What’s stopping women cycling?

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Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
It's outdoor exercising where you are encountering men not also exercising so my runner friends also encounter it. As somebody upthread said, we all encounter abuse simply by being on a bike but on the rare occasions it happens to me, the abuse is because i am on a bike, the words chosen are because i am female.
I also get the occasional shouted comment about my body which happens when i am alone or with other women and never when i am in a mixed group.
As an experienced cyclist, i feel less frightened when this happens on a bike as i am more confident of my ability to get away than if i was running.
Good point.
 

swansonj

Guru
I've had a female comment about my body while I was in my Lycra (and fortunately riding the bike). While the language was rather coarse, I believe the tone was intended as complimentary. Nevertheless, it was unsolicited and impolite at best.

People who utter such tosh to cyclists, whatever the sex, would be probably inclined to do much the same wherever they encounter you.
Would you care to offer any reflection on to what extent (or not) your admirable ability to be relatively sanguine about the event is enhanced by your physical size and strength and your experience of having passed through life (a) as male and (b) as a soldier and police officer?
 

Julia9054

Guru
Location
Knaresborough
Would you care to offer any reflection on to what extent (or not) your admirable ability to be relatively sanguine about the event is enhanced by your physical size and strength and your experience of having passed through life (a) as male and (b) as a soldier and police officer?
Sigh.
I knew as i was typing my comment above that there would be a man along very soon to explain how the same thing happened to him!
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Would you care to offer any reflection on to what extent (or not) your admirable ability to be relatively sanguine about the event is enhanced by your physical size and strength and your experience of having passed through life (a) as male and (b) as a soldier and police officer?

I would, if I understood the question!

It only happened the once Julia, and I was genuinely shocked and surprised. I can handle being chatted up or hit upon, but that was really a step too far. OK, I'm a big boy and I hardly lost any sleep over it, but if it shocked me then I can easily see how it might be distressing to females who may have to suffer a lot more of that sort of thing.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Yeah, I did ;)

Having been in the mob and the dibble I was probably more hardened to such a thing than I might otherwise have been. Nevertheless, it was random, unexpected and unwelcome, and it did make me think then, if only for a moment, about that which females must sometimes may endure.

Its not acceptable, and I can see how females might think twice before donning tight Lycra and parading themselves around the road.

PS, was offered Durham too ;)
 

hoopdriver

Guru
Location
East Sussex
What’s stopping women cycling?”

Patronising, mansplaining threads like this don’t help.
Self righteousness doesn’t go far either. The thread was commentary on an article in the news this morning...
 
Yeah, I did ;)
Having been in the mob and the dibble I was probably more hardened to such a thing than I might otherwise have been. Nevertheless, it was random, unexpected and unwelcome, and it did make me think then, if only for a moment, about that which females must sometimes may endure.

Its not acceptable, and I can see how females might think twice before donning tight Lycra and parading themselves around the road.

No, it isn't acceptable. It's quite refreshing to see a bloke comment on finding it unwelcome - a very common response in such discussions that I've seen in the past is the 'well, I didn't mind' trope. Bear in mind too that it happens a LOT to many women, and mostly not when they are in the company on men so most men don't 'see' how prevalent catcalling is.

As an aside, can I ask you to reflect on a use of language thing? Would you say that men who dress in sports-specific clothing are 'parading themselves around the road' or are they just riding their bikes? Also, female is generally adjectival, the relevant noun is women. The use of female(s) as a noun when referring to women is a linguistic trait that is extremely common in many of the less pleasant corners of the internet, in particular those inhabited by some distinctly unpleasant MRAs. A couple of explanations of why it can be somewhat irritating:
https://jezebel.com/the-problem-with-calling-women-females-1683808274
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-adams/female-is-an-adjective-not-a-noun_b_9604844.html
 
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The men just turn up irrespective, but I've noticed the women tend to have a pre-ride online conversation to establish if any other women are riding the next Sunday.
So the men in your cycling club never get online to check if there will be any other men on the ride, and you think that says something about women????

They don't need to do it because they know there will always be other men on the ride.

:wacko:
 
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bpsmith

Veteran
It is disappointing that there are less women cycling than men. Drawing from my own experience, my Wife is simply not interested in cycling. We both had bikes, before my Som came along, but my Wife wasn’t really into it tbh. When asked, she just said she wasn’t fussed. Nothing to do with Lycra, busy roads, or other people’s opinions, it just doesn’t do it for her and she can’t see the attraction.

I think that we should just accept that Women and Men are different and not try and suggest that there are always barriers in place. Yes, at times there are, but it’s not always the case.

Where there are barriers, actual or perceived, then I am totally behind removing them, without question.

One thing I have noticed about myself is that I used to feel awkward when crossing paths with a woman cycling, or running for that matter, when we are both on our own. The awkwardness was down to over thinking whether they would take offence to me saying hello, by thinking there’s more to my politeness. I just decided that I would continue with my natural inclination to say hello to every rider I was lucky enough to encounter, irrespective of gender.

I do wonder whether other men feel like this and then don’t say hello, and the women then find us rude and unwelcoming?
 

hoopdriver

Guru
Location
East Sussex
So the men in your cycling club never get online to check if there will be any other men on the ride, and you think that says something about women????

In case you are really thick, they don't need to do it because they know there will always be other men on the ride.

:wacko:
Conversely if the blokes went online before the ride to see if there were any women coming along, people might think they were on the make. So no need, really, for any of them to scope out the other riders.
 
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