Ask ten people why they ride a bike and you will get ten answers. Some ride to race. Some ride to get to work. Some ride because a doctor suggested it, because a friend asked, because it is the only hour of the day when no one can reach them. Some ride slowly, on purpose. None of these reasons is better than the others.
Cycling culture has not always made room for that range. The sport's public image leans toward a narrow picture: fast, lean, expensive, and serious. That picture is real, and the racing it describes is beautiful to watch. But it leaves out most of the people who actually ride.
The road is the same for everyone
A climb is a climb whether you are on a carbon race bike or a thirty-year-old steel frame with a basket. The wind blows the same way. The view at the top is the same. There is something fair about that, and it is a large part of why people fall in love with riding.
The people we see on the road reflect it. Older riders who started in retirement. Parents towing kids to school. Commuters in work clothes. Riders who are queer, trans, Black, disabled, new, slow, or all of the above. Group rides that wait at the top of every hill. Clubs that ride for a cause, raising money one long day at a time.
Why we made Peace + Love
We built the Peace + Love collection around a simple idea: cycling is better when everyone is welcome in it. The rainbow stripes (blue, red, black, yellow, and green) in the World Championships - governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) - mirror the colors of the Olympic rings and are ment to symbolize the 5 inhabited continents coming together to promote global unity. Essentially, they are meant to signify that you belong here however you ride.
The Peace + Love collection includes tees, caps, mugs, totes, and an insulated water bottles, made for everyone, however you ride - and even if cycling isn't your thing but you support inclusion, compassion, and unity.
What welcome looks like in practice
Inclusion in cycling is mostly built from small, ordinary choices:
- Group rides that publish their pace honestly and include a no-drop option
- Experienced riders who answer beginners' questions without making them feel small
- Shops that stock gear in a wide range of sizes
- Clubs that think about who is missing from their photos, and ask why
- Fans who cheer as loudly for the last rider over the line as for the first
None of this is complicated. It just takes attention and intention.
Pedal on
Whether you watch the Monuments every spring or ride to the cafe or farmers' market on Saturdays, you are part of this joyous sport. We hope what we make helps you feel that, and helps the next person feel it too.