Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Comedian wrote:Do you have any stats on how many totally hot women bike riders there are out there? I reckon there are heaps.

Well, there's at least one on these forums

Comedian wrote:... not very PC Still I reckon all women that give it a go are hot... in a purely matey kind of way... mental note... must not post after 1 beer...

LOL mental note... must not ride with Comedian again

Max

Max wrote:

Comedian wrote:Do you have any stats on how many totally hot women bike riders there are out there? I reckon there are heaps.

Well, there's at least one on these forums

Comedian wrote:... not very PC Still I reckon all women that give it a go are hot... in a purely matey kind of way... mental note... must not post after 1 beer...

LOL mental note... must not ride with Comedian again

Max

Maaaaaate

CommuRider wrote:Or control freaks. Hope she isn't being controlled in other aspects of her life!

My money is she is...

It does work both ways you know. There are men that wont commute because of the fear's of their wives/partners.

In both cases the controlling halves are equally delusional.

I doubt all those women that are scared for their partners safety are holden driving yobbos

I think the problem is they dont know what the hell they are talking about. Rather than being bogan control freaks [I'm sure some are]

cheers

Nobody wrote:

il padrone wrote:

mikesbytes wrote:2004 stats

768 Abduction's

3.5 Million have long term cardiovascular conditions

And a fair slab of these abductions (30%) were by someone known to the victim ie. the boyfriend

Yeah, the news paints things often as if complete strangers do random crimes with no motive. But after finding out about the real story behind one stabbing murder from a friend who was the victim's next door neighbour, I suspect few are truly random events. I also used to live in a house in Ermington (Sydney) that was next door to a drive by shooting. That was no random event either...

Regardless at how you look at the statistics, the reality is that abduction is highly unlikely and pales compared with the benefits, such as avoiding cardiovascular conditions.

I fall into the wife not liking me cycle commuting, but I secretly think its the cost!! On a serious note I did get my salary continuance and TPD insurance levels increased. There is no way I would like my wife to do my commute, I've had too many close shaves.

The incident the other night is haunting me, not sure if standing my ground helped or hindered - but if I had of stood down or reacted differently maybe the guy would have gotten out of the car and who knows. Had to be drug effected, scary stuff. That is a 1 in 4 month occurrence but not a situation I would like my wife to be in. And I don't consider myself controlling, my wife does not feel controlled, in fact with us it is probably the opposite! lol

Either way she does not think riding is safe and would not commute unless there was a segregated bike lane the whole way, and no hills!

Like comedian I really appreciate girls who ride/commute - active chicks rock.

Madame Rash commutes (when she is not using the word “cyclist” as a term of abuse).

She is yet to be abducted, although I suspect the aliens might have got to her some time ago.

In terms of motorized nutbags: I think she is just as fear inspiring as my skinny-ar*ed presence & she yells louder.

Sydguy wrote: Like comedian I really appreciate girls who ride/commute - active chicks rock.

That sounds so much better than the way I said it

I'm lady and I commute

I don't commute with panniers as I have a wonderful husband who doesn't ride so he drives everything I need into work for me. I do eventually want to get a cargo bike or the like with racks and panniers for shopping etc, but that's a whole other story. My commuting I guess is easy because I don't have to carry much with me, I think I'm a lucky commuter. My husband sometimes worries as all partners would, but he'd never stop me from doing it because he knows how good it is for me physically and mentally, he knows how much I enjoy it. He does offer to pick me up if I'm leaving work late as I don't think he likes the idea of me riding so late, but they are sometimes the best rides as there are less cars around (and in the last couple of nights no sea breeze so no headwind). I try and encourage some of the other girls at work to ride, but I usually get laughed at, they think I'm joking. I'm sometimes selfishly happy I'm the only one who commutes in my office as the bathroom is all mine.

