Comments on: A women’s “PEDALING REVOLUTION” and Summer Elegance

By: Another Cocktail Ride this Friday! | Bike Commuters

Another Cocktail Ride this Friday! | Bike Commuters — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:29:57 +0000

[...] ride is a follow-up to the inaugural Summer Babes and Elegant Bachelors Ride that I wrote about back in July (has it been that long [...]

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:46:26 +0000

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Deborah

http://maternitymotherhood.net

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:02:52 +0000

If you’re in Chicago and would like to be a part of that focus group I mentioned previously :
Research focuses on women’s transportation choices (http://www.activetrans.org/blog/mgriffin/research-focuses-womens-transportation-choices)

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:31:17 +0000

Mike,

that was a British scientist named Ian Walker who did that overtaking study…a controversial study, but with some interesting findings like the one you mentioned.

By: Mike Myers

Mike Myers — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:38:33 +0000

Wasn’t there a British TV reporter who put on a long blonde wig and showed that drivers gave him more room when they thought he was a woman? He also showed that when he wore a helmet and cycling clothes that he got less room, because drivers thought he was a better cyclist.

By: Dottie

Dottie — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:32:24 +0000

Elizabeth, thanks for posting this! It was so fun hanging out with you – we’ll have to get together again soon.

Paul, my blond flowing hair, etc. does not stop drivers from honking and being jerks in general. Unfortunately.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:44:27 +0000

Actually, women are in just as much danger or more so according to some recent studies and now the topic of a study to be conducted at the University of Illinois Chicago — “Women’s Safety and Security issues with Bicycling and Walking.”

The doctoral student conducting this study cites, “Studies have indicated that a concern for safety is a relevant factor in explaining possible gender differences in bicycling behavior” (Emond, Tang, and Handy, 2009).
He goes on to explain: “The concern for safety is not limited to the physical environment of the roadways, but includes the availability of bicycle facilities and the safety of the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Just proves — we all have to be safe out there!

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:14:30 +0000

So I guess that if I had pretty legs, flowing and blowing blond hair, etc- only then will the “motorists” (aka: creeps in steel boxes) treat me as a human being that has a right not to be threatened just for daring to use a road without a car! Pretty screwed up, and I hope to live long enough to see more women on bikes, making the road safer for those who look pretty…

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:24:28 +0000

Ken,

this is EXACTLY why more women commuters aren’t out there with us…because of creepy men following them, admiring their legs or whatever.

Lord knows all a lot of folks want to do is ride their bikes, not fend off leering, catcalling jerks. My wife dresses fairly conservatively and has a non-flashy machine, yet she is constantly honked at and catcalled by creeps. Even propositioned a time or two. THAT’S what’s got to change — if we can eliminate creepy motorists, that would do a lot towards convincing more women to take to their bikes free of the fear of scumbags.

By: Iron Man

Iron Man — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:12:02 +0000

The other day I saw a young woman with a peasant skirt and decorative blouse riding a super cool pink flowered up cruiser leaving her college campus. I was sitting at a light all decked out in my Lycra kit, clipless pedals, and panniers representing one end of the commuting spectrum and here she was with cruiser, basket, sandals, and book bag striking quite the contrast. Yet we waved to each other with a kinship that no driver can experience. It was a very nice end to a busy day.