Come Meet Our BABBs Girl Gang - Featuring Rubie!
Celebrating Rubie!
Introducing Our Meet the Girl Gang Series
Every organization has a history, and that history is really the story of the people who created it—and the people who keep showing up and making it what it is.
Badass Bike Bitches is no different.
In our Come Meet the Girl Gang series, we’ll introduce you to Badass Bike Bitches from across our growing community—from the OG PuMadres, the AIDS/LifeCycle team that helped inspire #badassbikebitches, to the newest women to hop on and ride with us.
We’ll share a little Badass Bike Bitches lore, learn the stories behind the women in the jerseys, get a taste of their humor and personalities, and celebrate all the different ways women find their way to bikes—and to one another.
It’s important to note that this series isn’t just about remembering where we came from. It’s also about continuously creating community and connection, no matter when you hopped on to ride with us. It’s about seeing pieces of ourselves in other women at this stage of life—their courage, their messiness, their joy, their badassery—and maybe discovering a little more of our own power along the way.
So, come meet the girl gang!
First Up: Rubie
I first met Rubie off a bike, way back in 2016, when our kids were first graders together at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley. (Those little first graders are now turning 17 over the next few months.) I was 46. Rubie was slightly younger and infinitely cooler than I could ever hope to be. But Rubie is also one of those beautiful old souls, and along the way we became dear friends.
Rubie is a huge part of the Badass Bike Bitches origin story, and a huge part of the reason I got back on a bike in my 50s.
She was the catalyst for my doing the AIDS/LifeCycle after a 22-year hiatus. We rode in the 2022 ALC, even after I stupidly made her train, in January, in Tahoe, where she promptly broke her shoulder (I immediately bought her two shots of tequila to support her pain management). Despite being off the bike for several months, Rubie rode every mile of the ALC that year (EFI). Minimal training has never been a barrier to Rubie doing something epic.
From there, Rubie and I went on to co-found the PuMadres, recruit many of the women who would become our OG Badass Bike Bitches, and complete two more AIDS/LifeCycles together. It was Rubie who first coined the name Badass Bike Bitches—and even snagged badassbikebitches.com long before any of this was actually a thing.
There are a million reasons I love this woman, but three rise to the top:
She is fierce. Rubie has been through some shit—cancer, family stuff, starting a business, and plenty more—and somehow she keeps moving forward, usually armed with a healthy dose of snark and sarcasm, while still showing up for the people she loves.
She is fun. Even when whatever we are doing is objectively not fun, Rubie somehow makes it fun.
This bitch can bring people together. I can send 3,000 texts, create an RSVP form and a spreadsheet, send reminder emails, and personally follow up with everyone—and four people will come. Rubie mentions something in passing and suddenly there’s a party. She doesn’t just build community. She embodies it.
Rubie is the quintessential OG. The goddess mother of the PuMadres. A dear friend. And one of the biggest reasons Badass Bike Bitches exists in the first place.
Let’s learn about her in her own words...
Meet Rubie
What do you do when you’re not on a bike?
I make art in different media, I listen to music, and I do floral art.
I love that floral art decays. People come to you in really tender moments—birthdays, weddings, funerals—and you make something beautiful knowing it isn’t supposed to last forever.
And then there are my kids, my crazy dog, and lots of walks.
(Writer's note: Rubie owns the best flower shop in the Bay—Nigella)
What’s something your fellow Badass Bike Bitches might not know about you?
I used to be a cheerleader. I was a flyer. When I was 12, I got dropped and injured my rib. I had to wear this brace, and a boy made fun of me and called it a girdle, so I stopped wearing it.
Basically, cheerleading rejected me. Cycling was the only other group that would take me.
Why do you ride?
Because it is better than throttling people. Although I haven’t throttled anyone in a while.
What’s your Badass Bike Bitch superpower?
I always end up riding alone. It doesn’t matter if there are 20 people or 2,000 people. Somehow I end up at this weird pace where I’m by myself, deep in my thoughts.
Carolyn calls it finding aloneness in togetherness. I call that two margaritas in.
What's changed since you started riding with the PuMadres/Badass Bike Bitches?
My body and my health have probably been the biggest constant change. I’ve jumped in and out of cycling, like double Dutch. I haven’t always trusted my body enough to commit consistently.
But I am a whole-ass person. And it’s hard to do a sport when your ability to participate feels tethered to your health.
Why should women like you join Badass Bike Bitches?
Because no matter how you show up, BABBS will receive you. Maybe you’re not doing the full century or the gnarly climb. There are still resources, people, and ways to be part of it.
For me, the most important thing is connecting with my body and connecting with community. And the true definition of community is one that will receive you and be there for you no matter how much you have to give.
Rapid Fire Questions
Favorite cycling treat? Oreos.
Favorite cycling swag? My OG BABBS vest, because it feels good to have someone call you a badass from behind.
Best dumb bike trick from childhood? I rode down a steep driveway, my brakes failed, and I crashed into the gardener’s truck/tree and passed out. I don’t think I could still do that today and survive.
How young will you be on your next birthday? 44.
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