Survey asks what women want.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has released a women's cycling survey. The survey comes from PBOT's Active Transportation Division and it aims to learn more about women's current bike use and interest in cycling in general.

PBOT's Women on Bikes program has been leading rides and creating resources for women since 2005. Currently, just 31 percent of Portland's bike riders are women. According to the most recent City data, that number has not changed since 2003. Women are often singled out for promotion of cycling because it's believed that they are an "indicator species" of a bike-friendly city.

A 2009 article in Scientific American put it this way: (more...)

A member of Sorella Forte racing at PIR.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

A new initiative launched in Portland aims to get more women racing bikes on the road. Let's Race Bikes! is a coalition led by local teams that want to see larger women's fields at races throughout Oregon.

"Basically, a group of women have joined together because we saw a need to "market" Road racing in Oregon," says Let's Race Bikes! Board Member Karey Miles. "Over the past few years we have seen drops and inconsistencies in numbers of women racing their bikes, especially on the road." (more...)

The Beaverton Bike Gallery is hosting a big Women's Night event this coming Tuesday (1/11). On their website, the shop says the event is, "The perfect opportunity to talk with knowledgeable staff, industry reps, and other female cyclists about women’s clothing and bikes, family riding, and more."

I was curious about the event, so Beaverton store staffer Lana Pressey answered a few questions for us. Read her replies below: (more...)

Survey hopes to figure out what
makes women more likely to ride.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Women are widely regarded in bike wonk circles as an indicator species of a city's level of bike-friendliness. If women are riding, the thinking goes, then biking conditions must be good.

But why is this? What specific factors motivate women to ride? The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals has launched an online survey to find out.

The APBP says it help them in "figuring out what factors need to be addressed to encourage women to cycle more places more often." The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and it'll be open until May 15, 2010.

Take the Women's Transportation Cycling Survey.

February: I am asked to volunteer on a committee for a bicycle organization "because we need more women." The person who invites me says that he had been frantically calling every woman he knows in the bike scene, and explains that at this point, expertise matters less than gender.

April: A local bike shop opens a new women's section. I attend the grand opening and am one of only a few women present. The section has a separate entrance and features house and home decor and a selection of pastel hybrid bikes.

August: I email an acquaintance to tell him it isn't okay to call other commenters "pussies." He responds angrily. "Are you really that prudish? Seems like you're just picking on me. Do you have some sort of problem with me?" he asks. Jonathan reads this and is surprised. "I don't think he would have reacted that way if I'd been the one to tell him that."
(more...)