tjspiel

As pointed out in another thread we've seen it mentioned a few times that the key to get commuting to really take off in an area is to get more women to do it.

So I'm interested in knowing what sorts of things kept you from commuting before and what changed that made you start.

Do you think that women have different concerns that often aren't addressed? Or are the concerns largely the same but maybe different in degrees and priorities?

I understand that some of you may prefer not to broadcast your gender but I'm genuinely curious if you're comfortable answering.

stockholm

Here in Stockhom, I'd say we have a 50/50 ration of women and men commuting. The difference, if any, is in choice of bikes, with my biased view telling me that guys spend more money on theirs. (With me as one mandatory exception, proving absolutely nothing of
course.)

My 50 öre.

lubyloo

Here in Melbourne, I reckon the boys are more likely to commute in team-branded lycra... Whereas the girls seem to be more likely to pick clothes that they can comfortably wear to work / school... or at least to the café.

Staying safe is a real problem here, as we have a dire lack of cycle paths that are off-road or well segregated. That's probably more of a concern to women.

A lot of work places have showers, in my experience... but never enough of them. I think a winner for me was learning to make do with a packet of wetwipes when I can't get near the shower.

alr

Here in Seattle, where a fair number of people commute on bicycles, most are men, and most (men an women) who commute do so in full specialized cycling clothing. I really am not in to that. I am looking towards the more comfort, yet stylish, mode of commuting, and have selected a vintage mixte frame road cycle and raleigh 3 speed to do so. In both of my bicycles, I am able to wear most any clothing I want. This is important to me. I do wear a helmet, and have a pannier bag, but that is the only thing I have that would identify me as a cyclist when I am not on my bicycle. Oh, and I mainly leave my helmet dangling from the handle bars when I am parked, so I don't really have that with me most of the time. So a major impediment to my staring was not seeing any role models for my preferred style of bicycle commuting. I also used to live on a really big hill.

What made me start? The freedom of choosing when I leave and arrive to work (as opposed to the bus) and built in exercise. Plus, I am now a bit of a vintage bicycle enthusiast after being here on the forum, so that keeps me motivated. I think it is funny that so many people in Seattle are fair weather bicycle commuters, when after cycling entirely through this last winter, I really only hated it due to rain, at most a handful of times (and I did it anyways). Our weather is pretty mild, and with fenders and a little bit of planning, it is not really that bad. I just took the bus for the first time in several months to get to work because I was expecting to pick up one of my bicycles from the mechanics that evening.

My commute when I started was about 3-4 miles (and from a VERY LARGE HILL which scared me until I tried it-- then I realized it wasn't really that bad). Since January I have moved closer to work, and it is only about 2 miles and fairly flat, so it is super easy. I am always amazed by the all the people I see waiting for the bus to go to where I am going by bicycle, and how very infrequently the bus ever passes me. My commute by bicycle now is way faster than public transport on average, and that is a big motivator.

As I pedal around Seattle, I hope that I can inspire other ladies such as myself to try out cycling as a stylish and fun pursuit. I guess I hope to lead by example.

zacster

My impression in Seattle for the very short time I was there 3 years ago was that the commuter crowd was mixed. When I lived there in the 80's the crowd was decidedly male, and lonely. There weren't all that many.

Here in NYC, it is heavily male, but not as much as it once was. I'll have to do a survey of the Manhattan Bridge riders as I go across on the B or Q train. (Today is a train day, wet cool & windy.)

I could possibly beat the 45 minute subway time by bike if I had my 16lb road bike and didn't care about how I smell, but on my commuter I just can't do it mostly because of the bridge climb.

Torrilin

Instead of asking us here, ask yourself why your wife doesn't bike to work. Most of the women I socialize with here in Madison *do* bike to work (and everywhere else)... and the reason is their partner is behind them 100%. Their bike fits. They have clothes they're comfortable in. They have a way to do kid hauling if necessary. They have a safe place to park. They have safe streets to ride on. They have as much or as little n+1 as they feel is necessary, or the family budget is planned so the necessary n+1 happens. The big complaint is "not enough bike parking" at public places. In one family I know, the wife does most of the kid hauling, and the husband does a pretty large share of the grocery shopping.