erin wrote:I'm lady and I commute

I don't commute with panniers as I have a wonderful husband who doesn't ride so he drives everything I need into work for me. I do eventually want to get a cargo bike or the like with racks and panniers for shopping etc, but that's a whole other story. My commuting I guess is easy because I don't have to carry much with me, I think I'm a lucky commuter. My husband sometimes worries as all partners would, but he'd never stop me from doing it because he knows how good it is for me physically and mentally, he knows how much I enjoy it. He does offer to pick me up if I'm leaving work late as I don't think he likes the idea of me riding so late, but they are sometimes the best rides as there are less cars around (and in the last couple of nights no sea breeze so no headwind). I try and encourage some of the other girls at work to ride, but I usually get laughed at, they think I'm joking. I'm sometimes selfishly happy I'm the only one who commutes in my office as the bathroom is all mine.

I say... look thin and eat muffins in front of them. that will get their attention!

I'm a chick I commute. Id never considered a reason for not commuting besides laziness / time / needing the car during the day.

I'd never considered being abducted!!

Comedian wrote:

erin wrote:I'm lady and I commute

I don't commute with panniers as I have a wonderful husband who doesn't ride so he drives everything I need into work for me. I do eventually want to get a cargo bike or the like with racks and panniers for shopping etc, but that's a whole other story. My commuting I guess is easy because I don't have to carry much with me, I think I'm a lucky commuter. My husband sometimes worries as all partners would, but he'd never stop me from doing it because he knows how good it is for me physically and mentally, he knows how much I enjoy it. He does offer to pick me up if I'm leaving work late as I don't think he likes the idea of me riding so late, but they are sometimes the best rides as there are less cars around (and in the last couple of nights no sea breeze so no headwind). I try and encourage some of the other girls at work to ride, but I usually get laughed at, they think I'm joking. I'm sometimes selfishly happy I'm the only one who commutes in my office as the bathroom is all mine.

I say... look thin and eat muffins in front of them. that will get their attention!

I sometimes eat chocolate for breakfast
It is advent calendar season
But one of the girls is a naturally skinny girl so that doesn't work on her.

Schmenz wrote:I'm a chick I commute. Id never considered a reason for not commuting besides laziness / time / needing the car during the day.

I'd never considered being abducted!!

Me either

I just considered the practicalities, they would have to

- stop me
- get me off my bike ie - de cleat me and undo my hands from holding on for dear life.

If they can stop me and then put me and my bike into their car, then good on them, they win!

I live in Newtown in Sydney and heaps of women round here commute. I'm out riding quite often and I reckon it'd be almost 50 50 men to women. When it's a longer commute the proportion probably change. It's quicker to cycle to the city from here than drive.

The Cyclist wrote:I live in Newtown in Sydney and heaps of women round here commute. I'm out riding quite often and I reckon it'd be almost 50 50 men to women. When it's a longer commute the proportion probably change. It's quicker to cycle to the city from here than drive.

I've seen females commuting in Newtown/Erskinville at 5am mid winter

My GF commutes, she only started commuting in August and she loves it. She's even started talking about upgrading her bike!! In the morning, she gets an extra 30 minutes sleep. We only live about 6km from her work, but it can take her up to 1hr door to door by bus. Whereas, it's 20-25 mins door to door by bike for her. They have good facilities ( I think the no.1 factor for ladies riding to work) where she works, so can take time to do the most important thing, her hair. She knows of a few ladies from her work that ride, but says that most riders are men.

I was really worried when she first started to commute as she hasn't really ridden in Sydney and doesn't know what the traffic is like, so I rode with her for about a week and found a good bike/shared path for her to go. She now extends the ride home from 6kms to 20kms.

I work odd times, so I don't commute when most people are. I only see about 5 people on bikes in the hour that it takes me to get to work, so I wouldn't be giving a good indication on ratios.

I commute to work (have a 4 on 4 off permanent night shift roster) always have as I don't have a car and public transport to my workplace is definitely non existent!

