Greetings from the Florida Keys! We, Heather and Rachel, arrived in Key West on Tuesday afternoon, to clear skies and balmy temperatures. We were both awestruck when we stepped off the plane into the sunshine, both coming straight out of a harsh New England winter. Luckily we had a home to land in – we stayed our first night with a Warm Showers (like Couchsurfing for cyclists) host named Brian, who did his own bike tour last year around the perimeter of the United States. He’s given us lots of helpful tips and encouragement for the adventure that awaits us. Just before sunset we walked along Mallory Square by the water front, where we got to witness some incredible street performances (including the idiosyncratic “Cat Man” who guided his trained domestic cats along a tight rope and through flaming hoops). We ate fresh caught fish tacos and drank beer on an outdoor patio with the scent of magnolia drifting on the breeze. A visit to the beach and a swim in the ocean completed our Key West beginning.

We were staying in the older part of Key West, which has a very quaint, small town feeling. Many people travel by bike, so we got to peddle around, already feeling like part of a community of cyclists.

We had both of our bikes shipped to We Cycle, a shop on Stock Island, just across the bridge from Key West. They were incredibly helpful, setting us up with bike locks and head lights, alongside our matching We Cycle hats!

Although our trip has barely yet begun, we have already encountered a phenomenal level of generosity. Our hosts, Brian and David, showed us around Key West and helped us find places to stay elsewhere in Florida. The folks at We Cycle hooked us up with some complimentary gear and lots of help setting up our beautiful new bikes. We haven’t held a workshop yet, but already we’ve had some interesting conversations with people about women’s cycles—mostly men who had no idea that sustainable options even existed, but who were curious, intrigued, and supportive of our mission.

This morning will be taking off from mile marker zero—the southernmost point of the continental United States. We are beyond thrilled to be on this adventure!! We are feeling tons of joy and gratitude thinking about all of the people who helped us get here, and all of our friends and family all over the country who have sent us love and encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Looking forward to our first workshop in Miami on Monday, hosted by Deanna Alvarez!

Ruby and Sarah are happy to report they have made it to their 4th state, Colorado! The West has treated us well and we continue to meet inspiring women everywhere we go. Salt Lake City greeted us with open arms, and lucky us, we rolled into the Bicycle Collective on Women’s Night! The Bicycle Collective also hosted an all-women’s alleycat race leading up to our event!  It was great meeting more strong and bike-friendly women, and being hosted by our lady bike pal Alex from NYC. We got to take a few days off, see the city, and soak in Alex’s antique bathtub! We had an inspiring workshop with our new friend Giuliana Serena of Moon Time Rising (http://moontimerising.com) who started us off with a presentation on the history of menstruation and the feminine hygiene industry, and it was great to meet another menstruation enthusiast! We will be seeing her again at the SMCR Conference in June, and are super excited for her workshop on ceremonialism! SLC was also our biggest workshop yet, GO SLC!!!

We continued to be inspired as we headed east, especially when we stayed with 91 year old Jane in Ioka, UT. Jane has previously founded two special education schools in schools in her county, and is currently in the midst of creating a transitional program for women released from prison. We briefly skirted around the subject of our bike tour before Jane made it clear that she loved talking menstruation. “It happens around the dinner table whether we talk about it or not,” she said! She was impressed with our project, and even requested a few cups to pass on to the young women she counsels. She also introduced us to her friend Karen, a Mormon midwife who knows loads about women’s health and is passionate about caring for the women in her community even though many of her neighbors disapprove of her having a career that takes her away from her family. She told us about the Mormon Feminist Housewives, a group of women intent on improving conditions for women from within the Mormon faith. We were so honored and humbled to meet these incredible women who continue to fight the good fight despite adversity!

Our most beautiful biking day yet took us through Yampa River Valley in Northwestern Colorado, and we found ourselves in Steamboat Springs staying with an an avid female mountain-biker, skier, and fire fighter! We have enjoyed meeting strong western women and talking PERIOD!

Over the next few days we will be traversing the Rocky Mountains. We are excited to be hosting our 4th and 5th workshops at the following locations:

April 3rd: BOULDER, CO from 6:30-8:30pm at Community Cycles, hosted by our awesome sponsor Green Guru Gear!  https://www.facebook.com/events/861494443909492/

April 4th: DENVER, CO from 4-6pm at the Mutiny Info Cafe

We hope to see you there!

Ruby and Sarah here! Proud to say that we have officially made it to our third state- Utah! This is the first bike tour either of us have ever done, and we are finally starting to adjust (both bodily and mentally) to this new physical lifestyle.

After leaving the sunny state of California and beautiful, mystical Lake Tahoe, we began our journey across route 50 in Nevada, known as ” The Loneliest Road in America.” Nevada was beautiful in its own way, and very difficult to traverse by bicycle. There are often 60-70 miles between towns, with no services or even places to refill water from one town to the next. Also, the mountain ranges run north to south, so between towns we also had to cross 2-4 mountain ranges a day. The ascents were brutal, steep climbs for 5-15 miles, followed by thrilling and terrifying descents at up to 30 mph, flying down into the basin only to climb up the next range.

