#inclusive cycling

[bicripple]

This video was life changing for me.

I'd been contemplating getting a recumbent ebike because of long covid (recumbent for POTS, ebike for exercise intolerance) and kept getting hit with sticker shock. The cheapest used recumbent I could find (500$) + DIY ebike conversion (1000$) was still looking expensive (1500$).

What the video made me realize was I was thinking about the cost wrong. The comparison point is not a cheap urban bike, the comparison point is a car. The ebike is my primary vehicle, my primary form of transportation. And it's way way cheaper than a car!

I've had my recumbent ebike for a couple of months now and it's been absolutely liberating being able to go whenever I need to go, on my own. It gives me independence and mobility during a time when I'm still really debilitated by long covid, and it's hard to understate just how major a quality of life improvement it's been.

What the video misses is the need for financial options for buying adapted & cargo bikes. If you're strapped for cash but have good enough credit there are plenty of financing options for buying a car, because our society is built around cars. 👀

But right now in North America, adapted bikes are only available to those of us who are lucky enough to cobble together the upfront cost. This is a mobility justice issue and I'd love to see more banks & credit unions start offering loans specifically for car-replacement bikes.

[queer-crip-grows]

If you are involved in climate activism and if you work in town planning and purchasing, or anything similar, I am begging you to please, *please* start thinking about disabled folk, elderly folk and parents with young kids when you are talking about walking and biking to places.

Cycles are absolutely inherently more pedestrian-friendly than cars, but they are still perfectly capable of injuring or even killing pedestrians, particularly frailer people, small people, and pets.

A lot of pedestrians, especially elderly and disabled people, have developed this instinctive terror of cycles and cyclists purely because poor planning so often shoves cycles into pedestrian spaces that aren’t actually even that ideal for pedestrians, and people who already have difficulties - elderly and disabled people, dog walkers, parents of small children - in those spaces start accumulating experiences of injury or even a succession of near-misses, which are perfectly capable of producing trauma even if physical injury is avoided.

And that only plays into the hands of polluters and governments who are in their pockets as well as increasing the marginalisation of already-marginalised people.

I can’t blame cyclists who are too afraid to ride cycles on the roads along with motor traffic. It’s terrifying and incredibly unsafe. Cycle paths, Cycle lanes, and other specific spaces for cyclists are absolutely essential, with as little need to share space with motor traffic *or* pedestrians as possible. Even in wide city boulevards, laid-out cycle paths and spaces are essential. They literally only need paint! And let electric scooters back on them in the UK too.

If you are providing any form of public rentable cycles, please, *please* accommodate elderly, frailer and disabled people too. We tend to be the ones who are in the most need of alternatives to get places, but traditional bikes are inaccessible to frailer people and most people with balance and fatigue issues. Please buy a selection of bikes, including adult-size tricycles, scooters with seats, and bikes with seats and tow options for small children. Parents exist, and are mostly desperately in need of transport as they have small humans with short legs and limited energy, and most prams and buggies are incompatible with traditional cycles.

We know so damn well how right-wing governments and corporations benefit from setting us against each other, and how adept they are at using marginalised people to distract the majority of exploited workers from the larger issues said governments are doing poorly or not tackling at all.

Disabled and elderly people, and parents of small children, are very vulnerable to climate change and the issues it causes. We are not the enemies of the climate movement; but we equally need to be *included* in it and *accommodated* by it.

If you are only looking for solutions that work for abled, healthy young adults, you are, frankly, not doing your job effectively. Listen to disabled people, older people, and parents. If you are doing large-scale planning work, invite us into the planning process *early*, not at the end when any changes will seem too burdensome and expensive to make, and, honestly, pay us for our time and expertise.

Oh, and if you make or sell bikes or electric bikes, sell more accessible options like adult trikes and ones with child seats and towing options too, please. And don’t charge enormously more for them than standard bikes. Financing options would be good too. Most disabled people can’t afford to run a car, and your bikes are often more expensive than that, if you offer them at all.

[transgothicgenre]

a conversation about identity - tea / who are you? - ajj / parting of the sensory - modest mouse / two - the antlers / a drummer's arm - hop along / beach life in death - glass beach / in memory of satan - the mountain goats / bro, i told you i contain multitudes - average joey

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

genuinely every time i remember about the new ao3 tag it makes me not want to post medieval irish fic any more because i don't want to be forced to label it as something that it wildly isn't

i am not, by any stretch of the imagination, writing fic about "ancient irish religion". that is not something i have ever written fic about and it is unlikely that i ever will (bc that would require actual historical evidence)

and yet it shows up as the main category on my ao3 profile because even though i never use the catch-all tag, they redirect the ulster cycle tag into it, so most of my fics get forcibly wrangled into this COMPLETELY INACCURATE AND INAPPROPRIATE CATEGORY and i hate it

[granulesofsand]

Fractal system things of “woah I thought you were femme” and “you were eight years old last week”

[malglories]

new speaker of the house is the biggest and most unfunny joke. if we are not very very very careful we are going to be living in an autocratic theocracy very soon. it actually makes my blood boil.

