Random giveaways from The Happy Valley Women’s Cycling team at the check-in tent. Celebrate International Women’s Day with other women who ride! Kids welcome. Don’t forget your bike helmets!

The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, eight years before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in the United States. It began as a day to campaign for women’s rights worldwide and has evolved into a day to celebrate women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements while still rallying for worldwide gender equality.

The invention of the bike was a catalyst for the early women’s movement. The bicycle went mainstream in the 1800s and offered an inexpensive and easy mode of transportation. For the first time, women had access to transportation that allowed them to become self-reliant which led to a greater sense of independence and freedom.