On September 9th, two Babeland Sex Educators from Seattle, Megan Collier and Ashley Allen, will start a five-day bike ride down the California Coast as part of Climate Ride to raise money for sustainable energy solutions and bike advocacy. Megan Collier shares an account of preaparing for the ride here.

Team Babeland jerseys have arrived!  Ashley and I donned our bright pink jerseys as soon as they showed up. We're ready for Climate Ride! I’ve been sporting mine on a few rides around Seattle already. I love the knowing looks and smiles from people as they see the familiar Babeland logo. I feel like I should stash some lubettes and condoms in my jersey pockets to distribute to the masses and share the Babeland joy!

Things are coming together as we prepare for the start of Climate Ride this week. Our bikes have already been shipped to San Francisco so training in Seattle has slowed down. In lieu of my road bike, I’ve been riding my fixed gear bicycle, a snazzy little Bridgestone frame that I named Buffy (I’ve gotten in touch with my inner nerd and chosen to name my bikes after badass, female sci-fi heroes).  It is such a drastically different bike, but so much fun to ride!  Fixies are bikes at their simplest- no changing gears and no coasting, so every motion of your legs translates to the speed and movement of the bike. The bike really feels like an extension of my body. I’ve had to slow down on the number of miles I’ve been riding, but still getting my training in by powering up these Seattle hills.

The ride begins on Sunday and I’m so looking forward to this fantastic opportunity. It has already been an amazing experience challenging myself with training and increasing the number of miles I’ve been able to do on my bike. I feel empowered to go further, explore new surroundings, and share my love of cycling with others. I’m already developing plans for my next bike tour. In addition, the upcoming ride has inspired many great conversations about the Climate Ride mission, bicycle advocacy, and how we can each take steps to reduce our carbon footprint. I believe opening up this dialogue is a great first step to working towards these changes together.  

You can still donate to the cause and support Team Babeland in Climate Ride! We’ve raised almost $5,000 and we’d love to get that number higher. Sales from several eco-friendly toys, including the Solar Bullet Vibrator, the Eco-Sexy Kit, and the Babeland Eco-Tote Bag, benefit Climate Ride or you can donate directly on our fundraising pages.