Cascade Women & Non-Binary Programs

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Cascade Women and Non-Binary (W&NB) program is to grow cycling among women and non-binary folks by providing a welcoming, encouraging, and safe cycling experience for ALL self-identifying women and ALL non-binary cyclists (no matter their assigned sex at birth) of every riding ability. We accomplish this through free group rides, educational, and social opportunities.

Who can participate in this group?  

The W&NB group is for individuals that identify as a woman or non-binary, including transgender women and cisgender women. Please see definitions below for clarification. 

ADVOCACY TRAINING PROGRAM

Your Streets Your Say is Cascade's advocacy training program, providing folks around the state with the skills they need to be effective and powerful community advocates. This year the team is offered a virtual W&NB affinity series from May-June. This session creates space for women, non-binary, and trans advocates to learn skills in a welcoming and open environment, working towards safer, healthier, more accessible communities for all. Check back for future training opportunities!

EDUCATION CLASSES

Our W&NB educators are a supportive, positive and skilled group of cyclists and mechanics. We welcome you to learn more about all of our maintenance and riding class opportunities through cascade.org/learn/adult-classes. Courses run from March through November of each year and are priced on a sliding scale.

• Tues, Oct 24- W&NB Fix-a-Flat

Check back at a later date for more classes for women and non-binary folks or subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates.

GROUP RIDES

Our ride leaders are a supportive, positive, and skilled group of cyclists. We welcome you to learn more about cycling, safe group riding habits, and the joy of cycling. Our rides provide a social venue where you can meet and converse with other riders, have some fun, and get in some exercise. In addition, we have challenging and training oriented rides that can be very rewarding.  

Whether you are a seasoned rider or it’s your first group ride, we welcome you and would love to have you join us! 

These rides are created to hold space for women-identifying and non-binary folks only; male-identifying riders can support this group best by finding other appropriate rides on the Free Group Rides calendar and leaving this space for W&NB riders.  

How fast are these rides?

Our paces are the same as Cascade’s other free group rides. See Ride classifications.

We encourage our riders to pick an appropriate pace. Our ride leaders understand that this might be difficult, especially for new riders, so we try to make every accommodation for these situations. We ask our rider leaders to coach and give positive supportive feedback, so our riders can find the right pace for their abilities.   

If you are unsure of your pace or are a new rider, please contact the ride leader on the specific ride to determine if the pace would be appropriate. 

All of the paces will regroup as necessary, for example at the tops of climbs or at turns. However, if a rider is significantly off-pace to the detriment of themselves or the group, they may be asked to join a slower pace if multiple paces are offered. In rare cases, the rider may be asked to complete the ride on their own or wait in a safe place for a ride home. Ride leaders should ensure the rider has a safe means to return to the start or home before leaving the rider. This may involve the rider going back on their own with a cue sheet or GPS navigation or calling someone for a ride. 

What about mechanical issues?

If a rider has a mechanical issue, the group will stop to assist the rider. If there is a major mechanical issue preventing a roadside fix, the ride leader will ensure the rider has a safe means to return to the start or home.

DEFINITIONS

Non-binary: Non-binary is an umbrella term for gender identities that are neither male nor female‍—‌identities that are outside the gender binary.

Cisgender: A term used to describe people who are not transgender and identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. "Cis-" is a Latin prefix meaning "on the same side as," and is therefore an antonym of "trans-." A more widely understood way to describe people who are not transgender is simply to say non-transgender people.

Cis woman: Term used to describe women who are assigned female at birth and identify as a woman

Trans woman: Transgender person who was assigned male at birth but whose gender identity is that of a woman

Woman: Term used for people who identify as a woman. This includes, but is not limited to: transgender women, cisgender women, and all people who self-identify as a woman.

Contact Us

If you have more questions about Cascade Women and Non-Binary rides, please contact either the ride leader on the specific ride (contact info is on the ride posting) or email us at wnb@cascade.org.