Thee Abundance Workshops 2023
Previously, Thee Abundance Summit, Thee Abundance Workshops will be hour-long sessions presented once per month. We are continuing our mission to celebrate joy for Black and Brown folks in cycling and the outdoors! Presented once monthly on Youtube Live, you can join the chat in real time, or watch it back later whenever!
Presented by: Bronco Wild Fund, Zwift, Liv Cycling, and SRAM
donations are not tax deductible
June 28 at 6pm ET | Riding back to ourselves, together: On mountain biking, mental health, and affinity spaces
Diana Parra (they/them) is a queer Colombian immigrant who fell in love with the outdoors as an adult. A therapist, a mountain biker, and a climber, Diana is interested in the intersection of outdoor recreation and mental health, and how affinity spaces are particularly supportive for marginalized folks to find a sense of belonging outside. They see playing in the woods as a radical practice of joy and self care. Diana founded Riding in Color WNC, an organization dedicated to promoting cycling among BIPoC in Western North Carolina.
Most folks who have been riding bikes for some time are aware of how this sport can yield enormous benefits for our mental health. It can be a way to clear our minds and practice presence, to challenge ourselves and develop a sense of achievement and self-efficacy. In some fundamental way, playing bikes can be a beautiful if momentary escape from the systems of oppression that govern our lives. But what if riding bikes had more to offer our mental health? What if playing bikes could offer us tools to address racial trauma in particular? Come learn about the ways that mountain biking, and affinity rides in particular, can support a deeper, trauma informed relationship with our nervous system as we navigate the world beyond the trails.
May 23 at 6PM ET | Diversifying Bike Racing: A Discussion with Changemaking WOC in the Industry
Kimberly Dozier (She/Her) MODERATOR/RACER Kimberly Dozier, also known as K.D. was born and raised in Hampton Roads, VA. She purchased her first road bike in 2020. In 2021, she joined the KRT/QRT cycle family, along with her husband and they now lead the KRT/QRT Virginia Chapter. In 2022, She wanted to experience criterium racing and was blessed with the Abundance Mini Grant. She is currently racing as a novice and she plans to continue to promote inclusiveness within the cycling community, especially women of color.
Lai King is the co-founder of Cadence Cycling Milwaukee and manages Community Engagement and marketing as a partner in the Tour of America’s Dairyland. She loves to cultivate freudenfreude--the joy in witnessing someone else’s joy and success — and enjoys connecting all sorts of people to all sorts of biking, especially women and children.
Adrienne D. Burrows (She/Her) | RACE OFFICIAL As a USAC Official, she is responsible for the sporting aspect of all competitive races. She ensures the safety of all cyclists on and off the bike, equity within races, ruling on regulations and riding conduct making sure the sport is understandable, predictable and fair by recording accurate results, timing, and placement for all races.
Bijou Vaultz (she/her) | RACE MECHANIC Bijou Vaultz started riding while she was competing in bodybuilding and fell in love. Then she lost her job due to the pandemic and started working in a bike shop and there began her passion for learning to fix bikes. She’s raced a handful and supported a handful of races. Her dream job is to be race mechanic for an all female race team.
This workshop presents a panel discussion among four changemaking women of color holding different roles in the bike race industry. Their diversity of experiences as bike racers, a race director, a race mechanic, and a race official, will make for an abundant conversation about the barriers to participating in bike racing and how folks can support a sustainable future of the sport.
April 26 at 6PM ET | Leveraging Your Talents to Address Community Needs
Led by: Sheila Mahadevan (she/her)
Sheila Mahadevan (she/her) is a resident of Washington, DC, who loves bikes, riding bikes, and the community built around bikes. Sheila has been riding bikes in the DC area for over 10 years and enjoys mountain biking and gravel cycling the most.
In 2020, Sheila started Melanin Base Miles, a project aimed at removing barriers and increasing racial diversity in her local cycling community. Since 2020, Melanin Base Miles has administered two gravel scholarship programs that have sent 20 BIPOC athletes to gravel events in the Mid-Atlantic. Program participants have received cash stipends, free coaching, mechanical support, and the opportunity to join community gravel rides.
In 2022, Melanin Base Miles launched a BIPOC gravel racing team. The team currently has 12 members that race competitively in the largest Mid-Atlantic and national gravel events. Further, Melanin Base Miles is a DC-based non-profit corporation.
Sheila serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Melanin Base Miles and was also recently appointed to the Board of The Roam Collective.
By day, Sheila is a lawyer who loves cats.
This workshop will offer a perspective on how to address the needs of one's local cycling community, from an individual who had no prior related experience. While the March Abundance Workshop focused on sharing resources and using cross-community support to address community needs, here the listener will learn how to devise a project plan that is focused on an identified need, and will be offered some suggestions on how to use skills they already have to turn that plan into reality.
