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Despite the campy spandex uniform worn by those truly dedicated to the sport, cycling still has a reputation for having a certain straight guy “bro” quality that can make it intimidating for non-men and queer folks to get involved. But in Portland, that “bro-iness” is on the way out.

In recent years, leaders in the local bike scene have made a concerted effort to make the community more inclusive. That’s reflected in the Pedalpalooza ride calendar, where you can find an abundance of queer-led and pride-themed bike events to participate in all summer long.

Already this summer, there have been several rides explicitly meant for Portland’s queer community—the annual “Pride Ride’’was on June 3, and the “Slut Pedal,” a ride centering queer and BIPOC sex workers, took place the day before—but there are plenty more to come. And those involved in Portland’s blossoming queer cycling community say it doesn’t stop at Pedalpalooza rides: There’s work to do all year long to make sure the local bike scene is welcoming to everyone, especially people who have been left out in the past.

Máximo Castro is a prolific bike ride organizer in Portland—he’s leading at least seven rides this summer—and an advocate for a more queer-inclusive local bike scene. Castro is involved with RideSafePDX, a group that holds bike rides every Thursday, meant to be explicitly welcoming to Portland’s queer community. He told the Mercury he thinks Portland’s bike scene is a “complex landscape when it comes to inclusivity.”

“There are groups actively working to make cycling more inclusive and to help raise the voices of those who are typically unheard and unseen,” Castro said, pointing to examples including Chingonas Outside, BikePOC PNW, Portland All Wheels Welcome, and NakedHearts:PDX. “Believe it or not, these groups continue to receive discrimination while riding, sometimes simply for just existing, and the reality is that there is a continued unequal representation in the cycling community. Having various groups allows for individuals to find a ride group where they feel safe and—more importantly—have a voice.”

Moorland Moss, who leads NakedHearts:PDX, told the Mercury they think all of their rides are “queer-friendly”—which means it’s “known to have a conscientious leader who cares about the community and holds a safe space.” Moss, who is non-binary, said they believe “the safety and comfort [of riders] is paramount,” and go out of their way to ensure everyone has a good time on their rides.

“I’d always want to be aware of [the needs] of any riders who need extra support... whether it’s finding a safe person to ride with or an extra bathroom stop or providing route information,” they said. “I know there are people who have made an enormous effort to be in a social setting, and the more we can do to make them comfortable, the more we are loving ourselves and everyone else.”

All of NakedHearts:PDX’s rides can be found on their Instagram page and on the Pedalpalooza calendar.

For people who want to learn how to be their own bike mechanics in an explicitly queer-friendly space, the Bike Farm—a volunteer-run collective “dedicated to every aspect of bicycle education”—holds an “Alphabet Night” for LGBTQ+ people twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays.

“Cycling is well known to be a bit of a boys’ club, which makes starting out intimidating when you don’t fit into that demographic. Knowing that there was a shift that was specifically welcoming to marginalized genders and sexualities helped get me in the door of Bike Farm and to begin learning to work on my own bike,” said Shay, an Alphabet Night participant and volunteer. “Alphabet Night lowered the barrier to entry and provided a safe space where my beginner self could feel less worried about being talked down to or ignored because of my perceived gender.”

Another Alphabet Night participant, Archie, said learning about bike mechanics in a “space where one is the more unfamiliar identity” can be distracting for learning—“especially skills that have not not been seen as common for you to learn from your assigned gender.”

“Connection and understanding is invaluable,” Archie said. “Non-‘Alphabeters’ often don’t realize how their perception can be exclusive.”

Many of the people working to make Portland’s bike scene more queer-friendly are also involved in the effort to make the local cycling community—a traditionally very white space—more inclusive to BIPOC Portlanders. Two groups that regularly hold rides for people of color in Portland are Chingonas Outside—an “outdoor collective centering BIPOC of marginalized genders and sexual identities”—and BikePOC PNW. Their rides can also be found on their Instagram pages and the Pedalpalooza calendar.

A few other rides to highlight: The Rainbow Ride on July 1, a pride-themed ride that ends with a dance party with vogue dance performances, and the Britney Spears / environmental education ride on July 12, led by a group of LGBTQ+ folks who will combine pop music with helpful information about hazardous waste management (maybe the most Portland ride ever).

Later in the summer, Black and Pink PDX—a queer and trans based prison abolition group—will host the Letters to Incarcerated 2SLGBTQI+ Friends Ride on August 23, and on August 25, you can catch an end-of-summer, LGBTQ+ singles’ ride.

Pedalpalooza, AKA Bike Summer, is probably the most exciting time of the year for people who love to ride their bikes in Portland—and it’s becoming more and more aligned with Portland’s summer-long Pride extravaganza. Stay tuned to the Pedalpalooza calendar for information on the rides happening this summer.