human909 wrote: and this forum is especially bad for it, is pitched as a fast, aggressive, unsafe and lycra clad activity. No wonder ladies don't commute. A good start would be dropping this image.
In Paris, italy and switzerland last year I noticed little in the way of faux-racing attire and carbon fibre. The only place at all was in switzerland in the country for weekend group rides. And the much touted free loan bikes of Paris, though highly visible at the bike-points were seldom actually on the roads. And while there were bikes being ridden in Paris, not as many as I had been led to believe. Lots of bike, but almost all of them parked or locked. In several cities and region in italy the same except that there were no loaners and the locked up bikes were often damaged and seemed to be abandoned for days at a time.
But to humans point, after five weeks away I came to the conclusion that the use of lycra and racing togs and the prevalence of males is not universal. Are we the odd ones out?