Are you a woman looking to stay active this summer while making new friends? Look no further than the Black Girls Do Bike Madison chapter, an organization focused on empowering and building sisterhood through biking in Madison. The group seeks to provide diversity amongst Madison’s biking trails, and the organization is open to anyone and everyone who seeks to be in the community and learn more about how to stay healthy and safe while biking.
Dawn Crim, a leader in the organization, as well as a Fitchburg Bicycle committee member, tells Madison 365, “We focus primarily on Black women, but we welcome women of all cultures.”
The Madison chapter began in 2017 and they are in the midst of their May-October season doing weekly rides on Saturday mornings.
On Sunday, Aug. 20, beginning at 10 a.m., Black Girls Do Bike-Madison will be hosting an all-Wisconsin chapter ride on the bike paths and near the beautiful lakes of Madison. The event will consist of all three Wisconsin chapters — Madison, Milwaukee, and West Bend — riding popular biking trails in Madison.
The rides will end at The Madison Black Restaurant Week Jamboree, a celebration of Black-owned restaurants and culinary businesses in the Madison area hosted by the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce. Crim illustrates the importance of participating in this event by saying, “We want to support Black businesses, eat great food, and really celebrate us.”
Outside of the Madison, Milwaukee, and West Bend chapters, the Black Girls Do Bike organizers also value staying connected with the other branches nationwide. Black Girls Do Bike is a national organization founded in Pittsburgh by Monica Garrison in 2013. There are now more than 100 chapters worldwide.
From August 25-27, Black Girls Do Bike will be hosting their national meet-up in San Diego, Calif., to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The event is open to all cyclists.
“Biking is one of those things you can do your entire life, our age span [for bike riders] has ranged from 18-70s,” Crim says. “It’s something you can do at any age, on a road or electric bike, it doesn’t matter, we just want to encourage people to cycle.”
Women from all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to start their fitness journey and learn about bike safety on their own terms. “We are really trying to learn as much as we can about biking so that we can support and share that knowledge with our communities,” Crim says.
The Black Girls Do Bike Madison Facebook group currently accepts members as well as providing them with weekly schedules, and you can also visit their website for more information on the organization and upcoming events.
