Creating an Empowering Culture for Women Through Cycling

Cycling: A Life-Changing Journey for Women

Cycling offers incredible physical, mental, and emotional benefits, especially for women navigating key life stages like menopause. Together with Feisty Media, we’re addressing unique needs while building a supportive community of riders. Firstly, in health and fitness; cycling can boost endurance, increase strength and power, improve heart and metabolic health, and manage body composition. Importantly, in navigating menopause by helping to combat symptoms like fatigue, stress, anxiety, and muscle loss with the soothing rhythm and strength-building power of riding. And lastly by building connections; cycling can help create lifelong friendships with women who share your journey and passion for the sport.

Tailored Opportunities for Women Cyclists

Our partnership with Feisty brings exciting programs and resources to women who ride, no matter their experience level, including Custom Cycling Camps – Intimate, small-group camps designed to foster camaraderie and confidence in breathtaking destinations like Girona, Spain. We’ll share exclusive content where you can learn from experts; including insights on health, fitness, peri/menopause, and, of course, cycling, featuring inspiring women from Feisty Media’s network. You’ll see community initiatives too, from engaging social media campaigns to webinars, we’re creating spaces where women riders can connect and grow.

A Leader in Women’s Endurance Sports

Feisty Media is dedicated to creating an empowering culture for active women through education, storytelling, and community-building. From award-winning podcasts to the Feisty Women’s Performance Summit, their mission is to create spaces where women thrive.

Building a Movement: The Story Behind Feisty Media

To dive deeper into the mission behind this partnership, we’re thrilled to share an exclusive interview with Selene Yeager, Feisty Media content leader and endurance sports expert, and Kathryn Taylor, founder of Girls Gone Gravel and head of marketing for Feisty Media.

Together, they discuss the vision for creating an empowering culture for women cyclists through this collaboration, how cycling addresses critical health milestones, including menopause and what the future holds for women in endurance sports.

Join Us in Girona - Our First Feisty x TBT Women’s Cycling Camp

Join us for an unforgettable cycling camp in Girona, one of the world’s premier destinations for riders. Focused on health, fitness, and connection, this camp offers the ultimate blend of adventure and empowerment.

Event Details

When: April 27th, 2025
Where: Girona, Spain
Who: Women gravel cyclists of all levels

Health & Well-Being

Why is regular physical activity, like cycling, so important for women, particularly as they navigate different life stages like menopause?

Selene: Movement is literally medicine. Regular physical activity keeps your heart strong, improves cognitive function, helps manage blood sugar and metabolic health, and even reduces your risk for cancer. All of this is especially important around menopause when estrogen declines and your risk for chronic disease rises.

How does movement impact mental health, and why do you think it’s especially critical for women to prioritize this?

Selene: Movement is incredibly good for mental health. According to research, exercise can be just as effective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression. It helps calm anxiety. It lowers stress levels. All of those can increase during the menopause transition. Exercise is essential for mental well-being during midlife.

Breaking Barriers

What challenges do women face when it comes to staying active, and how can initiatives like this partnership help overcome them?

Selene: A lot of women tell us they feel alone. They struggle to find likeminded, active women to do things with. They also struggle to make time for themselves. Initiatives like this provide instant community. And once you commit, you’re going to take that time for yourself and you’re going to love every moment of it…and then you’ll probably do it again!

In your experience, what societal or cultural shifts are needed to make it easier for women to embrace movement as a part of their lives?

Kathryn: Women are busy taking care of everyone else and often have little time or energy left for themselves. We need to create a shift that says it’s okay to put ourselves first. In addition, we need to talk about things that often keep women from enjoying the bike - like saddle pain, managing menstrual cycles, and how the body changes with age.

Inspiration & Empowerment

Can you share a personal story of a woman whose life was transformed by cycling or physical activity?

Selene: Boy, so many. But one that stands out is a woman who came to one of our Performance Retreats. She had avoided exercise most of her life. It was one of those situations where she’d been picked last in gym class and wasn’t super coordinated and just swore off it. Then she learned to lift and to see what her body could do and how strong she could be. Then she picked up cycling and started riding in organized events. Her entire outlook on life–and herself–has improved exponentially.

How does movement go beyond fitness to inspire confidence, community, and self-discovery?

