Editors: This story was originally published in Issue 165 of our quarterly Tube Times magazine, one of many perks of membership in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

My favorite way to start the day is at our monthly Women Bike SF coffee club. Held at various cafes across the city, we hold this space for women, trans* and femme folks to get together, caffeinate, and share our experiences riding in the city. We recently caught up with one of our regulars, Pamela Ocampo.

Pamela left her car behind and moved to San Francisco from Raleigh, North Carolina in 2013. “As a student at NC State University, I learned how much joy cycling could bring, and saw it as an efficient mode of transportation,” Pamela said. “Adopting biking as my main method of transportation came naturally as I got more acquainted with San Francisco.”

Pamela became a member of the SF Bicycle Coalition within a few months of arriving in the city. “Witnessing how much force is behind the staff, members and volunteers in advocating for safe streets in San Francisco convinced me that membership was worth it,” Pamela reflected. “For me, cycling in cities that don’t have the same level of advocacy for safe streets is jarring and terrifying.”

When asked what makes Women Bike SF important to her, Pamela said, “Morning meetups over coffee — that’s one of my happy places. Having the opportunity to have conversations with other women of varying levels of interest in cycling helps me become better educated on how to lessen the concerns we have collectively.”

Emphasizing the importance of affinity groups like Women Bike SF, Pamela summed up her views this way: “The lack of representation of ‘those like me’ can discourage one from being involved with a community. Groups like Women Bike SF help dispel the thought that you have to fit into any one bucket.”

Want to meet other cool biking fans like Pamela? Join us at the Nov. 2 Women Bike SF coffee club! Learn more here.