is palpable, demonising Russia and claiming its invasion is completely different from Israel’s invasion.
This quote is taken from the Avaaz petition:
“Unless something changes, the Israeli government will still be bombing Gaza as athletes compete in its name: Israel has just announced its willingness to continue the war for seven more months.
The Olympic committee meets in days: let's be one million voices demanding that Israel be banned until its government stops the assault on Palestinian lives and ends the apartheid.”
That’s all for now friends. I’m off to speak on a panel for the screening of Chasing the Sun at the Picturehouse in East Dulwich.
We are ever so close to reaching our GoFundMe goal of £15k, just passing the £10k mark.
If you’ve already sent us some cashish, thank you so very much! Your belief in our work is the wind beneath our wings 🐥
If you’re not able to at this time, please share our GoFundMe with a friend, or on your social media channels. Thank you!
Ride on,
Jenni x