Woman on a Bicycle
Created | Updated Jul 30, 2007
I’m an eccentric and proud of it! Most days you could see me cycling slowly up the hill in my town, with two panniers full of shopping hung on the back of my bike. I’m not quite a little old lady on a bike, but I have ambitions of keeping on cycling until I am.
Not many people in the UK cycle regularly. The average person (whoever that is) made only 18 trips by bicycle or motorbike in 2005. Moreover I suppose that, when most people think of a cyclist, they think of a fit young man in lycra. Of course there are distinguished women cyclists, like Nicole Cooke, who won the Women’s Tour de France in 2006, but they are a minority in a minority sport.
In a way, it’s sad that women have abandoned cycling because the bicycle played a part in female emancipation. Its invention in the 19th century gave women more independence than they had previously enjoyed. By the 1890s, such was the popularity of bicycling that it led to a movement for ‘rational dress.’ Suddenly women were scandalising society by abandoning their corsets and ankle length skirts and taking to wearing bloomers.
I remember girls in my school in the 60s riding bikes in short skirts, which revealed their stocking tops. So what do you wear to ride your bike? The sort of fashion trousers generally available are rather wide round the hem and tend to catch in the chain. My favourite clothes for cycling are ordinary cropped trousers, and a helmet if I go any distance.
Most women I’ve spoken to assume that cycling’s far too dangerous. I’ve been cycling for 48 years and the worst injury I’ve had is a dislocated finger. That was nobody’s fault but my own - I came round a corner too fast and hit the kerb. The British Medical Association reckons that the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risk of death through cycling accidents.
Mind you, there are plenty of hazards to negotiate on our roads. One of those I look out for arises as I approach a junction with the intention of going straight on. I normally stay on the left hand side of the carriageway (I’m talking about the UK here!). I could be in danger if a motorist comes alongside wanting to turn left. Advance stop lanes help when the cars haven’t intruded on them but it always pays to cycle warily.
I’m not an adventurous cyclist but it’s still possible to find quiet roads near my home in Sussex. It can be a revelation how much more of the countryside you see on a bike: from the flowers in the hedgerows to the occasional deer disappearing into the undergrowth. Freewheeling downhill is a joy! As for uphill, there aren’t many times when I get off and walk. My bike is a hybrid with eighteen gears, so it’s easy enough to drop a gear.
However, there are hills with a fearsome reputation. One I avoid is Ditchling Beacon, which is nearly 500 feet of chalk escarpment. I can imagine the dismay of some of the cyclists who set out on the London to Brighton ride, and who think that they must be close to their destination, when they see the Beacon rearing up before them!
The men in lycra, of course, like bagging such hills. They get together afterwards in the pub with a pint, or in the cafe with a cup of tea and a cake (cyclists eat lots of cake). They yarn about hills they have climbed and broken bits of equipment they have mended and talk knowledgeably about gear ratios and carbon fibre wheels.
I have a few yarns of my own I could tell. Like the week I spent cycling in Scotland with my then boyfriend. We started from Glasgow and made our way as far as Glen Coe and back, stopping at youth hostels along the way. It rained every day. Even now, I remember cycling through the Forest of Strathyre in the driving rain, with water running down my face and soaking my legs. Perhaps it’s surprising that I married my boyfriend after that.
So would I recommend cycling? On the whole, yes. It’s a cheap, clean and energy efficient means of transport. You can tell yourself that, if you leave your car at home and use a bike, you’re reducing your carbon footprint. Of course, cycling regularly is a great way to lose some weight. Even if you have to buy a bike it’s likely to prove cheaper than a gym in the long run. Moreover, you can’t see the countryside from an exercise bike. So why not beg, buy or borrow a bike, equip yourself with a helmet and some cropped trousers and give it a go!
