bcpunk

Dear mountain biking, It’s time for change within our community. The idea of building diversity can mean many things. For some it’s a scary conversation. Others are blind to the pervasive and hidden nature of privilege. For individuals from diverse backgrounds it means feeling welcome and supported within our community. There are both passive and active steps individuals can take to support the goal of rewiring our sport to be one that isn’t so inherently exclusive. Some of the passive steps are simple and common sense. Pounding beers and swearing gratuitously in the parking lot, probably not going to encourage youth participation. We might want to tone that down. Making sexist comments like “pretty good for a girl” or verbally objectifying every female cyclist you see - likely to discourage women from participating. We should stop that, now. Slagging the bikes we see under other riders - “How old is that thing”, “Those brakes were terrible when they came out”, etc. There’s a great way to discourage new riders to try the sport in an affordable way. You know that parts bin you have in the dark corner - I bet it's full of stuff that could upgrade and improve someone else's bike. Building diversity doesn’t mean we have to change who we are. We can still be stoked on gnarly trails and enjoy the adrenaline based nature of our activity in a lively and exuberant manner. We just need to think twice about being assholes.

@treelinesnw: As a PNW company that manufactures a large percentage of their stuff in the USA I think Cascade Designs (MSR parent company) might oblige you with some blanks... worth an email!

No love for Christina Lake?