About Us

The Women of Colour Cycling Collective is a hub for connecting minority ethnic women and non-binary people across the UK and reduce barriers in our sport. Our mission is to inspire, support, empower, and motivate our members to love cycling and challenge themselves (and the status quo).

We also support minority ethnic women and non-binary with reducing financial barriers to the sport and deliver projects aimed at bringing more women of colour into cycling.

How it started…

 

In October 2018, this article came out in Gal Dem, asking where all the women of colour were at Ride London. Jenni Gwiazdowski (director of the London Bike Kitchen), and Jools Walker (aka @LadyVelo) decided it was high time to start up some sort of a group. We didn’t know what it would be like, we didn’t know what people would want, we didn’t have an agenda. We just had an inkling that there were other people out there like us, who were tired of being the odd one out.

One month later, we held our first meet up as the Womxn of Colour Cycling Group London. The cycling cafe Look Mum No Hands set aside a space and time for us, and we put the word out via our social media channels. And wouldn’t you know it - people showed up! And people were excited to be there. We even had Ayesha McGowan tune in via Zoom (a premonition of what was to come). Monthly meetups were agreed, and we carried on as a casual group for a year. And then Covid hit.

A blessing in disguise, the Coronavirus forced us to take our work online - this meant that we could expand our group to welcome anyone in the country. When the BLM movement was galvanised after the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, our group felt that we could do (and be) more than just be a casual social space. We had become a support group in more ways than one - politically, socially, emotionally. And so in November 2020, we became a registered charity and changed our name: The Women of Colour Cycling Collective.

How it’s going…

 

We have an active Discord server and a private Facebook group - you can join either or both. It’s a space to share our experiences, hatch plans, and reduce the isolation and lack of visibility that some of us feel out on our bikes. You are welcome to get stuck in, or just sit back and watch.

We also aim to break down some of the financial barriers in our sport. In 2022 we had the first cohort of sponsored riders which attended events funded by WCCC. The generous donations to our charity are directed towards the members of our group to whom financials might prevent them from joining an event.

This group is for any woman of colour that rides a bike or is thinking about riding a bike - from roadies, to leisure riders to newbies. It doesn't matter what gear or bike you have, or what kind of riding you do - it's a space for you.

We want this to be a safe and welcoming space for all women of colour to discuss their experiences of riding a bike. We welcome all self-defining women of colour including trans women and non-binary people, and women from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Please complete this form in order to access the group https://forms.gle/JK3RGLTDPisqiVri9

Membership is free.

Our strength comes from our diversity. We are women of colour, and we love cycling.

Meet our leaders

  • Jenni Gwiazdowski - Founder

    Jenni is the founder and director of the London Bike Kitchen, specialising in bike maintenance for the masses since 2012. Prior to COVID-19 she taught classes and hosted drop in workshops, as well as LBK’s Women and Gender-variant nights. During COVID she has taken to teaching maintenance online. Jenni has also published the book, “How to Build a Bike”, and is one half of the Wheel Suckers Podcast.

  • Bianca Fernandez - Chair

    Bianca is a multiple time Ironman Finisher and 2x Ironman World Championships finisher and part of the Team GB Age Group team. In her own words, she likes to ride bikes hard and fast and loves racing, but nothing is better than a good social ride with cake! More than anything, she is a champion of diversity and bringing more women into cycling and triathlon.

  • Susam Doram - Treasurer

    Born and bred Leicesterfarian, I have escaped the city a few times, but I keep on coming back. I learnt to ride when I was about 4 and over the years I’ve cycled off and on. About 12 years ago I started to cycle for leisure and joined various cycling clubs and bought quite a few bikes. I am Breeze Champ and a founder member for Leicester Women’s Velo and Ride on Sistas, a community cycle training group.

  • Victoria Hazael - Trustee

    Vic is a former BBC broadcast journalist, who has spent the last decade working for Cycling UK. She is the creator of the 100 Women in Cycling list which started in 2017 to highlight inspirational women whose achievements are often overlooked. Victoria cycles to get around and as much as possible with her primary school aged children. She is passionate that cycling isn’t just for sporty types who look good in lycra and want to go fast, she believes that everyone of all abilities can do it.

  • Joanna Harris-Tench - Trustee

    Joanna started cycling as a child and busted herself up in various ways doing BMX. She loved it and can often been seen doing a standing start or no hands when the core and legs can take it!

    At the moment various health conditions are slowing her down, her bike can be a mobility aid, which is a beautiful thing. The distances she can travel by bike, compared to walking make her super grateful for what mastering two wheels can help you achieve.

  • Jess Morgan - Trustee

    After a thoroughly un-sporty youth, it was being a skint art student in 2008 that brought me to cycling, through necessity – I needed a bike to get around London for cheap. I was purely a utility cyclist for a few years before meeting the London fixed gear community, who introduced me to the joy of social city rides, and longer rides to new places like Brighton. In 2013 I visited Herne Hill Velodrome for the first time and got a taste of track cycling at the women's Sunday sessions. Competitive juices unlocked, I started racing track, fixed gear and road crits at amateur level for the next couple of years with my team My last year of racing properly was in 2019 and since then I've taken more of a community-focused role, leading beginners sessions and social rides

  • Sonia Williams - Trustee

    I came into cycling ‘late in life’. In my late 30s I started to notice cyclists on the roads of London and around my place of work. I mainly used the tube, but sometimes the bus. Transport costs had been increasing year on year and I thought cycling would be a good thing to adopt as it would save me money. I was scared though, so it took me a few years before I had enough courage to enquire about lessons.

    Over time, I increased my rides per week to 5 days. I discovered a deep love for cycling and spent more money than I ever dreamed possible, on bike-related stuff. I now have more than one bike and can’t imagine cycling not being a major part of my being.

  • Werdah Hussain - Project Manager

    Werdah loves cycling and running and in her own words, is a reluctant swimmer. She’s a triathlete who has completed a number of long course events. She loves new challenges more than chasing personal records.

    She is passionate about inclusion and aims to break some of the barriers women face in triathlon and cycling.

  • Eve Lam - Trustee

    My life didn’t cross paths with bikes until 4 years ago when I got my first adult bike in London. I started working in a bike shop during the pandemic, learning bike mechanic skills. Instead of trying to make money from my bike mechanic job, I wanted to share my skills with women and queer people.