Kathryn: As an adult, we aren’t often putting ourselves in situations we know will challenge us, we’re mostly trying to survive the challenges that come our way. But by embracing the challenges that come with something like cycling, whether it’s a race, a route we weren’t sure we could complete or jumping into a trip with a bunch of strangers, we give ourselves the opportunities to face challenges, learn to reframe our mindset, embrace the process and be proud of the things we can accomplish

Why Cycling

What makes cycling such a powerful and unique form of movement for women?

Selene: Nothing makes you feel as free as cycling. Women carry many burdens in life. The burden of managing the household. The burden of societal expectations and judgement. The burden of just being a freakin’ woman in this world sometimes. All that evaporates like wind through your hair when you get on your bike and ride.

Both Thomson Bike Tours and Feisty Media are passionate about cycling. What is it about the sport that resonates so deeply with the Feisty team?

Kathryn: The freedom the bike gives and the journey of exploration and self discovery

Building Connections

How does cycling foster connections among women? What is it about this sport that creates such strong bonds?

Kathryn: There’s something about time on a ride that opens you up to listen to another person’s life and experiences. We often find more of the ways we are the same than we are different.

Why do you think cycling, compared to other sports, offers such a balance of challenge, adventure, and mindfulness?

Selene: It’s easy on the joints and low impact, so pretty much anyone can ride pretty far on a bike. So you can really get out there and spin your legs and let your mind relax and wander as you soak in the scenery. The more you ride and explore, the more you want to ride and explore.

Shared Mission

What excites you most about the Thomson Bike Tours and Feisty Media partnership?

Kathryn: At Feisty, we love creating opportunities for women to experience community, learn and have epic adventures. As a very small team, we have limited capacity to create these experiences and are excited to partner with Thompson to bring this opportunity to life

How do you see this partnership advancing the mission of creating an empowering culture for women to participate in endurance sports?

Selene: Organized endurance sports can be intimidating, and sports like cycling can still be pretty male dominated. This partnership gives women a chance to ride and connect with other women who love riding a bike. They’ll feel free to spread their wings a bit more and, if they’ve never done an organized event, they’ll leave with the confidence to sign up and bring their friends.

Program Design

What elements of the Feisty x TBT Women’s Cycling Camp in Girona are you most excited about?

Selene: The daily rides through extraordinarily gorgeous terrain has me feeling pretty excited! I also know that we’ll make such wonderful connections and will leave with a clear vision of what we really want in this time of life.

How are you tailoring this experience to meet the needs of women cyclists, regardless of their skill level?

Selene: We want everyone to have a good time! That’s very important. And we recognize that there are always different preferred paces in a group. So we’ll allow the group to naturally arrange itself accordingly and we’ll have hosts and guides for all to ensure everyone is comfortable throughout the trip.

Impact & Goals

What long-term impact do you hope this partnership will have on women’s cycling and health?

Kathryn: We hope combining our knowledge on physiology and life phase with Thompson’s expertise in creating experiences will help keep women on the bike longer and even give them the confidence to build communities in their own backyard

Future of Women in Cycling

Where do you see the women’s cycling movement heading in the next five years?

Kathryn: For the first time in cycling history we can really see women on the start lines and it’s going to translate far beyond the pro peloton. We’re going to see more and more women step up to take on epic challenges.

How can partnerships like this inspire more women to get involved, not just as riders but as leaders in the cycling community?

Selene: Taking a trip like this is transformative. You see the power of a community of women and you leave inspired to create the same energy in your own town. Then you meet more women and make more connections and the community grows and grows.

Call to Action

If you could share one message with women who are thinking about taking up cycling or joining one of your programs, what would it be?

Selene: Do it! You’ll get more out of it than you ever imagined. The synergy that happens when we all get together in real life can’t be beat. And the best things in life are experiences–and cycling trips are definitely the best experiences.

What role can each of us play in building a future where women in endurance sports are celebrated and supported?

Kathryn: We all play a role in building a future where women in endurance sports are celebrated. Whether it’s cheering for women’s cycling, inviting a partner or friend to join their first ride, or offering encouragement as they pursue their goals, small actions make a big difference. Significant others, particularly husbands or partners, can have a powerful impact by supporting and sharing in the joy of the journey. Together, we can grow a stronger, more inclusive cycling community.g a friend on her first ride, we are the ones who will create the change.

This partnership is a proud step forward for Thomson Bike Tours, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome you into this journey. Together with Feisty Media, we’re building a future where women cyclists feel supported, celebrated, and inspired.

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Ready to join the movement? Let’s ride, connect, and thrive—together!