That doesn't mean Madison is all sunshine, roses and a 50/50 gender ratio... just my social circle is doing pretty well at keeping the mode share up. If you compare on the streets, it's noticeable that pedestrians tend to be slightly more female, and bikes are definitely more male.

tjspiel

That's awesome !

My wife has ridden to work a few times but she works evenings. Sometimes it's as late as midnight or 1:00 am. before she gets home. Being out alone on a bike at those hours made her nervous. So I know her reasons. Even if you're not afraid of getting attacked or something, riding at night seems to be something people work up to. It's hard to start there.

Anyway, I was looking for common threads and one person's situation doesn't give a broad enough perspective.

Just a quick question. If you were the only one in your social circle that biked to work, would you still do it? Would you have even started?

tarwheel 

I rarely ever see any other bike commuters on my route. However, the one person who I do see from time to time is a woman. We've talked a number of times, and she doesn't ride in cold weather, rain or dark. On days that she rides, her husband drives her to work in the morning with her bike, and then she rides home.

Male or female, I think the single most important factor that keeps more people from bike commuting is fear of riding in traffic.

stockholm

Not to hijack the thread, but after my few visits to the US (Atlanta and NYC), I'm amazed people commute at all! The amount of traffic was just... terrifying. Kudos to all of you who face that every day.

chipcom 

The two biggest factors why my wife will not commute by bike:

1. Safety - she works 12 miles away in downtown Akron and does not feel safe with the areas she'd have to ride through or the downtown traffic.

2. Appearance - she currently wakes up at 4:15 to leave the house by 6. Even with a shower at work, she is simply too into clothes, makeup, hair and all that to make commuting by bike doable for her.

pharasz

When I told my sister the definition of insanity was driving a car to a spin class (which she does, and I used to, until I began bike commuting) she became very defensive: "I am an attorney and I have to dress in professional clothes, with stockings, hair, and makeup, and we don't have a shower or any facilities where I work."

She then also tried to argue that spin class gave her a better workout than cycling. I told her the combination of lack of facilities and formal business attire was a valid excuse and I accept it. But spinning being a better workout? I simply could not let that one go and we had a rather loud debate until I had to just stop arguing because, well, she's an attorney - they are professional arguers. Don't ever try arguing with an attorney - especially if she's a woman!

tjspiel

Then there's the awkward fact that she's probably right. I suppose if you had a long commute on open roads and a riding coach to make sure you were working hard you could get a better workout than in a spin class but I doubt that applies to most people.

chipcom 

Let me simplify that for ya...when it comes to issues of appearance, don't ever argue with a woman, period.

pharasz

When I did do spin class, I left a three foot diameter puddle of sweat on the floor. And I don't mean wet, I mean PUDDLE. Most of the other spinners had completely DRY floors under their bikes - some folks did leave a little bit of wetness, but I was the only really lake maker. My point here is, spin class is as hard as you make it. You set the resistance on the pedals, you control the wattage, so you are responsible for the workout level achieved. The same is true on the bike. Every red light is an opportunity to sprint from zero to 20 as fast as possible. You can ride hard or easy on your commute. The amount of exercise from any activity is entirely up to the brain in control of the body.

tjspiel

My commute is part of my training but safety trumps all. Aside from all the required stops there's too many places where riding as hard as I'd like just isn't safe. That doesn't mean I can't get a good workout only that it's not as good a workout as I could get from a spin class where the training is all I need to focus on.

colleen c

Freedom away from a car and health benefit was my reason for wanting to commute. Before I commute to work, I tried weekend shopping around town in my bike and enjoyed it very much. I thought about starting commuting to work but the "fear factor" was too much for me to overcome. Safety was an issue dealing with riding in the early morning hours, fixing flat tubes, carrying my stuff, and so much more stuff to overcome. However, the cost of driving was killing me. I'm not handy dealing with car maintenance which means I have to pay full price to keep the car running. After some research, I came across this forum and the info, support and wisdom here provided me the encouragement to just go out and do. For that, I thanks everyone here. Uf it was not the knowdlege I gain here, it would have been really hard to learn simple things like bike set, lights, rack and pannier etc. I really think any female who always wanted to commute by bike but has that fear factor should visit this forum to gain confident.

