on girls and bikes

My friend JenKen in Ft. Bragg sent me the link to this inspiring documentary, Beauty and the Bike, about a group of girls in the U.K. who get outfitted with new Dutch bicycles with which to commute to and from school - a bold statement in their small city with no bike lanes to speak of.



I'd love to get a copy of this and make a movie night out if it. In one great scene in the film, one of the girls asks her friend what she's going to wear on her bike, and the girl answers that she fancies a pair of high heels! Naturellement!

Which brings up another article that was recently brought to my attention regarding why women don't ride bikes as often as men. This documentary addresses many of those issues, which is why I'd be interested in bringing the film to schools here in SF and the Bay Area in general to generate some feedback and see how we can inspire more young women to feel safer, more comfortable and more themselves on a bike.

What are the main reasons you can think of that young women tend to not ride bikes? Is it because of fashion restrictions? Is it not cool enough? Not safe enough? Do you get too cold? Too hot? Do you feel you're not in shape? Bike in garage with a flat tire collecting dust? Can't remember the last time you were on a bike? Perhaps these young ladies from Darlington will inspire you to change all that.

And they look mighty cute, too!