In lieu of shop time this month, we are ecstatic to welcome Mary Ann Thomas in the community space next door to the Bikery for WTF (women/trans/femme) night!

Mary Ann Thomas is the queer brown daughter of Indian immigrant parents, a travel nurse, bike tourist, and writer. She has bicycled over 10,000 miles in the last five years: in 2014, she bicycled solo from San Diego to Montreal; in 2017, she biked across India from the Himalayas to Kerala, the state at the tip of the subcontinent where her family is from. 

As a writer, she has attended the VONA Travel Writing Workshop in 2015 and 2017. Since 2015, her work has been published in numerous literary journals and travel platforms, which include Autostraddle, She Explores, Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel, The Rumpus, and On She Goes. She has been featured on several podcasts, including The Dirtbag Diaries, Musafir Stories, and The Ethical Traveler. 

Mary Ann recently attended the first WTF Bikexplorers Summit (for women, trans, and femme people). There, she presented her story on a panel of Queer People of Color. Before and since this event she’s been traveling to bike communities around the country and we are stoked to welcome her to our WTF community!

Her goal throughout this tour is to contribute to a more inclusive and expansive bicycling and outdoors community. The purpose of this presentation is to share stories of her most recent bike tour in India, demystify some of the logistics and stressors of planning a small or large bicycle tour, and provide resources for people to engage with bike touring or bikepacking on their own. 

Mary Ann will be reading from the newly released chapbook, Asking for Elephants, co-authored by her and her travel partner, Daniel Baylis. The chapbook contains writing from each of them along with photos from around India. It will be on sale after the talk with a sliding scale price of $8-$15. 

Instagram: @postcardsfrommat
Website: http://postcardsfrommat.com 

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About WTF Nights: 
WTF nights are special drop-in hours held once a month at the Bikery. These nights are a space for all people who identify as women, trans, femme, and non-binary to work on bicycles and connect with one another in a supportive environment. 

If you are not women, trans, femme identified, please be an ally by visiting The Bikery during regular hours.

No previous knowledge is necessary, we all learn and teach together! 

Bicycle maintenance has been an overwhelmingly cismale-dominated area. The Bikery aims to empower individuals who have been marginalized or intimidated in bike work spaces to gain knowledge and confidence in a welcoming environment.

Suggested $5-10 donation for stand time and tool use helps us keep our doors open.