[theperiodvampires]

🌕🩸🧛‍♀️Inclusive Art Callout: Submit Your Period Art and Stories for our Vampire-Themed festival project 🧛‍♀️🩸🌕 (UK-Based)

🌕🧛‍♀️ Get Involved with the Period Vampires at The Womb Tomb (UK-Based)! 🧛‍♀️🌕

The Period Vampires are an immersive theatrical group with a mission to normalise period conversations in the silliest way possible. At our festival venue, The Womb Tomb, we offer free period products, pain relief, menstrual education, and a safe space to talk about periods. We also aim to raise awareness about the issue of health inequity at music festivals, where menstrual care facilities, such as bins and handwashing stations, are often lacking. Thanks to our efforts, music festivals we’ve attended have started including bins in toilets at our request.

We've received brilliant feedback and have encouraged many to try free reusable products for the first time. Now, we're gearing up for 2025 with new artwork, games, and fresh ways to share people’s stories!

We need your help to make this happen:

🖼️ What We’re Looking For:

'Men Bleed Too' Signs: Trans/NB themed signs (no bigger than A3) to create an inclusive atmosphere.

Postcard-Sized Artworks/Poems: Period or vampire-themed creations (bonus points for both!).

Your Stories: Share your funny, embarrassing, emotional, or special period stories. To normalise the conversation, we must share our own stories. We’ll honour your stories by weaving them into our web of narratives that will grow over time. (We won’t share any personal details alongside the stories.)

Important Notes:

All submissions must be inclusive; anyone can bleed. Please avoid using the word "sanitary" or "hygiene" products—we call them period products. Your period is not dirty.

We’ll photograph your artwork in our venue and send it to you.

📬 Submission Guidelines:

If sending artwork, include your artist name/Instagram handle/whatever you use to credit your work.

Your email

Your name

You can include these details on a slip of paper in the envelope or packaging.

📧 Email Your Stories To: thewombtomb@gmail.com 📦 Send Artwork To: [DM us for the postal address] (UK-based)

Interested in joining the Vampires on their hellish crusades? Email us at thewombtomb@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at u/theperiodvampires.

🌈 Join the Vampires: We are especially interested in having people of colour, non-binary, and trans individuals join our crew of vampires. Your voices and experiences are essential to our mission of inclusivity and representation.

Let’s change the conversation about periods—together!

[langernameohnebedeutung]

feminist icon

[aeide-thea]

help

forget 'uterus havers,' i just saw 'my penis holding coworkers' in the wild and i'm dying

[5ellaal5]

I write chapter notes for my erotic fan fic in my Follicular phase and then have to write the chapter in my Luteal phase.

My hormones are writing creativity checks I can’t cash. Which is an ironic thing for the gonadal hormones which are all about Making things.

I write notes in a social mood that I can’t envision in my People’d Out mood.

Phasic life.

[tripeakathlete]

Get Ready for the Triathlon Intro Meeting!

Are you excited to explore triathlons? Whether you’re a beginner or looking to improve your skills, join us for our Information Meeting on September 25, 2024, at 6 PM. We’ll meet at Tri Peak Athlete, located at 1700 S. Bumby Ave. Ste B, Orlando, FL 32806. During the meeting, you will: Meet Our Coaches: Get to know our dedicated team. Learn About Our Program: Discover our beginner-friendly…

[fatbirdpics]

It’s shitting me that this article makes it sound like these bigots spontaneously appeared on the school board. THEY WERE ELECTED. The only reason all this is happening is because the people who are outraged now didn’t vote then.

[roadie1963]

Veloviews for November 17, 2023 - Bicycle Travel Companies: Relax and Pedal the World with Experience Plus!

Image By Babak Habibi from Unsplash.com Are you intimidated by the prospect of booking a trip with a bicycling travel company because you believe you aren’t a strong cyclist? In most cases, ride leaders will break up riders into groups based on rider strength. The problem with that scenario is that you still have to cover the same ground and finish at the same place as the other riders in the…

[periodrants]

Welcome to Period Rants!!!!

Just wanna say that is blog is for EVERYONE, even if you never have or never will experience a period, this is a place to learn more about what your loved ones go through, and most importantly, rant about the true beauty and hell that is the PERIOD

[basictutor]

I am not Ashamed of my Monthly Cycle as a Woman

This video discusses the importance of breaking the stigma surrounding menstrual cycle and encouraging women to feel proud of their bodies and the natural process of menstruation. The video emphasizes the need for creating a safe and inclusive space for w

Hey there, welcome back to my channel! Today, I want to talk about a topic that many women feel ashamed to talk about – menstrual cycle. As a woman, I am not ashamed of my monthly cycle, and I want to encourage other women to feel the same. Our menstrual cycle is a powerful and healthy process that every woman goes through. It is a natural part of our lives, and we should not be ashamed if…