The Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles, a volunteer-operated bicycle workspace, recently launched FTWNB Fridays, a special time from 6 pm to 9 pm dedicated to supporting and celebrating volunteers who are femme, trans women, and non-binary individuals. Join them at 4429 Fountain Ave in Los Angeles for this inclusive and empowering event.

This guest post is by Julieta Renteria

I first came to the Bicycle Kitchen on a Saturday afternoon last year to replace a stolen bike. There was a big group of school-age boys working their fixies and about a half-dozen male volunteers showing them the ropes. It didn’t bother me much; I was used to being the only woman at the ride. At most of the bike shops I’d visited, male mechanics were often condescending and sometimes creepy; at least here they were friendly, even if they did make assumptions about my experience as a rider. I’d seen similar organizations in other cities and wanted to get involved, so I came back to volunteer. I met Tiff Smith, a local legend among endurance racers, an encyclopedia of bike knowledge, and the Bicycle Kitchen’s only woman mechanic at the time. 

The Bicycle Kitchen is a nonprofit community workshop focused on educating and empowering more people to get on their bikes while advocating for active transportation and accessibility for all. It’s a cross-section of the Los Angeles bike community where road racers, dirt riders, and everyday commuters of all ages and backgrounds come together to share their love of bikes. Even here, in a place that prioritizes equality, the participants are overwhelmingly men. Today, less than 15% of volunteers identify as women, and even fewer as trans or nonbinary. 

It wasn’t always this way. Thirteen years ago, when Tiff first came to the Kitchen, about a third of the volunteers identified as women. Those individuals helped lay the groundwork for growth and set up many of the processes for how the organization currently operates. There was a dedicated volunteer shift composed completely of women, and the Kitchen hosted events for female riders. 

While it is the nature of a volunteer-operated organization to have some turnover, today we’re faced with a catch-22: it’s difficult to recruit and retain gender-diverse volunteers because there is no gender diversity. Although most men at the kitchen would call themselves allies, they don’t share the kind of connection and solidarity it takes to build community. Representation matters. If we aren’t intentionally saving a seat at the table for people of diverse identities, then those people won’t feel welcomed to participate, and that’s a loss for all of us.

I kept coming back during Tiff’s shifts and slowly grew my confidence with a wrench. I made it a point to welcome women and gender-expansive folks, and I saw that there wasn’t a lack of interest, just lack of visibility. Groups like Wild Wolf Cycling Collective, Gender Expansive Ride, LA Cyclery, and Los Angeles Bike Academy are holding space for women, trans, and non-binary riders. Now, as more non-male riders and volunteers are getting involved, the Bicycle Kitchen has begun holding space every Friday for femme, trans, non-binary, and women-identifying folks to be in community. It’s a time to fix bikes, learn from and uplift each other, and, more importantly, feel seen and be fully ourselves.

Sometimes it’s intimidating to stand my ground and claim space within a culture that can feel oppressively male, but the sense of empowerment that comes with being able to fix my own bike makes it worthwhile. It’s a feeling I hope all women, trans, and non-binary riders can enjoy. I’m honored to be a part of a new, more inclusive chapter of the Bike Kitchen’s story.