Wheeling into cycling season with an inclusive bike club

Andrea Bidgood has been a cyclist for as long as she can remember and she’s bringing her skills to an inclusive bike club.

Bidgood has newly found herself in the LGBTQ+ community and started the Girls, Gays & Theys Bike Club a year ago.

The club runs the last Wednesday of the month from April to October. This season kicks off April 24.

Bidgood is also the vice-chair of the Guelph Coalition of Active Transportation (GCAT). During board meetings the team tries to come up with ways to diversify ridership. 

“With the queer meetup groups that I do I found a niche there's demand for it and what better way to just start it yourself,” said Bidgood. 

She runs a sister group to the bike club called Brunch Bunch, a queer and sober friendly breakfast social club.

The goal for the bike club is to draw people to it who normally wouldn’t consider joining since some other clubs can be exclusive. Anyone can join no matter their endurance, age, or gender.

Bidgood wants to create a safe space where people feel comfortable “to just show up no matter what skill level they have, no matter what type of wheels they have.”

She’s faced a bit of negativity on social media because of the club. People told her it made it seem like she was determined to exclude white men but really her intention was they could fall under the ally category and still join the club. She isn’t trying to make it exclusive; she just wanted to create a space where everyone felt comfortable.

Aside from meeting monthly during the cycling season Bidgood hosts themed rides too. The club met up for a Halloween ride and a Christmas light ride to bike around to see decorated festive houses in Guelph.

The group continues to raise money for Wyndham House as part of some of the themed rides. 

This year Bidgood is gearing up for a Pride ride for June 6 in collaboration with Guelph Pride.

Last fall the group worked up to a longer distance ride from Guelph to Elora where they had a picnic at Bissell Park to celebrate. 

She considers herself a bit of an outlier when it comes to cycling. “I've cycled my entire life. I have the confidence and honestly, it's still scary, but I am fearless enough to do it.”

If more women and children are using cycling infrastructure we know “we're doing a bit better.”

“And biking is a great example not only just for recreation and social, but potentially for transportation as well. So if I can help someone gain their confidence even with just finding different routes throughout the city that they are comfortable with. I would be really happy with that,” she said.

Dealing with police can be scary if you’re visibly and openly queer or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour). She was in a cycling collision where she wasn’t treated very nicely and she can only imagine how other people would have been treated in the same situation.

As recently as last weekend while Bidgood was cycling someone barked at her while driving past. These sorts of situations doesn’t stop her from doing what she loves.

Even if you’re a slower cyclist the point of the social group is that “no one gets left behind,” she said. 

The monthly rides get about eight people. At the start of the ride they socialize and get a bike safety rundown from Bidgood. Typically they cycle through the many trails Guelph has.

Bidgood applied for funding and received money from a micro-grant she will split between the bike and brunch clubs.

Starting the bike club has been positive for her mental health. “Picturing a nice, casual ride with friends in the great weather. Could it be any better than that?”

She hopes the group continues to grow as it goes into its second year. To check out future rides the group’s Instagram posts dates, times and locations.