Tessa Hulls Presents: The Bicycle as a Tool for Activism

Artist, writer, adventurer, bibliophile, researcher, cook, feminist historian, & bikexplorer Tessa Hulls presented her research into the historical role of bicycles as a tool for activism to promote racial, gender, and environmental justice to the Bike Works Community on 10/29.

The first all-Black bike brigade, the 25th Infantry Regiment of the Buffalo Soldiers, completed an 800 mile ride from Montana to Missouri in 1896 to demonstrate that long distances could be achieved by bike.

Thank you to Tessa for sharing this incredible research and analysis with us, to Bike Works Deputy Director Ed Ewing for sharing his moving contributions to bicycle activism, and to everybody who logged on to spend their evening with us.

Visit Tessa’s website to learn more about her work, and follow her on Instagram for comics, history, art, and more!

Women, Trans, Femme, & Non-Binary Riders in Early Cycling History by Tessa Hulls. Feel free to print or use however you’d like, but make sure to credit Tessa, and consider making a donation to the WTF Bikexplorers, who commissioned her to make it.
Tessa Hulls on a bike loaded up for touring.

Keep up with upcoming Bike Works events on our web calendar, and get in touch if you’ve got a bicycle story to tell!