[Closed] There were no girls riding bikes where I grew up

It’s not necessarily anyone fault though. Just because girls are not into bikes we don’t have to blame someone/something/society…. Maybe they simple don’t enjoy it.

What, it's genetic?

There certainly weren't any/many female role models when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. Girls rode bikes for transport rather than fun - rode to school, but didn't take bikes i to the woods afterwards like the boys did.

Our club's academy did a big "girls on bikes" promo yesterday with a local based bike manufacturer, got a lot of the girls aged 6-16 together for a photo and video shoot apparently including social use of bikes as well as the racing. Be interesting to see what the finished results are.

In their teens, its not just girls that drop out though, most sports and youth groups like Scouts struggle to retain kids that age as other priorities and distractions come along.

I have had conversations with kids at school, re bikes and even now the vast majority will not even consider riding a bike, due mainly to how society (not us on this chat bored obviously) view it.

I’ve been riding Mtb in my local area for over 28 years, the local bike club has always had a handful of female members.

I think the thing I notice more now my Girls are getting older are all the carried over little social norms and conventions that help define what female interests/hobbies/sports are OK and which are still considered outliers...

The thing that struck me about that video is that the best people to encourage and motivate girls with cycling are other girls. Just like growing up the OP was surrounded by other boys into bikes, girls kind of need the same. Well meaning enthusiastic Dad's can only take you so far.

My girls love a spin with me occasionally, their Mum is unfortunately conditioned to see cycling as a chore and full of potential embarrassment so tends not to participate...

I don't think the way we present cycling in general in the UK helps, you have to be some flavour of enthusiast or a competitor, just enjoying cycling for what it is doesn't get much of a look in...

As someone above said , very few girls carry on sports in their teenage years .

I have Marine Cabirou in my hometown , hopefully that will inspire a few more .

What, it’s genetic?

To an extent, possibly. Men generally seem to do adrenaline activities more than girls, I assume there is a genetic makeup that causes that.
I think you could give girls all the same opportunity to do things like MTB etc but I think a lower percentage of them would actually take it up. Not because they're brainwashed but maybe because their mindset doesn't 'need' the endorphins like males do ?

Maybe they simple don’t enjoy it.

The three in the video obviously do. It's a great video too; the riding looks fantastic and the girls can really ride.

As someone else said – ‘I’m just going to happen to have this on TV when my girls come home’

Cam McCaul!

The three in the video obviously do. It’s a great video too; the riding looks fantastic and the girls can really ride

Not arguing that at all. But doesn't mean all will or should.

Probably the exception to the rule. I started mountain biking in the mid eighties as a teenager as an alternative to windsurfing on windless says. Never lost the passion. Girls came along and sort of just fell into it. They are both grown up now but still get the same buzz they always have

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But doesn’t mean all will or should.

What, it’s genetic?

‘Spectator lek’, innit?

tbh tho the vast majority of my male friends have no interest in cycling either.

Just because girls are not into bikes we don’t have to blame someone/something/society…. Maybe they simple don’t enjoy it.

That's sexism, right there. Ascribing characteristics for preferences to half the world.

Ever wonder why they might not enjoy it? The adrenaline argument is bollocks because there's far more to cycling than that.

Maybe you should have a chat with my mum about society's attitudes towards sporty women - or indeed any women.

As I said on the racism thread, people take their cues from society around them as they grow up. So if you grow up with the boys doing 'boy' things then women are likely to think, even subconsciously, that the thing is not for them. People say things like 'well I can't see myself doing that'. The reason they think that is because they've grown up thinking it's for some other group and not them. I've experienced this myself - certain things I've never done because I had noone to show me that I could and that it would be appropriate for me to do it

As a parent you need to be aware of how kids are shaped by what's around them.

Girls did mess about on bikes, but often didn't have the right bikes to play with the boys.

My Mrs would have loved a bmx, but her parents were traditional working class and it was a a definite no. Not the done thing.

Years later, when she finally worked and saved enough to buy her own road bike, her mum took her thunder (and hard earned money) and ordered the bike they thought she would want - a sodding Raleigh Impulse drop bar ladies frame!

