What is CWRB?
Chicks Who Ride Bikes (CWRB) connects women through bike riding and rewarding the businesses that support them. Established by Jordana Blackman in Brisbane in 2013 as a Facebook Group to arrange recreational bike rides, the group became the largest of its kind in the country, with more than 2,500 members in the SEQ chapter alone. Its popularity has continued to grow and the organisation now offers a range of community rides, events, services, skills sessions, ride buddy finder and come-and-try opportunities.
CWRB – Leading the Way Breakfast.
This event is the second in a series of breakfast events run by CWRB. The first inaugural breakfast Climb Every Mountain was held in February, where speakers Loren Rowney and Loretta Bayliss really set the scene for following events.
The Leading the Way breakfast had a different feel to it. On arrival there was some time to mingle and have a chat while participants grabbed a coffee and found a seat.
Once again, our host Katey did a wonderful job of opening up the forum and asking a few key questions to get started. Both guests were relaxed and open to sharing stories and having a laugh.
It was interesting to hear Anne Savage’s point of view about cycling and being the CEO of Bicycle Queensland. Anne gave some insights about how to get more people cycling, what main issues her organisation deals with, and her personal approach to road riding in the city.
Jordana spoke about her bold initial start in cycling and how her passion developed into establishing CWRB. Jordana has many anecdotes of wobbly starts, misfires, and U-turns, but also meaningful successes that many of us could relate too. She spoke of a series of hard times and we all wanted to know how she has kept resilient all this time.
Both speakers had quite different views, approaches and experiences of cycling. They discussed how bikes feature in their life, politics, business, family, new beginnings and overcoming challenges. There were also some great questions from the audience at the end.
As I listened to both speakers, I was struck by the widely differing types (of women) that ride bikes – and how lovely it is that no matter where you come from, or where you are going to, we share a commonality of how to get there.
I also found myself agreeing with some things being discussed, but not relating to other situations. It was yet another reminder that people ride bikes for many reasons, and we all have our own stories with bikes to tell and no two stories are the same.
When Jordana and Anne shared their experiences with a room full of 50 people, of course there are going to be overlaps, acknowledgement and concenus – but also disparity, exclusions, and surprises.
But that is what the whole event is about – celebrating differences and commonalities.
This is one of the primary reasons I enjoy going to these breakfasts. It challenges my conceptualisations of what I think and know about what it is to ‘ride a bike’ – and that other riders have different conceptualisation and experiences that are just as valid, interesting and kooky as mine.
These events remind me to stay open and welcome new experiences, new people and new ways of thinking about things.
At each of these CWRB breakfasts, I have heard something I can directly relate to and something that doesn’t fit in my schema. And a whole range of other
Stories are so powerful and so important to share. At these events we have the privilege of being granted special access to another person’s private experience of bike riding – something that is completely unique.
What a gift!
And that why I love going to the CWRB breakfast events!
If you haven’t been to one of these breakfast events before, keep checking CWRB Facebook and I’ll see you at the next one!
The Panel
Here’s a little more about the panel speakers as released on the event invite. As we start getting out the arm warmers and long sleeve jerseys, why not take time out of your busy schedule and join us for a hot breakfast, good coffee and even greater conversation!
Hosted by Olympian and commentator Katey Bates, join CWRB for a hot breakfast and coffee to meet some like-minded peers.
Host: Katey Bates
An Olympian and world champion cyclist, Katey loves her cycling like Eskimos love their ice.
Fuelled by a passion for two wheels, she scaled the heights of international cycling. Her stacked results sheet is highlighted by winning a coveted rainbow jersey with
Guest Speaker: Anne Savage. CEO of Bicycle Queensland.
Without a doubt, Anne leads the way for cycling and advocacy. Anne Savage is the CEO of Bicycle Queensland. With an early career background in journalism, her recent career experience includes ten years at the Cancer Council and direction of a major project for Queensland Health. Her experience, skills, and competencies have been developed over nearly two decades of policy and advocacy practice across sectors and industries. She has directed landmark campaigns on social justice issues such as tobacco control, Indigenous health equality, and geographic and social disadvantage. Her work has introduced her to stakeholders spanning from the highest levels of government to local level community groups working as part of the global community to promote health equity and a sustainable development agenda. She’s a dedicated cyclist who has never owned a car and can’t remember how to drive.
Guest Speaker: Jordana Blackman. CEO of Chicks Who Ride Bikes.
When she was only 25, a cancer diagnosis changed her life dramatically. While in recovery, she saw a poster for a Ride To Conquer Cancer event at her local cafe. This 200km-over-2-day event was raising money for the very hospital she was treated, and she wanted to do something huge to give back. There was only one problem…
After buying her first bike (and falling off it on more occasions that she’d like to remember), she rode her first charity bike event alongside her partner and 2,000 other fundraisers – each of which had been touched in some way or another by cancer. She spent a lot of time training on her own or on an indoor wind trainer because she couldn’t find a group of girls to ride with at her pace, so when she moved interstate in 2013, she decided to create a Facebook group to make friends and meet other women who rode.
