Ride Along

The first female I met while riding my bike with SBC Bike Social (now Bike Shreveport) was Regan Horn. My initial impression of her was noticing how strong of a woman she is, although we had only shared one or two conversations during that ride.

More than a year and a half later, I know my gut was right. Horn is an empowered woman, a force to be reckoned with, both on and off her bike. To top it off, she’s got something in the works to help allow other women to feel empowered, smart and important.

Horn got on a bike years ago, but she first learned of SBC Bike Social via the Waterside Cruisers Facebook group. Stephen Pederson, founder of SBC Bike Social, had made an event for the first Critical Mass, a monthly cycling event that is held in over 300 cities around the world. Excited to see it happening in Shreveport, Horn showed up, and was immediately on board to help Pederson spread the word about the group through outreach and social media.

“I wanted to start riding my bike more and become involved with that community, because everyone that would come to the rides were so welcoming, especially Stephen, and he wanted to have everybody be involved in some way,” she said. “I did the best I could to represent the group.”

She helped give the group early visibility in the media, especially through radio. She’d go on air with Larry Ryan on 95.7 KLKL and talk about upcoming rides or tune-up events. 98Rocks was also a frequent platform for cycling PSAs.

“I was finding avenues through my connections to spread the word about biking safely and making people aware that there is a community that’s [full of] young people, people with families, single people, professionals and bartenders,” Horn said. “And everybody just gets together to ride for the sake of it.”

Horn didn’t stop there. While attending rides and talking to people, specifically women, she realized there needed to be an added element of women feeling empowered.

“There’d only be a few women that would show up [to rides], and they’d say, ‘I never come out and do this,’ ‘I was afraid it’d only be guys’ or ‘I go to bike shops and it’s always guys that work there,’” Horn said. “I would hear all these women saying the same thing and I thought, there’s got to be some way that we can focus on that group of people and make them feel like they’re welcomed. Even though everyone is welcome [in Bike Shreveport] from the get go.”

She started planning monthly women’s rides. Nine females showed up to the first one in November of last year. Horn remembers it being really cold, but everybody having a good time.

Since the rides in the later part of last year, life has happened. Horn now has two part time jobs, one being in accounting, the other as a bartender at Great Raft Brewery. In fact, she met Great Raft’s co-owner/founder Lindsay Nations by riding to and being a patron at the brewery.

So instead of smaller, more frequent female-centric rides, Horn is planning a much larger-scale ride for spring 2016. The ride will focus on raising funds or donations of items that are critical for underprivileged women, including feminine care products, children’s hygiene items, diapers and clothes. She plans to reach out to the Providence House and Mercy Center, among other local organizations in need.

The spring ride will give women the tools to find empowerment and individuality and sustainability through biking, Horn said.

“People always tell me, ‘you’re such a strong person,’ and ‘you’re a really powerful woman,’ but I just do what I do. I don’t try to focus on that. But it’s made me realize other women don’t feel the same way. It’s not natural for them to feel like they have a voice. If I can help one other person feel empowered and smart and important, that would be awesome.”

How does biking spur the feeling of empowerment? For Horn, it’s matter of independence.

“If I know how to take care of my bike, and I don’t have to rely on gas – well, it’s a cheaper method of transportation. It’s good physically, mentally and emotionally. Doing it just makes you feel happier, and we all need to feel happier.”

If you’re interested in being a part of the cycling event for women, contact Horn at reganatorrrr@gmail.com.

In the meantime, Horn will continue riding, working, planning and advocating for better infrastructure for biking in Shreveport.

Karen E. Wissing works in Shreveport-Bossier City and loves her community.

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