12/23 – Hains Point 100 – A Ride to Benefit WABA’s Women on Bikes Program
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December 9, 2012 at 2:32 am #957099
eminva
ParticipantMegan, thanks so much for doing this. I know you said that women cyclists account for 24% of the total in our area, but among the long haul commuters, it feels like less (note I’m going by perception and not any scientific methodology). It is much better than it was a couple of years ago so I’m looking forward to more progress.
I will donate and probably be able to come along with my son, but for the second half. We will get to work on our costumes!
Liz
December 9, 2012 at 6:16 pm #957104KLizotte
ParticipantWhoohoo Megabeth!
I’ll donate and probably join you for an hour or two moral support (I’ll wave as you whizz by at 2x my speed – am recovering from abdominal surgery so am out of shape).In DC it seems as if the numbers are closer to 50/50 but the further away from DC you go, the fewer female cyclists there are. A completely unscientific observation.
December 9, 2012 at 8:07 pm #957108Megabeth
ParticipantI am very excited about the initial response and support for this ride. (Stay tuned for some exciting promos and incentives for donors and riders!) If you’re planning on riding or donating, don’t forget to visit Hains Point 100.
In the meantime, I wanted to share some more information. I have seen an uptick of women riders in the DC area, and I love it! But, we still have a long way to go with getting women on bikes.The 24% statistic covers the entire US and looks at all bicycle trips. (It’s from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.)
In the DC area, we do rank a little higher. Women make 33% of bike trips in this area. This statistic was cited in the report Trends and Determinants of Cycling in the Washington, DC Region (pdf) .
According to this sweet infographic, females make up 36% of Washington, DC area bike commuters.
In another study, specifically geared towards the Washington, DC region it was reported that, “…compared to women, men are associated with a 2.65 greater likelihood to cycle to work”. – “Determinants of Bicycle Commuting in the Washington, D.C. Region: The Role of Bicycle Parking, Cyclist Showers, and Free Car Parking at Work.”
It’s more than just commuting, it’s using the bike as a method of transportation beyond just getting to work. So, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesome Women Cycling Surveys conducted by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. While not DC specific, it does show some of the hurdles and challenges area bike advocates, such as WABA, have to overcome to help increase the number of females on bikes.
Other articles of interest:
– Elly Blue also tells it like it is here.
– Found this neat little chart where you can enter in a state and get some interesting bike commuter statistics.December 9, 2012 at 9:24 pm #957110TwoWheelsDC
Participant@Megabeth 37547 wrote:
I am very excited about the initial response and support for this ride. (Stay tuned for some exciting promos and incentives for donors and riders!) If you’re planning on riding or donating, don’t forget to visit Hains Point 100.
In the meantime, I wanted to share some more information. I have seen an uptick of women riders in the DC area, and I love it! But, we still have a long way to go with getting women on bikes.The 24% statistic covers the entire US and looks at all bicycle trips. (It’s from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.)
In the DC area, we do rank a little higher. Women make 33% of bike trips in this area. This statistic was cited in the report Trends and Determinants of Cycling in the Washington, DC Region (pdf) .
According to this sweet infographic, females make up 36% of Washington, DC area bike commuters.
In another study, specifically geared towards the Washington, DC region it was reported that, “…compared to women, men are associated with a 2.65 greater likelihood to cycle to work”. – “Determinants of Bicycle Commuting in the Washington, D.C. Region: The Role of Bicycle Parking, Cyclist Showers, and Free Car Parking at Work.”
It’s more than just commuting, it’s using the bike as a method of transportation beyond just getting to work. So, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesome Women Cycling Surveys conducted by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. While not DC specific, it does show some of the hurdles and challenges area bike advocates, such as WABA, have to overcome to help increase the number of females on bikes.
Other articles of interest:
– Elly Blue also tells it like it is here.
