I hear the "it'll mess up my hair/I can't wear nice clothes" excuse a lot. But I think there's more to than than simple vanity--women are much more likely to be criticized in a corporate workplace for inappropriate dress, or judged based on their appearance rather than their competence, than their male counterparts are.

There's something to that too, I think. But I also think there's a misconception about what kind of risks there are--on a bicycle, you might get in an accident, you might have a mechanical problem, etc, but those are things that you have some amount of control over if you are skilled at riding and have the willingness to learn some basic repairs. And yet many women I've talked to are unreasonably afraid of the least common forms of attack--namely, being assaulted somehow. You are much, much more likely to be assaulted by someone you know, in a place where you think you're safe, than you are to be jumped on your bicycle--and yet a lot of people I've talked to seem to think it's a major danger.

Haven't seen him, and clearly Bob "Smoke'em Cuz I Got'em" Edwards wasn't a commuter. That guy was out front smoking every half an hour, it seemed.

I should note that after posting that I never see women and their bikes in the NPR bike room, I then bumped into two women in there. Had never seen them there before, but I'm in and out of there in 30 seconds, so my perspective isn't exactly scientific.

19 out of the 66 bicyclists I saw this morning were female, making it about 29%. I saw a group of about 10 riders or so before that, and many of them were women, but I didn't start counting until later. Of those 19 there were some serious all-weather commuters (woman with the funny noodle figure-8 bars) some roadies, some on hybrids, a mountain bike, and a couple on some of those step-through bikes... the whole range... and the same can be said for the guys. Except that many more guys ride mountain bikes.

This is very true. In many offices where I've worked, male workers have gotten away with looking like complete slobs (visibly dirty/worn/torn clothing, body odor) while females have been "spoken to" by managers about wearing (clean!) pants and sweaters rather than skirts, hose, and jewellery. I even worked (VERY briefly) in one place where the dress code stated female employees MUST wear makeup. That one went down in flames, by the way.

And if you have similar problems in a car, you usually have LESS options for on-the-spot repair! Most people don't seem to think of that though.

Most of my current co-workers seem to think that getting caught in the rain is the biggest danger anywhere ever Once in a while someone will mention "but what if someone chases you?" and they are always very taken aback when I point out that date **** or assault by co-workers and acquaintances is a hell of a lot more common than predators in the bushes. That's not to say there never are any of the latter, but statistically, I like the odds of being on my bike and able to sprint.

Then again, my reaction to "but you can't do that, you're a GIRL" has always been something along the lines of "Bite me, I refuse to live in YOUR fear." Ladylike, I'm not

That's a great, great line. I'm gonna hang onto that one, if I may.

Wow, as a guy I'd have a hard time with that. I think I might find myself wearing a kilt to work in such an environment (probably not makeup but I'd think about it). I can't believe that the requirement to wear makeup is even legal, but then again I'm sort of surprised that they can legally enforce different dress codes for women than for men (IE skirts rather than pants).

Most people think of bikes as unreliable. This is because they get them out once a year (maybe) and the tires are always flat, the chain squeaky, etc. In reality a bike is far more reliable than a car but most people don't see it that way.


IMHO that makes you much more of a free person than they are. There aren't a lot of free people around these days.

I was in college starting in 82, and I worked in the same town after so I lived there from 82 to 93. It just so happens that was about the time mountain bikes really started to take off.

There was a falls with a drop of 100 feet on private property. The owner's family had allowed the public in for over 100 years, including students, etc. It was a long drive and a mile's walk to get there, but it was a pretty popular picnic and hiking spot.

I use as my erosion gauge a plastic drainage pipe that ran across the main path which was just barely poking out of the bare dirt in 1982 when I got there. In 1986, when I first started seeing mountain bikes back there, I'd guess there had been MAYBE 1/4" of erosion in the previous 4 years. By 1988, just 2 years later, there were mountain bikes on that path CONSTANTLY and the pipe was now hovering 2 feet over the path, which was now a gully carved into the landscape, so the bikes were now making new paths, all of which were eroding extremely fast.

Within another year, the owners fenced the area off due to the landscape being torn up, and now nobody can enjoy this beautiful area. Yes, I certainly do blame the mountain bikers.

I'm sure there are mountain bikers who respect the landscape, but there are those who don't, and it doesn't take many of them to do more damage than all the hikers put together.

Feel free

I credit Girl Guides with showing me that females can do whatever we set our minds to. That's why I've come back around to Guiding as an adult - I had my Pathfinders (13 y-o's) out on the bike paths a couple of weeks ago, building skills and exploring. Their moms came too, which was great because often it's the parents' fears that hold girls back more than their own apprehension.

I've noticed this at the local playground. I have very active and agile boy/girl twins and starting when they were very young, I'd let them climb as high as they wanted on the bars and slides, with me standing close enough to catch them, but not right under them.. I started by showing them how to go from rung to rung and to think about where there feet and hands should go. When they got to the top and cried for daddy to carry them down, I'd say "No, let's climb down together. I'll show you how." And we did. And they felt confident and they never got so high that they couldn't climb down.

Anyway, I've noticed lots of times there'll be moms and grandmoms (and I'm hoping this won't be construed as sexist, it's just my observation that it's always been female caregivers), who'll hover around their little girls and fretting the whole time "Oh, Madison! Don't go so high! You'll fall and get hurt!"

Well, it seems to me that the kid has no intention of falling, and probably hadn't thought about the possibility of falling until the mom projected her fear of falling on the kid, and now it's all the kid can think about.

So, my hat's off to you Buglady for focusing on what girls can do and not what they can't.

Well, the thing is, I don't really believe there IS anything girls can't do If it's humanly possible, it's possible for females.

I see almost all Males on my commute.

