Cycling, Life at No.22, Musings

Getting all Fancy on a Cycle

Suzanne

This September, more than 200 cities worldwide, including Istanbul, Paris, Vancouver, Berlin and London, and wonderfully Tauranga, will also host the most vivid women-created event.

While housesitting in Turkey, I remember reading about this event and thinking, what a fantastic idea. It all started as a casual bike ride (Süslü Kadınlar Bisiklet Turu in Turkish) among close friends in 2013 and has evolved into a significant movement in a record amount of time, the cause behind the movement being validated by women around the world from various social and economic backgrounds: providing women with the opportunity to be visible in the society and allowing them to show their true colours as well as raising awareness to create safe bike routes in cities.

The Fancy Women Bike Ride was initiated by Sema Gür & Pinar Pinzuti, whose goal was to challenge the male-dominated cycling world in Turkey in 2013. Since then, the “Fancy Women Bikhas taken” has occurred every year in late September.

Old school – no helmet in Turkey, 2017. I was off to buy a watermelon. It was to be another 40-plus-degree day.

Fancy Women Bike Ride expanded to more than a hundred cities after a few years following its launch in 2013. Volunteers worldwide showed their support by organizing all women’s bike rides simultaneously. In 2023 Fancy Women Bike Ride will celebrate its 11th anniversary with more than thousands of women joining in with their fancy outfits and decorated bikes in a total of 200 cities all over the world.

Sema Gur and Pinar Pinzuti received the 2022 Special Award World Bicycle Day of the United Nations for their leadership and excellence in promoting cycling for all. The initiative has been recognized and awarded by the German Ministry of Environment as a best practice for “Gender-equitable mobility” as it takes gender equality into account in its implementation.

Women in 200 cities reclaim the streets.

Old-style cycle in New Orleans, 2016 – Airbnb had a few to use

The event is organized by women enthusiastic, convincing their peers to cycle every day. Organizers want to create awareness to increase road safety, create urban cycling infrastructure and plan bike-friendly services. Cycling in Tauranga encourages cyclists to view their presence on the road via a truck driver’s seat; this is one exercise I have participated in, and well worth the time. Most of the time, I try to avoid busy roads and enjoy using our multiple-cycle tracks.

Although the event itself is held once a year, our local women’s peer-to-peer initiatives continue all year around. Women organize cycling courses in their communities, weekend group rides and cycling events for families with small children.

Basically, The Fancy Women Bike Ride is an opportunity to experience the soft power of femininity on the streets, where women boldly exhibit their inner colours on their bikes. Once a year, cyclists can leave their cars yet look fabulous on their bikes. Hopefully, more will continue wanting to use their cycles daily or weekly.

This fun and colourful ride arrives in Tauranga on Sunday, September 17th. It’s called Frocks on Bikes – Fancy Women Bike Ride.

Yes, I am going to join in the fun this year.

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Published by Suzanne

I'm a lover of creativity and movement, expressed through photography, words, travel and sports. . . . . . .

25 thoughts on “Getting all Fancy on a Cycle”

  4. It sounds like a lot of fun, Suzanne. Cycling is huge here but I’ve not come across an all female event. The safety aspect is an issue because some of the roads don’t easily accommodate cars and bikes, let alone trucks. There are plenty of country lanes and cycle lanes are definitely on the increase.

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    1. Safety is a major issue here too. Many motorists do not like the idea of regional councils spending money on cycle lanes when that money should be diverted to improving infrastructure. I wish more people who have the ability actually used cycling as a mode of transport than their cars. We are too reliant on vehicles. Though I must admit to not using my cycle as much as I should. I do walk more than cycle of late due to the weather.

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    1. I suppose there are more funerals than weddings of late. Always fun to celebrate someone’s birthday. Not sure I could cycle in a pack like they do during those world championships, scary.

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    1. You are welcome, Eilene, and brilliant that cycling is popular where you are. There are quite a few cycling groups here in Tauranga. I did participate more in previous years and in the following months I might start getting involved. Spending more time with basketball and training for my next half marathon. A girl only has a certain amount of energy past 60 😉

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