March 29 at 6PM ET | Building Bike Community: Solidarity & Liberation
Moderator: Guarina Lopez (she/her/hers)
Guarina is from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, she is an artist, Indigenous rights advocate, athlete and mom. She is the founder of Native Women Ride, a virtual community that supports all Native/Indigenous people but centers Femme, Trans, Women/Girls, Nonbinary and Two Spirit relatives. The goal of Native Women Ride is to build community, educate about the land we ride on, and raise awareness about issues impacting our communities. Native Women Ride seeks to create equity in cycling by supporting Native cyclists through financial assistance and mutual aid. We believe bikes are a revolutionary mode of transportation that are fundamental to protecting our environment while highlighting transportation inequities and mobility justice.
Guest Panelists: Marzhel Salvador Pinto Mojarro (He,Him,El)
Marzhel (pronounced MARZ-el) was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and comes to the squad with 15+ years of cycling industry experience. He picked up cycling while commuting in college and began practicing and racing on the track. He moved to Philadelphia 5 years ago and established himself as a professional race mechanic. When Marzhel isn't working events all around the US and/or Europe he mainly enjoys riding road bikes (#savetherimbrake). Marzhel enjoys making community and looks forward to training and developing the race mechanics of tomorrow. Feel free to reach out if you have any bike repair/maintenance questions.
Carmen Aiken (They/them)
Carmen is from and currently lives in Chicago, IL. They've worked in and around bikes for over a decade in shops, as an advocate and organizer, and driving forklifts. Active transit is nearest and dearest to their hearts, and West Town Bikes, Friends of Big Marsh, and Working Bikes remain near and dear to them. Carmen's core truth is run what ya brung.
Keshia Roberson (She/they)
Keshia Roberson is a runner, cyclist, coach, mental health advocate, pleasure activist, and future "somebody's mama." After frustration that she and those she often spoke to didn't feel like they had a place in the outdoors, Keshia sought to create excursions where women and people of color could experience the power of nature while overcoming the negative barriers that inhibit them. In 2021, learning pieces of history about Black people on bikes sparked Major Knox Adventures (MKA). Through MKA, she addresses health disparities and offers a different narrative; one promoting the power joy found in the outdoors can have for all.
What does solidarity in action look like? Bikes have an amazing ability to bring together people from diverse communities. In the past two years we have witnessed a shift in consciousness around mobility justice and creating access for marginalized folks in the bike space. This workshop focuses on creative ways to achieve your bike goals by sharing resources, swapping skill sets, and offering support across communities. Actions like barter, mutual aid, sharing social media posts, and using inclusive language are just a few topics we will discuss.
February 28 at 6PM ET | Embracing My Path To Becoming An Adaptive Athlete
Lead by Annijke Wade
Annijke (she/her) is an adaptive mountain biker, para off road cyclist and adaptive athlete. In 2021, Annijke sustained a spinal cord injury during a mountain bike accident. Now, she is back to sport and living as a full time wheelchair user. Outside of loving mountain biking and being outdoors, Annijke also is passionate about making the outdoors and mountain biking a safe space for all.
In 2021, Annijke (she/her) experienced a life changing mountain bike accident that propelled her into the world of adaptive / para sports. In this presentation she will talk about the journey of embracing adaptive mountain biking and para off road cycling. She will cover what adaptive mountain biking means to her, how she picked her new bike, rolling into advocacy and what's she's learned about trail access, barriers to participate in adaptive sports and what it's like starting a new sport!
January 31 at 6 PM ET | They Were Seeds: The Buried Legacy of Black Wheelwomen
Lead by Keshia Roberson (2022 Mini Grant Recipient)
Keshia is an endurance runner and coach, cyclist, pleasure activist, a change agent, and founder of Major Knox Adventures (MKA).
Using fitness as her vehicle for change, Keshia in the last decade has logged countless miles in support of social causes like women’s empowerment, reproductive rights, voting engagement, and cancer patient support organizations.
In less than two years, Major Knox Adventures has engaged over 200 people with events like the 1928 Legacy Tour, Chocolate City Community Ride, and other outdoor activities. Major Knox Adventures has also raised funds to support youth bike mechanic programs in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
Keshia is currently a member of Artemis Racing team and Pacers Running. And we're proud to say she was also a 2022 Thee Abundance Mini Grant recipient!
"what didn’t you do to bury me / but you forgot that I was a seed" - Dinos Christianopoulos
From news of the “first” bike club for Black women in the late 1800s to touring rides that birthed movements found today, Black women have a long rich history in American cycling worth recognizing and celebrating. During this presentation, we'll help uncover the legacy of Black wheelwomen who created space in a sport not intended for them. We’ll discuss what factors have contributed to their buried history and how their roots have inspired future generations of diverse riders.