FAQs

How much does it cost?

It’s free and we will continue to keep our rides free for as long as we can. We want this community to be as accessible as possible and removing a financial barrier is part of that. However, there are some overheads to keep things running and to be able to offer great resources to our community so you might see us creating some fundraising events in the future.

The name Queens of Pain puts me off. How much pain is involved?

None!

Eve B

The name was inspired by Isabel Best’s book, which we highly recommend you check out! The subtitle of the book is “Legends and Rebels of Cycling” and highlights not only the amazing pioneers of women on bikes but also highlights the gender disparities around cycling. We believe that bikes are a resource and source of joy for everyone - the only painful part is saying goodbye to everyone at the end of a ride together.

What bike do I need to join the regular rides?

All bikes welcome! We’ve had everything from commuters (including Bromptons) to sporty weekend road bikes, beater bikes and fixed gears, mountain bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and fully loaded gravel bikes. Bring what you’ve got.

Can men join?

We prefer to keep our regular rides for women and non-binary folks. There are few cycling spaces where women and enbies can exist without men and for some of these people that space is sacred. We do however hold other events throughout the year and occasional weekend rides where your cis male friends are welcome to join. Where this is the case we will let everyone know that they are open to everyone.

Spaces fill up fast, can I just turn up anyway?

No. After a lot of trial and error we have learnt that a max of 20 people is the sweet spot for our regular rides. We are a small team and most weeks we only have two ride leaders (one to lead and one to backmark). Any more than 20 people is a lot of pressure on our ride leaders, who are concentrating on keeping the group together and making sure everyone stays safe, as well as navigating the route and the traffic. Occasionally we have some extra support and on those days we open up more spaces and split into two groups.

If you are really keen to join a particular ride we do encourage you to keep checking the spaces as people occasionally pull out closer to the ride. If you have signed up to one of our rides and realise you won’t be able to make it, please remove your name from the list to free it up for someone else.

Do you have merch I can buy?

Not yet but watch this space!