One question I do like to ask the gentlement here, Are there any fear you face if your wife commute? What are some of those fear? Reason why I ask is because my SO does have worries about my commute. She worries about me getting hit and riding in the dark. Just for disclosure, yes we are in a female to female relationship. She herself would like to commute but she is horrified if riding where there is no bike lane. Along with that, she has to cross a bridge which driving only takes 15 minute wher a bike will be over an hour long with public transit and a long bike route. In her mind, she wants to do it for health benefit also. It is ironic that I worry about her if she commute by bike more so than she worry about me. So from a different point of view, I can see how the husband may have to overcome some of their own barrier before allowing their wife to commute. Is this correct?

BiketoFeel

Yeah, I rode the bus for a while. I always felt stupid and helpless waiting on the bus to arrive. I gave up and went back to bike commuting. Bike commuting was also half the time as taking the bus on and 8 mile commute. Whenever, I see people at a bus stop I always say to myself, "Why don't they just get a bike?! They would be there already."

tjspiel

I don't have a fear of her riding in traffic. Maybe I'm naive. I would have concerns for her personal safety riding through some areas at some times. I have a fear for my own personal safety riding through some areas at some times. One in particular was a prime spot for cyclists getting mugged a couple of years ago.

Something like riding though I consider to be her choice and not my place to "allow" or "disallow".

miss kenton

There are two reasonds I don't commute to work:
1.) No place I'd feel secure in leaving my bike
2.) Helmet hair

chandltp

That is such a girl thing to say

My boss says the same thing, and I'd *never* be able to win a race with her.

El Gigante

I do a multi-modal commute with the mid portion of my 18 mile commute via subway, (about 7.5 miles is on the bike). About 90% of the bike commuters on the subway are male, but I have noticed two ladies. One is a younger woman who rides a Specialized Dolce and routinely wears a cycling cap, t-shirts and capri pants with her bike shoes. She's also quite noticeable for her varied selection of tattoos and piercings. The other, an older, more professional looking woman rides an old Huffy Mountain Bike, and shows up in blouses with matching jackets and skirts, stockings, and stylish shoes. She spends her time on the subway putting on her make-up and prepping for her day. The great thing about bike commuting is that there is no right or wrong outfit, kind of bike, etc. when it comes to riding. Both ladies seem very happy with their choices and have incorporated their own individuality into their daily commute.

HardyWeinberg

I happened to be at the award presentation for our local bike commuter contest last year and of the 3 winners 2 were guys who pushed 2k miles. Their wives and kids were there to celebrate. It was clear that if the dads were biking 2k miles each that month, the moms were doing all the kid-duty, so not a lot of spare time for them to fit biking in, even if they happened to be interested. The 3rd winner, who edged the 2 dads, was a 19-ish college student.

My wife and I split the kids pretty evenly, so they're not what limits her. For her, it's temperature and daylight, and her season is coming back around on the ol' calendar.

no motor?

HardyWeinberg

Brains, in other words

no motor?

My SO lives close enough to work to walk or ride, but usually drives because she ends up driving to meetings/other locations/errands during the day. Fear, storage and showers aren't an issue for her, which is kind of surprising considering her exhusband died after being struck by a car while bicycling. She's not too worried about my riding either, the only thing that gets much reaction out of her is when I cool off in front of her house wearing tights and the hi viz vest she bought me and the neighbors see me.