No, You Don’t Need To Wear Lycra
When I climb on my bike, I’m not wearing Lycra. Why would I? I’m not an athlete; I’m just someone going about my daily business on a bike. Incidentally, I don’t know how to fix and maintain my bike, either. Why should I? We don’t expect car owners to fix their vehicles, do we?
My job is to encourage people onto bikes, especially women – who make up less than a quarter of all bike riders in Australia. Cycling is accessible, cheap and contributes to a healthy lifestyle. So why do so few of us do it?
One of the reasons is that cycling is so often presented as a specialist activity. When we look at images of cyclists in the media, we don’t see ourselves – we usually see middle-aged white men in Lycra. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t wear Lycra or shorts and T-shirts when riding. If the bike is your substitute for the gym, it makes sense.
But for women who have opportunities to incorporate bicycle riding into their daily life – whether it’s getting to work, dropping the kids at school or meeting friends for coffee – it’s not a change of clothes we need, but a change in perception.
Every time I ride either my three-speed or, more regularly, my eBike, I’m aware that I have the potential to influence other women to consider bike riding – and I think the most effective way to bring others along on the journey is by dressing for my destination, not for my mode of transport.
People are always surprised to hear I’ve arrived somewhere via bicycle. The most common comment is, “You don’t look like you’ve been riding a bike”. What they’re really saying is that I’m dressed just like anyone else. Ironically, looking like you’ve not been on a bicycle may be the best way to entice someone else to start riding.
I notice it when I stop at traffic lights near a tram stop, too. I see other women looking at my bike and at me. You can almost hear what they’re thinking: “She looks like me and that bicycle actually looks comfy”.
They can see themselves reflected in my choices. I like to think that, at best, I may have planted a seed of interest. At worst, I have normalised riding a bicycle as a means of transport with no compromises – or special clothing needed.
Leyla Asadi is general manager, behaviour change at The Bicycle Network.
Words_ Leyla Asadi
Photo_ Fernando Meloni/UnSplash