Troy Hopwood, developer of the Cross-Washington Bikepacking Route, aka “XWA,” discusses the history of the route, and is joined by Annie Bilotta and Keri Bergere to dig into the topic of women in bikepacking.
For context, the lack of representation extends across all disciplines from recreational cycling to competition. Locally, WSBA, the governing body of competitive cycling in Washington, Oregon, and North Idaho, had a woman president (Gina Kavesh) for quite some time (a decade?) starting in the early 2010s. WSBA also offered clinics for women. Unfortunately, her hard efforts didn’t bring about lasting changes, and I know she felt frustrated by that.
On the other hand, bicycling in the US actually had strong feminist roots.
My take is that the diversity issues are embedded in cycling culture, and maybe evolved out of the way European cycling culture has been adopted in the US. Many of our popup shop customers tell us they are thankful we exist because they will never buy from bricks and mortar shops because the “bike bro” vibe is too intimidating.
Thanks to Annie Bilotta, Aune Teitz, and Keri Begere for the interview, and to Recycled Cycles and Recycled Cycles Racing for their support.
