Guys – don’t shout at women

[Harry Meatmotor]

God forbid if e-bikes ever get adaptive cruise control. This forum would uhspload.

[Steve O]

Drafting should never, ever occur unless both riders are aware of each other and are cool with it. Anything else is dangerous as well as impolite.

Following but not drafting also requires a level of courtesy as has been being discussed. Actual drafting, though, is a step up.

[dkel]

Leave it to the guy who insists on driving his car on the trails to complain that being considerate of others makes him a victim.

Sad!

[SolarBikeCar]

If this thread were about wheel suckers I’d join in complaining. I dislike tailgaters too. I dislike when couples and groups ride side by side and take up more than half the trail. I worry about how rude behavior impacts rider safety. All good stuff worth discussing without mentioning the sex of the perps.

But it isn’t. It is instead exploring the premise that it is men’s fault that women are unable to use and enjoy the bike paths.

[lordofthemark]

@SolarBikeCar 161104 wrote:

If this thread were about wheel suckers I’d join in complaining. I dislike tailgaters too. I dislike when couples and groups ride side by side and take up more than half the trail. I worry about how rude behavior impacts rider safety. All good stuff worth discussing without mentioning the sex of the perps.

But it isn’t. It is instead exploring the premise that it is men’s fault that women are unable to use and enjoy the bike paths.

One of the reasons, AFAICT, that women are particularly creeped out by being followed, is that sometimes women get raped. Of course all rape is wrong, whether done by a male or a female.

#letsbegenderandraceblind #evenwhenitmakesnosense #andIamnotreallyahugefanofidentitypoliticsbutsheesh

[Tania]

“…take up more than half the trail.”

Wow.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@SolarBikeCar 161104 wrote:

it is men’s fault that women are unable to use and enjoy the bike paths.

I mean…basically, yeah.

[SolarBikeCar]

@lordofthemark 161106 wrote:

One of the reasons, AFAICT, that women are particularly creeped out by being followed, is that sometimes women get raped.

Rape is really bad. Fortunately rape by strangers is also really rare. It is even rarer in daylight in public places like a bike path. Men who shout rude things at woman or follow too close are not a whisker length away from attempted rape.

[Tania]

This is the FIRST result you get when you google “W&OD assault.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/two-people-assaulted-along-wandod-bike-trail-in-separate-incidents/2016/08/25/9f484932-6ae0-11e6-ba32-5a4bf5aad4fa_story.html

August 25, 2016 

Two people were assaulted in separate incidents along the Washington and Old Dominion bike trail in Loudoun County, authorities said.

In one incident, a man who was wearing dark clothing approached a female jogger about 6:30 a.m. Thursday along the trail in Leesburg. He was carrying a box cutter.

She ran away and was not harmed, Leesburg police said. The man also ran from the scene.

Police said the incident happened between Valley View Avenue and South King Street. Law enforcement officers searched the area but were unable to find the man.

The attacker in the Leesburg incident is described as being a black man in his 50s.

In the other incident, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said a woman was walking along the W&OD trail, just east of Sterling Boulevard, about 8:30 p.m. Aug. 17 when two men approached her from a wooded area, pulled at her clothing and then physically assaulted her. Authorities are describing the incident as an attempted sexual assault.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@SolarBikeCar 161111 wrote:

Rape is really bad. Fortunately rape by strangers is also really rare. It is even rarer in daylight in public places like a bike path. Men who shout rude things at woman or follow too close are not a whisker length away from attempted rape.

Dude, just stop.

[Vicegrip]

@SolarBikeCar 161104 wrote:

I dislike when couples and groups ride side by side and take up more than half the trail…..

But it isn’t. It is instead exploring the premise that it is men’s fault that women are unable to use and enjoy the bike paths…..

.

I ride side by side with my ever growing Dear Daughter on the trails when conditions permit. (no headwind ) We putter along at 12 mph or so and chitty chat about this and that. The last ride it was Silvia Earl and the upcoming Nat Geo event. We don’t habitually compromise the other side of the trail, disturb the gravel with wheels or do side by side when it is busy. Although we are mostly contained in our lane, when we see an oncoming bike or have one passing from behind we break formation and go single file.
I have observed an Elf routinely running dead center middle of the trail and only moving back into the proper lane when there is an oncoming bike or ped. We know that would not be you as that would be even more annoying than 2 bikes wide. You should talk to that guy, he is making Elfs look bad.

This has been a good thread with clear quiet conversation, no finger pointing, no shouting and some good logical conclusions.

[rcannon100]

@SolarBikeCar 161085 wrote:

A culture that claims the mere presence of a man is a hostile threatening environment for women makes the environment a hostile one for men.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14924[/ATTACH]

[rcannon100]

@SolarBikeCar 161085 wrote:

A culture that claims the mere presence of a man is a hostile threatening environment for women makes the environment a hostile one for men.

[baiskeli]

@Tania 160870 wrote:

http://www.waba.org/blog/2017/05/guys-what-the-hell/

I heart WABA so much.

And to all the guys who want to say “hey! that’s not sexism,” I say in return “piss off.”

Nobody said it is never sexist to yell at women, just that it is possible someone is yelling at a woman for another reason. If he also yells the same things at men….

[baiskeli]

@Emm 161091 wrote:

This isn’t just something to do for women, do it for everyone so you’re not a jerk.

Here’s an example of how someone’s behavior can simply be jerky and not necessarily sexist jerky. Of course, the problem for a woman, though, is she can’t tell which it is and what might happen next.

[Author]

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