Why do I see fewer women cycling than men?

[Suze]

Opinions, ideas? I'm a 60+ female rider, who mostly rides solo and loves best of all touring, though I ride the roads at home a lot also. For the first time this spring I've joined 3 large rides, most recently a cyclosportif with 130K and 100K options . Over and over I notice that a disproportionately small percentage of women are cycing. Why?? I don't get it, this sport/activity isn't inherently biased towards men. I cross country ski some, and see far more women. In the recent event there were 325 participants: 288 men, 37 women. Ages 60-64: 24 men, 1 woman (me). 65 and up: 16 men, no women. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it is just events. I notice far fewer women on the roads, riding locally, commuting, or touring. I don't understand it, and would love to hear your ideas and opinions and suggestions for a blog post I'm hoping to write on the subject. If you don't want any comment you make to be attributed to you, just mention that in your post. If you'd rather reach me directly, you can do that via my blog or email. Snmcycling@gmail.com or susancycling.blogspot.com. Thanks, I hope to hear from you. Thanks and happy pedalling!!

[goldfinch]

I'm going to make some guesses, even hasty generalizations:

1. Lack of time. Women with children often don't have the time to ride. You have a job and family and taking the kids is not that easy.

2. Lack of money. Bikes cost money, especially road bikes.

3. Safety concerns. I see far fewer women cyclists on the road than men cyclists. However, on the few multi-use trails that I use occasionally I see just as many women as men. Could they feel safer there, away from the traffic? Some of the difference is women with their kids but I swear I see just as many men riding with their kids on the MUP as women.

I recall reading somewhere than women tend to exercise less than men. I wonder if it is true.

[Owlie]

Suze, I think someone could write a book on this. Here are a few that get discussed a lot:

1) Fear. Even if men and women are equally fearful, I think women tend to be socialized to express it more readily. I hear a lot of "It's too dangerous to ride on the roads!" I live in an area with a very nice network of separate bike paths, and I see more women, but it's still not a 50-50 breakdown

2) Children. Like it or not, women still get the burden of childcare. That means that many don't have the option of going out for a 2-3 hour ride on a regular basis. It's sad, but even in two-parent families, if both ride, it turns into the mother having to ask the father to babysit. (There's a quote from a cycling coach that says pretty much this. I'll have to go dig it up). I've seen a number of families walk into bike shops, and the man will start chatting with the shop guys about the ride he did yesterday while the woman will be attempting to keep two or three children from destroying the shop.

3) While the sport may not be inherently biased toward men, the marketing arm of it sure is. In most bike shops I've been to with my boyfriend, the staff will address him first, even if it's ME who wants something. It's hard to find a modestly-spec'ed WSD road bike the shop floor. LBSes outside of cycling hotspots like Arizona or SoCal tend not to have a wonderful selection of women's clothes.

4) Comfort, psychological and physical. And fashion.
A number of women I talk to (40-60ish) in my department like riding bikes, but really don't like bike saddles. I have yet to convince them that it's a matter of finding the right one. If we're talking road bikes, it has (until relatively recently) been difficult to find geometries that better fit the "typical" women's build (long legs, short torso). (Note the quotation marks. ) If you're not comfortable, you're not going to ride.
Finally, many women may not be comfortable wearing lycra (since they may see it as a requirement of the sport) for a variety of reasons (body image, cultural, etc). In addition, as silly as it may seem to some of us, there's a fear of helmet hair.

[Maye]

Like goldfinch said: Safety. It's a major concern. Where I live there's a road that has very good bike lanes, not too much traffic, but the area is kind of industrial and close to a big trash dump. Nothing around it. I was told by several cyclists (and non cyclists) to not ride that road alone since is dangerous. But you can see men using it all the time, alone or in group. I use bike paths more than roads because I feel safer there with other women riding there as well.

My husband is always very concerned about what can happen to me while I ride, like accidents or other things. To give him peace of mind I always tell him exactly where I'm going (maps included), to remember what I'm wearing and that he can use the GPS (Find MyFriends app) to locate me anywhere. I also text him every time that I finish a ride.

Also, I think road bikes and the sport by itself is intimidating. I showed my bike to my cousin a while ago and she asked me: "How can you ride that thing with such skinny tires? I would never be able to ride something like that". I told her: yes you can, its easier than what it looks and also you can use a different style of bike and we can ride together.

[maillotpois]

Boy I really don't think about safety much at all - in the context of men vs. women. Accidents can happen to anyone, regardless of sex, so I don't really see any difference in risk between my riding and my husband's. There are 2 places in the Bay Area I can think of where I won't ride alone, but I'd also advise men not to ride those roads alone either. These are very isolated, remote, seemingly haunted type roads and if you had a major mechanical you'd be completely hosed (the Geysers and Mines Rd.).

I guess the only sex difference safety wise I can think of that affects my riding is I'm no longer enthusiastic about riding through the night alone (i.e. on a brevet or double century), whereas I see male friends doing it without really thinking about it. I've ridden through the night alone before, but now I will generally only do it if I have riding companions. But this is pretty extreme, and I don't expect most cyclists to factor in riding at 2 am as an issue.

