Women riding alone- is that THAT unusual??

In article ,
(Tanya Quinn) wrote:

Mind you, there is always the anxieties, like "What's that creak?" or
"what's that noise", or having an accident and being alone, and I'm not
exactly Miss Mechanic. But I go anyways and cross my fingers that nothing
goes wrong. Is it like that everywhere, that women riding alone is
considered be some sort of daring feat?

Sometimes I prefer the solitude of riding alone and other times I
prefer to have someone else to go exploring with. If I'm riding in the
city I'm not concerned at all. If I'm going on a longer ride I'll be
sure to have a spare tube, pump and cell phone (in case of breakdown I
don't know how to fix) with me. I would probably not stop to fix a
flat alone at night, so I guess a cell phone is good then too. I did
have a flat at night but was not carrying a spare anyway, fortunately
I was only about 20 minute walk from home so I dragged the bike the
rest of the way

However in Ottawa Ontario recently a woman was murdered after going
for a 1 hour bike ride near her home along a bikeway in parkland. That
was a very sad story but there are flukey bad things that happen in
the world and its not going to stop me from enjoying riding

I also find that if you stick to places well travelled by other
cyclists, cyclists are very friendly and helpful people. If your bike
breaks down and you don't have the tools to fix it, often another one
will stop and give you a hand.

Tanya

Yes, I heard about that poor woman in Ottawa, they just had her funeral.
That's one of the dangers of some off-road areas, they can always become a
hangout for creeps. But I wouldn't go off-road alone anyways. I'd be more
worried about being injured and unable to get home from some remote area.
However, I think rapes and murders are pretty rare, your biggest risk is
injury or mechanical. I always have a cell with me anyways.

In article , Ken wrote:

(Marlene Blanshay) wrote in news:blanshay-1908032051520001
@192.168.1.3:
I go on a lot of rides alone, and today another woman cyclist I know (who
is a great athlete and does triathlons and wins them- she is from another
species really) commented on how cool it is that I ride alone

Here in California, I see many women riding alone, both on the road and on
mountain bikes. However, I do know some women who won't ride alone because
they cannot fix a flat tire. Some of them have a physical limitation: they
aren't strong (or heavy) enough to put enough air in a road tire to get them
home with out pinch flatting. Fortunately, the local bike clubs have dozens
of group rides every week of the year.

I can understand that. My problem is that I don't have very strong hands
and fixing a flat would take me ten hours, so I'd probably just call a cab
and go home, especially if it's getting late.

"Marlene Blanshay"
I see women riding alone, but is it really that unusual? I can't believe
women in their adult years can't consider going on a ride alone.

There's areas in every city that one would be ill-advised to ride/walk/run
alone. It wouldn't matter if male or female... the odds of one making it
from one side of the town to the other would be... zero.

Besides the garden variety "bad guys" ...that would hit *anyone* over the
head ...for the change in your pocket... there are the extreme out there.
The likes of Ted Bundy or Gary Ridgeway, (the Green River Killer), are just
a couple of name of "big" serial killers of young women in the Seattle area.
The world has, regretfully, to many of these types of... freaks... *and*
there's an array of types of abusers between "garden variety" and "serial
killer".

I wouldn't consider this world of ours safe... for a second. pause
Especially if I was a woman. There's a reason why women carry pepper
spray... and hand guns.

hth

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 18:08:53 GMT, Marlene Blanshay
wrote:

In article , Ken
wrote:

(Marlene Blanshay) wrote in news:blanshay-
1908032051520001
@192.168.1.3:
I go on a lot of rides alone, and today another woman cyclist I know
(who
is a great athlete and does triathlons and wins them-she is from
another
species really) commented on how cool it is that I ride alone

Here in California, I see many women riding alone, both on the road and
on mountain bikes. However, I do know some women who won't ride alone
because they cannot fix a flat tire. Some of them have a physical
limitation: they aren't strong (or heavy) enough to put enough air in a
road tire to get them home with out pinch flatting. Fortunately, the
local bike clubs have dozens of group rides every week of the year.

I can understand that. My problem is that I don't have very strong hands
and fixing a flat would take me ten hours, so I'd probably just call a
cab
and go home, especially if it's getting late.