I managed to get her onto an mtb and she ended up racing for GB at the 95 and 96 worlds (back when BC would still allow fast non-podium prospects to go - there were 175 elite women on the start list in 95!)

We ended up with boys not girls and have a family album otherwise very similar to Tracey 🙂

For all those who are thinking that women don't like getting all hot and sweaty - have a look at how many women are out running. Plenty. And how many men are sitting around getting fat because they don't like exercise? Loads.

My daughter is now 14, enjoys it when I can persuade her to ride, but won't actively say "can we ride this weekend dad?" Admitedly she does 4 hours gymnastics a week. Theres simply other things she wants to do with her friends, none of whom ride - one did, then discovered football.

Our local club has 20% female membership. We were really disappointed with that. BC clubs average less than 10% female membership, yet our ladies are the most proactive for meeting up, riding, and sharing their fun all over social media, whether its a cafe ride in the park or (pre covid) European level CX

We have had real problem retaining girls at the club. We often would have one turn up see that there were no other girls and leave after 4 weeks. But last year we were really lucky and 5 all turned up within a few weeks of each other. They all stuck around and are still with the club.

I was out on Loughrigg about 6 years ago and some walkers stepped aside to let us passed. We slowed down and thanked them. The little girl looked at me, and then looked at her Mum, and said ‘mummy, can girls ride bikes too?’

Wow. This girl at the age of about 4 had a perception that bikes were not for girls. I stopped and said said to her ‘of course, you can do anything you want’. I wish I had added that I was also a woman scientist but it didn’t cross my mind at the time.

It’s stuck with me ever since and I try and always give cheery waves at girls out on bikes, to prove you can carry on riding a bike as you get older too.

Thanks for the film link - will watch later

CX and bmx do manage to attract a decent number of younger girls. I think mainly because it is so accessible (bmx clubs have loan bikes, cx is just race whatever bike you have). Also because there is a small amount of racing and a large amount of mucking about with your friends afterwards, with a bit of freedom from parents. At that age there is also a much smaller strength gap boy-girl so can work wonders for confidence.

For all those who are thinking that women don’t like getting all hot and sweaty – have a look at how many women are out running. Plenty. And how many men are sitting around getting fat because they don’t like exercise? Loads.

I was thinking that.
I race running and bikes or did before the plague. At the running events its maybe 60/40 men/women at most events, unusual but not unheard of for women to outnumber men at some these, but at bike events it's maybe 80/20 men/women Why? If anything I find running physically harder and the women seem fine at that, especially the ultras which are properly hard.

If anything I find running physically harder and the women seem fine at that, especially the ultras which are properly hard.

Long distance endurance has a much smaller physical gap between male and female, compared to recreational mtb which has quite a lot of short sharp brute strength requirements.

Plus strength doesn’t scale, and bikes are actually a great leveller.
I’ve explained this poorly, let me try again.
For the 99% of my life where I’m not on a bike, my legs are carrying around a 6’1 borderline overweight body, and are muscled as such. I’m a bloody awful runner.
But Put me on a bike on flat, or downhill terrain and suddenly I’ve got double the leg strength for pedalling and pumping compared to a more petite person, with almost none of the downsides (until the next uphill).

My long winded point is this can be a real problem for new to the sport or new to the group women, in a mixed gender group. And I image can be really disheartening. Most of the women I see on bikes at ‘mtb venues’ are in women’s only groups. Obviously more power to them, that’s great, but I guess makes it harder for a new woman (or girl with no car transport) to find a local group.

What a great video focussing on fun and friendship instead of shreddits.

That’s sexism, right there. Ascribing characteristics for preferences to half the world.

Indeed. Well said

Well our club mountain goat has run a "ladies only" hilly social ride this morning to try and encourage more of the female members to give the rides they perceive as "too hard" a go. Was oversubscribed as we are only riding in groups of 6 still as a club, so definitely interest round here.

I think a lot of cycling venues aren’t particularly female friendly due to the users. I was at the FoD recently which looked like a stag do. I even had to swerve round one who had stopped to take a piss on the trail.

