Originally Posted by
Korina
Hey, guys (and I know you're mostly men).
This essay from Eben Weiss about normalizing bicycles led me to
this article about the gender gap in urban cycling, which led me indirectly to
this podcast about women cycling.
I found all this fascinating. Having never been cursed with good looks (the
least important thing about me, IMO), I've never really received a lot of harassment (barring the one #metoo incident when I was 18). In the last couple of years since I've gotten back on my bike there have been two incidents; one was with my husband, when some yahoos drove past us and the passenger made an odd shooting gesture to both of us, and the other was when a pair of utter idiots drove past me and the passenger screamed at the top of his lungs right behind me. I jumped about a foot, but only internally; I didn't give him the satisfaction of crashing.
So what do you think? How can we get more women on the road? Or do you guys prefer the He-Man Woman Hater's Club? If so, why?
I’ve definitely had more #metoo moments on my bike than off and it’s usually when I’m alone. I had one guy follow me down a dark street yelling at me for a light, gotten cat called and yelled at from cars.
When I was younger I was a
over weight and didn’t worry about someone like physically trying to hurt me or take me but I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’m still tall, heavy, and muscular. I’m taller than my husband and i weigh more than him but he can pick me up fairly easily. It is scary out there, especially when I ride the trail near my house in the dark. Sometimes I joke the fear makes me go faster. When I first started doing it I’d keep my U lock with in reach. I also know every possible way to use my watch, headphones, and phone to call for help. I’ve relaxed some now, I live in a fairly safe area and people are generally nice and you get to be familiar with the regulars but it’ll always be in the back of my mind a bit.