What’s stopping women cycling?

[derrick]

This stuff does not help get people on bikes. Our lives are worthless.
http://road.cc/content/news/236236-...roundabout-near-bristol-given-community-order

 

[derrick]

You seem awfully exercised about something so useless that you don't care about.

Anyway I am sure all the women on here are very grateful now that some blokes have sorted out the answer to the question, which is that women don't cycle because they don't want to, and there is actually nothing stopping them at all.

Why do you not go and ask the same question on a walking forum. You may get the answer you are looking. Compete waiste of time on here because you do not listen.

 

[derrick]

Maybe not from me. But others have given you the answers. I really cant be arsed with your constant bickering.am going to the pub.

 

[Inertia]

They will not except that on here, it's all about male domination.

Completely useless thread.

Maybe not from me. But others have given you the answers. I really cant be arsed with your constant bickering.am going to the pub.

Probably for the best, I'm not sure whats attracting you to this useless thread.

 

[PK99]

If someone asked me why I don't go swimming, I would say it doesn't interest me (or I don't enjoy it).

If they asked further questions, they would discover a whole plethora of issues to do with convenience, accessibility, time, fitness, perceived fitness, confidence, fear of water, body image, childhood experiences and school PE teachers.

And those are just the things I'm aware of myself, I daresay if they were interested and skilled they would uncover factors I'm not aware of.

If they settled for my first answer, they wouldn't be improving their understanding very much.

I don't swim because I find it boring. the gym I use has a pool but I only ever use it for water walking for rehab. in rehab I used the gym 5/6 days a week

ditto I don't run as i find that boring too.

 

[mjr]

low and behold I was at the gym

And it was so believable until that point

 

[User10119]

I hear what you are saying but it was a simple question. I didn't have a clipboard and pen and a long questionnaire. I am not skilled and didn't have the time for a lengthy conversation. Also if someone says it doesn't interest them all the other stuff is irrelevant.

Unless what you're trying to find out is why they aren't interested, of course.

To be honest the majority of people who are seeing this are cyclists, so not sure if there is any feedback from Women who don't cycle.

*checks gender* *checks cobwebs on bikes* *waves*
Mostly lack of time time, energy and money not helped by the occasional bonus attentions of the visiting Black Dog. As a single parent (to two children with a fair age gap and very different cycling abilities) with a stressful, low-paid and time-consuming job the amount of cycling I do has crept down and down and down over the past few years. 7ish years ago I did the Dun Run, and my first FNRttC, regularly commuted between 40 and 60 miles a week, did a 50+ mile ride most weekends (including lots of rides with my eldest) and a 20-40 mile evening social ride with a few mates most weeks. Then my circumstances changed, and with astonishing bad timing I broke an elbow, and then it was winter and I lost much of the fitness I had. The long commute and the evening social rides fell victim to new and different time constraints because of different working hours and childcare commitments, which meant losing more fitness and eventually you lose enough fitness that there comes a point where the ride stops being fun - all the people you used to enjoy going out for a ride with get hypothermia waiting for you because you are so incredibly slow, and it all just hurts a bit too much to be enjoyable. It's really quite depressing, acutally.

I asked two simple questions, 'do you cycle' and if not 'why'. but not sure why I bothered.

And if one of my colleagues, for example, had asked me I would probably say 'not much these days' and 'bit busy and not that interested'. Which would have been a polite way of not really answering the question.

 

[rivers]

My wife is what I would call an occasional cyclist. I am pretty avid. We are both female. I will cycle everywhere, whether it is to work, into town, club run, or a 100 mile round trip just to go somewhere new for coffee or lunch. My wife on the other hand, might cycle into town on occasion or a few times a year, the two of us will go out for a pootle either into Bath, or if we go away for a weekend/week, we'll take the bikes to go exploring a bit further afield (but only if it's fairly flat, the wife doesn't like hills). But she is honest, riding a bike everyday just doesn't appeal to her. She likes going out for the occasional ride with me, and we'll quite often cover 30-50 miles in a day. It has nothing to do with traffic on the roads, or cat-calling, or anything of that nature. It's just not her thing. And she doesn't mind getting sweaty and gross. She's a fitness instructor for a living and in a past life, she was a full time professional dancer.
On another note, with all of the miles I do, sometimes alone, sometimes in a group, I never get cat called. Not that I've noticed anyway.

