In September 2019, out of 425 recorded cyclists only 94 were female.
According to Love to Ride’s 2019 Cycle September report, in Derby just 22% of participants were female compared to a national average of 50%. Derby Cycling Group’s own committee has no female representation.
Studies have shown that more girls and women want to cycle but face gender specific barriers. A small group of us at DCG wanted to change this and support, encourage and empower more girls and women to cycle and get involved with DCG in 2020, and beyond.
Love to Ride Derby led on this project, in collaboration with some DCG members, Breeze and Sustrans. We organised a female only cycling event in February and led rides for International Women’s Day. We also put together a series featuring 20 female cyclists across the city.
Please note: We used the terms ‘girls’, ‘woman’ and ‘women’ throughout but we of course welcomed anyone who identifies as a girl or woman to get involved.
“I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bike. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood.”
The American civil rights leader, Susan B Anthony, 1896
Why We Cycle | Girls & Women
Despite a significant gender divide, we wanted to show you that there are many incredible girls and women cycling in Derby. From beginners to pros, girls to grandmothers and jumpers to lycra we’ve been chatting all things cycling with 20 girls and women for IWD 2020.
Find out more about their cycling experiences.
Christine Selden
“It is the most cost effective and quickest way to get around”
Jenna Clark, Onimim Jacks & Tomar Beh
Inspiration, advice and support for girls & women who want to cycle
On Wednesday 26th February we organised a female only cycling event with talks from four wonderful speakers Kate Ball, Cath Rodkoff, Tracey Fletcher and Joss Winter followed by facilitated discussion groups on the topics of cycling with children, confidence, practical tips and commuting. Nearly 40 girls and women attended and we hope it provided inspiration, advice and support on all things cycling.
Led Rides
As part of the offical International Women’s Day celebration organised by Women’s Day Derby, on Saturday 7th March we organised four led rides from locations across Derby to encourage girls and women to cycle in and join the rally and afternoon event.
Useful Information
The cycling world may still be male dominated but there are some excellent female specific resources out there to help you not only get on your bike, but stay on it. We also have a section full of general links too.
Breeze
A HSBC supported initiaitve, Breeze offer fun, free bike rides for women of all abilities across the UK. Simply enter your postcode on their site to find your nearest one. They also have a handy Facebook page to link with other female cyclists and have a chat.
Velovixen
Having started out due to a lack of female specific cycling gear and kit, they now offer a range of hand-selected products that allow women to feel comfortable on their bikes, look stylish and sophisticated and get more out of their cycling.
Cycle Derby
A not-for-profit Derby City Council support organisation, they want more people of any age or ability to become more active, healthy and have fun on a bike. They run training in schools and also bespoke adult cycle training.
Love to Ride
They aim to get more people cycling using their online platform, local promotion and peer support. With a year round programme of challenges and lots of prizes up for grabs, they achieve sustainable behaviour change across the UK.
Our Team
This was a collaborative campaign between Love to Ride, DCG, Breeze and Sustrans so here we all are in case you’d like to find out more about what we worked on.
Lucy Giuliano
Lucy is the Local Project Manager for Love to Ride in Derby and co-founder of WiLD. She came up with this idea after the male dominated Cycle September statistics. She oversaw and managed the campaign.
Cathy Tester
Cathy regularly attends DCG meetings and is also passionate about getting more girls & women cycling. She takes part in Breeze rides and supported with the ‘why we cycle’ profiles.
Joss Winter
Joss currently works for Sustrans in Derby and Nottingham to get more local businesses and organisations on board with cycling. She used her knowledge of cycling in the city to help with organising our event.
Adele Hough
A recently signed up Sustrans volunteer, Adele was on hand to help out with the marketing side of the campaign and also helped with the ‘why we cycle’ profiles.
James Thatcher
James is part of DCG and is the lead Sustrans volunteer for the city. He has organised many monthly social rides to encourage new cyclists and led on our plans for a led ride for IWD.
Ken Timmis
A DCG committee member, Ken is a keen advocate to get more girls & women to cycle having written articles on the subject. Also a Sustrans volunteer, he supported James with organising the IWD led ride.
Hardy Saleh
Hardy is another advocate of female cyclists and is also a dab hand at photography and filmmaking. He was on hand to help with overall campaign strategy and any technical requirements we had.
Christine Selden
A Breeze champion, Christine regularly organises and leads female only rides across the city. She used her expertise to support with organising the IWD led ride..
