Female cyclists - are we a rare breed?

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litatura
litatura Posts: 569 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Whenever I go for my bike rides on the nature trails, I probably cross paths with least 20 other bikers, but 99.9% of the time they are male. It's the same when I'm in the car and see road bikers - very rarely do I see any women. Where are the women cyclists at?
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Replies

  • girlonabikedc
    girlonabikedc Posts: 111 Member
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    I live & bike in a city, and probably a good 60% of the cyclists I see are women. We're out here!
  • natwen
    natwen Posts: 81
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    I love biking on the canal trail near my home. I see mostly men if they are by themselves, but sometimes a woman riding with someone else. I never really thought about whether there were many female cyclists. I just do my thing!
  • Creativeballance
    Creativeballance Posts: 57
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    I see a lot of lady cyclists in my city. I do tend to see almost exclusively males actually commuting to work that way however.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
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    I lived in the city and used to bike everywhere and it was the same there. Now I prefer running for my workout but I bike to and from work. I do see more female cyclists in my small town though.
  • RVfrog
    RVfrog Posts: 213 Member
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    I ride my bike with my husband all the time. We do alot of the rails to trails but it has to be over 20 miles to ride.
  • lauraniwa
    lauraniwa Posts: 131 Member
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    I see more women weekend cycling, more men commuting. We're around. And we're hard core!
  • nwilson91
    nwilson91 Posts: 70
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    I've known a few, but yeah, it's mostly guys out there.

    Have you tried rides organized by the local bike shop/club? Are there organized event/rides (Bike MS, charities, etc.) where you're at? We've got quite a few out here in KC...
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    full-time cyclist both commuting and touring! all lady.
  • Trilaina
    Trilaina Posts: 61
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    We're here! We're probably about 70-30 out here, still male dominated, but we try to keep it friendly. :)
  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
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    We are definitely more rare than male cyclists. Living in Colorado, I see quite a few females. I don't mind being the minority, though. Makes my odds better at finding a hot man on the road.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    You're right! Now that you mention it, I have rarely seen another woman on a bike where I live. Children, yes but no women. I bike with a friend (female) and tonight her grand-daughter is joining us. We do a 5 mile ride in the morning and another in the evening, if we have time.
    If I go into town (yep I'm a country girl), I see a few women on the bike trails there. It's mostly men and kids there too though.
  • 76tech
    76tech Posts: 1,455 Member
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    it's about fifty-fifty on the rail trails here, on the roads i see many more men.

    and offroad? have only seen guys. drat.
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
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    The funny thing is that I find it's the opposite for runners - I'd probably say it's about 75% women and 25% men.

    The even funnier observation is that I get a lot of second looks, but they are checking out my bike, not me. LOL!
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
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    I am not hard core - but I did complete 37 mile ride a couple weeks ago - and was proud of that! I see women biking here in So. CA all the time. Love it!
  • sherrybaby81
    sherrybaby81 Posts: 257 Member
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    I see a few woman cyclists around Annapolis MD, but there are definitely more men. I never really noticed it until I started cycling (still kind of a newb, but loving it!).
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I see female bicyclists in my city too, pedaling those bikes with the big balloon tires and a basket on the front.
    But I sometimes ride in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where serious, spandex-clad riders go for long rides. Up there, I think you are right. If I see another single rider, it is most often a male. If I see a pack of riders, all are male, or most are male and one or two are female.
    I am pretty sure it wasn't that way before -- just a few years ago. I do not know what happened to change things.
  • robindina
    robindina Posts: 157 Member
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    I ride with my husband all the time.
  • wendyapple
    wendyapple Posts: 323 Member
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    i ride all around brooklyn and boston, though i took a nasty spill a few years back and really effed my shoulder up. (5th degree ac separation with a graft reconstruction)

    helmets are amazing things.

    looking into bicycle vacations for the spring where you go from town to town stopping at various hotels/spas for one or two nights with day rides interspersed.

    women cyclists definitely aren't a rare breed in nyc, but men tend to dominate the race/track scene.
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
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    On hybrid and cruiser bikes it seems to be about 50/50 around here. Road bikes it's more like 65/35 in favor of the guys, on the whole (at events like criterium races the fields are DRASTICALLY male-dominated, especially where there is no women-specific field). Mountain biking...LOTS more guys than women. I think 20/80 is probably generous. If I were single and looking to meet guys I would be all over mountain biking. As it is I am all over it, but only as a natural progression from road riding to cyclocross to singletrack. My hubby is responsible for encouraging all of these pursuits, but I also have several female friends who ride fat tires (not to be confused with fat bikes, which is hella cool!).

    Women should really consider mountain biking more than they do. It's wonderful and the people who ride trails are generally SO much more easy-going than the stereotypical hardcore, DB, p!ssing contest, macho road biker (I don't hang out with those types, but they definitely exist). Mountain bikers tend to be more of the crunchy, tree-hugging persuasion and very accommodating of noobs, like me.

    And bruises make for fun badges of honor! :blushing:
  • Phoenix59
    Phoenix59 Posts: 364 Member
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    And bruises make for fun badges of honor! :blushing:

    I definitely earned my badges last weekend! :laugh:

    I hadn't really paid much attention re: female cyclist, but I'm sure I will the next time I go for a ride. I do my share of mountain biking with the husband and absolutely love it! He recently surprised me with a road bike and we've been out a few times, so I know there's at least ONE female cyclist in our part of San Diego! :bigsmile:

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