Why women don’t cycle?

The BBC have picked up on

The BBC have picked up on this too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44446958

Whilst I was on the committee
Whilst I was on the committee for my uni cycle club, we REALLY struggled to get female members (we struggled to get members full stop – but that’s a different matter).

Of the 25-30 members, 3 were female. Of the 5-10 regulars, 1 was female.

Interestingly, I would estimate 50-60% of the cycle commuters I saw most days who used the cycle parking at uni were female.

I’m Dutch, and only lived in
I’m Dutch, and only lived in England for about 5 years. To me it is really simple: England is extremely intimidating for any cyclist. The level and frequency of aggressive/inconsiderate/careless behaviour by motor car drivers is really off the chart.

I cycle less, and enjoy cycling less because of this than when I lived in the Netherlands. I like to be in control, but do do “risky” sports (fell running, downhill as fast as I dare, skiing). On the road I’m not in control, but at the mercy of an idiot who has a bad day, can’t care less, who knows.

From here it is simple psychology… Men are more prone to take risks. I don’t expect any chance in the male/female split in cycling until the game of chance that is cycling in the UK is gone.

HowardR wrote:

Hi ManchesterRider,

Firtsly – thirded on the infrastructure.

The following stream of conciousness guff is largely based on what I see whlist walking through inner London. I make no claims to it being generally applicable…

First an observation – when cycling is used as a mode of transport  it is, as I understand it, often much more ‘Sport’ orientated than it is in countries such as the Netherlands. Lycra, Helmet & Chain Gang of fellow commuters seems to be the norm for many people.

but thats down to the environment weve created on the roads for cycling, you cant just pootle about on a bike on most urban roads, as it would become intolerably stressful coming into conflict with other traffic all the time, so you feel you have to ride in “sporty” mode to make it reasonably comfortable, to feel you have some control of the space around you, so our roads ultimately attract sportier cyclists. Build the infra and cliche yes but the modal change will really come naturally.

Was the figure of 75% of
Was the figure of 75% of cyclists are male adjusted for the work population split? I have no idea on this but career breaks for children may skew result as would areas where males dominate the workforce. Just a thought.

From my minority

From my minority conversations: helmet hair, lack of showers, general affect on appearance, too dark, adverse weather

Lack of good routes would be in another set of reasons.

Round here, traffic and hills

Round here, traffic and hills. But mostly traffic.

my ramblings:

I was watching ‘Made in Dagenham ‘ the other night, set in the late sixties . The factory workforce arrived from nearby estates on bikes in their working gear. It was the normal way to get around – a motorcycle was a luxury item. Now it’s seen as a lifestyle choice, rather than the best, easiest option. 

I think the NL difference is infrastructure, and no hills, so bikes are easier than cars for short city journeys and commutes. In Haarlem I saw plumbers with cargo bikes just doing a normal job. In the UK that’s the sort of thing I might spot in Hebden Bridge,  but certainly not mainstream.

all of which means the barriers to cycling as normal transport in the UK are high, so the question could be asked – are women more risk averse than men? The comparison earlier with running is interesting- arguably a lower perception of risk running on the pavement than Cycling on the road, but more female participation even though running is horrible.

HowardR wrote:

I’d be intrested to know the mean/meadian/modal commuting distances of commuters in the U.K compared to more sensible places …. possibly a function of housing costs?

This bears further investigation.