In addition to the fact that we were both still green to the physical challenges of bike touring, we both got visited by “Aunt Flo” in Nevada (to use my favorite period euphemism). We mused a lot about the impact of our menstruation on our physical performance, whether it was a hindrance or not, and what the spiritual significance might be of emptying a menstrual cup on the side of the road in a barren desert. I will say that we felt incredibly grateful for menstrual cups, because having to change tampons or pads in this type of environment would have been pretty inconvenient and gross (where would we dispose of them?) not to mention quite uncomfortable for biking such long distances.

While the populations in Nevada were sparse and we had very few interactions with other women, we did have a few impromptu discussions along the way about alternative menstrual products. We visited with a friend in Fallon, NV who is in the US Navy, and we talked about how menstrual cups could be a total game changer for women in the service who are deployed on ships or in other conditions where it is not convenient to carry a load of period supplies or dispose of used ones. We also stumbled upon a big St. Patrick’s Day party in Border, NV where we country-danced with a bunch of real-life cowboys and had some quiet little girl-talk side conversations with some of the women there (most of whom were young mothers) about the harmful chemicals in pads and tampons, and how much money they could save by switching to reusables. We were delighted that they were very curious and open to it!

We finally made it to Salt Lake City yesterday, where we will be taking a few rest days before our BIG EVENT on Saturday! We are thrilled to be collaborating with Giuliana Serena of Moontime Rising, a local menstruation expert and guru, who will be opening the workshop with a talk on the history of menstruation! The SLC Bicycle Collective has also organized an all-women alleycat race during the day to lead in to the event! Tell your Utah friends, this event is going to be our biggest yet!

Hey All,

All good news on the Southern Tier. So far so awesome. Olive and I have been facing some headwinds, uphills, epic descents, and mostly sunny days.

We have succeeded in balancing our bikes together. This is no small feat, as many of you may know from personal experience. This is especially helpful when we get sick of touching our bicycles. Since we have been riding through mostly desert in Arizona, we spend about 9 hours in contact with the steel beasts. We ride 50-70 miles a day, and our biggest climb yet was over 5,000 ft in between Arizona and New Mexico.

Biking over the San Diego coastal range, we met Rachel Throop, pro-mountain biker and part-time waitress. She adopted us for the night after we met her at a local brewery. Thanks to her, we’ve gotten a little more famous on Instagram, which is AWESOME. On our way out in the morning, she hooked us both up with Oakley sunglasses for the rest of our tour. Thanks, Rachel Throop!

The bike life is full of adventurers. We met John and Su while staying with a very giving woman in the CA desert. They are two very normal and level-headed people who quit their jobs and have spent the past year and a half trekking and cycling the world. It’s nice to see more women on the road. Girl power!

          

For those of you that think Olive and I are amazing and/or crazy for biking across the country, check out this family. Mom, Dad, and two kids. We met them in Carlsbad after they had already spent months biking Europe and South America. The youngest was in diapers when they started and quickly learned that sitting in poopy in a bike seat is no fun. Mama was interested in our menstrual cup wares; we are excited to see how it works out for her.

Crossing into Arizona meant starting dry desert days. We were met by many warmshowers hosts who are more than accommodating. We also met Lauren and Karren, two snowbirds from Wisconsin who winter at the Desert Gold RV park in Brenda, AZ. We were standing in front of the only grocery in “town”, met Karren, and within 30 seconds had been offered to sleep on their RV plot. After dinner and discussion, we of course were upgraded to the living room floor and breakfast in the morning. We had a lot to talk about, as a young woman in Karren’s family almost died from TSS a couple of years ago. Another cup giftee, and we are looking forward to exploring the new option for this now tampon-free person.

After our breakfast, Lauren accompanied us on his bike as we rolled out of town. If we can encourage anyone to get on their saddle a little bit more, the trip has been worthwhile. A few miles down the road, we were flagged down by a very fun group of young cyclists. 2 couples who met on the road plus us made 6 happy peas in a pod. We biked to the next town together, camped with a communal dinner, and made fast friends. We look forward to seeing them again as we roll through Austin and NYC.

Olive and I were solo again as we rolled into Superior, AZ. We had a big climb ahead of us, the wind was picking up, and it was getting to be dusk. We decided to go find a backyard to camp in. Lucky for us, we met life-long resident Dennis as he was hanging out with his grandkids near his home. Camping in his back yard turned into showers and then breakfast in the morning. We are still in touch.

Eastward into Arizona, we stopped at a gas station in Thatcher for a water refill and started talking to Jared, an organic gardener, composter, vegetable juicer, and super awesome granola bar-baker. I know, you wouldn’t believe it by the photo, but I swear it’s true. We were his first cyclists to take in because he wanted to “show his kids that there are still good people in the world”. We shared dinner together, had a great time with his kids, and again slept on the living room floor. Olive got the couch cause she’s spoiled. Not to mention showers and laundry. AND amazing granola bars for the road. They kept us going over the next mountain summits. Thank you, Rios Family!

We look so happy to be in New Mexico because we just biked over 5,000 ft to get here. The bike trailer next to us belongs to Josh, a Oregon man who’s toting Shoeless Joe Jackson, a beautiful dog who runs upwards of 40 miles alongside his pedaling dad.