If I was female I wouldn’t feel comfortable going out for the afternoon alone with the atmosphere you can find in mountain biking sometimes.

I think very highly of Tahnee/Rachel etc, hopefully they’ll leave a legacy that changes things.

When I was a boy, the girls in the street had bikes too and we largely played together. I think it was around 13-14 that stopped.

FWIW my cycling role model was my mother. Her and a pal cycled round Scotland staying in hostels long before anyone put the words "bike" and "packing" together.

As for ascribing traits and preferences to sex, that's opening up the whole gender discussion that is not permitted on this forum but which likely does have a long term impact on female participation in sport.

I think a lot of cycling venues aren’t particularly female friendly due to the users. I was at the FoD recently which looked like a stag do.

There was me thinking FOD had done something right as when we were there earlier this week it was a pleasant surprise just how many woman and girls were riding. The ratio was much higher than we have round in other trail centres.

That’s nice to hear. The facilities there are really great. It’s a really good trail centre in general. That’s just what I happened to experience last weekend.

A lack of representation leading to a lack of participation has been a well discussed topic recently. The racism in mountain biking thread, Shimano's All Bodies in Bikes. There's definitely an increase in women mountain biking, and just look at Red Bull Formation. That's a group of women showing that they can cut it on some of the most challenging terrain out there.

But, well done Weeksy, that's a superb display of misogyny right there. Maybe they just don't like it? Maybe with attitudes like that, it's not a surprise that it may take more time to demonstrate that cycling is for whomever wants to participate.

The comparison with running is an interesting one.

Is there more ‘inertia’ in cycling participation? By which I mean, I can ride a bike for a long time, in no small part because I’ve spent 20 years doing the same. Any new rider coming out with me would probably tire a lot quicker. So the fact that I had access to bikes at 15 still influences the way I am at 35.

A healthy 35 year old naive to either might find running easier than cycling? Or maybe we’re all just misogynistic unwelcoming arses?

Just gone over the figures of the club for a fell running challenge that I administer. 2470 members of which 223 are women. That's not the whole story, that's 50 years' worth of membership. From the first 1000 just 63 were women, for the remaining 1470 there are 161 women. That's 11%, about the same percentage are currently down to join this year, and pretty consistent compared to the 9 years I've been doing this.

That ratio is frankly embarrassing (by which I mean for us), it's about a half of the national figure for fell running for example. Membership is self-selecting as in: complete the challenge and you are a member, so I'm not sure why the reticence.

Back to cycling, Lee Craigie et al. with The Adventure Syndicate do a lot to encourage girls to take up cycling and explore the outdoors.

Nah he's won me round with his "Wimins has a underdeveloped adrenal gland" argument. That's indisputable scientific FACT!

I'm having the girls bikes crushed, in case some other poor dear picks them up and gets crazy ideas. Time to double down on the Barbie dolls too...

As for women exercising outside?
Isn't the appropriate course to bully them into a peloton subscription? Heaven forbid they leave the house looking a bit chunky.

We've also covered that many women feel insecure and at risk outdoors. While women's groups and clubs can help with this it must still be a barrier to many.

There's certainly loads of pretty hard women doing road and MTB round here.

On the other side of the coin, wild/open water swimming seems to be a predominantly female activity. I'm often the only guy I see out.

I see plenty of women and girls out riding and enjoying the same countryside ,woods and trails I do on my bike,it's what they are riding on is different-horses and ponies. I worked at a stables for a week last year I didn't see one man turn up only women.

On the other side of the coin, wild/open water swimming seems to be a predominantly female activity. I’m often the only guy I see out.

That's an interesting one. Any obvious reasons you can think of? My FB feed has a lot of probably over 45 female friends who do open water swimming, and only a couple of blokes who do it (not counting our friends teenage son who is national champion!)

That’s an interesting one. Any obvious reasons you can think of?

Nothing obvious. I, hesitantly, think "fashionable"?? As regards the "chunky" statement above, I'd say OWS is also attracting ladies of all shapes and sizes, so perhaps not have an idealised body shape is more acceptable than in running or cycling. In fact it might even be advantageous in very cold water.

