A couple of weeks back, we had our first ever women's only ride. We're over the moon with how it went.
We opened our ninth store in Kingston Upon Thames in June. To celebrate its opening, we organised our first London gravel ride. But only men turned up.
We needed to do something about it. To create a safe, women's only space. A few months later, we had our women's only ride with Jenny Graham, the fastest woman to cycle around the world.
We had more than 40 riders come down from all over the country. Birmingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield. Our Store Manager, Liz, loved seeing how much fun everyone was having.
"I was riding with a couple of women who were chatting away like they'd known each other for years. I asked how they knew each other - and they told me they'd just met!".
Our route was designed by our friends at Bella Velo Cycling Club. We even had a shortened version, for a lady joining us who was battling cancer. She ended up having a hot chocolate with Jenny half way round.
Afterwards, we invited both men and women to the store for a talk by Jenny Graham. She spoke about her inspiring cycle round the world. We provided some pretty good snacks and drinks, too. And we just about managed to leave without our lives packed into panniers for our next record-breaking idea.
For newer riders and seasoned bikers alike, store rides are non-competitive, friendly group events, typically followed by free snacks and drinks in store. All participants also get a voucher for 10% off* in-store.
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