L to R: Moderator Malaika Abernathy with panelists Delores Simmons, Harriet Tregoning, Keya Chatterjee, and Elizabeth Brooks Lyttleton
Last night, women packed the Petworth library for our Pedaling Professionally panel, held jointly with Black Women Bike DC,Capital Spokeswomen, and WABA’s Women & Bicycles Program.
The panel, moderated by the D.C. Office of Planning’s Malaika Abernathy, included Harriet Tregoning of the Office of Planning; Keya Chatterjee of the World Wildlife Fund and the WABA Board; Delores Simmons of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia; and Elizabeth Brooks Lyttleton, mom of three, utlitarian cyclist extraordinaire, and WABA Roll Model. Pedaling Professionally was designed to address concerns like those raised in a post on Office of Planning’s blog written by Malaika.
Panelists—all of whom identified as, at least, bike commuters—capably addressed questions about how to maintain appearances in hair and clothes before, during, and after biking to professional events; biking at night; whether to take the lane (the answer is yes!); biking while on your period or breastfeeding; and how to be safe when drivers, pedestrians, and other cyclists can create precarious traffic situations.
The conversation continued long after the panel’s conclusion at Looking Glass Lounge. We hope Pedaling Professionally attendees are now better equipped to handle some of the challenges raised by bike commuting to work and are thrilled with last night’s turnout.
For a full rundown of the panelists and background information on the panel, see this post.
The Storify below the jump gives a considerable summary of the panel, but check the #womenbike hashtag on Twitter for more.
Did you attend Pedaling Professionally? Share your thoughts with us in a blog comment or via social media (follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram). Did you take photos? Add them to our Flickr group!
