What I am ruminating upon is not endemic to cycling, it is a cultural cancer that permeates all types of environments. It is the sociocultural grooming men receive to present themselves as superior and expert, even when they are not. I have done a lot of personal work, and stand on the shoulders of feminists and activists before me, to feel confident and secure on a bike. The idea that I would not be able to engage in some kind of exchange about cycling -- or at the very least be worthy of a good morning -- is insane.

Even at its most benign these types of interactions are exhausting. This is Seattle we are considering here, and while the culture is by no means perfect and exists within the culture of the United States, most of the time when I am cycling I am not worried about physical violence or being called a vulgar name. But one does not know what will happen -- Will it be a vitriolic insult? A bigoted epithet? Will they try to grab me or my bike? All that is in my power is to anticipate all outcomes, tensing my body and activating myself for a defense. Does your body feel tense right now? Are you having a physical reaction to that description? What I am describing is how many femme, trans, and gender nonconforming people feel in the world, for good reason, a lot of the time. What I am discussing in this article is the inevitability of these interactions as a femme on a bike. Consider feeling that physical tension and vulnerability every time you try to go for a Sunday ride, stop to fill your water bottle, or rest in the shade. That is what I carry as a femme on a bike when I see these people approach. Intellectually, I know I am not at much risk, but my body is conditioned through my own experience with violence, abuse, and weird misogynistic commentary to tense up and protect itself. This is the exhausting part. I know from both statistics and my own experience with other femme, trans, and gender nonconforming people, that many if not all of us have experienced verbal and physical violence and abuse -- this should not be new information to any person with a heartbeat that occasionally reads the news. What does this have to do with the bike shop survey? In short, everything.

The place where I find this type of interaction concentrated to its supreme essence is at bike shops. Bike shops are typically owned, operated, and occupied by men because cycling has a preponderance of men. I have experienced that bike shops are distinct and some are more welcoming than others, and my friends in the cycling community have recommended shops based not only on the quality of the work, but the shop’s ability to treat people equally. Bike shops are where many people begin their cycling journeys, and having a negative, patronizing, or even traumatic experience while searching for a bike could alienate someone from cycling altogether, or create an expectation of condescension and abuse within cycling. Consider this experience from a decorated Seattle racer:

I spend a lot of time in bike shops, and most everyone in Seattle has been nothing but stoked to nerd out about bikes with me except Metier. Last time I was there they were judging my cross bike because I had matched carbon FSA cranks I won in a race with ETap shifters. Basically they could not troubleshoot the setup because it didn't match what they saw in the 101 install in some SRAM components guide. They really are skilled at finding ways to judge folks... bike mechanics less so.

I do not understand most of the technical jargon. What I do understand is that a competent and decorated cyclist rolled into a shop expecting to get some help with their bike so they could go win more races, and was met with condescension bred from a doctrinaire need to feel superior in the face of an unfamiliar challenge. The mechanics (who are men) needed to give their input and judgment, whether or not they understood the issue or had the solution. I have heard countless stories to this effect about the pedanticism, refusal of service, and other creepy behavior perpetrated by men in bike shops. It goes without saying this is an extension of the dogmatically predatory nature of society in the United States towards femme, trans, and gender nonconforming people.

Why A Survey?

I came up with the idea to distribute a survey about Seattle bike shops as I was developing the syllabus for an introductory workshop on cycle touring for femme, trans, and gender nonconforming people at the Seattle Colleges. I did not know who would show up for the class, so I had to consider: What would I have wanted to know about cycling in Seattle when I started? After five years of cycling in the city I have opinions about which shops are worthwhile and which shops to avoid, I thought others in my community might as well. It turns out a number of people do.