Way more men than women cycling commuting

[shootingstar]

I live and work downtown plus cycle-commute daily

To me, it looks like alot more men cycle in general.

Sigh, it gets kind of boring to see this.

[limewave]

I've been cycling for 8-9 years now. And there are ALOT more women riding now than there was back then. I used to be the only woman that showed up to the group rides.

Finding women to mountain bike with is still a struggle, but I never have problem finding ladies to do a road ride with

But yeah, there's definitely room for women to join in!

[redrhodie]

On the group ride I do, we have about equal # of men and women. I suspect there are more male commuters, due to our immigrant workers who ride every day, year round. They seem to be mostly men.

[trista]

I would imagine that fewer commuting women also has a lot to do with the fact that there are more men in the workforce than women. Plus, for the women that ARE in the workforce, there are risks/issues to commuting to work that a lot of women don't want to deal with: helmet hair, carrying/changing into non-cycling work clothes, the risks of riding alone...

For group rides, probably has a lot to do with women being moms. I know when I was a SAHM, I never had the chance to do group rides because i so rarely had any kind of alignment between my childcare schedule and group ride schedules.

[shootingstar]

My observations in my city is in reference to Calgary...they are behind in cycling infrastructure (but abit better now compared to 10 yrs. ago) and sheer cycling numbers compared to VAncovuer and Toronto where I have lived, cycle-commuted to work for over 8 years in each of these other cities.

On the group ride I do, we have about equal # of men and women. I suspect there are more male commuters, due to our immigrant workers who ride every day, year round. They seem to be mostly men.

Redhodie: The guys I see commuting are wearing cycling gear and riding bikes with gearing. I don't know of their citizenship background. We are at the height of good summer weather and still...hardly any women cycle commuting. It's not winter or lousy early spring.

For every 10 rider or more, I see a woman cyclist.

In fact, where I work in my organization, it wouldn't surprise me that it is our organization that may have higher% of women cycle-commuting. And we are located near bike paths.

I would imagine that fewer commuting women also has a lot to do with the fact that there are more men in the workforce than women. Plus, for the women that ARE in the workforce, there are risks/issues to commuting to work that a lot of women don't want to deal with: helmet hair, carrying/changing into non-cycling work clothes, the risks of riding alone...

For group rides, probably has a lot to do with women being moms. I know when I was a SAHM, I never had the chance to do group rides because i so rarely had any kind of alignment between my childcare schedule and group ride schedules.

I actually think in the city for the past 18 yrs. that I've been cycle commuting in 3 major metropolitan cities, with each over 1 million people and also riding in quiet parks, in early morning and night time darkness, I actually feel SAFER as a woman alone on bike compared to jogging/walking alone.

True sschedule and locationalignment between cycle commuting and childcare /daycare can be challenge. But depends on where one lives in relation to work and daycare. I'm not being facetious, I knew several different mothers and fathers who cycled their child to daycare in the trailer.

Trista I actually rarely cycle in groups. Over the years I only cycled with my partner 60% of time or less. It was scheduling difference, activities and different job locations.

There were some years, it was 90% alone cycling in the city and I would be doing rides solo 40-100 kms. (Yes, I live in big city areas. I don't need to go into rural areas to do 100 kms.)

[jessmarimba]

The biggest reason I don't bike commute more often? Because then I can't run after work.

I run by my office, but not close enough by that I want to bike back to the office to pick stuff up after a run. If I bike to work, and want to stop and run on the way home, I have to either leave all of my belongings unattended with my bike, or run with a pack full of all of my valuables.

Or I ride home from work, get in the car, and drive back to the trails that are close to the office, which is just a waste. (And my neighborhood isn't safe to run in alone, so that isn't an option)

[sfa]

I think the other thing that plays into this (didn't we discuss this recently? I'm having some deja-vu going on here) is that women tend to have more responsibility for child care, so they are the ones picking up and dropping off at daycare, taking kids to after-school activities, leaving work midday to take kids to dentist and doctor appointments, etc. They are also the ones "on call" when a child gets sick and has to be picked up from daycare or school during the day. I commute by bike one or two days a week, but for a long time I didn't bike commute at all because every single day from 3:00 - 4:15 I had to make a run to my son's school (15 miles away from work), take him to his after-school program (7 miles from his school), then go back to my office (another 16 miles). DH was an hour away at his new job. Now DH is working from home most days, so I'm able to manage the commute by bike, but it'll never be a full time thing until the kids are out of the house.

One related thing I've noticed--when I get up at 5:30 to run or ride, women outnumber men by about 4 to 1, at least among runners (and generally among people out at that time of day at all for exercise--I only see one or two other cyclists when I'm out in the early morning, and the occasional dog walker). In the evening, it's more evenly split, and at night (when *I* walk my dog) it's all men running, never women.

[badger]

this topic was in the newspaper the other day, how only 40% of the commuters by bicycle were women, and how the city wanted more women participating.