– Found this neat little chart where you can enter in a state and get some interesting bike commuter statistics.One factor I didn’t see mentioned was that kids, at least in my experience growing up in the 80s/90s, learn early on that bikes are a toy for boys. In my family’s social circles, I don’t know that any of the girls (including my two older sisters) had bikes, but for the boys they were pretty much standard issue from like 5 years old. I think it goes back to the old stereotype that mechanical things are inherently masculine. While certainly there are exceptions, within my current peer group it seems to hold true…most the guys had bikes growing up and rode them everywhere as kids, but the girls, not so much. So I think men in general tend to have a very nostalgic view of bikes that most (many? some?) women don’t, so I hope WABA is keeping that in mind with its advocacy. Or maybe I’m talking out of my ass…it’s entirely possible.
December 9, 2012 at 10:14 pm #957115Participant@TwoWheelsDC 37551 wrote:
One factor I didn’t see mentioned was that kids, at least in my experience growing up in the 80s/90s, learn early on that bikes are a toy for boys. In my family’s social circles, I don’t know that any of the girls (including my two older sisters) had bikes, but for the boys they were pretty much standard issue from like 5 years old. I think it goes back to the old stereotype that mechanical things are inherently masculine. While certainly there are exceptions, within my current peer group it seems to hold true…most the guys had bikes growing up and rode them everywhere as kids, but the girls, not so much. So I think men in general tend to have a very nostalgic view of bikes that most (many? some?) women don’t, so I hope WABA is keeping that in mind with its advocacy. Or maybe I’m talking out of my ass…it’s entirely possible.
If this is true, then we have apparently gone backwards. A decade or two before TwoWheels youth, when I was young, it was a rite of passage for boys and girls alike. Maybe the difference is that we were using bikes for transportation, not just sport. I grew up in Texas (not then or now known as a rival to Portland), and the bike racks took up half the parking lot at my middle school. I just used Google maps to look at an aerial view of the same school and I don’t see a single bike rack. So perhaps that trend away from utility cycling had already started by the time you were growing up.
Another observation: Women’s cycling was not even an Olympic sport until 1984. For those of us “over a certain age,” there was virtually no competitive outlet for cycling so if we were interested in competition, we probably would have pursued others sports.
And if this hypothesis is true, than WABA might have an easier time getting women in my generation back on the bike for errand running and such, because we did that forty years ago. It might require a marketing and education effort for younger women.
Liz
December 9, 2012 at 11:23 pm #957118Arlingtonrider
ParticipantDitto. My parents weren’t bike riders themselves, but I had a trike or bike almost as far back as I can remember. I think I rode to school starting in first or second grade. There were bikeless years here and there depending on where we lived and where the school was, but for most of my early life I was expected to get myself around wherever possible. Your comments are interesting, Liz. I think a lot of women who grew up with bikes are enjoying re-discovering them.
December 10, 2012 at 2:41 pm #957131txgoonie
Participant@Arlingtonrider 37559 wrote:
I think a lot of women who grew up with bikes are enjoying re-discovering them.
This. I was the only girl in my neighborhood and had an older brother that I was always copying, so I don’t know if my experience is typical or not. However, I can say that a couple of years ago when I decided that I wanted to mountain bike, part of the reason was that I still had sense memory of what riding was like as a kid — free, fast, fun — that I wanted to recapture. The mountain bikey crowd has heard me complain that the local MTB group does a really poor job of cultivating new riders, particularly women. Women’s fields in competitive cycling are dwarfed by the men. It’s a problem across the board.
I won’t be in town on the 23rd but I wil donate and ride in solidarity!
December 13, 2012 at 4:27 pm #957580crysb
ParticipantI should be able to come around to help out and ride a bit. Filled out the form but haven’t heard anything yet.
My thought was that I can contribute water or snacks or whatever’s most needed. Let me know!
December 13, 2012 at 4:45 pm #957585consularrider
ParticipantI’m supposed to leave town on the 23rd, but may be able to do a show-and-go if I end up with a late afternoon flight.
December 13, 2012 at 5:01 pm #957587Participant@crysb 38049 wrote:
I should be able to come around to help out and ride a bit. Filled out the form but haven’t heard anything yet.
