Women in cycling

[summerdays]

Well for part of my commute I decided to look at the types of bikes women were riding. Nothing scientific, and only done over the last part of my commute.

I saw:
5 women on bikes that weren't obviously women specific (by colour or step through frame), 6 if you count me
12 women on pink/purple/step through frames
5 men/lads on frames that were step through (might be slightly biased by the group of lads I meet in the morning who I suspect didn't involve a bike shop in their purchase as they are riding purple step through bikes, and drop bar bikes, making an odd assortment, but at least they are riding to school each day I guess)
1 girl on a very obvious pink step through frame (20 inch wheels) but included as she was riding on the road with her Dad who gives her instructions as they ride along (she is about 7 or 8 at a guess)

The choice for girls starts early when they are shown pink bikes. I remember having to look hard for a nice blue one, and other non girly colours when they were little. (Though I admit that choice was partially due to having the youngest a boy).

 

[Shadowfax]

You should be ashamed of that. They are two wonderful strong women, and neither of them would have stooped to make a remark like that.

Obviously you and the 3 that liked your post don't do humour, your loss.

 

[jefmcg]

Twenty-first century is when women's tennis became just about looks.

Do you think Bartoli's dad told her when she was little: 'You're never going to be a looker, you'll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight'?

 

[DiddlyDodds]

and it would help to have a little less of this sort of throw back "humour" here

What's throw back about it, my hobbies are driving and cycling, the wife and the daughters are shopping, they go shopping at any and every opportunity, so if you want "alternative humour" i.e. an alternative to humour, you be a long time searching on here.

 

[Shadowfax]

You disappoint me. When Bobby Riggs dissed women's tennis, Billy Jean didn't resort to humorous cracks about how ugly he was. She thrashed him at tennis and showed him up for the pompous ar$e he, in common with many others, really was.

Careful now you wouldn't want to patronise anybody would you ? Apparently its rife in cycle shops and womens tennis !

Wink.

 

[swansonj]

Obviously you and the 3 that liked your post don't do humour, your loss.

I was one of the three. I do do humour, but I have this strange prejudice that humour should be, well, you know, funny?

 

[Shadowfax]

There you did it again !
I like you i can see we are going to have some great fun in the future. You do do fun don't you, just an incy wincy bit ?

 

[Shadowfax]

I was one of the three. I do do humour, but I have this strange prejudice that humour should be, well, you know, funny?

I see.
[ Bet they're a barrel of laughs at party ]

 

[swansonj]

I see.
[ Bet they're a barrel of laughs at party ]

Party? No, you've got me there, I can't remember the last time I went to a party - any time left over from knitting vegetarian yogurts is spent researching whether Leviticus exempts lesbians from Ramadan.

 

[jefmcg]

Billy Jean and Martina were attractive ? OMG.

You should be ashamed of that. They are two wonderful strong women, and neither of them would have stooped to make a remark like that.

Obviously you and the 3 that liked your post don't do humour, your loss.

I'm completely mystified. You make they joke that two not glamorous, but famously lesbian tennis plays who are 57 and 70 are not very attractive. It's neither topical nor remotely humorous, except in a "these women are ugly" way.

Seriously, is there some subtly I am missing?

 

[Effyb4]

I was speaking to the guy who did my bike fit about this very issue. He asked me why I hadn't bought a female specific bike. I told him that I didn't like any of the female specific bikes I had seen. He said that the manufacturers found it difficult to get it right. One year they would do pink and girly and women would say that they didn't want that and the next year they would offer more unisex looking bikes and some women would ask why there weren't any girly looking ones.

The conversation moved onto women's cycling clothing. I said that I was disappointed with the range of women's clothing in the shops (much of it being pink or purple). He said that they could only afford to have a limited range of women's clothing in the shop, because so few women bought clothing.

I have to say he was anything but condescending and listened to what I wanted from the bike fit. I couldn't have asked for better service. I did got to the bike fit on my own.

 

[jefmcg]

oh, thanks @Effyb4, back on topic!

I'd like to say, though I had a slightly negative experience at two stores, I actually visited half a dozen or more and it was mostly good. I purchased a bike I like (Giant Avail) from a shop I liked (Giant Twickenham) and am very happy. They even have a woman staff member (out of a very small staff) and host women's rides from their store, though this is not something they push, just something I noticed when I was in there one evening.

 

[ianrauk]

Look Mum No Hands in Old Street has a woman mechanic.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm completely mystified. You make they joke that two not glamorous, but famously lesbian tennis plays who are 57 and 70 are not very attractive. It's neither topical nor remotely humorous, except in a "these women are ugly" way.

Seriously, is there some subtly I am missing?

I doubt you're missing anything at all here. Apart from subjects I feel strongly about, I find it perfectly possible to use humour without being tendentious.

 

[Shadowfax]

I'm completely mystified. You make they joke that two not glamorous, but famously lesbian tennis plays who are 57 and 70 are not very attractive. It's neither topical nor remotely humorous, except in a "these women are ugly" way.

Seriously, is there some subtly I am missing?

In short ? Yes.

....... and women paid in Tennis for how they look.