What is WTF?
Team Snacks has been a club for WTF cyclists since it was founded in 2015.
There’s no perfect word to describe women and people who identify most closely with — or associate the most easily with — that side of the gender spectrum. “Women / Trans / Femme” gets pretty close. You might also see “Women / Non-binary.” Honestly, a non-specific word would be more effective, but alas, we don’t have one (yet).
Why was Team Snacks formed?
In 2015, a lot of the group road rides in town were attended mostly by men. It was very easy to show up to a ride and see no other women. As such, a woman couldn’t simply blend in and enjoy platonic friendships with other people who like to ride bikes. In an environment where you are the only woman, it’s hard to just be a person.
The other issue was that back in 2015, most rides were extremely chill or super fast. There weren’t that many groups that existed in that space between blue jeans and lycra.
The founders of Team Snacks decided to form their own club. It would be like an Oreo: not too fast, not too slow; just the sweet cream in between. Plus, it would be a club for women / trans / femme cyclists who craved a group environment where they fit in. And! There would be snacks.
Is Team Snacks a queer ride?
Team Snacks is organized gender identity, not sexual orientation.
There are LGBQ rides in town, for example, Bike Pals and The Queer Ride.
Can trans men join Team Snacks?
Gender identity is very personal. Someone can strongly identify as a man, but still feel better incorporated with women and non-binary people. We know gender is complex, so if you feel at home with us, we’re not going to turn you away.
Can male family members ride with Snacks?
Little kids, yes.
Slow Your Roll is generally slow enough for kid trailers and bike seats. We’ve had parents bring little kids along before. It doesn’t matter what gender your little one is.
Adults, no.
As a rule, Team Snacks rides are not for boyfriends, husbands, or other men. There are many, many co-ed rides in Austin. Breakfast Club and Bat City Cycling, for example, are very popular. If Team Snacks organizes a co-ed ride or event, we will be very explicit about that in the description.
Can pre-op trans women join Team Snacks?
Of course. If you are transgender, having surgery or not doesn’t change that. Ride with us if you feel at home with us. That’s kind of our purpose: to just be ourselves and welcome folks who resonate with our vibe.
Does Team Snacks dislike men?
Gosh, no. We really hope no one thinks that!
Team Snacks simply contributes WTF rides to Austin’s enormous cycling scene. As a rider, you have so much choice! We hope our rides will help WTF people spark and maintain wonderful and lasting friendships, but we don’t expect to be anyone’s entire social life.
Also, Austin’s cycling scene has matured A LOT over the years. There are many, many women who ride bikes here, so we don’t stand out quite like we used to. This is true of social rides, racing, road, gravel, mountain, bmx, bike polo… there are ladies all over the place! It’s pretty great. Generally speaking, men are really respectful and friendly on rides too. It’s not perfect 100% of the time, of course, but compared to other towns, Austin is very evolved! We’ve got a great thing going. And we have to give EVERYONE in our cycling community credit for that.