Women and cycling are, in combination, a rich source of comedy. Who could forget the piece we posted in 2014, Meg Hillier MP: More women would cycle if they could ‘pootle along’ in a ‘slow lane’? Ms Hillier was elected an MP in 2005, having been selected from a Labour all-wimmin shortlist. In 2016 we posted Concealed motor found on female cyclist’s bicycle at cyclo-cross world championships.
Our thanks to James for this important piece on the BBC website. Let me summarise the comments from women: “Wah! Wah!! Wah!!!” Surprisingly, Laura Bates, inaugural member of The Whine Club, makes no appearance in the whine festival.
For sheer entertainment, at the end of the piece is some good advice published in New York World (1895):
The changing face of cycling – advice for the female rider of 1895
- Don’t boast of your long rides
- Don’t cultivate a “bicycle face”
- Don’t refuse assistance up a hill
- Don’t use bicycle slang. Leave that to the boys
- Don’t go out after dark without a male escort
- Don’t scratch a match on the seat of your bloomers
- Don’t appear in public until you have learned to ride well
- Don’t appear to be up on “records” and “record smashing.” That is sporty
Justice for Men & Boys 
Timidity and indecision when cycling in traffic has been suggested as a reason for the higher death toll of women cyclists. Men go for it and survive, women do not and don’t. Rather reminds me of the inconvenient fact that men answer exam questions more quickly and get higher marks.
Remind me, what is it men can do that women can also do? Oh that’s right, anything.
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My local “Academy School” has funds from a Premier League Clubs community programme and has been able to invest in a lot of “all weather” pitches. Its very busy over Autumn and Winter (I use the Gym and indoor classes) . Anyway on the run up to Xmas I was chatting to staff (avoiding having to leave in torrential rain) and Idly commented that I’d not seen the girls teams playing. No it transpired the programme was suspended over winter due to the cold and wet . Oh says I but Ive seen the boys teams; is their programme suspended? “No, they carry on” was the reply. The previous year too few of the girls turned up in bad weather.
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My local Lidl for the past year or two has had posters advertising some football-related initiative they have for the young. Usually the photos of the ‘action’ are of two girls and a boy. The boy is NEVER white.
I expect when women get into the SAS they won’t take part in actions if it’s wet or a bit cold.
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By chance I was just watching SAS Who Dares Wins on CAll4 and I was so well “trained” that it seemed odd that there were no women. Not so odd when I saw what the poor guys were put through, but one gets used to the usual PC approach of showing “strong” women that I actually missed them!
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But the facilities are there, at great expense, if they want to, and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it, and when the facilities become a bit ‘old-fashioned’ money must be spent doing up the girls’ bit first, and to a higher standard. The annoying thing is that three quarters of the money squandered pandering to girls who can’t be bothered comes from the pockets of men who can, rather like spending £5 million per vessel adapting nuclear submarines for the tiny handful of women who may, or may not, wish to serve aboard them.
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On average, women cycled about 23% as far as men in 2016 but were only 20% as likely to be killed or seriously injured while cycling, so their timidity seemed to pay off that year? (Citation: back of an envelope/cf. ONS tables ras30011 and nts0605.)
If they were at greater risk, there would be bright pink road safety campaigns everywhere.
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In my experience they’re more likely than men to cycle on pavements, even when they’re next to perfectly serviceable roads. I guess that reduces their deaths / serious injuries.
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Check the accident statistics for women who die cycling in traffic in London and other large cities, and then compare them with deaths for men. Women are far more likely to be killed than men.
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I can’t find this info; any pointers? The various media accounts mostly use very small numbers. More systematic reports like this (https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/news-analysis-cycling-safety-special-report/#are-women-more-at-risk-of-an-accident) conclude that men are at greater risk, even taking into account their greater number of cycle miles.
I’d put it down to pro-female media bias. Women’s road deaths are more important, not more prevalent.
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I know I shouldn’t have but I stupidly read the BBC piece ” What some men may see as harmless fun can be unnerving, frightening and confidence-draining.” and apparently that’s sexual harassment! Of course it had to be invoked because the rest of the piece just makes the women interviewed seem plain pathetic.
I can’t imagine that the 19th Century women quoted were remotely as just plain soppy. Or even in my youth when few had cars and cycling was just how one got around! boy or girl.
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It’s an inefficient C19th mode of transport that no longer has a place on the road and should be restricted to sports tracks/velodromes, or else it’s users should be competency tested, taxed, required to carry compulsory third party insurance and be subject to the same law enforcement as motorists?
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‘An inefficient C19th mode of transport.’
Really? Inefficient? I beg to differ.
While I concede that punting a barge along a waterway is more efficient than cycling, it is a fact that – as a far as dry land is concerned – cycling wastes the least heat per unit of energy. In fact, cycling is the most efficient means of road transport by a country mile. This is as true in the C21st as it was in C19th.
From the tone of your comment, I suspect that you find irresponsible cyclists to be annoying, as we all do. Do please keep in mind that 98% of cyclists are responsible and do not behave like idiots. Which ought not to surprise you, since the typical cyclist also holds a driving licence, because he is also a motorist.
I have noticed that things are bad in London, where the law of the jungle appears to apply. However, if you were to leave the metropolis and to wend your way out to the shires, you would find that 98% of cyclists are considerate and sensible users of the road.
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For anyone of a certain, er, ‘vintage’ shall we say, the mention of women and bicycles (not women who ARE bicycles you understand) can only conjour up this image from QUEEN’S alBUM ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ here:-
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=queen+fat+bottomed+girls&client=ms-android-samsung&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil0pem9erYAhXrI8AKHZEmC_8Q_AUIEigC&biw=360&bih=560#imgrc=TZngo77TpSm3wM:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=queen+fat+bottomed+girls&client=ms-android-samsung&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil0pem9erYAhXrI8AKHZEmC_8Q_AUIEigC&biw=360&bih=560#imgrc=6F73dmknTXI6fM:
Which nicely combines their tendency (I put it no more strongly than that) towards narcissism, exhibtionism and self objectifing all at the same time.
Nuff said?
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Don’t tell me, it’s the patriarchy’s fault? Misogynistic design of bicycle paths?
In the BBC piece, they managed to get the words “woman’s emancipation”, “equal rights”, “suffragettes” AND “gender divide” into the first 2 sentences.
Wow. Just. Wow.
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its lack of confidence in themselves and safety on the road.. that’s it.. nothing more.
I swear these people have been leading very sheltered lives.
the reality is that the world can be a dangerous and yet also an adventurous place.
I think there is a generation of women today who are too introverted compared to former generations.
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Rob, I don’t think you mean ‘introverted’. Introversion (and extraversion) are hard-wired personality traits so won’t change over generations. Maybe “anxious” or “risk-averse”?
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Mike
I did mean introverted as below
“Characterized by interest in or preoccupation with oneself or one’s own thoughts as opposed to others or the environment; shy or reserved.”
regardless of whether its over generations.
but you have added two more traits of anxious and risk averse which complement my description.
my last line is backed up by the number of older women( our pensioners) that I work with and they are exasperated by the behavior of so many women of the younger generation, feeling that their efforts to improve everyones lives has been wasted on this millennial generation..
thanks again !
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Thanks Rob. As an introvert I find that a rather incomplete and loaded definition, but will let it pass. Thanks for your thoughtful comments as always.
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