What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

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Punk_shore
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lady cyclists

Post by Punk_shore »

Tom -
I also liked the Dutch side-saddle seats on the back for adult passengers.
Perhaps it falls upon the blokes in this country to organise a cyclists' fashion show, with coffee, in aid of a charity?

What do other people think please...

Kind regards, Punk_shore
What is the colour(s) of your cycle?
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Please lookup the Bicycle Renewal Programme, linked to the website button beneath "Santa's Little Helper" cartoon.
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Punk_shore
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Post by Punk_shore »

:wink: Just thinking laterally here,
is there a cycle computer which calculates the calories burned by the rider during a journey?
This might be the sort of thing offered on machinery for an indoor gym.

Regards, Punk_shore
What is the colour(s) of your cycle?
Which of its benefits would you recommend?
Please lookup the Bicycle Renewal Programme, linked to the website button beneath "Santa's Little Helper" cartoon.
eileithyia
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Post by eileithyia »

My polar monitor requires details such as sex, age and weight, when I use it to measure my heart rate it automatically calculates calories burned. Not sure how accurate it is, but at least it is an indicator.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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Punk_shore
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Post by Punk_shore »

Hi Eileithyia,
does your polar monitor work on your bike please? If so, which inputs does it need (e.g. wheel revolutions, etc.).
Many thanks :D Punk_shore
What is the colour(s) of your cycle?
Which of its benefits would you recommend?
Please lookup the Bicycle Renewal Programme, linked to the website button beneath "Santa's Little Helper" cartoon.
Kirst
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Kirst »

Apparently we just need to give women waterproofs and properly inflated tyres... http://news.scotsman.com/topstories/Ped ... 5039960.jp
I can handle bars and cycle paths but I can't handle cars and psychopaths

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Si
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Si »

Great way to push the campaign that you are representing: tell people that it can't be done because of weather and terrain, the dissappear off to your home in LA. :|
kwackers
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by kwackers »

The big list of 'must haves' for cycling is guaranteed to put anyone off...

And as for waterproofs - don't mention them, let them find out - hopefully by which time they'll have been cycling long enough not to be fazed by the idea they'll get wet.
Kirst
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Kirst »

It can't possibly come as a surprise to anyone in Scotland that sometimes it rains.
I can handle bars and cycle paths but I can't handle cars and psychopaths

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Speshact
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

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Vorpal
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Vorpal »

No offense, but the Times article is almost as silly and patronising as the survey that started this thread.

Is there some reason that a woman can't cycle and look attractive simultaneously? Is it necessary to transform to supermodel before attempting work? Do normal people really have 25 dresses that they rotate (and pack in tissue paper to avoid wrinkles)? I find these attempts to encourage women to cycle off-putting rather than helpful. I guess I'm not exactly the target market, but I would think that cycling is more likely to appeal to women who are more like me than those that are put off by getting a little sweaty, or ruining their do.

If someone did articles or surveys like this about men, how would men react to them?

How about it, guys? How do you avoid helmet hair? How do you look like a credible executive after carrying clothes in panniers?

I guess I'll miss out the questions about make-up.... :roll:
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Punk_shore
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Punk_shore »

In terms of fashion, I like that little song Duffy (the Welsh girl) sings whilst she cycles over to the convenience store for a soft drink before an encore. Her hair's so big it would probably give a similar impact protection to the average helmet.
Not sure which channel she's on - it was one of the Sky channels somewhere.

The idea of sex equality is that if a bloke can cycle to work, then so can a lady. Or did I miss something somewhere?

For a 10-mile each way commute, I managed quite well with a locker and shower facilities. One of those quick-drying camping towels was useful. Anything which needed to go home or back again fitted easily into the panniers.

Punk_shore

P.S. the Environmental Transport Association was offering cycle breakdown cover, alongside a policy for car breakdowns. I have not yet tried this myself and do not know if it is still on offer.

P.P.S. I promise to buy a mobile 'phone the day I can use it from anywhere on the planet. :roll:
Last edited by Punk_shore on 18 Mar 2009, 12:11pm, edited 1 time in total.
What is the colour(s) of your cycle?
Which of its benefits would you recommend?
Please lookup the Bicycle Renewal Programme, linked to the website button beneath "Santa's Little Helper" cartoon.
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meic
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by meic »

When did you last see a sensible survey?

