HELP NEEDED PLEASE! Opinions and comments wanted :)

[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.

[zoom-zoom]

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.

I was poor because I had to pay for those things...on top of rent, groceries, and tuition. We also got married just before I turned 24, so from about 22.5 until then I was saving for wedding costs, too. Mom and dad couldn't afford to foot the bill on any of this for me, as I was the eldest of 3 with a sibling still at home and another in college, as well.

[NbyNW]

In your study it might be helpful to distinguish between whether a woman is active or not and how that relates to her attitude towards cycling. I would argue that women who are less active might have very different attitudes than women who are active but might be focusing their energies on other activities.

I remember at that age wanting a bike but not being able to afford one, not to mention that it was very difficult at the time to find a road bike my size. That was when I first heard about Terry, which I definitely could not afford. I was 26 before I finally felt comfortable spending money on a low-end mountain bike. Up to that time I borrowed bikes from friends in the bike industry when I had the opportunity.

I was also hanging out with a very athletic crowd at the time. I think that for active women that age, if they are busy with school/establishing careers, there are other sports you can get involved in that don't cost as much. You can run and enter 5ks and marathons. You can join a community soccer league.

I wouldn't make too much of the helmet head thing. It's more of a humorous aside for active women, who at some point accept that they're not going to look fresh as a daisy, but that's fine because you can always clean up afterwards. The rewards of feeling strong and confident far outweigh the price of helmet hair. It is probably more of a barrier for people who haven't yet found a sport that they love.

[Zen]

As a graphic design student myself, I'm wondering why you have to ask this question. What exactly is your assignment?

[OakLeaf]

Community barriers to non-motorized transport are a huge issue keeping people of every age and sex off bicycles. As a side question, I'd be curious to know what fraction of women who do ride, do it only as a sport.

(That said, I live four blocks from a middle-aged man who insists on driving his road bike to the start of the club ride... three miles from his house, all of which has either a bike path, a wide shoulder, or low traffic. )

[cassie]

The final assignment has not been given to us in full yet - we've been set the research part first, before the actual design side kicks in (which I think is a bit silly; as our research may end up not being particularly relevant!)

But the assignment is "something to do with" encouraging participation in a sport. We will have to produce a digital outcome - so, for example, something online, for the iphone, etc. Hence my research into reasons why females of that age don't cycle; so I can then attempt to tackle these areas in order to encourage participation.

Personally, I only cycle on an occasional basis - this is because I'm at university and a bike won't fit in the student house/would most likely get stolen if i left it outside! When I'm home though I try to cycle during the summer, but only on a very casual basis. I must admit - helmet hair is an issue! - as well as lack of free time for me.

[ivorygorgon]

This is a really interesting thread. I have enjoyed reading it.

I have to say I agree with most of the comments on why younger folks, and I do think it also extrapolates to folks not in their 20s, don't ride.

I want to add modeling though. I think there are probably just not enough good models for women and riding. I know I didn't have ANY women in my life who rode a bike. I still don't personally know any other women who ride. I also think it isn't high profile enough. On the "Family Feud" thread, I had to really think to come up with a name of a famous woman cyclist, and even when I thought of someone, I wasn't sure I wasn't making it up.

One of the reasons I think biking is so much fun, is that I feel so free on a bike. My mountain bike, and my road bike, just infuse me with an emotion or sense of flying and being free. The WEEEEEEEEEEE factor keeps me coming back. It just plain feels good to ride. The fitness is certainly a bonus, but mostly I feel like I need to be fit to enjoy riding my bike. Not the other way around. I don't give a fig about helmet hair - well maybe I give a raisin, but certainly not a fig!

[limewave]

I admit, I've been skimming the responses, but has anyone said:

sore bottom? I hear that ALOT. They ride once and their bum hurts. So they never do it again.

And the bike jerseys/kits are UGLY (not my opinion, but I hear that alot).

And who wants to wear spandex shorts, OMG! Especially if a guy will be riding a foot behind you!!!!

I will never forget the first time I rode with DH and he told me my bum jiggled a lot. It's a good thing I'm not overly sensitive.