Manchester’s own Dame Sarah Storey has teamed up with Cheshire law firm Bott and Co with an aim to get 50,000 women into cycling this Bike Week
This comes as new research reveals, over half of North-West women would like to take up cycling, but concerns about dangers on the road, personal safety and a lack of cycling infrastructure remain “significant barriers”.
The research, by Bott and Co solicitors, revealed that 93% of women from the North-West of England don’t own a bike and of those that do have one, only 20% cycle every day and 12% once or more a week.
For those eager to cycle, there is discouragement caused by worries over road safety and the risk of being injured, a lack of cycle lanes and not wanting to ride alone.
In response to these shocking stats, Bott and Co – alongside Paralympic champion – Dame Sarah Storey, have launched a national campaign called She Can Ride with tips to encourage more women to take up cycling and have designed an interactive web tool so budding female cyclists can find like minded cycling groups and enjoy local rides together.
The research also revealed just how long many women in the North-West had been out of the saddle. Over a quarter (27%) hadn’t cycled for two years or more, and 10% ten years or longer. One in eight admitted to never having cycled.
Although cycling has grown in popularity in the UK in recent years, a gender divide remains.
Official statistics* show that in 2019 men made three times more cycle trips than women (24 trips compared to 8 trips), although in 2020 this fell to twice as many.
When asked about their attitudes to cycling, 59% of women cited concerns about their “personal safety” due to cars and other people.
Over half (59%) said they enjoyed cycling but motorists made them “anxious” while 22% thought more needed to be done to improve safety for cyclists.
Factors that prevent women cycling more frequently include a shortage of cycle lanes, poor weather, a lack of winter daylight and doubts about their fitness.
Significantly, only a fifth of North-West women (21%) believe that recent changes to the Highway Code will be helpful, compared to 30% nationally.
The new code includes recommendations for cyclists to take the centre of their lane where there are no separate cyclist facilities, supposedly to make them more visible.
But the coronavirus pandemic has had a positive impact, with 31% of women taking advantage of the quieter roads during lockdown to start cycling in the North-West.
Also, 34% of women said they had cycled more over the past two years due to safer roads.
David Bott, Senior Partner at Bott and Co said: “Although cycling has grown in popularity in recent years we know there’s a gender gap and women cycle far less than men.
“Significant barriers remain for women who want to get into the saddle. The survey shows they have concerns about their personal safety and dangers on the road, whether that’s caused by too much traffic, some motorists’ attitudes or a lack of cycling infrastructure.
“Women can feel far more vulnerable than men when they’re cycling, so it’s not surprising their participation rates are lower. Which is why during Bike Week, we’re launching our She Can Ride campaign to encourage more female cyclists – with the aim to see fifty thousand more women cycling through our tool and tips.
“Our website features a ‘Find a Club’ tool that will allow women to join other would-be female cyclists in the North East area so they can enjoy local rides together. Hopefully, this will help boost participation rates.”
One of the most decorated British athletes in history with 17 Paralympic gold medals, Dame Sarah Storey, is backing the campaign to get more women cycling. She said: “I love cycling and feel so fortunate to be able to ride my bike every day, but I know not everyone has that confidence. Whilst the number of people I wave to on my rides has risen sharply over the past decade or so, it’s still very noticeable that men are more likely to be riding and if I pass groups there are very few women on bikes.
She continued: “It’s vital we look to address the challenges from all angles and initiatives. The cycling group finder tool from Bott and Co will make a significant difference to those women who have said they’d love to ride more! I’m excited to be able to support this campaign and look forward to meeting new women of all levels of experience out on our bikes very soon.”