 

[User10119]

[QUOTE 5129854, member: 9609"]it doesn't sound like it went too well
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gender-equal-snow-removal-procedures-left-stockholm-paralyzed
I agree snow clearing shouldn't all be about keeping cars going for men (do women not drive in sweden?) , but the roads are the lifeline to the economy, Trucks and Emergency vehicles are essential and should be prioritised. Without lorries there is nothing.
[/quote]
And of course the record-breaking levels of snowfall had nothing to with it at all...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/gender-analysis-budget-snow-sweden-1.4494640

That doesn't mean the merits of gender-equal snow clearing have been accepted by everyone.
"Some think it's ridiculous," said Helldén.
In 2016, the policy was internationally mocked, particularly by some conservative media, after buses and trains were stalled following a storm.
"We had more snow in two days than we had had for a 100 years. So the problem hadn't anything to do with gender-equal snow clearing," Helldén said.

But getting back on topic - interesting approach from the beeb in reducing mens pay to make it fairer, could a similar approach e taken for the cycling problem, may be some sort of permit system for males and limit the numbers so as there is a better gender balance?

Are gender pay gaps in the media and entertainment industry more or less OT than gender mainstreaming policies, specifically ones designed to affect travel including cycling, in Sweden?
View attachment 393358

 

[mjr]

My wife is what I would call an occasional cyclist.

Made of chipboard and covered with a frilly cloth?

Sorry, that's an occasional table, isn't it?

IGMC

 

[derrick]

I think we all need to get to the pub for a beer. I am at thel Moon in Enfield feel free to join me.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I think we all need to get to the pub for a beer. I am at thel Moon in Enfield feel free to join me.

I would, but it’s not my thing....

 

[derrick]

men today, they go to the pub to reaffirm their masculinity and end up reading cyclechat, like a billy no mates..
in days of yore men backslapped and raised a glass to the chain and the kitchen sink, nowadays it seems it just talking bullshite on the internet and refusing to learn and listen to the reasons of why women don't participate in whatever, they would rather repeat the same old rhetoric,

I go to the pub to get away from the bullshit on here. I can talk to real women and men. Without them hiding behind made up names. Face to face people actually have a proper conversation. You should try it some time. So much more meaningful. Am back home now fealing chilled.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Back from the pub and I can't help thinking after catching up on this thread that the whole discussion would be a whole lot easier in a pub. Around a table, face to face, where different positions don't seem quite so yes/no and reactions are not so polarised. There's a dialogue here, perhaps not particularly obvious under all the noise, but it's there nevertheless and still worth carrying on, for me anyway.

 

[vickster]

[QUOTE 5129854, member: 9609"]

But getting back on topic - interesting approach from the beeb in reducing mens pay to make it fairer, could a similar approach e taken for the cycling problem, may be some sort of permit system for males and limit the numbers so as there is a better gender balance?[/QUOTE]
That's not really the case is it, only 6 men have (thus far) agreed to have their pay reduced in response to the resignation by Carrie Gracie
I have not heard of an immediate realignment of male and female salaries across the board. For example , has Chris Evans had his salary reduced from £2.5m to say the £450-500k that the highest paid female earns

Do you think they would have done so if it hadn't been for the recent publication of pay disparity?

Off topic, this might be one for Current Affairs. I don't think BBC salaries heavily influence whether women cycle or not

I assume your bit about permits is a Friday night joke...surely everyone should be encouraged and enabled to cycle regardless? The fundamental question is around women not cycling and not why more men cycle