My thought was that I can contribute water or snacks or whatever’s most needed. Let me know!
Thank you!!!
I’m hoping to send out some e-mails to volunteers and baker/snack bringers in the next few days to try to wrangle everyone. I’ve had an explosion of interest which has created a lot of moving parts!
In the meantime, I encourage everyone that is either riding, donating and interested in volunteering to fill out the form on the Hains Point 100 page so you can be sure to receive updates (and some really exciting announcements that will be coming out soon).
December 13, 2012 at 10:06 pm #957623ParticipantFYI: I posted Megan’s msg and accompanying website to the biking listserv at work today and one person, whom I don’t know at all, responded that she made a small donation as a result (but will be out of town for the actual ride).
Spread the word folks!
December 14, 2012 at 11:46 pm #957736ParticipantMegan, I made a map and cue sheet for the ride. Feel free to distribute as necessary.
December 14, 2012 at 11:54 pm #957737ParticipantTHANK YOU! Uploading that into my Garmin right now.
December 15, 2012 at 1:47 am #957741Bilsko
Participant@TwoWheelsDC 38212 wrote:
Megan, I made a map and cue sheet for the ride. Feel free to distribute as necessary.
Oh – thanks for the course map. I’ll be sure to bring my
December 16, 2012 at 11:26 pm #957777ParticipantHey there!
Are you still on the fence about doing the Hains Point 100 on December 23rd? Well, I wanted to let you know It’s shaping up to be something big!
Let me tell you a few things that may help you in your decision to come out and ride…
Excuse #1: My family is in town
Don’t worry! Bring them! All kinds of riders will be down there rolling along Hains Point. If you don’t have enough bikes, I have several free 24-hour memberships for Capital Bikeshare (and isn’t there a secret part of you that would love to see your mother or father-in-law facing the Hains Point headwind on a CaBi bike? Tis the season!). Let me know if you’d like one. There are also many folks in the area that have extra bikes, so feel free to post your need here and maybe somebody can hook you up. (The very awesome @GirlonaBikeDC already kindly offered up a loaner bike. Details here: http://girlonabicycle.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-loaner-bike.html)
Excuse #2: It’s too cold.
Well, yeah, it’s *December 23rd*. Winter, it’s bound to be cold. That’s why me doing the 100 miles around Hains Point is sort of crazy this time of year, and I thought I’d use the crazy factor to draw some attention and support to WABA’s program. All that said, weather reports (so far) are looking good for the day. And anyway, remember that you don’t have to spend the *whole* day down there. Ride a few laps. Or just come down and ring a cowbell. We would love the support. If you do ride, you’ll be in the running to earn some fabulous swag from some very kind donors such as Bike Arlington, New Belgium Brewery, Revolutions Cycles, Sticky Fingers, Java Shack and more! (See, I told you this was going to be an awesome ride…)
Excuse #3: I’m out of town.
No worries. You can still join the fun by following @HainsPoint100 during the day of the ride. You can even mock us via the #HP100 hash. But I would love it if you could also submit a donation and tell your friends that are in town to come join me. The more the merrier. Send them this link to learn more about the ride: https://sites.google.com/site/hainspoint100/
Excuse #4: No one else I know will be in town.
As I mentioned, there will be *plenty* of people to ride with of all skill levels, from pacelines to grocery getters. While this has already expanded well beyond my own initial expectation, this is still a social ride. So it’s a great time to get to know some other cyclists in the DC area. Don’t be shy! Lots of people have already signed up so I know you’ll have plenty of company. Besides, you can also ride around with me!
I hope this helped in your decision and that you’re now ready to roll with us, please, please, please be sure to fill out the form linked to from this page: https://sites.google.com/site/hainspoint100/I’m looking forward to riding with you and appreciate your support of WABA’s Women & Bicycles program.
(By the way, the first 50 riders that show up will get a special sparkly and twinkly gift that will show your support and that you are a part this ride. The elves were busy yesterday.)
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