Take another tube with you and use tire levers. It's really not hard at
all. Personally, I don't patch tubes unless I have to (two flats in one
ride). If you can't blow up the tire, buy a cartridge system to do it for
you. I recommend taking a class at a local bike shop.

Cabs? Not in rural Connecticut!

--
Bob M in CT
Remove 'x.' to reply

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 08:01:22 -0400, Ellen G wrote:
When I see a woman riding alone I want to yell out "hey! I'll ride with
you!" But who knows, maybe she wants to be alone?

When I see anyone riding alone, I ask if I can ride
with them. I've never been refused, but I have been
outpaced by faster riders. Everybody has always been
nice about it.

This seems to happen almost as commonly with women
as with men. Go figure.

Anyway, it's worth it -- I often am shown nice places
to ride that I didn't know about, or helped with a
technical problem, or just nice conversation.

Ellen
--
Rick Onanian

My wife rides alone when she has too, but she seems to have more instances
of harrassment or cars just doing dumb things (She's only 5' tall, so maybe
the cagers have trouble seeing her???).

She prefers riding with others, whether it be another woman, me, or a group.

The tire changing thing was an obstacle too, but she's got the hang of it
now - she loves her CO2 filler!


Chris Neary


"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

In article , Bob M
wrote:

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 18:08:53 GMT, Marlene Blanshay
wrote:

In article , Ken
wrote:

(Marlene Blanshay) wrote in news:blanshay-
1908032051520001
@192.168.1.3:
I go on a lot of rides alone, and today another woman cyclist I know
(who
is a great athlete and does triathlons and wins them-she is from
another
species really) commented on how cool it is that I ride alone

Here in California, I see many women riding alone, both on the road and
on mountain bikes. However, I do know some women who won't ride alone
because they cannot fix a flat tire. Some of them have a physical
limitation: they aren't strong (or heavy) enough to put enough air in a
road tire to get them home with out pinch flatting. Fortunately, the
local bike clubs have dozens of group rides every week of the year.

I can understand that. My problem is that I don't have very strong hands
and fixing a flat would take me ten hours, so I'd probably just call a
cab
and go home, especially if it's getting late.


Take another tube with you and use tire levers. It's really not hard at
all. Personally, I don't patch tubes unless I have to (two flats in one
ride). If you can't blow up the tire, buy a cartridge system to do it for
you. I recommend taking a class at a local bike shop.

Cabs? Not in rural Connecticut!


That's the good thing about living in a city. ANyways, a friend of mine
works as a wrench and he's giving me some time for basic instruction.

The other day I was riding alone and came upon three guys , two at the
bottom of a forty foot steep drop and one at the top . As I rode by the one
at the top . He told me he had fallen. he was okay but a little shook up and
he hadn't even started down the hard part.The two at the bottom were yelling
she won't ride down that. Well unbeknownst to them I ride that drop all the
time, So down I came and they clapped and whistled like I had done something
great . as I rode away I could hear them starting to razz their friend at
the top. riding alone is good and can be good for your ego. That was a fun
day

don't worry about fixing anything , Some nice person always comes along and
is willing to help.
Diane O'Neal

In article ,
"W.S. O'Neal" wrote:

The other day I was riding alone and came upon three guys , two at the
bottom of a forty foot steep drop and one at the top . As I rode by the one
at the top . He told me he had fallen. he was okay but a little shook up and
he hadn't even started down the hard part.The two at the bottom were yelling
she won't ride down that. Well unbeknownst to them I ride that drop all the
time, So down I came and they clapped and whistled like I had done something
great . as I rode away I could hear them starting to razz their friend at
the top. riding alone is good and can be good for your ego. That was a fun
day

Yeah, I've had days like that. I think men are often impressed by women
riding alone, not solely for cosmetic reasons. I went hill climbing the
other day- I went alone because I'm not that good at it and that way,
unlike a group situation I don't humiliate myself! You always see lots of
other folks suffering up and down the same hill, and mostly guys. They all
seem to be impressed at seeing a woman climbing there alone. ONce in a
while I'll see couples there, including one local pro and with some guy,
either her trainer or a boyfriend, I have no idea.