(intense music)
(wheel whirring)
- [Ayesha] Dear bike industry professionals.
My name is Ayesha McGowan,
and I am an elite road racer and cycling activist.
You may know me from my mission to become
the first African-American
female professional road cyclist.
I've also worked in bike advocacy,
getting more women and people with disabilities into riding.
Diversity and representation of minorities
is a hot topic in mainstream and outdoor media right now.
I noticed that several cycling companies
launched marketing campaigns
in an attempt to embrace the idea
that cyclists come from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, the content created rarely included
any folks that looked like me.
(intense music)
I have been riding bikes as an adult for 12 years.
When I first started riding,
I was looking for black women to look up to.
There have been a few black women
that have actually gone pro,
but none of them were African-American women.
At the time, the competitive cycling industry
was pretty much all white men,
and all the advertisements, and all the videos,
and all the things that were being created.
So, simply existing as a black woman in this sport
is its own form of advocacy.
(birds tweeting)
(wind rumbling)
My situation's actually pretty unique,
in that I am a sponsored athlete,
but I haven't been hooked up on a team.
I've been on local, smaller teams,
but never a pro team, that's the goal.
Most pro athletes are on a team,
and they usually have people who know what's going on,
and can give you expert opinions,
and help set you up.
Hi (laughs).
I have Mojo the dog,
he's there for moral support and cuddles.
And Will, my husband, is there for everything else.
(piano music)
I've done a lot of winging it over the years.
But I don't regret racing by myself.
I've created this lane because of my advocacy
and my racing.
I think it's the combination
that makes me a valuable asset.
It's a lot harder to speak out when you're on a team
and might be to my detriment for teams to want to hire me.
Because I am outspoken.
I definitely define success as getting a pro contract.
But if the choices are be solo or don't race at all.
I'm gonna race.
- [Announcer] Whenever's ready, here we go!
(intense music)
- [Ayesha] Woo!
(bike wheels whirring)
- [Will] There's a lot of cyclists now just riding.
They don't care about anything else.
- [Announcer] Ayesha McGowan, finishing strong!
- But the cycling, and the training
is just as important as her advocacy.
I don't think she would sacrifice one for the other.
(gentle music)
- I wanted to build this community
where everybody can participate.
That means diversity in cultures,
diversity in races,
diversity in cycling disciplines.
A Quick Brown Fox started as just a blog
that I was using to catalog
my journey into becoming a professional athlete.
And it sort of morphed into this platform where,
not only do I get to tell my story,
but allowing other women of color to tell their stories.
The whole idea is that we're all just riding bikes
and enjoying bikes, and setting individual goals,
because they're all important.
I'm trying to empower people
to feel more comfortable trying new things.
Hey, so today I'm gonna teach you how to ride through.
I'm gonna be redoing the bar tape on these bars.
This video I'm gonna show how I fixed.
Do the unboxing, the Feedback Sports
Omnium Portable Resistance Trainer.
I think if I can show those examples,
they can go a long way to having someone
see themself in sport.
- [Ayesha On Video] This is upside down.
- But I'm one person, and I cannot possibly
represent all black people,
and I'm not trying to.
I'm trying to broadcast the signal to say,
hey, there are a lot of people out here
that need to be represented.
Maybe you can do something about that.
And one of my biggest messages is to go find them.
(upbeat music)
- There's a lot of things changing so rapidly
and cycling is doing its best to keep up.
The companies are hiring people, now,
that want diversity, they want this equality
that people are longing for.
I'm really proud of Ayesha, everything that she stands for,
and her willingness to put herself out there.
For her to be constantly knocking down barriers
is pretty amazing.
- [Ayesha] One of my big goals this year
is to not see myself as different in the races.
I've been training and preparing,
and I'm ready to see what it can do.
I understand the importance of showing up.
I understand the importance of being
a woman of color in a peloton
filled with mostly white women,
and I think that's why representation is so important.
Because if you have that example,
it's much easier to do it.
We have to start somewhere.
I'm knocking down the door,
and then someone else is gonna come in
and destroy all the things.
And that's gonna really inspire people.
I know that there's more out there, and I'm hoping
that it finds its way into bike racing.
(upbeat music)