Risks Of Women Cyclists

[Corzhens]

Over here, the first problem I see is the attitude of men towards lady bikers. They look at us like sex objects. Not to exaggerate, but most lady bikers complain of excessive stares from men they do not know. Even in traffic stops, eyes of mostly men would be focused on the lady biker. On the other hand, a vain lady biker would probably enjoy the attention accorded to her.

 

[thomas pendrake]

I suspect that many of those stares would be there for male bikers as well. The stares are often stares at bikers, not at female bikers. I would also question if a lady biker has to be vain in order to enjoy attention. Some women accuse other women of vanity because of their own lack of self esteem, or because of jealousy. Just feel good about yourself.

I have female friends who assure me that there are just as many women willing to take advantage of them as there are men willing to take advantage. Also, remember that many of those men looking at you may be checking to be sure that you are safe, wondering if they might be needed to protect you or be your knight in shining armor. Of course, some men are capable of being bad guys.

It is probably a good idea for female bikers to try and always be part of a group, preferably three or more. And do not make the mistake of thinking that all bikers can be trustsed.

 

[PennyS]

It is very unforntunate that you experience that kind of behavior. I think only a person who has never really appreciated what it is like to be in a palce where open leering is considered acceptable would belittle that experience. Especially when you are alone in an area where things may escallate.

As unfortunate as it may be, you need to focus on being safe. If there is any chance of the man excallating matters you do have to ignore them as much as possible.

I do not think many women enjoy being leered at openly by general members of the public. It is different from a normal casual look of appreciation and can be very demeaining and threatening.

 

[CrowdedHighways]

I am a woman but I have never(or at least very rarely) faced this problem. I am from Europe, though, and I have heard that it is much worse in the U.S.A. My biggest struggle is that even some of the women bikes are not suitable for a woman's anatomy.

 

[PennyS]

It is generally not a problem in the US unless you are in a really skeevy area. But I am aware that perving in general is a big issue in some parts of South Asia. There was a public campaign about it recently--this gives some idea of what it is like. Not the same as places where men feel embarrased about being "caught looking".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDYFqQZEdRA

 

[niightwind]

I suppose I am fortunate; I live in an area where this sort of behavior is very rare. I'm very sorry to hear that you live somewhere that this is a struggle. What a terrible experience. I agree with PennyS, though. If the area you live in / bike in is unsafe because of these issues, make sure you don't take any unneeded risks just to be certain.
On the other hand, while I believe Thomas Pendrake's comment is coming from a good place, not all men are looking out for you when they stare. While this isn't an outright issue where I'm from, there are definitely more pervs who would take advantage of someone then there are "white knights" that would want to be looking out for you.

 

[Corzhens]

It is probably a good idea for female bikers to try and always be part of a group, preferably three or more. And do not make the mistake of thinking that all bikers can be trustsed.

That is the most ideal - biking with female friends. However, it seems that I am the only woman biker in our village and as you said, you should not be trusting all bikers so I do not join the male bikers although I know some of them. We have an oval that is actually a rectangle, mostly used by joggers but bikers also avail of the outside track. And in some parts of our village, particularly in the secondary roads, it is also nice to bike if you have company because of the pretty sights.

 

[DancingLady]

That is not very common where I live, but other things happen sometimes to women walking or waiting for a bus. It's not considered ok, but some men don't care. Really, it's the men's problem 100% of the time and the woman is only part of the problem if she is deliberately displaying herself for the men.

 

[Rhodolite]

In Seattle this wasn't an issue since people are generally more restrained about that kind of stuff and it's not uncommon to see lots of people working out on a constant basis. Indianapolis is a different story altogether. I had never been honked at my entire life until I moved to this place. I looked up what it meant and was appalled. The messed up thing is that I wasn't even wearing sportswear, just plain jeans and a shirt since I like to walk around a lot. If I'm doing any sort of exercise in this 'city' I typically wear really baggy clothes because I hate being leered at and harassed. It's rude. If guys wanna stare at women's bodies, there's strip bars for that.

 

[thomas pendrake]

I suppose I am fortunate; I live in an area where this sort of behavior is very rare. I'm very sorry to hear that you live somewhere that this is a struggle. What a terrible experience. I agree with PennyS, though. If the area you live in / bike in is unsafe because of these issues, make sure you don't take any unneeded risks just to be certain.
On the other hand, while I believe Thomas Pendrake's comment is coming from a good place, not all men are looking out for you when they stare. While this isn't an outright issue where I'm from, there are definitely more pervs who would take advantage of someone then there are "white knights" that would want to be looking out for you.

It was not my contention that all men looking at female bikers are wanting to protect them, but some are. Some may also be wondering if your outfit would look good on them.
I was raised in the South to be a gentleman. Of course, not all men , even in the South, were raised to be gentlemen. And there are also women who will be perfectly happy to take advantage of you. Men should also be aware that there are dangers out there.

 

[gavinfree]

Bikers of both genders are going to get looks from the opposite gender, although men seem to be more disrespectful toward women, at least in a vocal way. That's true of women and men simply walking down the street, though. Either way, both genders face similar risks while cycling on the road, whether those come from other human beings or vehicles or obstacles.

 

[thomas pendrake]

Bikers of both genders are going to get looks from the opposite gender, although men seem to be more disrespectful toward women, at least in a vocal way. That's true of women and men simply walking down the street, though. Either way, both genders face similar risks while cycling on the road, whether those come from other human beings or vehicles or obstacles.

Here in Florida the biggest danger we face is from jacked up 4 wheel drive pickups. I think women driving these are actually more dangerous than men (not the case over-all). We also get other types of modified vehicles driven by lunatics.

 

[sbatz72]

While I agree with your point to an extent, I must add that men look at women as sex objects most of the time. It does not seem to matter if you are a gay man with a vagina, a lesbian, or a woman like Caitlyn Jenner. They just seem to be drawn to women and sex. I think the male genome is seriously hardwired for sex, sex, and more sex. I am not saying this to sound stupid.
I don't even expect the men I date to be like the men most women consider ideal. I just expect them to accept me for who I am-Just one of the guys. This is a dream to most, but they seem to want to take it too far.

 

[9lines]

Here there is no risks to women bikers, there are a lot of them who enjoy biking daily. They can be at risk only if they ride at night. Usually no drivers are interested with looking at women cycling and atleast every driver has perfect to women cyclists.

 

[9lines]

Here there is no risks to women bikers, there are a lot of them who enjoy biking daily. They can be at risk only if they ride at night. Usually no drivers are interested with looking at women cycling and atleast every driver has respect to women cyclists.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

To be honest, it has never bothered me how people look at me while I am riding - because you are only passing them for a couple of seconds, and then you're on your way. Even on the odd occasion somebody has shouted something over to me, a lot of the time I miss half of it anyway as I am already past them. As long as they allow me to carry on riding safely, and on the whole let me mind my own business, I genuinely couldn't care less what they do on their own.

 

[cellalpha]

Women's Health & Cycling:

• Yeast and urinary tract infections.
• Swelling or saddle sores.