Say meow to Roadcats Moto Club, a safe haven for LGBTQ+ riders

On a brisk, bright Sunday morning at the corner of Fourth Street and Cherry Avenue, over a dozen motorcycle riders enjoyed coffee, orange juice, pastries and each other’s company. Some traveled a few blocks down, while others came from as far as San Diego on Nov. 23 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Roadcats Moto Club, Long Beach’s one and only LGBTQ+ motorcycle club.

After years of searching for a motorcycle club that inspired a strong sense of belonging, but walking away each time still missing something, Long Beach resident Wendy Natividad decided to create her own.

The women-focused clubs were nice, but she still didn’t feel truly represented, or see anyone who looked and dressed like her. “Where are all the queer weirdos like me?” Natividad texted a friend during her search.

Following in the leather-clad footsteps of queer-centric motorcycle clubs created in the last few decades, in need of safe places to socialize and connect, and with a refusal to be “othered,” Natividad took the leap and founded Roadcats Moto Club.

Over hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches at queer-owned Good Day Cafe, she learned there were plenty of other riders searching for the exact kind of space she was.

Members of the Roadcats Moto Club celebrate the one year anniversary of their group on Nov. 23, 2025, enjoying the vibes and food at Good Day Cafe. (Jorge Hernandez | Signal Tribune)

“Not only that people show up, it affirms to me that I made the right choice to organize this, it’s also that people come from as far as Simi Valley and as far as San Diego,” Natividad told the Signal Tribune ahead of their one-year anniversary. “Knowing that people come from afar just reinforces to me how important it is for this to exist, that’s how much of a lack there is of queer-affirming spaces in the motorcycle world.”

When the Roadcats aren’t talking shop over breakfast bagels and coffee Sunday mornings, they can be found enjoying beers and cocktails at The Crest in North Long Beach or at local pop-ups throughout the city.

A Rich History of LGBTQ Riders

Natividad chose the name as an homage to The Black Cat, a bar that opened in Silver Lake in 1966 and quickly became a symbol for LGBTQ+ pride and resistance. On New Year’s Eve 1967, the Los Angeles Police Department performed an undercover sting operation, resulting in several beatings and arrests for same-sex kissing.

Hundreds of demonstrators convened at The Black Cat on Feb. 11, 1967 to protest the brutality with a peaceful assembly, offering a glimpse of the waves of gay resistance that would follow for generations.

Also paving roads of visibility and safety were several queer motorcycle clubs sprouting in the post-World War II era. The most enduring of these groups is The Satyrs Motorcycle Club, founded in 1954 by seven World War II veterans in search of the camaraderie they were missing post-war. The Satyrs remain one of the longest-running gay organizations in the country.

A member of The Satyrs poses on his bike, surrounded by his fellow riders. The Satyrs is one of the oldest LGBTQ motorcycle clubs, and LGBTQ social clubs, in the country. (Courtesy of Archive One)

Then, in San Francisco in 1976, a group of lesbian women demanded their own space with the creation of Dykes on Bikes Women’s Motorcycle Contingent.

“In the mainstream the motorcycle rider is a very cishet rider and like a Harley rider. But at the same time there’s actually been a long history of gay and lesbian people in motorcycling,” Natividad said.

These groups now have members across the globe, including a couple California chapters of more recently formed clubs like Queers and Gears and Pride Rider, though none felt “just right” for Natividad. Four years into riding, she decided to go her own path, and invite others along for the ride.

Members of the Roadcats Moto Club depart from Good Day Cafe on Nov. 23, 2025, as they celebrate their one year anniversary. The motorcycle club will cruise down Pacific Coast Highway as they ride towards Costa Mesa. (Jorge Hernandez | Signal Tribune)

Paving a New Road

As a pansexual polyamorous woman with a male “core partner,” Natividad said she worried that maybe she wasn’t “queer enough” to start the club. Luckily, her improv background kicked in, urging her to “just go for it.”

At the inaugural meet-up in November of last year, a small group of riders, hesitant and excited, met up to talk shop and ended up hanging out for four hours. Some even took an impromptu ride together afterwards. Natividad knew she made the right choice.

Over the past year, she said word of mouth has grown and the club has become more comfortable being themselves, taking up space as queer riders.

“People are clearly dressing more comfortably and more aligned with their gender expression, who are coming on their motorcycles so clearly they’re being visible from wherever they’re coming from. They get to be free and not worry about what they look like or what they sound like, they know they’re coming to a safe place,” Natividad said. “It’s a place where people can talk shop and not worry about being judged for who they are.”

Roadcats Moto Club founder Wendy Natividad shows motorbike safety signs during their safety portion of the meetup at Good Day Cafe on Nov. 23, 2025. (Jorge Hernandez | Signal Tribune)

Wendy Natividad and members of the Roatcats Moto Club traveled to Los Angeles to participate in a series by Camila Franco Ribeiro Gomide’s series “Queer Riders: the reclaiming of motorcycle culture. (Courtesy of Camila Franco Ribeiro Gomide)

Recently, Roadcats made a roadtrip to Los Angeles to be a part of Baltimore-based photographer Camila Franco Ribeiro Gomide’s series “Queer Riders: the reclaiming of motorcycle culture.” Gomide has been riding along Route 66 photographing LGBTQ riders throughout the country to highlight queer visibility in the motorcycle world.

Especially for people new to the world of motorcycles, like Roadcats member Vixxen Velocity, the club offers immediate acceptance and a safe place to learn things like safety signals for riders, equipment and cultural know-how.

“It means the world to me because I’m technically a new motorcycle rider, I started riding at the beginning of this year and there’s this huge stigma of motorcycling of always trying to be tough, but here you can just be yourself and I really love that,” Velocity said.

For Benjamin Sada, who’s been riding for 20 years, Roadcats was a relief after years of searching.

“I’ve never had a space like this where I actually feel comfortable to show up as I am and who I am, and for the first time in 20 years of riding I feel safe with who I’m riding with and that means a lot,” Sada said.

At the one-year anniversary, some members showed up with pride flags adorning their bikes or clothing, and the group commemorated its anniversary with a photo holding up an inter-sex and people of color inclusive LGBTQ pride flag.

Perhaps a common sight in Long Beach, it’s not lost on Natividad how crucial it is to have a safe place for queer riders to gather. The group has received hateful comments on SoCal’s motorcycle riding Facebook group, and people emboldened by an anti-queer presidential administration have become more vocal in recent years.

A motorbike is parked with a pride flag on the handlebar at Good Day Cafe on Nov. 23, 2025. (Jorge Hernandez | Signal Tribune)

The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations saw record levels of hate crimes reported against the LGBTQ community in 2023, with the largest increases being crimes against gay men and trans individuals. In this way, Roadcats Moto Club is following the path laid by the pioneer queer motorcycle clubs, providing a secure place of connection for the queer community.

“That’s one of the things I considered also, as I was starting to organize I wanted to make sure we were meeting in safe and supportive places,” Natividad said. “Also I wanted to be unapologetic in promoting and getting the word out … It’s important to be visible in the face of hate and ignorance and to let other people know that we exist and we’re not going anywhere.”

Roadcats Moto Club meets monthly at Good Day Cafe, and on select nights at The Crest in North Long Beach. To follow along with their meet-ups and other news, follow the club on Instagram @roadcatsmotoclub.

Source: Signal Tribune