Really enjoyed the film up there^^.
Made such a refreshing change to all the male orientated videos that are released.
Seeing a lot more girls out on road bikes round here but not many on mountain bikes.
Definitely need more girls ripping it up on the trails.

I’d say OWS is also attracting ladies of all shapes and sizes, so perhaps not have an idealised body shape

Without being disrespectful to some of my friends, that's possibly a factor.

If you look at horse riding, its very much predominantly females who take up that hobby. I've ridden now and again, it can be terrifying. So perhaps its very little to do with seeking out an adrenaline rush and a lot more to do with social norms.

last weekend i sold an pair of studded fat bike tyres, a pair of gravel bike tyres and a fat bike. the only people who enquired about them or bought them were women.

i live in canada in a town where there isn’t much to do if it doesn’t happen in the woods. not everyone is sporty or an outdoors enthusiast, but the number of women i see either solo, or in groups, or in the lift line amazed me when we first arrived here.

i’m not sure that women in the uk don’t ride bikes because they don’t like it. i think it is down to social and cultural reasons.

If you look at horse riding, its very much predominantly females who take up that hobby

There is something else going on with people and their horses though and don't think that is a societal thing.

Not sure what you're getting at there..?

Not sure what you’re getting at there..?

horses take a lot of looking after. it’s probably the caring instinct that is being referred to.

scotsrouts mentioned “all shapes and sizes” wild swimming. this is also true of the women and girls i see out riding.

Not sure what you’re getting at there..?

People have a very strong emotional bond with their horse which can't be equated to having a bicycle and totally different things are at play between having a horse and riding a bike.

Could part of it be that if I had a 14 year old boy I’d be happy for him to go off and ride in the woods with his friends, but my 14 year old daughter really only rides with me. I wouldn’t be comfortable with her going that far on her own. Actually I don’t think my daughter would feel safe going to woods without me. Possibly that’s something I’ve influenced, not sure.
When I boy I was also allowed to go and play in the woods on my bmx with my mates.

But, well done Weeksy, that’s a superb display of misogyny right there. Maybe they just don’t like it? Maybe with attitudes like that, it’s not a surprise that it may take more time to demonstrate that cycling is for whomever wants to participate.

It's not though, is it. In the mad rush to push the idea that genders are no longer applicable and everyone is the same, the loonier end of the gender brigade just daren't accept that little boys and girls often like different things.
Not always, that's also nonsense, and some of it is societal norms as they grow up, but the mass of male kids and female kids have a natural urge towards different activities.
IT's just the way it is, no agenda.

most sports and youth groups like Scouts struggle to retain kids that age as other priorities and distractions come along.

Hormones do strange things to the youth (having watched a couple of generations as a South Leader). Then there are other past times that come along that are more fun and their own motorised transport (possibly the biggest influencer at 16/17).

I was only allowed to play out on my bike as a kid. Mind you, we did grow up next to Broadmoor so maybe our parents thought speed might be our friend if there was an escape.

Could part of it be that if I had a 14 year old boy I’d be happy for him to go off and ride in the woods with his friends, but my 14 year old daughter really only rides with me. I wouldn’t be comfortable with her going that far on her own. Actually I don’t think my daughter would feel safe going to woods without me. Possibly that’s something I’ve influenced, not sure.
When I boy I was also allowed to go and play in the woods on my bmx with my mates.

Last year a friends 17 year old daughter did a three night, 120 mile solo bike touring trip. I was a bit surprised, I'll be honest, but I'd have no problem with my lad who's the same age doing it, so I think it's about planning, training and parental confidence as much as safety.

Subject to Covid restrictions, after her A levels she's got a route round the country planned that will take her to every national park on her own. Though I think my mate is hoping to get a few days away with her for his own touring fun.

People have a very strong emotional bond with their horse which can’t be equated to having a bicycle and totally different things are at play between having a horse and riding a bike

Just got back from a ride in the Dales, on the trails between Threshfield, Malham Tarn and Arncliffe. Met five other riders - of the seven out, that's including my wife and I, four were women.

We're doing a lot of thinking and actioning at work around being outdoors and minority groups.

I do think mountain biking has an issue, no different to most other outdoor adventure sports.

