‘We have updated the rules about who can be nominated for our 100 Women in Cycling Awards,’ was the small print under awards nominations for Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling last month. The organisation’s definition of what a woman is had been changed to exclude trans and non-binary women, due to legal advice, it later said.
Megan Joy Barclay didn’t notice it at first, a box at the end of something that should have been celebratory. But once she did, she was put off.
“I won’t pretend that trans inclusion in competitive sport isn’t complex,” the woman’s development officer for Herne Hill Velodrome wrote in an open letter to Cycling UK, “but I always saw these awards as a celebration of grassroots and community power in the face of gender marginalisation – hateful laws have no place here.”
Barclay rejected her place among the hundred nominated women, and was followed by a flurry of others, from JOGLEJOG record holder Sarah Ruggins to Rosie Wilson, of Bristol women’s cycling group Lunar Cycles. They’ve since been joined by previous winners who have returned the accolade. Their WhatsApp group now has over fifty members.
Now, she’s inviting you to join her at the Herne Hill Velodrome for a 35km ride in solidarity with the trans community on 14 December, organised by Velociposse and Bike Dykes. Claire Sharpe, another ex-nominee, will be leading a similar ride on the same day in Bristol with All Terre Adventures, alongside Loop Bikepacking, Lunar, Roll Models and Newtown Park CC. There is a further solidarity ride in Edinburgh, organised by Queens of Pain, School of Rocks and the InfraSisters.
“The point of it now is to meet people in person and really show solidarity with the trans community,” Barclay said.
“We would really love all riders to come. I’m acutely aware that I think our audience is predominantly female, predominantly trans and non binary. But actually it would be so amazing to have men turn up, families turn up, people of all ages – it’s a solidarity ride. It’s like going for a march and demonstrating in a protest, but instead, we’ll be on bikes.”
The rides are part of a two-pronged approach to challenge the cycling industry’s stance on trans women: by campaigning for policy change, and by building connections offline.
“Through the years, I’ve definitely learnt that being an ally is a very active thing,” Barclay said. “For a while, I think I felt awkward about enacting things for communities that are marginalised. It felt like all of the work should be led by those people.
“But actually, through my work at Friends of the Earth, I’ve been reminded that if you create the spaces for people to use them – as long as you’re being sensitive and consulting them – then that is being an ally. We should 100% always be following the lead of those who are impacted, handing things over whenever you can, making sure resources are diverted to the groups themselves.
“But if there is an opportunity to pick up some of the slack and do the thing, or create the space that ensures that they can be part of it, then I think that’s what being an ally is. And this is what the cycling industry can do, right?”
Much of Barclay’s understanding of allyship, of creating space for marginalised groups, has been learnt from riding alongside the FLINTA (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans and agender) cyclists that make up her club, Velociposse. Their group began as an women’s track cycling team in 2015, but in 2017 reformed their definition of womanhood to include all women.
“I credit Velociposse and trans riders in that group for educating me and making me confident to do things like this,” Barclay said.
The solidarity ride will set out from Herne Hill Velodrome at 9am (but meet before for coffee). “We’re going to take a big photo, and that will be a kind of strong visual representation of the moment. That’s why I am really keen to get the word out, and to try and reach beyond Velociposse and those clubs and be like, this is an issue for everyone. It’s all about inclusion.”
