Missoula, Montana’s bikepacking resource for gender-expansive riders
Slow Spokes facilitates experiences, provides resources, and builds community for trans, non-binary, gender-expansive, and women riders of all abilities to have safe, confident, barrier-free fun bikepacking in the Missoula area.
Film below lovingly created by Media Committee member, Gretchen Powers.
Slow Spokes was founded by women and non-binary pals who love adventuring outside, but have long experienced gender-based discrimination in outdoor recreation spaces.
We wanted to create a space for those who share a desire to escape and deconstruct the sexism and misogyny prevalent in the bikepacking world, and to create something more inclusive, positive, fun, and beautiful in its place.
For Slow Spokes to facilitate mission-driven spaces, it’s important that our events are by and for trans, non-binary, gender-expansive folks, and women.
Our events are not a space for ANY people who perpetuate sexist, ableist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or any other identity-based microaggressions or aggressions.
Our Values
Safety: Participants’ physical and emotional safety comes first.
Accessibility: We acknowledge the unequal social and individual barriers faced by our riders and actively work to deconstruct them
Financial: Cost should never be a barrier — all our events are free (or in rare cases exceptionally reduced cost) for everyone
Social: Our participant-centered model centers inclusivity and a welcoming environment for all, regardless of background or experience
Systemic: We acknowledge the many systems of oppression facing our participants such as racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. and use our collective experience under systems of oppression to uplift each other and overcome the barriers that have kept us away or apart in the past
Authenticity: We encourage folks to be themselves in all Slow Spokes spaces, and task ourselves as organizers with meeting all participants where they are — we start there and learn and grow together
Sharing: We are stronger together. Sharing resources, knowledge and gear, and community with one another uplifts all
Collaboration: We believe everyone can be a mentor at some point in their journey. Each participant can be a guide, teacher, and collaborator for another. We grow by learning from each other by:
Collective ownership
Community-building
Collaborative work and leadership
Consent: We don’t make assumptions. We ask before offering help, advice, or any kind of physical contact with a person’s being or belongings.
Overturning the Status Quo: Normal is boring; normal oppresses us and our friends; normal is not working. We want absurd ideas; we want something new, beautiful, and wonderful.
© 2024 Slow Spokes.