We've still mainly got products designed by men, logo'd up by men, presented in a set of photos taken by men, with marketing wording by men, bought in shops run by men, ridden by groups of men, from clubs dominated by men, on trails built by men, discussed on a forum by men (etc).

Replace 'men' with 'white', 'affluent', 'hetrosexual' and more.

Such a dominance has an impact - and not to the benefit of anyone outside of the male, white, affluent and mobile MTB scene.

Is there more ‘inertia’ in cycling participation?

As compared to running was the comment.
My view is influenced by my partner taking up road biking and seeing how confident she has become. I think a lot of boys may well have been shown how to fix punctures etc as kids so are more confident. Even now worry about dealing with mechanicals is her biggest issue and it's why she likes riding with a club, they are trying to increase the women members and holding basic bike maintenance courses. There is no reason why anyone can't fix a puncture or mend a chain some are just less likely to have been shown.

This play she's doing might help a few understand!!

https://whatsonreading.com/on-track

I've got two young daughters, when we're out the youngest often has strangers tell her she's pretty, the eldest that she has lovely hair, never the other way round. They never have strangers tell them they are strong or brave or 'soldiers' so guess what they value. Same with TV programs and school, as the comment above there are societal norms that will take several generations to ease off. On the plus side there are some great riders making great content, Vero makes bikes look fun and that will do more good than me worrying about why the heroine in their favourite programme has to dress and look like that.

On the other side of the coin, wild/open water swimming seems to be a predominantly female activity.

This could be because it's becoming popular relatively recently and so doesn't have baggage associated with it.

In the mad rush to push the idea that genders are no longer applicable and everyone is the same

I think you've missed the point. We're trying to underline that everyone is in fact different, rather than the same as everyone else with the same gender/race/sexual preference etc.

Of course not everyone wants to ride, and it may well be the case that more men are predisposed to enjoy cycling.

But the key point is that we cannot assume that any given woman wouldn't want to ride. Or that latent women cyclists dont need encouragement just like latent men or whoever else.

What a fantastic video, I really enjoyed that.

They just look like they're havingfun in tshirts and shorts.

Aka "dicking about" i think mountainbiking in general would attract more people of any type of people actually looked like they were just having fun. A quick spin round glentress carpark looks like receday sometimes, all the gear,serious faces, planning.

What a great video. What struck me was the lack of MTB specific clothing/padding/shoes etc. and it looked so simple and so much fun. Just like when i first rode as a kid just messing around in the woods. the riding was awesome too.

There was me thinking FOD had done something right as when we were there earlier this week it was a pleasant surprise just how many woman and girls were riding. The ratio was much higher than we have round in other trail centres

We live here & would agree, there is actually quite a strong ladies scene of locals, and a chunk of them are not what I would even class as hobby bikers, they are pinners 🙂

Relatively, it's still not many, but they do push quite hard round here to be inclusive and encourage participation.

Although at weekends when the out of towners/punters descend on the cycle centre it's a bit of a bro fest.

Great video that. I see a lot of girls round here on step-thu bikes, not sure if they quite enjoy speed as much as the three in the video. Also, lately pairs of women on gravel bikes seems to be a thing. Pretty cool to see.
Anyone notice the film credits.. all men. Where are the women in "extreme sport" film making?? Makes you think.

True – does that mean young boys might be put off it, or not have it appeal, for that same reason – that they’re given the impression that it’s something girls do?

Still think horse riding is a bad comparison as there seems to be an attraction to the horse involved for whatever reason.
Although saying that, maybe men have an attraction to the bicycle (wheels, gears, carbon etc,.) that isn't their for women (nature or nurture, who knows) as it seems clear by number of women runners, as previously mentioned, that it is the method of exercise here.

What struck me was the lack of MTB specific clothing/padding/shoes etc

They also ate mud [i]in the video[/i]. If you catch my drift (no pun intended)

A quick spin round glentress carpark looks like receday sometimes, all the gear,serious faces, planning.

Agree, although Glentress top car park seems to have a great mix of all ages and sexes when I've been there. I've always enjoyed the fact that whole families seem to go there and find something to love.