I will say the majority of people who do the kind of riding I do (brevets and double centuries) are men, and I've had discussions with people about why that is. I do believe that child care is a big factor - it certainly had been for me. Even when we arranged child care, I always had more guilt around leaving the kid for the day to ride than my husband did. Now I've pretty much made a decision not to do any rides over 400k for the next 3 years because during my 600k last year, I really felt bad about being away from home for so long - and the kid is (I hope) going off to college in 3 years, so she's not going to be home forever. I can knock off a ride 400k or less and be home that night (or wee hours of the morning), but 600k, etc., takes both days of the weekend.

I never commuted to work because of (1) inconveniently placed bridges between my work and home with no way around them and (2) lack of shower facilities at work.

[TsPoet]

My first passion is dog training, especially agility. I know dozens of women in dog agility, and 1 man. Why don't more men do agility?

---I don't know if I have a point or not, I think I do

[indysteel]

@Maye, I know this is very location dependent, but in my area, there have been any number of attacks on our main multiple-use trails. I, personally, feel much safer on the average road.

[Catrin]

@Maye, I know this is very location dependent, but in my area, there have been any number of attacks on our main multiple-use trails. I, personally, feel much safer on the average road.

Yep - being in the same area as Indy, I concur. I feel much safer on the road.

[Maye]

@Maye, I know this is very location dependent, but in my area, there have been any number of attacks on our main multiple-use trails. I, personally, feel much safer on the average road.

Here in Orlando there has been a few attacks on the trails as well. Once I get better and more experienced in road cycling, I'll use more the main roads. Here there are way too many distracted drivers.

[Maye]

I do believe that child care is a big factor - it certainly had been for me. Even when we arranged child care, I always had more guilt around leaving the kid for the day to ride than my husband did.

I concur. Child care, another factor. I always feel guilty about leaving my husband taking care of our daughter which is in the terrible 2's phase.

[shootingstar]

I don't know about the area/city where you live Suze. But would tend to agree of more men in general, cycling regularily. However one will notice in Vancouver, the number of women cycling is increasing. It is visible to me compared to 10 yrs. ago.

Here in Calgary waaay more men commute-bike to work than women. (compared to what I saw as a cyclist in Toronto and VAncovuer where I also lived and cycled.) And I'm talking about visual volumes of people I saw cycling in the downtown core in all 3 cities, as comparisons.

Here our cycling infrastructure still is not safe enough to encourage alot of bike commuters into the downtown core. It doesn't mean women lack courage, but if one wants just more people cycling, slower speed of cars, separated bike lanes, must be done.

For me to wear a lycra black skort, when cycling...I feel like an exotic bird in this city.

the city here is dustier than other cities where I've lived because the air in prairies is drier and there's grit/gravel after every winter by road sides.

[kelleil]

There have been some polling & statistics (check out takingthelane.com) that say much about women being risk adverse, money, children etc. There is another problem: bike lanes tend not to go where women need to go: grocery stores, banks, schools, etc.

[Bethany1]

I see several factors:

1. Intimidation by attitudes. Most people see the aggressive racer persona and don't want to look pathetic and out of shape on a bike. You walk in to a shop that has guys all walking around in perfect condition w/jerseys and ignoring everyone else and it's depressing. I equate cycling with aggressive young guys racing as that's what you see in magazines and posters in the store.

I've since learned it's really more a "zone" thing when on a bike. You don't mean to look aggressive/angry but you are just concentrating really hard to avoid stuff.

I try and wave to people, smile when I'm on the road and make cycling more friendly when talking with people.

2. Time/Money. As was mentioned, if you have a family, mom does the care. Bikes are expensive. Gear is expensive. Add in stuff to bring the kids along and it's just easier to find something else family friendly.

3. Fashion. Hate to bring it up but most of us don't have the body to fit into spandex. I quit caring as I realized the benefit of cycling clothes but it took some time. Jeans are uncomfortable and restrictive. A dress would get caught into the chain and skirts would show everything. Cycling friendly clothing for the working woman and for just going around town is hard to find.

I now just put my chamois shorts under my regular clothing and ride off for short rides.

4. Fear/Safety does play into it. It depends on your area and what is available. I really hate riding by myself but I don't have a choice. The trail I ride is always empty in the afternoons since people work. I ride the highways and now the gravel roads much better now with more confidence but it still gets iffy at times.


5. Design/style/choice still is an issue. Most companies still use a cookie cutter frame over and over. Every year just add a better component, slap a new paint color on and keep the frame the same.

Specialized does this big time. Same bike, add different components and the price goes up. You end up with 5 versions of the same bike.

I had a hard time finding bikes that stood out from the crowd. Smaller companies have come up with custom style frames but unless you know about them, you are using the big box companies.

For example, I would love a Pashley bike. Very dainty and feminine. I just wish I could actually look at one.

[lph]

What they all said.

I also think that bike=machine=technical=male thing plays a role. So are cars, and women do drive, but cars are larger, messier and more expensive to repair, so not that many men spend time wrenching their own cars. But walk into a bike store and you'll find men happily discussing the minutiae of bike parts and how to wrench this or that. I guess women may feel that if they're not mechanically inclined, this isn't the sport for them. Skis are pretty straight forward, by comparison.

[hebe]

I concur. Child care, another factor. I always feel guilty about leaving my husband taking care of our daughter which is in the terrible 2's phase.

I try so hard not to feel guilty about this. It's not actually asking them to babysit so much as ensuring that they participate in parenting after all. Plus, my dh enjoys the benefits of my cycling as much as I do so it's not exactly a selfish request.

I put a link onto my fb page about women and exercise - it's a study done by a mental health charity here women scared of outdoor exercise

+1 to all points above.