Fortunately because of my hours I get to ride in the afternoon (and no the thought of being abducted other than by probing aliens had never crossed my mind until reading this haha) and I finish at 6am. Finishing then means I can do a quick 50k after work in the AM as well every second day also where I work just happens to be one of Melbourne's more populated cycling training roads of an early AM.

I like to use my commute to do sprint training or time trial it home when not extending to the 50kms (as its only 15k home) - and as the only person in my entire workplace who does commute I do get the comments about how its not fair that I make my work mates all feel fat and lazy (I work with guys) and how I fill up the fridge with my food hehe

I would love to commute, I work in the community and go from clients home to home to home...if the homes were closer or I had more time between calls I would be on my bike..then sometimes I have to take them places...can you see a largish older lady on a rack with four bags of shopping and me pedalling like crazy with the front wheel in the air. No me either..have to take the wee car. But other than work I don't drive I ride.

I have commuted for almost 30 years. in that time i had one broken leg and one completely unprovoked assault by 3 unknown young FARKHEADS!!!!! Totally unprovoked, 3 against one, and the result was burns with approx 15 square inches of skin off, permanent scars, police interview and half naked photos, and doctors visits and expense - as well as the inability to wear clothes, undies, foundation garments for a few weeks.


and i had no idea who they were and the police didn't get them. perhaps one day i'll write the story, but now i just can't be bothered.


i still ride pretty much the same way and in the dark too. People think i'm nuts. i'm probably a truckload more cautious if i judge dodgy looking people - and yes, based on that experience i will make value judgements on people at first sight now. unfair i know, but, better safe than sorry.

cp123 wrote:I have commuted for almost 30 years. in that time i had one broken leg and one completely unprovoked assault by 3 unknown young FARKHEADS!!!!! Totally unprovoked, 3 against one, and the result was burns with approx 15 square inches of skin off, permanent scars, police interview and half naked photos, and doctors visits and expense - as well as the inability to wear clothes, undies, foundation garments for a few weeks.


and i had no idea who they were and the police didn't get them. perhaps one day i'll write the story, but now i just can't be bothered.


i still ride pretty much the same way and in the dark too. People think i'm nuts. i'm probably a truckload more cautious if i judge dodgy looking people - and yes, based on that experience i will make value judgements on people at first sight now. unfair i know, but, better safe than sorry.

Oh MY GOD

I know where I work there are a couple of ladies who commute but the number one factor they more don't is the facilities and they don't want to have to bring in their cloths on their bicycle and makeup, hair products etc by leaving them at work.
Lockers are a premium where I work and the change rooms aren't very large so that plays a huge factor as well. No AC in the locker rooms is nasty in summer when it's full in the mens locker room and all the showers are running.
I bet at least 80% or more people at my work would be 10-15 km from work which is easy cycling distance. Rather than cycle and ask for an upgrade in the facilities people keep driving and whinging about how the car park can take 30-40 min to exit in the afternoon. I just ride past them all and shake my head.

The main reason my girlie has stopped (reduced significantly at least) commuting by bike is because of the increase in intimidating males on the bike path she likes to use (either passing too close, verbally abusing her for being slow and holding them up, cutting her off etc etc).

On the upside, the police are starting to crack down on these kinds of idiots along crown. She had a guy a few weeks ago actually yell at her "move bitch" which a bike cop heard (who was hiding behind those flame pylons at crown grabbing cyclists going too fast), and acted on. Two thumbs up to Mr Police man.

Only other thing that stops her is hot weather.

That's horrible Cinder! I have only had issues once or twice if I'm a bit late off the mark in the morning and happen to be riding past McIver when certain groups of individuals get off the Armadale train and head over to the courthouse. They can be a bit nasty if you try to get past them. I usually just bump my bike down the big square curb, ride through the carpark to get around them, and hop back on the path near the PTA staff car park.

At my work there are more girl bike commuters than guys (but not in % terms). I haven't seen a girl commute on my regular route. Dunno why - maybe the tyranny of distance is part of it, as from my place to work there is bugger all in between over a 15k stretch. That might turn a few of them off....