Anyone notice the film credits.. all men. Where are the women in “extreme sport” film making?? Makes you think.

Women don't do all that techy stuff.....

I'm sure a great number are put off by being dragged round a trail centre on a bso weighing 20kg whilst their boyfriend is on 2 grands worth of bike. That's certainly a situation I've seen played out a number of times over the years.

The comparison with ow swimming is interesting. I did a lot last year due to pool closures and women were always in the majority. This is despite the fact that there are barriers that might be reasonably expected to impact women more than men e.g. lack of toilets and changing facilities.

Don't they just wee in the water like everyone else?

Don’t they just wee in the water like everyone else?

Have a little think about what women might need to use bathroom facilities for that would never be an issue for men

Is it to do their hair and makeup?

I’m sure a great number are put off by being dragged round a trail centre on a bso weighing 20kg whilst their boyfriend is on 2 grands worth of bike. That’s certainly a situation I’ve seen played out a number of times over the years.

That’s sexism, right there. Ascribing characteristics for preferences to half the world.

Ever wonder why they might not enjoy it? The adrenaline argument is bollocks because there’s far more to cycling than that.

Nope it's just what people have chosen to do.
You can hardly argue the UK doesn't have any female role models for female DH... (Tracey included) but of people don't find spending x months a year in physio then that's up to them.

I'm was just (as in 20m mins ago) chatting with a mate (female in her 50's) who just got her fibia and tibia pinned after breaking them last weekend. She was messaging me from post op.

Haha got oramorph in hospital but not sure how much that helped , the nurses would come around and say oramorph....ummm yes please . Not got anything better than co codimol to take home though. No not as bad as first thought. They guesstimate I will be back cycling in 4 months , they don't know me so hopefully sooner. High impact sports will take longer so cross fit and running hard to say for sure.

I was encouraging her by linking to my son's Aunt who got rebuilt with pins from the waist down a month or so ago after an avalanche .. this is her.

https://www.today.com/video/dramatic-video-shows-helicopter-rescue-of-5-buried-in-poland-avalanche-1435142211979

she lost the end of her finger last year... and was back on a bike in 2 weeks..
She's now pushing to be back on a bike ....

Her SISTER (brought up in the same house) however wouldn't wander off concrete... in a million years she wouldn't do the walks I did with my 82yr old mum last week... nor would their brother but mum and dad (sons grandparents would)

If someone of any gender doesn't like this then we shouldn't be trying to push them into something they don't enjoy. I find road very scary and totally lacking in joy... as does my 11yr old son... I don't see how that would specifically change if it was an 11yr old daughter...
Meetup before last we rode with 2 teenage girls, 2 dads and 12 mum ... and my lad was the only boy.. then 2 days later were riding with 1 boy + mum + dad (unfortunatly mum is the above so off a bike for a few weeks)

most sports and youth groups like Scouts struggle to retain kids that age as other priorities and distractions come along.

there is a transition in all these activities where it changes from "group childcare for anyone vaguely interested and competent" one night a week to the expectation that any given activity requires multiple weeknights, most weekends, and possibly some independent/homework aspect too. They have to pick one or two things to stick with.

Anyone notice the film credits.. all men. Where are the women in “extreme sport” film making?? Makes you think.

One of my ex's does this specifically. Anything extreme, especially if it involves climbing she's at it like a magnet.

If you watched life on earth you'll have seen her ... and if you saw any filmed from the most dangerous possible location that'd likely be her.

Up until the point that we spawned offspring my wife rode with our group most weekends and wasn’t the only female in the group. She was on the worst bike, but so was I, as money was tight and we had identical Saracen rigid steel MTBs and it wasn’t until she mostly stopped that I started spending more on my bikes. I wouldn’t dream of dragging her out now on a BSO while I’m rocking £5k of eGnarr so I’d stump up for a hire ebike if she wanted to ride.

there is a transition in all these activities where it changes from “group childcare for anyone vaguely interested and competent” one night a week to the expectation that any given activity requires multiple weeknights, most weekends, and possibly some independent/homework aspect too. They have to pick one or two things to stick with.

