I-Like-To-Bike

Some BF posters are unable to tell the difference. See A&S for further details and posts about cyclists "blowing red lights" without even looking. Miraculously these "scofflaws" seem blessed and never seem to get even a scratch, let alone "pulverized from this alleged reckless red light behavior.

TheHen

It's funny how no one ever sees the ones who got creamed, isn't it? They probably would have seen the F-150 if some A&S Dudley hadn't distracted them by shouting out "Scofflaw!"

Mobile 155

Because nationally men outnumber women 4 or 5 to 1 when it comes to cycling. No reason to think these forums would buck the trend.

https://grist.org/biking/2011-06-20-b...conomy-stupid/

In some cities it might be better, Portland and even New York, but nationally things haven't changed much in 30 or 40 years.

gerv 

That's a really interesting article and just judging by the # of comments, it seems to be a pretty hot topic.

Mobile 155

Yes, and it has been a pretty hot topic for as many years as I can remember. I was first exposed to cycling as a form of transportation in the 70s. Other than when I was a kid and it was the only way we could get around town. Even if most of it was on a baloon tired Single speed. I commuted to work and home on an old Schwinn Varsity for about two or three years. I got the impression more women rode bikes during the mid 70s. there weren't many ways to check on that theory back then. Like many I moved away from cycling as I advanced in my work but I went back to commuting by bicycle in the early 80s and stayed with it till about 1989. In the 80s I became pretty good friends with a few Bike Shop owners and only then discovered that women cyclists had fallen off, assuming it was ever higher to about 20 or 25 percent of male rider numbers. After 89 I want almost 19 years out of the loop but once back in I started reading Bicycling life and the League of American Bicyclists: https://www.bikeleague.org/media/facts/#how_many

And in fact Bicycling Life had a guest Blogger, a woman, that has complained about the same things. She indicated that there has to be a change in focus to get more women cycling. I believe it was from her blog I got the notion that it has been this way, about 20 percent for 30 years. She contended that cycling really hasn't made in monitary strides in that time either. Not sure about that but figures from NBDA seem to point in that direction.

momsonherbike

You can flip-flop those stats if you change "bikes" to "horses". Women equestrians of all disciplines far outnumber male equestrians on average - as much as 72% in the UK.

So, this is where all those earstwhile female cyclists are ...sitting on fine leather enjoying the view from atop a self-propelled mount that is always happy to exchange a warm loving nuzzle - and a yummy carrot or two - at the beginning and end of a ride.

Love my bike...but it's a cold, hard machine. The important life-to-life feedback just doesn't exist.

Food for thought...

Dahon.Steve

I was thinking the other day on the bus about this thread. The reason you don't see many carfree women on bikes is because they are on the BUS!!! I am out numbered 3 to 1 on the bus when it comes to women. I wonder if there's a carfree forum for public transit users?

agent pombero

The bus, a great place to pickup women Steve?

Dahon.Steve

Maybe, but most of the women are married!

SPECELIZEDRIDER

She was 20 way too young and loved the car free idea, but she was relocating to Idaho and was asking me about bikes, I said for one studded snow tires could help where you are going.She was a very rare find.

Snowman219

Wat that?

Snowman219

More chicks! More chicks! More chicks!

Snowman219

Are they hot? U lucky bastard!

gerv 

Who's the top dog around here? Better ask him.

gerv 

And I suppose we are wondering what happened to all the women in this thread?

I-Like-To-Bike

Whatever women there may be are probably wondering if there are any men, or only immature boys, posting here?

Robert C

My wife and, at home, daughter (23) are car free. However, neither of them post here.

My wife relies entirely on public transportation. Here parents are adamantly anti-bicycle. They see them as, possibly, being a step above skateboards; but, still a toy used almost exclusively by scofflaws. They definitely convinced her that she can not ride a bicycle, safely, on streets. She does not read, or post on, this forum.

My daughter returned home after college and uses a bicycle about 85%-90% of the time. The rest of the time she uses the various forms of public transportation. She has an account on this forum and sometimes reads it but almost never posts. I will add that she is turned off by the presence of the womens-only sub-forum. To her it feels like getoization rather than recognition that women are the mainstream.

AdrianFly

Poppycock I say! I shall discuss this further tomorrow, among my colleagues at 9a.m. tee-off.

But first, I must make haste if I'm to arrive at the job interview on time! I must indeed go cyclocross style.

gerv 

I think you are redefining the concept of "cross" cycling here.... but as long as the bike is steel... who cares?

willisgirl

I'm a female cyclist. I have been car free for the majority of my life. The only reason I commute daily by bike is because buses tend to be unreliable where I live. They never seem to follow schedule.

JoeyBike

New Orleans, within a couple of miles of the Mississippi River and probably ten miles along the river, has an outstanding number of female cyclists many (if not most) of whom are car free. Not sure what the ratio of men to women might be, but there are LOTS of female cyclists relying on bicycles. Tulane, Loyola, and Dillard universities draw plenty cyclists as does the service industry and restaurant industry (nobody wants to drive or park a car anywhere NEAR the French Quarter). During my commute downtown, and during the day and night I see women of all ages 17-70 mostly going about their business on bikes, all dressed like normal people (no one in NOLA wears a kit to bike to work).

So I know there are numbers of female cyclists who are car free, especially the students. Service workers might have a jalopy parked somewhere for hurricane evacuations or heavy lifting at Home Depot but many probably do not keep a car.

Just an observation.

BTW...today (Jan 13th) it was 78*F. Terrain is pancake flat. Never ice on the road. Perfect place to live car free except the really hot months.

gerv 

Ok, around about mid-July I'll send you my weather report. See how you like it.

wahoonc

I have worked the Gulf Coast (and Atlantic Coast states) as well as Iowa in the summers, not much difference.

Aaron

charbucks

Yup... all of the above are way too hot and humid

I'll take my dry, sunny, 25 degree C summers, with enough lingering twilight to bike home at 11 PM.