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.