Happy Menstrual Hygiene Day. I got all my sisters with me!

The cross-country riders have united at last. We are together, and the period party is just beginning. Rosie, Ruby, Sarah W, Rachels H & S, and Olive are together in New York City in the last throngs of their bicycle journey. Boston is under 300 miles away, and it is hard to believe the proximity. 300 miles. A distance that, not so very long ago seemed daunting to cycle across now seems like a hop scotch away. It is amazing what a long-distance journey will do to a small group of women.

We wish you a Happy Menstrual Hygiene Day! We will celebrate this young holiday tonight in NYC at the Delancey Lounge on the lower east side. MHD was created to “raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management for women and adolescent girls” all around the world. The taboos and discomfort about menstruation that Sustainable Cycles has observed across the country is a part of a pervasive “period negative” culture that “limits women’s and adolescent girls’ access to relevant and important information about their bodies, directly affecting their health, education, and human rights”. We are excited to be a part of the movement to change the culture from negative to positive. Our workshops have been full of supportive menstruators and allies brave enough to ask the questions that are well overdue.

We have ridden our bicycles thousands of miles. We have facilitated over two dozen workshops across the country. We have distributed over 200 menstrual cups. From California and Key West to New York City, we have “started the discussion” every 60 miles or so with the kind people we met all across the United States. We have disagreed with one another, we’ve spit snarky comments, we’ve cried, laughed, sweated, bled, stretched, massaged, supported, talked and listened to, and cycled together. We have created a sisterhood of cyclists. And we are excited to continue our adventure as we cycle to the SMCR conference next week.

Thank you to those who have helped and continue to help us in our journey of self-exploration and sisterhood. We have found the people of this country to be helpful, generous, welcoming, and caring. On a freezing rainy day, the home of a kind stranger is all the home we need.