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Biking everywhere as a woman
Dec. 2nd, 2017 05:00 pmWhat Will It Take To Close the Gender Gap in Urban Cycling by Eillie Anzilotti
I'm a woman and I bike for transportation. I fell in love with biking as a kid, and went back to it as my main transportation as a grad student because parking on Berkeley campus was so difficult. As a software engineer I commuted by car for a while to my first job and hated it. For the rest of my jobs, I had a non-negotiable requirement for a bike or transit commute. I've been car-free since my car got totaled in a crash fifteen years ago.
I also bike recreationally. I've been lucky to find mentors who taught me routes and bike maintenance and body maintenance (eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty) and were just plain fun to bike with. They've taken me on challenging adventures I wouldn't have attempted on my own.
The article talks about women getting questioned all the time about being safe, and I get some of that. It also talks about biking being seen as unfeminine, getting sweaty in the summer, peeling off dripping layers in the winter. And, of course, helmet hair. I've capitulated on that kind of propriety and femininity. I don't even try for it. I also get looked at askance sometimes like, "Aren't you rich enough to have a car?"
Like women say in the article, biking makes me feel good. Biking up hills is meditative and releases yummy endorphins, and biking around town makes me feel strong and capable. Yeah, biking in cold rain is a bit of a drag, but I have good rain gear, and I never liked driving in the rain either.
Biking for transportation helps me do my small bit for the planet, not adding car fumes to the air, and showing people a tangible alternative. It keeps me moving, which my body requires to be happy. It connects me to the seasons and the place I live, which my spirit requires to be happy.
My hope is to see more bikes than cars on the roads. My dream is for bikes to get the freeways, because there aren't enough cars to use them anymore.
I'm a woman and I bike for transportation. I fell in love with biking as a kid, and went back to it as my main transportation as a grad student because parking on Berkeley campus was so difficult. As a software engineer I commuted by car for a while to my first job and hated it. For the rest of my jobs, I had a non-negotiable requirement for a bike or transit commute. I've been car-free since my car got totaled in a crash fifteen years ago.
I also bike recreationally. I've been lucky to find mentors who taught me routes and bike maintenance and body maintenance (eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty) and were just plain fun to bike with. They've taken me on challenging adventures I wouldn't have attempted on my own.
The article talks about women getting questioned all the time about being safe, and I get some of that. It also talks about biking being seen as unfeminine, getting sweaty in the summer, peeling off dripping layers in the winter. And, of course, helmet hair. I've capitulated on that kind of propriety and femininity. I don't even try for it. I also get looked at askance sometimes like, "Aren't you rich enough to have a car?"
Like women say in the article, biking makes me feel good. Biking up hills is meditative and releases yummy endorphins, and biking around town makes me feel strong and capable. Yeah, biking in cold rain is a bit of a drag, but I have good rain gear, and I never liked driving in the rain either.
Biking for transportation helps me do my small bit for the planet, not adding car fumes to the air, and showing people a tangible alternative. It keeps me moving, which my body requires to be happy. It connects me to the seasons and the place I live, which my spirit requires to be happy.
My hope is to see more bikes than cars on the roads. My dream is for bikes to get the freeways, because there aren't enough cars to use them anymore.
