so I first started with equipment
women’s side of giant bicycles live
donated over 60 bikes before the bikes
were delivered I got the chance to ride
with the girls and it was probably the
best day that I’ve ever had in
Afghanistan I can easily pinpoint the
worst days I’ve had in Afghanistan and
this by far is the best this is Mariam
this is you know his assistant his
right-hand woman and she is the strength
of the team she is tough as nails she’s
been run over by a motorcycle
she has crashed numerous times she has
been called every name in the book she’s
been insulted multiple times over the
past three or four years that she’s been
riding bikes these girls this is the
Afghan Highway coming out of Kabul are
doing this with great risk but they’re
doing it not just for themselves they’re
doing it to inspire other girls to ride
so I hired a little truck brought all
the bikes bussed in the girls to the
province of Bamian and we rode out we
did a few laps around the city to kind
of get the feel of the bikes and played
with the idea of writing together for
the first time because we didn’t have to
watch out for potholes we were you know
avoiding cars and trucks and we looked
at okay what’s it like to ride in a
peloton types what’s it like to draft
off of each other what does that mean
how does that work
lessons for me as well as a mountain
biker not a roadie and the girls started
to look like a team for the first time
they were riding together and while
there’s barriers between me and Afghan
men that are eliminated when I ride a
bike the barriers that are also there
between Afghan women of just you know a
little bit of quiet a little bit of
distance and formality when you’re on a
bike that is out the window
these girls are singing Bollywood tunes
and dancing on their bikes and shaking
their they’re joking they’re nudging
each other they’re nudging me they’re
shouting you know teasing coach acting
like any other girl I get to be part of
that in a way that I’ve never been able
to connect with Afghan women and girls
Nazif is studying to be a midwife and is
wanting to work to save women’s lives
and children’s lives but she also wants
to compete in the Olympics and the
reason that she says that she wants to
do that is not for personal gain it’s
because she wants to show the world that
Afghanistan and this is her words is
more than drugs and violence she wants
to show that there are opportunities and
it comes back to everything I’ve ever
seen in Afghanistan that keep me going
back and keep me believing that change
is possible because her face kind of
says it all that hope is always more
powerful than fear all of them have said
at multiple times because I’ve always
checked in with them one as don’t
continue to do this just because I’m
supporting you make sure that you’re
doing this because this is the risk you
want to take because you love it and I
will continue to support you but you’re
never letting me down if you don’t want
to do this anymore if for some reason
the security changes and every single
time each one of them have said change
does not happen by staying at home they
realize that they are on the frontlines
they realize the risks they take much
more so than I you could ever understand
I get to go and come back here because I
have a passport and I have a child here
and this is my home what’s been really
heartwarming for me has been while the
team is doing amazing things to break
open this taboo what’s really phenomenal
is there’s two or three groups of girls
that are learning to ride bikes without
a coach without any male influence maybe
a brother here and there
they’re banding together and riding
bikes in an effort to change it on a
social level their specific goal is not
to race their specific goal is it takes
boys 20 minutes to get to school
it takes us an hour or an hour and a
half that’s not fair we should be able
to ride bikes too and so what happened
in Bamian was I was back there in June
and I rode with two girls who were
riding bikes and wanted to teach others
to ride bike so that they
get to and from the women’s university
because the bustline had stopped in
September nearly 40 girls took to the
streets with t-shirts that said right to
ride and Mohamed who’s one of the men’s
National Cycling Team members was part
of this and it shows that men are a huge
part of this equation that men in boys
need to be supporting women and girls
need to be working together and that
they are working together I mean this is
probably my favorite photos of of that
ride there’s an incredible quote that
has really stuck with me and I think
that it really represents the work that
I do and how I feel about this whole
campaign is change happens when those
who are unaffected are as outraged as
those of us who are and that’s what it
takes it’s about realizing that it’s not
always personal but that you need to be
outraged and that we need to band
together to believe that hope is more
powerful than fear and that change is
possible no matter where that is
thank you for coming
you
