Why Braamfontein Werf can’t stop talking about the women in pink helmets
Ever so often, a group of women rolls through Johannesburg on bicycles, turning heads and building confidence. Here's how Girls on Bikes is redefining cycling, friendship and freedom.
They’re impossible to miss.
A sea of bright pink helmets glides through Johannesburg’s streets, laughter echoing between cyclists as they roll out from Braamfontein Werf at 44 Stanley aboard bicycles supplied by Girls on Bikes.
Forget the image of serious cyclists chasing personal bests. This is a movement built on friendship, confidence and proving that women belong on the road.
Read more: How to choose the best size bicycle for your child
Founder Karabo Mashele never imagined she’d be leading it. “I didn’t even know how to ride a bicycle,” she laughed.
A runner at the time, Mashele says she had zero interest in cycling until her brother challenged her to become the face women needed to believe they could do it too.
Learning to ride in her late 20s was only the beginning. “I had to learn how to ride, build my confidence on the road and then lead other people,” she said.
Three years later, what started with a single ride at Zoo Lake has grown into a community that’s rewriting what cycling looks like in Johannesburg. “Our rides are social,” Mashele explained. “It feels like the energy of a girls’ bathroom or a sleepover, just on bicycles.”
Also read: Bicycles are the future
There’s no pressure to own expensive gear or dress like a professional cyclist. Members arrive as they are, hop onto one of the group’s commuter bikes and explore the city at what Mashele jokingly calls “the coolest, sexiest pace ever.”
The rides have become about far more than cycling. Friendships have flourished, businesses have connected, and women who once arrived as strangers now cheer each other on through every kilometre.
One of Mashele’s favourite memories came when the group cycled through Illovo.
“A woman stood up from a restaurant and shouted, ‘Hey, Girls on Bikes’. It felt like she already knew all of us.”
For women wondering whether they should give cycling a try, Mashele says, “Just do it, girly pop. You’re missing out on friendships, sisterhood and that feeling of freedom when the wind is in your face.”
Her dream is to see even more women progress from social rides to competitive cycling, proving that a welcoming community can also be the starting line for something much bigger.
As the pink helmets continue to turn heads across Johannesburg, Girls on Bikes is showing that sometimes taking up space is exactly what a city needs.
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