HELP NEEDED PLEASE! Opinions and comments wanted :)

[cassie]

Hi everyone!
I'm a Graphic design student at the University of Leeds, and I'm currently working on a project which is aiming to encourage females aged 20-25yrs old to participate more in cycling as a sport. According to research that I've found, this is a low-participating audience in the sport. So, please if you have a spare minute or two, I'd be very grateful to hear any views you have on this issue - why do you think females of this age don't cycle often? Why SHOULD they? Did/do you cycle at that age - why/why not? Could it be an image problem at all? Are they scared of the dangers of cycling perhaps?

Thanks very much for your time, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Cassie x

[KnottedYet]

You really need to be asking these questions of people who DON'T bike. They are the ones who would know the answers.

We would just be guessing.

[Trek420]

Welcome to TE. I'm not sure how much we'll help your study, like "preaching to the choir" so to speak but it's a great place.

Surf on over to the "getting to know you" thread when you get a chance.

[Biciclista]

bike helmets mess up their hair. And no, I'm not joking.

[TsPoet]

bike helmets mess up their hair. And no, I'm not joking.

I've heard that more from my guy friends than from women - I'm not joking.

[tangentgirl]

It's not a cheap sport to really get into. With running, you buy a pair of $100 shoes and you are good to go. Biking I'm guessing is around $300-500 (or more if you want better stuff), even if you are starting with a used bike, if you consider bike racks, bike shorts, bike shoes, pedals, helmets, blah blah blah. Most 20-25 year olds don't make a heck of a lot of cash. I know I didn't, I got my first serious bike when I was around 25 (more than 10 years ago), and the $350 investment was not trivial for me. I really would not have been able to do that a couple of years earlier. I thought I would pass out a few years later when I dropped $800 on a road bike.

Also, I think many people, and maybe women more than men, are intimidated by the idea of riding a bike in areas with cars. If they do not have groups to ride with, and do not understand the rules of the road, it could be well, scary. A lot of women - and we all know who they are - have that eek, not little old me attitude. I think that goes away a bit as you get older and try things. Boys are raised to jump into physical things. Girls are often raised to be more cautious.

[limewave]

bike helmets mess up their hair. And no, I'm not joking.

That's my guess too.

And that it's not even on the radar of most women at that time. I think its true for a lot of sports across the board. Doing running races, the 20-29 bracket is not very competitive. But once you get into the 30's, all of a sudden it explodes.

In your 20's, your establishing yourself: relationships, family, careers, living on your own, etc. Sports just aren't on the forefront.

At least, that was my experience.

[shootingstar]

Do you bike much yourself cassie? If no, why not?

The helmet hair thing, unbelievably, easily turns off alot of women.

Also alot of women who don't bike, have been turned off by the experience of cycling a bike that doesn't fit them. Bike fit is something I find myself repeating patiently, over and over and over.

[GLC1968]

Also alot of women who don't bike, have been turned off by the experience of cycling a bike that doesn't fit them. Bike fit is something I find myself repeating patiently, over and over and over.

Ah yes, this is something else I forgot about.... I have LOTS of female friends who say that they tried biking but it hurt their privates or rear so much that they gave up. Most give up for good, too. Seriously, try something new, it hurts...why keep putting yourself through that kind of pain, right? That is a BIG turn off for a lot of women and really, the only thing that could change this factor is education. Women need to know that it doesn't have to hurt to ride a bicycle!

[Crankin]

Why I ride?
I love being active, sweaty, and fit. While I do say I do sports, they are not team sports and I never compete (except with myself). It's part of my life. I was a skinny, uncoordinated kid; the only active things I ever did were riding a bike and ice skating. Girls *didn't do sports* when I was growing up.
Being strong, healthy, and fit helps me age gracefully. It doesn't mean I don't have my share of aging stuff, but riding (x country skiing, snow shoeing, hiking) helps me deal with it all.

[BalaRoja]

Ah yes, this is something else I forgot about.... I have LOTS of female friends who say that they tried biking but it hurt their privates or rear so much that they gave up. Most give up for good, too. Seriously, try something new, it hurts...why keep putting yourself through that kind of pain, right? That is a BIG turn off for a lot of women and really, the only thing that could change this factor is education. Women need to know that it doesn't have to hurt to ride a bicycle!

I sure can relate to this first hand! Among the more frequent comments I hear: a) how can anyone ride more than a few miles, it is too painful and.....(you'll love this one!)....b) i must be crazy to wear biking shorts, and without knickers too...

Biking has a high 'cool' factor as well as being very visible. It ends up being easily equated for many people with visions of the pro peloton riders and european grand tour racing. It can be very intimidating and as everyone mentioned, the gear is not cheap either. Then there are potential safety concerns which cannot be easily dismissed. It takes a lot more skill to successfully navigate traffic and deal with the usual stuff on the road. In addition, at least where I live, there's very little if any organized riding or clubs for women cyclists. I know I'm always the token female in every group ride here...

When I used to be a runner, I found the hip/chic/coolness factor was much lower. You didn't really need anything but running shoes and most any top & shorts. I saw plenty of people of varying ages, body types, race, ethnicity, and other social backgrounds. Plus you could run in plenty of venues and places where you didn't have to be elbow to elbow with motorists and others. Some people ran faster than others, but basically everyone was a runner and could really connect with the place the activity had for them...

[zoom-zoom]

Also alot of women who don't bike, have been turned off by the experience of cycling a bike that doesn't fit them. Bike fit is something I find myself repeating patiently, over and over and over.

This was definitely an issue for me, too. I have a clunky Schwinn mtn. bike that is at least a size or two too big for me. I got it over a decade ago and can count on both hands how many times I actually rode it. It took me a long time to have any interest in road biking, since my experience with a low-end mountain bike was so uncomfortable, even with a decent saddle and slick tires.

[tangentgirl]

Also alot of women who don't bike, have been turned off by the experience of cycling a bike that doesn't fit them. Bike fit is something I find myself repeating patiently, over and over and over.

I have to jump on this bandwagon too. I remember a bike I had in high school, that I was supposed to use to commute my senior year. This is years after I stopped riding my fun kid bike around the neighborhood. It was a free bike, and it was way too big, and the seat hurt, and my back hurt after riding, and it generally sucked to ride it. I ended up begging rides off of friends with cars for the year, because it just wasn't fun. It was kind of a fluke that I even considered cycling again.

[MomOnBike]

Judging from my athletic daughter in that age range, one reason is, yes, helmet head - and the related problem of arriving somewhere all sweaty.

Also, it's just not Cool.

Me, I ride because I dislike driving a car and walking is slow.

[shootingstar]

Gave my ideas why more women don't cycle.

But why I cycle and I have been for past 18 years after returning to cycling at 31... is: for fitness-enjoyment, transportation since we are car-free in our lifestyle for many years...for getting around city and also for vacation trips.

I can also transport things such as heavy groceries more easily on bike compared to walking.

As for students who are "poor", not denying that stage that I and many TE folks have experienced. However it floors me, how many students these days have money to pay for gas, car maintenance and drive to university/college. It wasn't quite like that when I was a student awhile back.