Re: [Ebbc-Talk] Ebbc-Talk Digest, Vol 374, Issue 3
Marcy Greenhut <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.culture.bicycle.ebbc |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
To the women-owned bike shops, I'd add Missing Link, which most of you know is employee-owned. I don't know the numbers, but I do know at least one woman who's been owner for many years. I found them particularly helpful when shopping for my current and last bicycle, both of which have fit me just fine! That doesn't mean there shouldn't be MORE women-friendly, women-owned and women-designed bikes, shops & accessories, but I believe street-scapes should be safer for all, including the 5 year old on the tricycle (to para-quote Enrique Penalosa). Who ever the planners, engineers and advocates are.... I'm talking to you! Men are fathers, brothers and sons of women and children. No reason we have to divide ourselves by gender; we can all be more sensitive to safety and comfort whether we're women or not. Right? Marcy Women-owned bike shops. It has been mentioned before but there are a lot of great options in Oakland with Tip Top, Manifesto, and Bay Area Bikes all co-owned by women. I imagine it can be a big turn off for a woman to walk into a shop full of dudes who have little to no experience fitting women for bikes and might not take their concerns about urban riding seriously. Also, without stereotyping too much, some studies have shown that women bikers tend to be more risk-averse than men, and prefer bike infrastructure with better protection from auto traffic, even if it results in a slightly slower ride. Infrastructure and products that support riding with children and carrying cargo are also important, as despite all of our societal gains women still tend to take more responsibility for childcare and family shopping. (Again, these are generalizations, I know). More women transportation planners, more women bike advocates, more women bike manufacturers, the list goes on and on... -Robert On May 12, 2012, at 1:45 PM, Eric McCaughrin <emccaughrin-/[email protected]> wrote: ***************************************** _______________________________________________ Ebbc-Talk mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org