Now we are in Silver City. We have found a treasure here. The Bike Haus. After rolling into town after 6 pm with no plans, we were directed to this bicycle safe-haven and immediately taken in. It’s a home with friends. How awesome is that? We had a nice rest day, and we are ready to summit Emory Pass tomorrow. 2,500 ft just over 8,000 in elevation.

Along the way, we’ve had a couple of very worried mothers. “Just the two of you? Aren’t you scared? What do you do about danger?” Well, “Yes. No. We don’t get into it in the first place”. You don’t need a man to go on a bike tour. I encourage anyone with the inkling to do it and be smart about it. If you want some more inspiration, check out this awesome collection of solo female bike tourists traveling the world. WOW–Women On Wheels.

Directions. Can never have too many of ’em.

Upcoming events:

• Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 20. 7-8:30 pm Mountain View Co op. 
• New Orleans, LA. April 13. 6-8 pm Tulane University

Ruby and Sarah are rocking through Cali! We started by picking up our bikes at the Oakland Amtrak and staying with some fantastic hosts at an Oakland co-op. They had a beautiful garden and fed us well, and took some information about sustainable menstrual products.

Our hosts in San Francisco had a chicken coop and made us homemade eggs. The hills were killer, but we were able to make some good connections and purchase last minute gear at our Sports Basement event.

The next day we took the Vallejo ferry and headed to Lake Solano outside of Davis for the most beautiful biking we have ever done. We rode through rolling green pastures and wine country, and got up to 27mph on some of the downhills! We camped at a park overnight and woke up to dozens of peacocks! In Davis we had a successful event at the US Bicycle Hall of Fame. We met five amazing women, and we were able to check out the “history of the bicycle” exhibit! We saw a 6 person tandem, and a few seriously old “penny farthing” big wheels.

 

The next day we passed through Sacramento on the American River Bike Trail, which was amazingly beautiful and scenic! We then made our way to Folsom, and YES there is a Johnny Cash memorial there. Our host had cycled 11,000 milast year and helped us plan our next few days through Carson Pass and into Nevada. He even offered to drive us up the steepest mountains of the Sierras, which he said were some “real superhero climbs even without a fully loaded bike.” He dropped us off at the top of Echo Summit, and we rode four miles downhill into Tahoe.

So far we are blown away by hospitality, and willingness to discuss reusable menstrual options.

Tomorrow we will decend into Carson City and stay with a host with a young daughter who loves when women cyclists visit. Us too!

Greetings! Rachel and Olive are in Long Beach after a beautiful and easy ride from Los Angeles. We had a great Sustainable Cycles Workshop at The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse.

Who’s ready to bike  cross country? We are! We had a lovely event at The Bikerowave in Los Angeles on Friday. Goodbye hugs, potluck food, and lots of free menstrual cups.

It was a grey start to the day, but not much rain. We are water-proof and ready for puddles. Thank you, @DeFeet for the warm gloves!

The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse is a trash-to-treasure business. Lisa and Yoshino are an amazing mother and daughter team that run the store. Stop in for any type of art supply that every existed. 320 Elm Ave!

Thank you for a great workshop, ladies! See the woman in the overalls? That’s Frau Fiber. She’s awesome. A super OG feminist activist seamstress craftswoman maker. Long Beach, you got it goin’ on!

Major thanks to all of the 200+ wonderful people who donated to our Indiegogo campaign! We surpassed our goal of $10,000, and our seven riders will be embarking on their journeys in the next few weeks! We are so grateful for your love and support, and are so excited to start this adventure!

Thanks to our sponsors, DIVA CUP, LUNETTE, THE KEEPER, MY OWN CUP, RUBY CUP, PARTY IN MY PANTS, COZY FOLK, THINX, JUJU, AND GLAD RAGS, for donating the samples that are making these workshops across the nation possible!

We would also like to thank Vaya Bags, Green Guru, DeFeet, Bicycle Habitat NYC, and WEBike NYC for providing our riders with some snazzy gear that we can’t wait to use!

Rachel H and Olive will be starting in Los Angeles on March 2 and biking across the southern tier, joining up with Rosie in Austin, TX. Ruby and Sarah will begin their tour in the Bay Area on February 26, and will bike across the Midwest. Rachel S and Heather will be biking up the east coast from Key West, Florida. All seven riders will converge in Richmond, VA on May 14, and bike in a group up to Boston for the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research conference on June 4th.

We are gearing up, and we are thrilled to know that we have the love and support of all of you! Follow our progress on Twitter @bikeperiod and Instagram @sustainablecycles !

Upcoming events:

San Francisco, CA : Saturday 2/28 2-4pm at Sports Basement, 1590 Bryant Street

Davis, CA: Monday 3/2 6-8pm at US Bicycle Hall of Fame, 303 3rd Street

Long Beach, CA: Monday 3/2  4-6pm  at The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse, 320 Elm Ave.

Las Cruces, NM: 3/20 7-8:45 pm at Mountain View Market Co-Op, 1300 El Paseo Road