Slow Spokes
Partnership Guidelines
Our Mission and Story
Slow Spokes provides resources, community, and experiences for trans, non-binary, gender-expansive, and women riders of all abilities to have safe, confident, barrier-free fun bikepacking in the Missoula area.
Slow Spokes was started by a group of women and non-binary pals who love adventuring outside, but have long experienced gender-based discrimination in outdoor recreation spaces. Bonding over shared experiences, we set out to create a space for those who share a desire to escape and deconstruct the sexism and misogyny in bikepacking, 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, nonbinary, gender-expansive folks, and women. To keep our spaces protected from gender-based oppression and discrimination, Slow Spokes events are NOT for men (unless otherwise stated). We want everyone who shows up to our events to know that the misogyny/sexism they face in so many other spaces will not exist here.
Our events are not a space for ANY people who perpetuate sexist, ableist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or any other identity-based microaggressions or aggressions.
Collaboration Capacity Guidelines
Slow Spokes is an entirely volunteer-run organization; our organizers and collaborators donate time and energy to continue building this community because we are deeply passionate about our mission, goals, and members old and new.
We ask that any organization who seeks to collaborate recognize the limited capacity we have, and strive for equal contributions of time and energy from your organization and ours. Of course, we are so excited to expand our reach whenever possible, but we need your help to do so. We strongly encourage new ideas and collaborations on repeat events, as long as your organization is able to match our energy contribution and remain in line with our mission and priorities.
Inclusivity Guidelines
The following are non-negotiable requirements for the organizations/individuals Slow Spokes collaborates with. If you have any questions regarding whether or not your organization meets these needs (or could meet them for a collaborative event), send us an email any time!
Slow Spokes events (including collaborations) are ONLY for trans, nonbinary, gender-expansive folks, and women.
Any event we collaborate on must be advertised as open to this group only. We are certainly open to partnering with folks who’s community would usually include men, but the Slow Spokes collaborative event itself must be free of men to protect our mission and the comfort of our community.
Slow Spokes events must be free or low cost (preferably free).
We may be open to discussing fees for an event if there is a significant cost burden to the organizers who can not be compensated for in other ways. However, it is our very strong preference that all events are always free, and we may turn down a collaboration request if this is not the case.
Slow Spokes collaborators must acknowledge the barriers to the activity at hand, and actively work to break these barriers, particularly for the folks most burdened or marginalized by them.
This means acknowledging that barriers to bikepacking are not limited to gender, but include sexuality, race, ability, age, and more. We continue to actively seek more ways to unburden folks most marginalized by these and other identities, and strongly encourage organizations who do the same to reach out. We are excited to use our collaborative reach to bring as many folks as possible into this community.
At any Slow Spokes collaborative event, all organizers and participants must practice consent; honor language individuals choose for themselves; avoid making any assumptions about other folks' identities, skills, or knowledge; and step in when you see inappropriate language or behavior.
Slow Spokes collaborators must align with our mission of inclusivity inside and outside of the singular collaborative event.
It is crucial to us that the folks who attend Slow Spokes events know they are welcome and encouraged to be there. Some language, such as exclusively Women’s Groups, may unintentionally exclude our non-binary and gender-expansive riders. In order to protect our space and prioritize the folks who continue to feel excluded by groups that use binary language, we may turn down a collaboration with groups that use exclusionary language.
We strongly encourage conversation around this topic and welcome you to send an email or set up a phone call to chat about what this means for your group and potential partnerships.
If you’re interested in collaborating, we would love to know details (what type of collaboration, dates, times, scope of work, etc.):
