Episode 63: Tenzin “Nam” Namdol Cyclo-Touring To Extra Dangerous

No surprise, I have a special fondness for my cycling guests! 🚴🏽‍♀️

This week cyclo-tourist and bike adventurer Tenzin “Nam” Namdol joins us. Nam is a first generation Tibetan-American, nature enthusiast 🌳, and budding travel writer. It was actually through her environmental activism, climate change, and reducing use of fossil fuels that Nam started bike commuting everywhere. She now rides her bicycle full time and advocates for more gender and racial diversity within the outdoors industries. She’s hardcore. Up until recently when she and her partner got a van, they were camping pretty much every night. ⛺️ Now she has a real bed, though no shower.

Nam is one of the six co-founders of WTF Bikexplorers, a nationwide group that brings together women, transgender, femme, and non-binary cyclists for a 3-day summit, which sold out this year in 2 hours! ⏱(Obviously there’s a demand for this kind of get together.) WTF also manages The Grassroots Ride Series. They are free, self supported, bikepacking trips organized by someone local and designed to make bike touring more accessible for more WTF and gender non-conforming self-identifying riders.

In the episode, we chat sexism in cycling, joy of bikes, being an immigrant, suffering while climbing, adventure, activism, women bike mechanics + so much more, including why she’s working hard to be extra dangerous and how she feels about that.

Nam Instagram
WTF Bikexplorers
California Golde movie
REI Takes on Femvertising with ‘Force of Nature’, Sarah Mahoney, 4.3.2019, MediaPost
Bell Hooks Institute
Audre Lourde, Women Are Powerful and Dangerous
Kid friendly Frog Lake blog post with stunning pics
Bed Rock Sandals
Ron
Sarah Swallow, route creator
Ride with GPS
Strava Heat Maps
Gaia Maps
Bikepacking.com routes
Baja Divide Send Off

If you like this episode, you may also enjoy:
🎤 Ep 38 with Ambreen Tariq, founder Brown People Camping, on diversity in the outdoors and being an immigrant. Listen Here.
🎤 Ep 33 with Noelle Singleton, founder #afroswimming on representation of all races in media. Listen Here.
🎤 Ep 30 with Syd Schulz on being slower than the others in the group. Listen Here.
🎤 Ep 9 with Julie Emmerman, Sport Psychologist on climbing. Listen Here.