Very true, having been through it with our kids

there is a transition in all these activities where it changes from “group childcare for anyone vaguely interested and competent” one night a week to the expectation that any given activity requires multiple weeknights, most weekends, and possibly some independent/homework aspect too. They have to pick one or two things to stick with.

From when/where I grew up the difference is that today there is more of an expectation of organised activity. I was amused the other day to see a post by a much younger than me mum saying "I suppose kids today don't need as much organised activity".

Makes me think perhaps we are on a cycle ??? (pun intended)

We just had a week in N. Yorks where the kids (M/F) just went Enid Blighton/Arthur Ransome for a week. They came back wet from swimming in the river and full of mud every day.

Nope it’s just what people have chosen to do.

But why?

There are some people who will always do a particular thing because they are totally driven and single minded. There are others who will never do the thing, because they genuinely hate it. But there are a huge number of people in between who could pick it up if or not if the conditions were right.

Take me for example. I'm a cyclist, I do both road and off-road but the MTB is where my heart really is. However, I could have done pretty much any outdoor activity and enjoyed it just the same. And even indoor ones - there are loads of things I'm interested in (e.g. martial arts, to name one) that I could have done. But I was never really exposed to those things, I didn't know where to start, I didn't know other people who did them, so I never did. A good example is Rugby. I think I could have been pretty good at it, but attending an English state school we did no more than a taster series of 7s. Had I grown up in Wales, and done it in school, I might have progressed to a decent level.

Now I am ok with this generally because I was lucky enough to find fitness activities that I enjoy and it was easy for me to pick it up and take part. But if I hadn't had the opportunities (my parents used to ride recreationally, and I met friends who MTBed at college), the opportunities (my parents mostly funded my first entry level bike purchase, and I had decent riding nearby) then I would not have taken it up.

My point is that the environment in which you grown up has a huge effect on what you end up doing - because you do the things that you can 'see yourself' doing. And if people of either gender don't 'see themselves' doing it then they wont.

You run the risk of assuming that because female participation is low, that means that women just don't want to. But there are many reasons not to assume that, if you just think about it a bit. As a cycling male assuming there's no problem with female participation could be considered as sexism or at least gender issue blindness.

You can keep try molgrips, I don't think he will get it though!!!

That is one of the brilliant videos I watched with my seven year old daughter, Amber; she really likes anything like that and loves watching the Sophie / Lyon vids and anything with girls / females having fun on bikes.

Opportunity and exposure to mtb is a big issue. We live in Shropshire, surrounded by amazing places to ride and you rarely see young girls riding, but then their parents never give them the opportunity to be exposed to it. At best they get given a heavy piece of rubbish with ribbons and tat strapped to it when they could buy a decent second hand mtb for the same price. We would ride alone, but I put in the effort to find a decent second hand mountain bike for Ambers best friend so she could at least try it, I'm also the one who looks after the bike and we just keep it our house now as her parents wouldn't be bothered to do anything with it. This does mean that her friend had the opportunity to try biking, absolutely loves it and so now rides with us. I will be collecting them both from school today and we will head out to the trails for a few hours of fun!

Someone mentioned above that it could be harder for smaller girls as strength might be a limiting factor. I would say the opposite can be true once they've got a bit bike fit; biking is a great leveller. There are hills around here that some of my low to moderately fit friends can't get up without pushing the last little bit, my daughter at seven and on 20 inch wheels goes up that in fourth gear now and they wouldn't try and keep up with her down a fast technical trail, especially if its a bit slippy.

When we are on the trails, I've not had any of the appearance comments as some have had, usually its exactly the opposite; people tell her she is brave and amazing on a bike!

I just wish more girls had the support and opportunity to try something that could really change their lives. It makes me wonder if people have undertaken qualifications and started a club at a local school for example? I realise some staff at schools have done that, I mean people who have completely different careers... the flying squirrels group in the US looks amazing 🙂

You can keep try molgrips, I don’t think he will get it though!!!

That is the main issue across gender and race, a lot of white men don't get it and if white men don't get it and don't want to change things then nothing is going to change very quickly.

The easiest response is just "well maybe they (insert race or gender) just don't want to do it"