As much as I absolutely love riding my bike and anything to do with cycling I hate hate how male dominated it is. Not just cycling as a sport, but how many other male cyclists I see cutting me up on the roads of the elitist bike shops that treat girls like idiots.
I went to Toyko Fixed the other day and there was a gang of guys all standing in a huddle looking at some bike part. I was looking at the locks and no one thought to ask if I needed any help, and when I chose one it took me about 5 minutes to get their attention to pay for it. Then the guy who sold it to me just grunted at me to put my card in the machine and shoved it in a bag. A male customer came in at the same time and they all flocked to him offering help and talking to him about bikes.
When I got the lock back home it was too big to fit on my bike and when I was trying to get it off I a bit snapped off, so I'm going to have to attempt to take it back. I can't wait.
Urgh, and on the wall they had a calander with bikes of half naked Japanese girls straddling bikes in such practical locations as bath tubs. I guess that explains quite a bit.
About Me
- Laura
- London, United Kingdom
- I'm Laura and I live and cycle in London. I'm about to start training to become a bike mechanic and I'm more than a little bit excited about that! Apart from cycling I like coffee, zines, literature, thrifting and embroidery. I also run a feminist club night with the rather fabulous lady Lydia.
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what sort of lock do you need? I have a spare U-lock you can have if you like, it's cheap but my bicycle is in heaven now so it's going to waste
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sportsdirect.com/dunlop-cycle-u-lock-939207
aww thanks, i got a new one in the end, it was the super tiny kryptonite :)
ReplyDeletewow, thats some shit. I never thought about how male dominated cycling really is, but on the ironic side maybe is cuz I am super intimidated by it and something like that would aid to why I would be. I hope it gets better for you cycling ladies getting the respect you deserve n all that good stuff.
ReplyDeleteWTF? I can't quite believe they had pics of naked ladies on their wall. Was that meant to be ironic? I'll be telling my London cycling pals to avoid this place on this basis...
ReplyDeleteJo x