a mini-bike dance team based in Portland.
[Publisher’s note: Please welcome our new writer Jessie Kwak. She’ll be writing a range of stories, including a monthly product review. – Jonathan]
As a woman who’s been riding her bike for years, I’ve learned a lot about how to deal with my gender-specific cycling needs – mostly through awkwardly-broached conversations with other women who bike. There are a lot of questions that no one wants to ask. “Are you supposed to wear underwear under those padded bike shorts?” “Is it weird that I’m constantly starving since I started bike commuting?” And the biggie: “How do you make it stop hurting you-know-where?”
Reading Our Bodies, Our Bikes, a new book edited by Elly Blue and April Streeter (and funded via a Kickstarter campaign), is a lot like having those weird conversations. Just in loud, joyful voices using poetic turns of phrase.
The book is full of essays by women willing to delve into the most intimate parts of their lives as openly as if they were knocking back a few beers with their girlfriends.
The book is full of essays by women willing to delve into the most intimate parts of their lives as openly as if they were knocking back a few beers with their girlfriends.
The essays span the stages of all lives, putting special emphasis on the experiences unique to women (like pregnancy and menopause). Knowing that, it may be easy to call it a women’s book – but there’s good stuff in here for people of all ages and genders. As Elly Blue and April Streeter write in the introduction: “Who is this book for? Everyone. Most books about bicycling happen to be written by, for, and about men, even if that isn’t explicitly spelled out in the marketing materials, but that does not stop many women from reading them, and we aim to be no less inclusive.”
It’s a beautifully-designed book, with a format that’s easy to dip in and out of. It merges practical tips with personal essays, and manages to have something for everyone from newcomers to old hands. It’s fantastic combination of diverse perspectives. For example, the chapter titled “Clothes” matches practical advice from Constance Winters and Janet LaFleur on looking professional while commuting by bike with the advice from Elly Blue to “stay a step ahead of [the winter wind], adding layers until you look like a multi-colored traveling circus.”
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There are practical tips, such as the essay, “Everything You Want To Know About Biking Safely” by Alex Baca and Bec Rindler, which is a gold mine of practical tips to help new cyclists get over their nervousness of cycling. “How To Be Fast” by Lindsay Kandra offers training tips to help all cyclists get up to speed.
“I give in to my passion for riding over any preconceived expectation of how a bike—or a body—should perform.”
— Parisa Emam in “Wheeling”
While Our Bodies, Our Bikes does have tips for all genders, it’s also incredibly practical in helping demystify those “unmentionable” topics specific to women. You’ll find essays on how to deal with cycling and menopause, the best menstrual products to keep you riding during that time of the month, why your saddle is a pain in the vulva (and what to do about it), and how cycling has helped women make painful, personal decisions about their reproductive health.
April Streeter’s “How To Make Your Butt Happy On And Off The Bike” is a fantastic resource for anyone who’s ever dealt with saddle soreness, regardless of gender. “Your Vulva,” by Elly Blue and Caroline Paquette is obviously a bit more specific to lady bits, and is a truly enlightening read.
And then there are the personal stories. Celebrations of strength, like the essay “Sex Goddess On Two Wheels” by Jaymi Tharp, who proclaims “the sheer power of my bike riding body and my proud, steady attitude make me the sexiest thing on the road.” I found the chapter titled “Sickness and Health” to be one of the most powerful, filled with stories of finding purpose and haleness on a bicycle, despite the physical limitations of illness and disability. As Parisa Emam writes in her essay, “Wheeling”: “I give in to my passion for riding over any preconceived expectation of how a bike—or a body—should perform.”
This is a book for all bicyclists and the bike-curious, regardless of how they identify. As for me, I’ll be stocking up on copies to use as gifts for all my girlfriends’ birthdays, bachelorette parties, and baby showers.
Our Bodies, Our Bikes is available for $14.95 at MicrocosmPublishing.com.
— Jessie Kwak – jessiekwak@gmail.com