buzzman

No kidding.

And most of what Sunstorm suggests would get more riders in general out on the road.

As a side note to this discussion, yesterday I did a long ride across Massachusetts (137 miles) and probably because of this thread took note of the number of and gender of the other biker riders I saw as I crossed the state. To my surprise female cyclists outnumbered males 21 to 15. There were too many cyclists on the bike path through Northampton to count so they don't figure into my numbers but women were very well represented there. Included in the female cyclists I saw were 2 women in full "racing/training" road bike kit, a woman (solo) with a bike loaded with panniers and camping gear- the bike and the equipment all looked brand new so I don't think she'd been out long, lots of recreational riders, high school age girls just getting around by bike and a woman on a short stretch of bike path in Hudson with not 1, not 2 but 4 kids- 2 of them on their own little bikes and two toddlers in a bike trailer.

The comments around "club riding" and racing are for me almost a different discussion from just the using bikes to go places. Those add a factor of cycling as a "social event" and despite my having been a founding member of one of the largest clubs in the US I gave up on club/group rides years ago. Any woman who is put off cycling by the patronizing, overly attentive, unsolicited advice giving males of many club rides and training rides gets my complete understanding.