Keynote Speaker Announced for BikePGH’s Women & Non-Binary Bike Summit

Join BikePGH at the 7th Annual Women & Non-Binary Bike Summit!

The Women & Non-Binary Bike Summit is a fun, one-day event featuring workshops on bike adventures and racing, yoga for cyclists, bike maintenance, advocacy, and hands-on experience for confident care-free cycling.

Our goal is to empower women, trans women, non-binary, genderqueer, agender and gender variant people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable and confident riding bikes around the city. Together, we can learn from and uplift each other to build a more connected and inclusive bicycling community.

Click here to learn more and register!

COVID-19 Advisory:

Please be aware that Bike Pittsburgh is closely monitoring the spread of coronavirus and will adhere to local authority recommendations regarding cancellation and/or rescheduling of large events and mass gatherings.

Meet our Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker for this year’s Women and Non-Binary Bike Summit is Diana Hildebrand (pronouns: she/her/diva). Diana is an advocate, indoor and outdoor cycling instructor, avid cyclist and racer. As a retired semi-pro football player, Diana stumbled upon cycling while looking for something to fill her appetite for fitness. At the time, she did not anticipate how cycling would change her life.

Through the guidance of Yay! Bikes Columbus, Diana received her first certification as a Commuter Ride Leader and started leading rides throughout Ohio. Following this new title, Diana followed her passion and made it a choice to “change lives two wheels at a time” by offering trainings, clinics, one-on-one sessions, and group rides for cyclists of all skill levels.

Diana is now a League Certified Cycling Instructor, a Trek Women’s Advocate, a Shero for Black Girls Do Bike, a First Lady of Major Taylor Cycling Club Cleveland, a Trip Coordinator for Noble Inventions Bike Tours, and a consultant for several cycling organizations. She is also a Member and volunteer of Bike Cleveland, Yay! Bikes, and Bike Pittsburgh and a Cat 5 road racer for Team Stelleri and track racer for The Cleveland Velodrome.

With her knowledge and skills gained as a cyclist, Diana has made it her mission to teach everything that she knows about cycling and advocate for safer streets and neighborhoods.

Learn more about Diana in our Q&A

Q. How did you get started in the bicycling community?

A. I started almost a year after I stopped playing football. During my rehabilitation period from a football injury, my physical therapist had me on a spin machine to keep my ankle flexible because I was complaining about stiffness after surgery. Then my family and I relocated to Cleveland in June, 2016.

I was looking for something to do, so I searched on Facebook, Google and found Black Girls Do Bike Cleveland, joined the women’s only private FB page and started reading the content. I then found out about Slow Roll and from there the mission to get a bike started. On August 15th, I got a bike from Craigslist for $50.00. My first-day riding was 3 days later when I rode 18 miles.

I thought there was something fun about cycling, but I didn’t know it was going to change my life.

Along the way, I’ve met amazing people who given me tips and seen something in me as a cyclist that I did not yet understand. Cyclists who challenged me to reach my personal goals and cyclists who’ve seen my determination. I appreciate each and every person who I’ve crossed paths with and who has helped me along the way.

Q. What can people do to help make the biking community more inclusive?

A. Get involved in your community, city or state. Join local bike clubs, participate in rides and help lead community rides. Interested in advocating and educating? There are nonprofit bike organizations that need people like you!

Get involved with your local bike advocacy organization – became a member, volunteer, or check their job opportunities. If you love calling your state congressman, petitioning and helping get laws changed, then helping on the state and national level is for you. Join national advocacy organizations, like the League of American Bicyclists, that fight for safer streets and walkways for cyclists and pedestrians.

Understand that we all have the same goal of getting more people on bikes, and that it’s not just a one-person movement.

Q. What programs have you worked with in the past that are doing this important work?

A. Yay! Bikes, Trek Bikes, Akron How We Roll, and Black Girls Do Bike. I became a Black Girls Do Bike Shero because of my positive outlook, constant encouragement and treating others with respect.

We have the same goal, getting more butts on bikes.

My favorite memory of working with Black Girls Do Bike is seeing women successfully achieving their cycling goals. The first ride I led was an early morning coffee ride. The ladies had big goals, like completing 10 miles, increasing their speed, and learning how to ride on the road. By the end of our fourth month together, the ladies had achieved their goals and received a certificate of completion. I watched these ladies transform into a different type of cyclist.

Q. What are you most excited about for our 7th Annual Women and Non-Binary Bike Summit?

A. I am excited to meet women who love cycling just as much as I do and who are ready to create a shift within the biking community.

Q. What other bike events are you looking forward to in 2020?

A. There are a lot of events in 2020 that have already peaked my interest. Just to name a few: Cyclofemme Cincinnati, Black Girls Do Bike National Meet-Up in Chicago, One Love in Atlanta Georgia, Year of Yay Birding Bike Ride in Columbus, as well as fundraising rides for Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer and Lupus Awareness nonprofits.

Q.What advice would you give to someone
who is nervous about getting back on a bike or who never learned to ride?

A. This is your goal and your ride. Everyone has to start somewhere. It doesn’t matter how long you have been off the saddle – it’s the wanting to start. This is just the beginning of an amazing journey. You can do this and anything is possible!

SAVE THE DATE!

Whether you’re interested in learning more about bike handling or becoming a stronger advocate for safe cycling, there’s a workshop for you. Don’t miss BikePGH’s 7th Annual Women & Non-Binary Bike Summit on Saturday, April 25th! Get your Summit ticket here: http://bit.ly/2HjubON