The next day in the Ops/Ed section, a reader commented along the lines of women not cycling because they have childcare before and/or after work, and another reason she said was that she didn't want helmet head. We can scoff at that, but to some it's important to not look ruffled at work.

[indysteel]

I would imagine that fewer commuting women also has a lot to do with the fact that there are more men in the workforce than women. Plus, for the women that ARE in the workforce, there are risks/issues to commuting to work that a lot of women don't want to deal with: helmet hair, carrying/changing into non-cycling work clothes, the risks of riding alone...

For group rides, probably has a lot to do with women being moms. I know when I was a SAHM, I never had the chance to do group rides because i so rarely had any kind of alignment between my childcare schedule and group ride schedules.

It depends on the statistic, but the disparity between men and women in the workforce isn't huge. I just get the sense that fewer women ride bikes. Period. I imagine part of it relates to demands childrearing, but I think there's more to it than that. I've read too many "how do I get my wife to ride with me threads" to think that it's just about kids. I tend to think there's a stronger perception among women that it's unsafe or overly difficult, complicated and/or intimidating. Of course, I have no statistics to back this up; it's just what I've gathered after years of reading bike forums.

[badger]

It depends on the statistic, but the disparity between men and women in the workforce isn't huge. I just get the sense that fewer women ride bikes. Period. I imagine part of it relates to demands childrearing, but I think there's more to it than that. I've read too many "how do I get my wife to ride with me threads" to think that it's just about kids. I tend to think there's a stronger perception among women that it's unsafe or overly difficult, complicated and/or intimidating. Of course, I have no statistics to back this up; it's just what I've gathered after years of reading bike forums.

I also think too, that if they're girly-girl and really into make up and hair and afraid of chipping their nails, they're not going to be inclined to ride a bike. I know a few women like that.

[Crankin]

The number of women riding around here has skyrocketed since I started riding in 2000. Even my son noticed this when he came to visit a few years ago, after riding in the late nineties until 2003. I see all kinds of women riding, road bikes, hybrids, beginners, serious roadies. I see women commuting, too.
However, when I ride at 5:30 AM alone, or with DH, the groups I see riding are men. I see a few lone women here and there. I drive along a newer bike trail on the way home from work and at this time of year, there are lots of women there, running or riding hybrids, cruisers. This is good.
Of course, even though we don't have a huge cycling infrastructure, this is a cycling mecca of sorts. Every year it gets bigger and bigger.

[ultraviolet]

I also think too, that if they're girly-girl and really into make up and hair and afraid of chipping their nails, they're not going to be inclined to ride a bike. I know a few women like that.

I'm a girly-girl. Always in dresses or skirts. Love makeup and cute hair. And get really annoyed when one of my nails gets chipped. I also love riding my many bikes. Just sayin'...there's a thing about books and covers that comes to mind here.

[7rider]

FWIW...
At our recent bike to work day festivities, over 40% of the 70+ riders were women. Most say that they are regular or frequent bike commuters.
That said, most - from observation - are young, generally single or childless, and I do work for an environmentally slanted agency.
I have had men tell me that they bike commuted less frequently due to child care concerns.
On our group ride, there may be 20 men, and only 3 women. But one of those women can dust just about any guy out there and at rest stops, pulls out her lipstick to "freshen up".
And my DH - who rides - plays classical guitar, and he HATES it when he chips a nail. Way worse than I do.

[Thorn]

I tend to agree with sfa and that it has to do with childcare. I keep tabs of the commuters that I see on my ride and also see about 10 to 1, male to female. But one thing I've noticed is that female cyclists are either young 20-somethings or older 55+. Rarely do I see women in between.

Also, I rde from the suburbs into downtown. While I see guys in the suburbs, the women are extremely rare; in the downtown area, young women, including women dressed in skirts are common, probably making up 30-40% of the commuters. Again, coming back to child care -- an urban, bike commutable lifestyle works until you have kids. Then, there the tendancy to move to the 'burbs and the longer commute just doesn't cut within the time constraints.

But, I just play statistician and sociologist during my commute....really, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I love to observe and count....

ETA....but in Wisconsin's commuter challenge, the current points leader is female ( http://www.endomondo.com/?wicket:interface=:3:::: ) and 3 of the top 10 are female.

[indysteel]

I'm a girly-girl. Always in dresses or skirts. Love makeup and cute hair. And get really annoyed when one of my nails gets chipped. I also love riding my many bikes. Just sayin'...there's a thing about books and covers that comes to mind here.

I'm a girly girly to some extent, too, although I wear my nails too short to chip them, but I also don't mind getting sweaty, messy, dirty, etc. on a bike, hike or run. But I know plenty of women--girly girls and tomboys alike--who simply don't find it very appealing to work up a hard sweat. They also aren't inclined to get out of their comfort zones, physically or emotionally. That explains some of their relunctance to ride a bike. But it's so hard they say!