They are all poorly worked out and based on a preconception of what the answer should be. They limit you to a choice of answers you may give, which NEVER includes one I could agree is right for me unless it is so vague it covers everything possible.

My wife and I cycled to the Kindergarten today and the only difference in the obstructions to doing the ride is the fact that I am a cycling enthusiast. My wife merely rides a bike.

Many of the traditional upkeep skills of a cyclist require a degree of strength of wrist and hand. My wife and children have difficulty removing tyres from rims which is something you need to be able to do. Also they lack the strength (or will) to inflate tyres fully.
I followed CJs recomendation of which pump to buy as they failed to get tyres to pressure with all the other pumps that we have.
They did not have the strength to operate it.

So if cycling was physically easier IN ALL RESPECTS we may find more people riding who do not do so now as they lack strength for certain tasks. A higher proportion of women than present could be in the new group.
This is a generalisation (as are the statistics that caused the debate!) many people are stronger/weaker than others of either sex or have the determination or brains to get round difficulties.
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Pete Owens
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by Pete Owens »

What do people think of this offer from Sustrans:

http://www.bikebelles.org.uk/

You can see from the photos that they have the issue of "helmet hair" sorted.
SteamPowered
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by SteamPowered »

Well I grew up in The Netherlands where of course everyone cycles. I think the difference is that cycling is mainly perceived there as a means of transport rather than a form of excercise. It's a few years since I went back but I don't remember seeing many helmets, so no issues with 'helmet hair'. Somehow the image has to change - folks get pretty sweaty on the London Underground in hot weather too, not to mention extremely grubby. I think the Dutch also tend to cycle more slowly than the average 'sports cyclist', and they don't tend to wear any special clothes. Many jobs have an (almost) equivalent level of activity. However, I do think there should be some kind of incentive for companies to provide showers.

Part of making it easier for women to cycle is making it easier for them to go about all their daily dasks by bike, which means safe cycle routes to schools, (not just lines painted on the road), special traffic light 'cycles' for cyclists, having lots of nice local shops and markets instead of supermarkets, lots of places in towncentres to lock bikes to, making it easier for commuters to take their bikes on the train, or to lock them undercover at the station, having good local schools so kids/parents cycle there rather than taking the 4x4 to the next town, having local places for kids to socialise after school, (their friends will be mostly local too if their schools are), i.e. allowing more of life to take place more locally. I realise a lot of this might be rather beyond your control.
ed_o_brain
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Re: What can we do to encourage more women to cycle?

Post by ed_o_brain »

Many of the tasks of maintaining a motorised vehicle require specific skills and strength. This doesn't deter many women from driving! (Or many men for that matter..)
To be honest, part of me believes that making it 'easier' for people and therefore women to cycle is only half the battle.

If things are considered 'normal' or 'cool' then people want to do them. As simple as.

The retailers of cars need to be beaten at their own game:

- bikes need to be readily available
- need a good dealer network to ensure they are maintained
- consumers need to feel that they are getting a real bargain when they hire/buy one - even the most basic cars are engineered to give that feel good factor
- tabloids need regular columns on cycling and cycling sections to match their motoring sections

And then their's the entire marketing aspect. I'm making huge generalisations here and in many ways I resent the way consumers are influenced and one of the reasons I like cycling is that that Apple haven't produced an ivelo yet. However, I think we need:
- More role models on bikes
- More people in the press/magazines/perfume advertisements with 'cycling thighs' => people join gyms to get the perfect body. Most of them do improve but few of them ever end up looking like the people they want to look like.
- Product placement - bikes need to be put out there. ...We could be going around in circles with that last one. But in all the media people are exposed to, bikes need to be glammed up a bit and more widely featured.


I think if the government retrained people losing jobs in the motor industry into building bicycles, and maybe gave away the first 20,000 produced, maybe a few thousand in every major city and then started selling them, we would be onto a winner.


I still stand by much of what I originally said:
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=134610#p134610
It's not what you ride... it's how you ride it
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