All Bodies on Bikes’ Marley Blonsky shattering cycling stereotypes

Tall and skinny — that’s what most of us picture when we hear the word “cyclist.” Who else do we see powering up mountains during the Tour de France? But Marley Blonsky is trying to change that expectation. Blonsky describes herself as a “fat adventure cyclist,” a curvy woman who routinely goes on multi-day bikepacking tours. She’s happiest riding hundreds of miles through the countryside and building a fire on a rustic campsite, and she’s inspired many other plus-sized cyclists to follow in her tracks. That’s why Blonsky cofounded All Bodies on Bikes, a nonprofit that empowers would-be cyclists and organizes inclusive group rides.

Raised in Dallas, Texas and Spokane, Washington, Blonsky graduated from the University of Washington during the 2008 financial crisis. She worked in a corporate setting for many years, most recently as a Global Environmental Manager. In August of 2021, Blonsky established All Bodies on Bikes with Oregon-based Kailey Kornhauser. Their first bikepacking adventure together was chronicled in a short documentary produced by Shimano.

Blonsky recently moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, where she has started an All Bodies on Bikes podcast and is rapidly expanding her organization. She’s also found herself on the lecture circuit and has attracted a range of sponsorships, from Cannondale to Twisted Spoke.

We recently caught up with Blonsky to hear about her advocacy renaissance.

How did you get into cycling in the first place?

I grew up in Texas, and like many children of the ‘90s, we spent all of our time outside on bikes. So I rode bikes a lot as a kid, and up until middle school, I was riding bikes and enjoying it. I kind of stopped in high school, like a lot kids do.

I didn’t pick it up again until I was like twenty-five, when I found myself heartbroken and divorced. I had moved from the part of Seattle where you could use a car to a really dense part, and so biking just made sense. I was taking the bus two miles to work every day, and it was taking like 45 minutes. And I kept seeing all these people on bikes, just whizzing by. When I looked around at who I wanted to be friends with, who I wanted to date, they were all riding bikes. So I was like, “Well, that’s the logical conclusion. I’m going to start riding bikes.”

What motivated you to start All Bodies on Bikes?

The group I was riding with [in Seattle] was really into bike camping, getting out and having adventures. I started going on these epic trips, of a couple hundreds miles across states. But I didn’t have a raincoat, I didn’t have a proper kit. At the time, I was doing a lot of bike advocacy in Seattle – so, safer streets, and bike lanes, and protected infrastructure. I hated feeling like I was begging for my safety at City Council meetings. But I kind of had this lightbulb moment, because people were asking me, “How do you do it? You’re fat, but you ride bikes.” And I was like, “I guess I do have something to share here.” So I started blogging about it, and then used that advocacy toolkit to advocate for people with bigger bodies.

What happens on an All Bodies On Bikes ride?

Right now we’ve got 10 chapters. Last year, we led over 30 rides. We’re going through a chapter model, where we can train up the leaders and make sure that they are using our methodology for ride leading and communication. We use best practices we’ve compiled from other groups working in the inclusion space. I’d say it’s even over-communication at the beginning, making sure folks know what to expect on the ride, and when they get there, having a talk at the beginning of the ride, introducing who the ride leaders are, who the sweepers are, who the floaters are in the middle. Because a lot of rides you show up to, and it’s like, “Okay, let’s go!” We are very deliberate and intentional in the beginning, giving a route preview, telling people we’re going to stick together. We regroup at the top of hills. We try and wait till the last people get there and give them a minute or two to catch their breath – which shouldn’t be unique, but it is.

All Bodies On Bikes founder Marley Blonsky

How did you end up in Arkansas?

I had been over Seattle for a while. It’s just a really expensive city, it’s hard to live in. I put out feelers for where to move. Somebody sent me something out of Bentonville, and they had this incentive to move there. So I applied, and I got a $10,000 grant to move here, and that’s why I’m here.

I love it. The whole city is kind of being transformed by the Waltons – of Walmart [fame] – and they are just investing billions into outdoor recreation, so biking, hiking, rock-climbing, art, what have you. So I feel like I live in a bicycle Disneyland, and I get to just play for free, all the time. Honestly, from my front door, I probably have access to 50 miles of singletrack, and it’s from the downtown area. It’s wild. They’re trying to make it the mountain bike capital of the world, and I think they’re doing a pretty darn good job.

Aside from the social stigma, what are some practical issues that bigger riders face, but aren’t addressed very well?

Bicycles often have really low weight limits. Even Citi Bike in New York, I think the weight limit is supposed to be 250 pounds – which, for a lot of folks, especially when you add your laptop or whatever, you’re exceeding that, and it becomes a safety hazard. I wish that, especially in the industry, there was more knowledge. I hear countless stories of people going into bike shops and getting onto a bicycle that isn’t going to work for them. They get it out the door, they go on a couple rides, and suddenly they’re breaking spokes. Thankfully, I haven’t heard of too many catastrophic failures, but the potential is there – especially with this movement towards faster and lighter and carbon and let’s-go-as-aero-as-possible. If you weigh 300 pounds, you don’t need a super-light bicycle with 10 spokes. You need something robust. I just wish that information was more readily available. That’s my next crusade. The weight limit is in the owner’s manual, but it’s really hard to find.

Are you seeing improvement, in terms of empathy and inclusion?

Yes. Whether it’s events – people coming to me and asking, “Hey, do you want to lead a ride? Do you want to bring a group to this? We love what you’re doing, we want to see more of it” – to cities, parks and recreation departments reaching out, colleges, bike shops, I think there’s a huge recognition that people in larger bodies make up more than half of our population, and we’ve just been left out. I don’t think it’s been intentional. I think a lot of folks are kind of realizing, “Oh, crap, maybe I do have some anti-fat bias, and I don’t need to.” Weight stigma and fat stigma affect everybody, regardless of your size. I’ve had a lot of pro cyclists chat with me about it and say, “Thanks for having this conversation. My coach told me to lose weight, and I was already 120 pounds.”

What’s on the horizon for All Bodies On Bikes?

We are in the process of filing the [501(C)3] paperwork. There’s also going to be a for-profit arm that’s going to make clothing. That’s my own little venture. I don’t think I’m going to use the name All Bodies on Bikes. But the idea is that one percent of the profits will go back to support the nonprofit.

I was really hesitant to do a clothing line. For years, people would say, “You should start your own clothing line.” And I was like, “No, I shouldn’t have to. These companies should work with us and make bigger clothing.” But there is a need for extended-size bike clothing. So I got convinced to do this entrepreneurship program. So I’m in kind of a training program where they’re teaching us how to do it, setting us up with mentors. Right now, I’m still in the customer-discovery phase. What do people with bigger bodies even want to wear? What are the pain points? I would like to have at least one or two garments out within the next year.

Can I add a caveat to that? I also have a lot of privilege in this space. I’m white. I can pass for straight, even though I’m not. I’m able-bodied. I’m what’s considered a small-to-mid-fat. I go to Old Navy, I can find clothes. But the larger you get, your experience is going to be different. I don’t want to discount those folks who live in much larger bodies who are not having the same experience.