Pedal Pusher Society

No free food, no free drinks, just the most awesome night of your life.

Pump up your tires, put on your dancing shoes and fancy clothes and cruise on over to the Pedal Pusher Society’s second annual prom on Saturday, September 26^th. The prom, held once again at Stonefly, is in synch with the mission of the Pedal Pushers, to create a supportive, independent and empowering bike culture in Milwaukee while simultaneously having an awesome time. This year’s prom will feature DJ’s Shouty and Superman, a competition for prom king and queen, a raffle for many other prizes donated from local businesses, and of course a kissing booth!

Additionally, the Pedal Pusher Society has decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from prom to PEARLS, a non-profit in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood that works with at-risk girls ages ten to nineteen to develop their inner strength and character and learn leadership development skills. The Pedal Pushers are not only excited to be able to support this organization through prom, but also hope that this is the first of many collaborations with their organization.

A number of Pedal Pushers participated in the RW24 Bike Race this past weekend. Outcomes include having performed a choreographed dance routine at Midnigh to Push It by Salt-N-Pepa, new tattoos, lots of miles under our wheels and even a couple hideous haircuts from Trim It Up on Center Street. There are tons of pictures of the race up on people’s various Flickr sites, just search RW24 2009. That said, here are two cute ones of some of our clan:

We’re famous!

http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2009/06/pedaling-toward-progress-part-three-the-pedal-pusher-society/

Since December 2008, the Pedal Pushers have gotten together on the first Thursday of the month to meet-up, check-in and ride. In the winter, the thought of friends was motivating to leave our houses and head over to Stonefly. Now with summer upon us, the sun on our skin and wheels rolling beneath us has gotten the PPS out in numbers for the past few rides. We’ve had some great ones too, so in an effort to get more ladies to come on out with us, here’s a summary of some of the summer fun we’ve had:

The Noctorious Northwest Side, May 2009

About 15 women deep, Shea led the group among various bike paths–Linear Path and the Oak Leaf Trail through Lincoln & Meaux Parks–on up to Havenwoods State Forest on the northwest side of Milwaukee, near Sherman Blvd and Silver Spring. The park’s amazing and as the name specifies, it’s a state forest hear within the city limits (www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/havenwoods). With birds chirping, we watched the sun set, put on our lights and then headed on back to Milwaukee with the premise that for those who wished to have a drink, we’d find a place that none of us had been to, wasn’t in our neighborhood and called out to us. Nearing the neighborhood after riding back along Sherman Blvd, Fond Du Lac Ave and Center St, three of us met the Throttle Twisters for the first time and the rest is history….

“The Paddle Pushers,” June 2009

It was questionable whether our next ride could beat the ride out to Havenwoods and our introduction to the Throttle Twisters, yet June’s ride led by PPSer Joey was arguably the PPS’s best ride yet. Nearly 20 of us rolled out in mass from Stonefly and headed up Vliet St to the Urban Ecology Center in Washington Park where Joey works. Upon arriving we suited up with PFD’s (personal floatation devices), paired up with another PPSer, and took to the water via canoe. It was amazing!

After canoeing around the lagoon for a bit, sunset reflecting off the water and adding magic to the air, we beached our canoes on the shore of the island in the middle of the lagoon. Although small, the island was complete with a fire pit. We gathered around, pulled out our assortment of beverages and fixings for s’mores and had some classic Pedal Pusher talk–sex and bikes. After awhile, we all got back in our canoes and paddled back to land where we re-mounted our steal horses and made the trek on back to Riverwest, though not before stopping once again at our favorite motorcycle clubhouse.

An Unexpected Dip & Table for 12, July 2009

Again with a whole grip of ladies, the PPS rolled out last month with no leader and no plan per se. Instead, upon meeting up at Stonefly, ideas for the ride were discusses and it was decided that we’d bike up to Big Bay Park in Whitefish Bay. The lake’s always gorgeous and the beach at Big Bay Park is arguably one of the best in the city. With that, who could resist a dip in the lake? Not us! Four adventurous Pedal Pushers stripped down to skivies and took a brisk dip in the lake, much to the admiration of on-lookers we’re sure. After drip-drying and gazing out at beautiful Lake Michigan, our gang headed up to Cempazuchi’s to visit one of our own and get in on some good eats.

Needless to say at this point, a couple of us ended up kicking it with our friends the Throttle Twisters again by the end of the night, and once more danced late into the night.

The Pedal Pushers and the Throttle Twister Motorcycle Club in Milwaukee have aligned. After kickin’ it with the Throttle Twisters after our past two monthly rides, five of us rolled on down to their annual BBQ this past Saturday. All that can be said is a great big shout out to the Throttle Twisters!

For some background, the first ride that led us to the Throttle Twisters the PPS headed up to Havenwood State Forest in Milwaukee’s Northwest side. It was a great ride with about 20 ladies representing.

For those of us who attended that ride, we questioned if it could get any better, but were awed when the next month the PPS pedaled out to Washington Park for an after-hours canoe outting to the island in the Washington Park lagoon for some beers & bonding. On our ride back we stopped in at the Throttle Twisters to say hi to Ms. Clark Kent and Sassy and to rock the dance floor to all hours of the night. Thanks Throttle Twisters for being such amazing hosts and now friends of the PPS!

If you missed the last couple of rides, fear not! This Thursday, July 2nd is our monthly ride. If you’re aligned with the PPS join us as we take to the streets and encounter yet another amazing adventure. Meet-up is at 6:30pm at Stonefly as usual. Prom’s also on our horizon, so if you’re interested in helping to plan it, show up and help us make it spectacular (again)!

xox, the PPS