After work I might see a few females riding for fun but the only gender I see with backpacks or Panniers on a mission are guys.

come to think of it most of the females on the MUP in the afternoon are using inline skates rather than on bikes.

I think one of the problems for females is the prep time needed for many dress nice type jobs. My other half is a teacher and She takes slightly over an hour to get ready in the AM and often thats not enough.

A purchasing agent at one of my customers said shes only 7 miles from home but the big hair would take some time and she lugs lots of stuff back and fourth.

for guys (at least for me) I get to work towel off , change , wash hair in sink ,brush hair and Im done 7 -10mins.

Dont think the gals could pull it off in that time frame.

But some do im sure

"John"

Damn straight. It makes me sad to see women (well, anyone really) that hobble themselves with someone else's notions of what they can't do.

I take 25 minutes from "oh God I guess I have to get up now" through "out the door" whether I'm biking or bussing it; if biking, I get to work and spend less than 10 minutes cleaning up and changing. I can do bed-to-door in 10 minutes if I have to, though the lipstick is a bit haphazard at that point...

It probably helps that my hair is long - I can just braid it or clip it up and have it look nice - and my wardrobe is pretty classic and coordinated so I just grab whatever and it all goes. I don't think I could spend an hour getting ready if I tried - and I do have one of those dress-up jobs!

I don't get the "big hair" thing - we don't see that much here.

I would say it is close to 50/50 here (I'm female), but in my building it probably leans towards more women than men. It's a college town, so most college-aged women are not so much worried about their hair (or clothes for that matter). In the winter it does skew a wee bit towards men, but then again the temperature can be sub-zero. I am not inclined to go in the winter not because I am a wimp (since I get enough layers), but more because I am concerned about exposure if I had to stop and change a flat or something.

I can tell you why my wife isn't interested. She'll sometimes go on an easy 60-70 mile ride, but thinks that overall, cycling is dominated by overly competitive macho sh*theads. I think I may agree, but that doesn't reduce my enjoyment.

My wife also thinks cycling is a masochistic sport and cannot understand why my buddies and I intentionally push each other to the point that we're in considerable pain. Frankly, it drives me crazy if I'm not in at least a little pain. For me, that's part of the difference between riding a bicycle and cycling. I prefer cycling.

However, my wife will come along for an occasional easy ride. She actually maintains a very respectable pace, especially considering that she doesn't ride that much and insists on riding a POS bike I picked up off a student 10 years ago and fixed up.

Many women are very concerned about their appearance. Although it might be totally acceptable for a man to run a comb through his wet hair for all of 15 seconds, a woman at an office would be expected to have niced quaffed hair(mousse, hairspray, blown dry, curled,etc...) She may also have to wear makeup and pantyhose.

Many men on these boards talk about a wet nap "shower" as being acceptable. But most women have higher standards for hygiene and appearance than most men. It is too much trouble and takes too long to do all of that in a public restroom after a bike ride.

I have naturally curly hair(long) and once I sweat on it or put it in a pony tail for a ride...it looks atrocious. The only fix is to shower again, condition it, put anti-frizz serum, let it air dry for 20 minutes, then scrunch, let dry again for five minutes, scrunch again, then let fully dry. In the mean time I look like a drowned rat. No thanks. Now if I had a simple short haircut like a man, it would be a totally different story.

True, but why? It can't be for the mens' benefit because most of them (men) don't care. That's why women watch pageants and worry about how other women look more than men.

I haven't used a comb in I don't know how many years. I just take out the clippers once a week and buzz my head. Some women do this. It looks just fine.

I think it is true that women generally have better hygiene. I'm not sure why that's good -- once you're clean enough, you're clean enough. Primping is a waste of time. Some of the guys at the health club I used to belong to would spend forever taking a shower, getting their hair fixed, etc. Their jobs aren't any better than everyone elses' and people don't seem to like them any better.

It is just what society expects. Just as you wouldn't wear a skirt to work. I wouldn't wear a suit and tie even though that would be a lot more comfortable than what I am expected to wear. I don't watch beauty pagents and in general am not girlie. But, I look much, much, much better when my hair is cared for than when I just throw it up in a pony tail. I guess I could look like this,



but when I could look more like this....I do.

heh heh...that's cuz YOU ARE a teen

Ha ha!!! I work in healthcare at night. I'm a pony tail chick 97% of the time. It only comes down for church on Weds and Sundays!!!

For as many bike commuters there are around here, I'm surprised that I've only seen 2 women that look to be commuting (panniers or backpacks). I encounter over 25 commuters on my round-trip, so it's < 10%. There are a few other women that I see riding, but they don't have any typical commuter gear and I only see them 1 or two days a week if the weather is nice. Maybe they're commuting, but I can't be sure.
I know the imbalance isn't for a lack of female riders around here, because there are plenty of women riding in the organized event rides.

Maybe it is because women are also usually responsible for the child care, cooking and cleaning....doesn't leave much time for riding to work.

My Aunt-in law has three kids. One is in college, but she does all the cleaning and cooking, works a full time job, goes to school at night, and takes the kids to their various sporting practices and events. Now when the heck is she going to fit in a bike commute? She is hardly alone. Her husband...a very nice man, owns his own business and mows the lawn on weekends.

Strictly anectdotal, but I've been approached by 4 different coworkers with questions about bike commuting. I've made bike suggestions, offered tips about routes, how to lock up, etc. All 4 female, and not one of them has actually ridden to the office.

I ride to work SO THAT I don't have to do as much of the cooking I work full time, volunteer, and study, and for some reason I also end up doing most of the cooking/cleaning at home, despite my boyfriend and a housemate both being home a great deal more than I am. Therefore, I ride to remove myself from that expectation.

Nobody's died of the plague yet...

Doesn't sound like a healthy relationship.