The wheels that got this bike moving.
Our beginnings
Belen Ramirez and Erin Machan are in love with life and enjoy mountain biking, triathlons and being outside in nature. The two of them met on an all women's mountain bike ride and hit it off instantly. They share a passion for living outside the box, seeking adventure and empowering women!
Project Bike Love came to life on an 8 mile run through Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Coast, California and from that their lives were changed forever.
Bikes bring them endless joy and they are so excited to spread the Bike Love around the world.
In addition to managing Project Bike Love....
Belen is a family physician, aid worker with Doctor's Without Borders, and always has a thermos of terere.
Erin is a mountain bike product developer for Specialized Bicycles, sports psychology consultant, fitness enthusiast, and entrepreneur.
Vision
Positively impacting women one pedal stroke at a time.
We are committed to empowering women and girls around the world through the gift of a bicycle and the knowledge that there’s a global community who cares about their greatness. Through our support, the women and girls we help transform their family, their community, and can impact the world.
Mission
Locally, nationally, and internationally, Project Bike Love is an advocate for women. We empower women with a bike and the support of a global community.
Values
LOVE - EMPOWERMENT - COMMUNITY - CONNECTION - AWARENESS
Here at Project Bike Love, we stand by our values of love, empowerment, community, connection, and awareness. Our vision was created by our love for humanity, our belief in the power of empowerment, our strong sense of community. We want to share our mission for connection on a local, national, and global level to bring awareness to everyone we encounter.
Who we are
Belen Ramirez
Empowering women around the world is my life’s mission. I might be a Paraguayan, born and raised, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I call SoCal home and, since 2010, I have been a humanitarian doctor with Doctors without Borders. With this experience, I’ve seen first hand how a bike can impact the life of one person and a whole community. I’m a believer in love, compassion, empathy, and opportunities.
Melissa Chabot
I joined the Project Bike Love team in 2019 and am loving the ride so far. I work hard and love my job and my family, but I had the feeling that something was missing; Project Bike Love has provided that missing link for me. I’ve begun to use my passion for cycling and elevating women in a whole new way.
Mariana Dos Santos
What’s not to love? As a business strategist, I love that I can combine my passion for cycling with my profession to effect positive change for women. Cycling is the gift that keeps on giving - it helps you stay fit, gets you around without burning a hole in the ozone, and for the women we work with in particular, it is the key to a new kind of independence.
Erin Machan
I am passionate about bikes and empowering women. Following several life changing experiences with sports and relationships, I came up with the idea to give back to the world using bikes as a tool. In 2014, I met Belen on a bike ride and that is how Project Bike Love was born. Whether it’s through Project Bike Love or my career in a mostly male dominated industry, I am passionate about paving the way for women through the gift of a bike.
Debbie Volpe
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. My husband, of 32 years, three grown kids, and I, have called Orange County home for the past 20 years. I didn’t start seriously riding bikes until my children were grown. I mainly ride for pleasure and exercise. My favorite bike related milestones are riding up Haleakala in Maui, riding the hills of Italy, and winning the championship of the Over The Hump mountain bike race series at age 52! I have been with Project Bike Love since 2018 and I’ve enjoyed participating in bike deliveries here locally in Orange County, in Arizona, and in Paraguay. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to empower women and children with the gift of a bike.
Amy Stonich
I am an avid mountain biker and love to share my passion for bikes with women and children around the world. I am one of the founding members of PBL and have been an integral part of the deliveries in South America, Navajo Nation, and in Southern California. I have also facilitated important partnerships with Rock N Road Cyclery and the Trail Angels Mountain Bike Club. It's thanks to our partnerships, our ambassador programs, and donations that PBL can continue to empower women and children through the gift of a bike.
Lupe Ramirez Tellez
I was born in Asuncion, Paraguay. I am the youngest of five siblings, and since I was little my sisters instilled in me the desire to change the world with small actions. I am a psychologist and also an dance teacher. Putting my two passions together led me to Barcelona to obtain my Master’s Degree in Art for Social Inclusion. Traveling is my passion and I love being able to learn from the world on my trips. I have been a PBL ambassador in Paraguay since its inception and I believe that two wheels can change a life.
A note from Erin
Have you ever been riding your bike and thought, "What if my bike could transform young girls lives across the world?"
Nope, neither had I!
Project Bike Love was inspired during the holidays on Christmas Eve when I opened a small jewelry box with a silver bracelet that had one single bike charm on it. Underneath the bracelet was a small note that read...
“In purchasing this gift you have bought a bike for a girl in India or Africa which will provide them transportation to school..." and went on to explain.
I was so moved by this gift that I began to cry right there. I was so inspired by the concept that I began to do research and talk to people in my community about the need for bicycles on a global level. I started to see that there were so many women and young girls around the world that were unable to get to school, work, or medical care due to the dangers of traveling on foot. Some of these dangers included, rape, murder, mugging, human trafficking and the list goes on and on. By giving these girls a bike we can change the world. I couldn't believe how something as simple as a bike could change a girl’s life! I realized that a bike that I use for fun can actually be life changing for women around the world. All for a price that many of us spend regularly on bikes.
In 2015, I shared the idea for this project with Belen, who is an amazing young woman that is extremely passionate about empowering other women. Belen is from Paraguay and has a deep connection to the community. In discussing our ideas we came up with our very first beneficiary community of young women in Paraguay that we committed to transforming. With the help of our local cycling community, we delivered as many bikes to the community as possible. Our goal was for every woman who needed or wanted a bike, to have a bike. Not only were we able to bring bikes to this community, but we were able to have the bikes purchased or made in Paraguay. This was a benefit to the entire local economy.
It has been several years and the best part is that we have been able to deliver hundreds of bikes locally, nationally, and internationally thanks to the generous donations from people like you!
We continually organize events in the Southern California area where our community can get together, socialize, ride bikes and have tons of fun making an impact on a global level. Please join us in our mission to bring bikes to women and girls around the world.
We love you and we love bikes!
xoxo Erin