women’s side of giant bicycles live
donated over 60 bikes before the bikes
were delivered I got the chance to ride
with the girls and it was probably the
best day that I’ve ever had in
Afghanistan I can easily pinpoint the
worst days I’ve had in Afghanistan and
this by far is the best this is Mariam
this is you know his assistant his
right-hand woman and she is the strength
of the team she is tough as nails she’s
been run over by a motorcycle
she has crashed numerous times she has
been called every name in the book she’s
been insulted multiple times over the
past three or four years that she’s been
riding bikes these girls this is the
Afghan Highway coming out of Kabul are
doing this with great risk but they’re
doing it not just for themselves they’re
doing it to inspire other girls to ride
so I hired a little truck brought all
the bikes bussed in the girls to the
province of Bamian and we rode out we
did a few laps around the city to kind
of get the feel of the bikes and played
with the idea of writing together for
the first time because we didn’t have to
watch out for potholes we were you know
avoiding cars and trucks and we looked
at okay what’s it like to ride in a
peloton types what’s it like to draft
off of each other what does that mean
how does that work
lessons for me as well as a mountain
biker not a roadie and the girls started
to look like a team for the first time
they were riding together and while
there’s barriers between me and Afghan
men that are eliminated when I ride a
bike the barriers that are also there
between Afghan women of just you know a
little bit of quiet a little bit of
distance and formality when you’re on a
bike that is out the window
these girls are singing Bollywood tunes
and dancing on their bikes and shaking
their they’re joking they’re nudging
each other they’re nudging me they’re
shouting you know teasing coach acting
like any other girl I get to be part of
that in a way that I’ve never been able
to connect with Afghan women and girls
Nazif is studying to be a midwife and is
wanting to work to save women’s lives
and children’s lives but she also wants
to compete in the Olympics and the
reason that she says that she wants to
do that is not for personal gain it’s
because she wants to show the world that
Afghanistan and this is her words is
more than drugs and violence she wants
to show that there are opportunities and
it comes back to everything I’ve ever
seen in Afghanistan that keep me going
back and keep me believing that change
is possible because her face kind of
says it all that hope is always more
powerful than fear all of them have said
at multiple times because I’ve always
checked in with them one as don’t
continue to do this just because I’m
supporting you make sure that you’re
doing this because this is the risk you
want to take because you love it and I
will continue to support you but you’re
never letting me down if you don’t want
to do this anymore if for some reason
the security changes and every single
time each one of them have said change
does not happen by staying at home they
realize that they are on the frontlines
they realize the risks they take much
more so than I you could ever understand
I get to go and come back here because I
have a passport and I have a child here
and this is my home what’s been really
heartwarming for me has been while the
team is doing amazing things to break
open this taboo what’s really phenomenal
is there’s two or three groups of girls
that are learning to ride bikes without
a coach without any male influence maybe
a brother here and there
they’re banding together and riding
bikes in an effort to change it on a
social level their specific goal is not
to race their specific goal is it takes
boys 20 minutes to get to school
it takes us an hour or an hour and a
half that’s not fair we should be able
to ride bikes too and so what happened
in Bamian was I was back there in June
and I rode with two girls who were
riding bikes and wanted to teach others
to ride bike so that they
get to and from the women’s university
because the bustline had stopped in
September nearly 40 girls took to the
streets with t-shirts that said right to
ride and Mohamed who’s one of the men’s
National Cycling Team members was part
of this and it shows that men are a huge
part of this equation that men in boys
need to be supporting women and girls
need to be working together and that
they are working together I mean this is
probably my favorite photos of of that
ride there’s an incredible quote that
has really stuck with me and I think
that it really represents the work that
I do and how I feel about this whole
campaign is change happens when those
who are unaffected are as outraged as
those of us who are and that’s what it
takes it’s about realizing that it’s not
always personal but that you need to be
outraged and that we need to band
together to believe that hope is more
powerful than fear and that change is
possible no matter where that is
thank you for coming
you
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