Hi, my name’s Amaya and I’m on a quest to cycle every country on the planet.
Since 2006, I’ve biked 105,000 miles (170,000 km) through 102 countries on all six continents.
When I first discovered the DivaCup in 2011, it was literally life changing!
We’d spent much of the prior five years riding our bicycles in developing parts of the world where it can be extremely difficult or even impossible to purchase tampons. Feminine sanitary products just aren’t available in many places. Women have no choice but to use rags instead of pads or tampons.
Sometimes I had to carry several months supply of tampons and bulky pads with me. With bicycle panniers having very limited carrying capacity, every inch of space is valuable. I’d much rather fill my bags with warm clothes, rain gear and extra food instead of tampons and panty liners.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
I often have heavy periods and needed to change products several times during the day. It was hard to find a suitable place to change tampons. Public toilets are nonexistent in many parts of Africa, Asia and South America. The next challenge was finding a place to dispose of the used tampon which always ended up being tricky and awkward.
Now that I use the DivaCup, I can cycle from dawn until dusk without even giving a thought to embarrassing leakage. There’s never any smell and the DivaCup is so comfortable that I quickly forget I’m even using one. I just clean the DivaCup mornings and evenings in a private space where I have access to clean, safe-to-drink water.
Best of all, I feel good knowing that more used sanitary products won’t be going into landfills.
What I like most about using the DivaCup is the company’s commitment to supporting international organizations that offer healthcare, empowerment and education to women and children around the world.
Many girls in Africa and Asia stay home from school while they’re menstruating because they don’t have access of menstrual care products. In other cases, girls and women who are menstruating are seen as unclean and must remain separated from others. My hope is that attitudes will change and one day women around the world will have access to menstrual cups and be able to go about their daily lives without shame, discomfort or awkwardness while they are having their periods.
When I tell other women bicycle travellers about the DivaCup, I’m surprised by how many still don’t know about the many benefits. I’ve convinced quite a few fellow cyclists to give the DivaCup a try and they all report back pretty much the same thing: It’s incredible! I wish I’d known about this a long time ago.
Amaya W.
Amaya grew up in Montana and has been cycling the world with her husband, Eric, since 2006. She loves waking up early to catch the sunrise, capturing images of the beautiful places she travels through and interacting with people from the remotest corners of our planet. You can follow her adventures at www.worldbiking.info or catch up with her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/worldbiking.
