Bike Shop Girl has moved to Substack

Returning to My Roots: Empowering Cyclists and Bike Shops through Independent Content

Back in 2008, I started Bike Shop Girl because it was hard to find other women in bike shops, and women weren’t getting the help or knowledge they needed to bike comfortably and safely.

I built a website, created a lot of content, and learned SEO, which launched me into marketing as a career. These days, there are so many layers of marketing to get your message heard: newsletters, SEO, email platforms, social media, video, writing, and more.

When I left Tern earlier this year it was to come full circle - to focus on making content to get more people on bikes, specifically more families on bikes and to help bike shops along the way. I’ve been juggling all the noise behind the scenes (website updates, databases, newsletters, etc.) while figuring out how to make it profitable.

Enter Substack - combining the Bike Shop Girl website and my newsletter

1. It reduces technical headaches and saves me a few hundred dollars a year in hosting fees for Bike Shop Girl
2. Distribution is made easy. Whether you want to know my latest YouTube videos, podcasts, cargo bike reviews, or more, this Substack lets me put it all in one place and deliver it right to your email.
3. Subscribers have the option to support me financially. If you appreciate the content I create as Bike Shop Girl or want to help grow the Cargo Bike Life website, this is the easiest way to do it without relying on advertisers.

Last week, I had the opportunity to interview James Huang (Angry Asian) about his new self-publishing on the N-1 bike Substack. I’ll be publishing the conversation this weekend, but it really helped kick my ideas of substack into play. Let’s get more bike-oriented creators on this platform and support each other.

So, please hit subscribe

I’m writing this on the Wednesday after election day. Today, more than ever, we need to build a healthy community around a bridge builder - bikes for transportation. Let’s demand better of our towns and for our kids, be creative with our solutions, and knowledge share every step of the way.

In 2018, I opened a family bike shop to build community through the power of bicycles, and that ethos continues to be a driver for my daily work.

We believe the bicycle is a change agent.
It brings people together, strengthens communities,
and helps solve big problems.
By making biking safe and fun for everyone,
we’re building a cleaner, healthier future.