Adventure Cycling Association

Gender Equity Mechanics (GEM) is a gathering of women and non-binary people interested in learning hands-on bicycle maintenance and repair skills. We would like to give a shout out to Bikes Together, a non-profit in Denver, Colorado that uses recycled bicycles as a vehicle for equitable social change, as they inspired the name for GEM.

GEM’s hands-on workshops are offered monthly at the Free Cycles community bike shop in Missoula, Montana, after the shop closes to the public, and the workshops are solely for women and non-binary people. We welcome and encourage all skill levels, and accommodate various experience levels by offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced mechanic lessons in separate work spaces. 

GEM Nights are free to the public, but we do accept donations. The workshops are led by female staff of Free Cycles as well as incredible women and non-binary volunteers from the community. We aim to have a minimum of two leaders in order to provide quality help, and with the help of an Adventure Grant from Adventure Cycling, we were able to have more instructors by offering payment to Free Cycles staff for their time. 

Each workshop was scheduled to last two hours, yet nearly every workshop lasted an additional 30-45 minutes due to high demand. We rotate the workshops each month to various nights of the week in order to accommodate different schedules, and during the sessions we encouraged the benefits of self-sufficiency and maintenance skills. We covered the essentials, including bike stand use, air, and overviews explaining brakes, chains, and sizing. We typically transitioned into learning together in separate stations, focused on various bicycle maintenance skills. Participants practiced these new skills, struggled, and succeeded in an empowering and supportive environment. Many participants spent the remainder of the time working on their own bicycle, while others borrowed a bicycle from Free Cycles to practice. We intentionally keep our lecture/talking points to a minimum so that people can experience more hands-on time with the tools and bikes. 

The number of participants at GEM can vary depending on the time of year, weather, or conflicting community events, but during this series of workshops we recorded more than 100 people. The primary goal of GEM is to increase bicycle usage and access among women and non-binary people. Women and non-binary people often report feeling intimidated or out of place in (often male-dominated) bicycle shops. By providing an opportunity for these demographics to become familiar with Free Cycles in a setting surrounded by others who are similar to them, they are more likely to come back for our other services and programs. We have found the workshops lead to more female and non-binary people coming back to the community shop which creates a trickle effect of a more welcoming atmosphere for all.

2024 Demographic Served

• April: 3 helpers, 8 participants (11 total)
• May: 5 helpers, 18 participants (23 total)
• June: 3 helpers, 10 participants (13 total)
• August: 7 helpers, 15 participants (22 total)
• September: 8 helpers, 22 participants (30 total)
• October: 2 helpers, 8 participants (10 total)
• November: 8 helpers, 11 participants (19 total)

***

We are thrilled to share these testimonials:

Helping create, lead, and improve GEM over many years, I have many great memories of specific and group interactions. Each time we host a GEM workshop I have been shown how much demand there is in the community for these types of spaces. Intentionally carving out rhetoric that welcomes people despite any previous knowledge or experience helps people open their minds and break down any preconceived notions or barriers they may have when it comes to bicycle mechanics. Many people have reported how the environment feels safe as they feel they will not be judged for any questions, mistakes, or struggles they may have in the learning process when surrounded by other people of the same gender. The hands-on practice and repetition allows people to grow their skills and start to learn their way around the simple machines of the bike. 

Every GEM has been uniquely different whether it is familiar or new faces who join, topics of interest or varying questions, and the actual turn out. Yet one thing has remained the same: coming together as a minority in what has been a male dominated industry leaves people feeling inspired, confident, and strong. This then has great ripple effects in both the local community and wherever these participants may travel or choose to relocate over the years. Time and time again I have been shown people learn to take better care of their bicycle, they are more likely to ride and have a more positive riding experience overall. The independence and liberation that the bike has provided women and other gender diverse people throughout time gives us more reasons to continue to prioritize 

-Emily Jensen, Free Cycles Programs Director and GEM Founder 

In January of 2024, I was first introduced to Free Cycles by attending a GEM Night. I moved to Missoula in the Fall of 2023 and had heard of Free Cycles as a community hub, but as a queer woman, I felt intimidated by bike spaces since they are typically male dominated. GEM turned out to be the stepping stone for me to get involved with Free Cycles in a way that didn’t feel intimidating. I loved that GEM is a space for women and non-binary folks that helps women and non-binary folks. GEM helps me and others break into the space of bike mechanics. Before GEM, I didn’t know much about bikes beyond the vague basics. In my first GEM, I learned the ABCs of bikes, housing and what it does, and troubleshot brakes. The volunteers and staff helping at GEM were kind, welcoming, and curious. We worked on our bikes hands-on and side-by-side. It was so much fun problem solving together and I felt a spark of joyful empowerment that night. GEM Night later prompted me to apply to work at Free Cycles because I wanted to help empower others in the same way GEM empowered me. Now, after working at Free Cycles for several months, I have learned more than I ever thought I would about bikes. But, best of all, I helped hundreds of individuals gain more confidence around bike work, helping fuel the same spark of empowerment I first felt at GEM. 

-Victoria Yee, Free Cycles Employee and GEM Instructor