HELP NEEDED PLEASE! Opinions and comments wanted :)

[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.

[chicagogal]

I too have enjoyed reading this thread. It has made me think back to how I got into cycling when I was in my 20s (it wasn't that long ago, being in my 30s is a recent development

I think that the biggest deterrent to me before taking up cycling was the idea of getting places sweaty and gross. To be honest, that hasn't changed much. Therefore, I don't commute by bike. Cycling is my sport and I am only in a public place after a ride if I am with other cyclists post-ride at a coffee shop, or at the LBS - that is one place I have never minded arriving sweaty and gross, and driving there just seems odd. I'll occasionally bike to the tennis courts (my other sport) but don't really like having to carry my tennis equipment so only do it if I am desperate to get a ride in.

The roads are another problem. Being young, I tend to move around a lot. I got used to biking on the roads in the bay area, and then moved to chicago. It took me some time to feel comfortable on new roads. Partly I didn't know what to expect from the drivers and partly I was afraid that I didn't know the best/safest routes, or that I might get lost in a bad neighborhood. Finding groups/clubs to ride with definitely helped.