"There's a widespread belief in the biking world that one reason to build comfortable bike infrastructure is that if streets are safer, more women will bike."
"Women are, as one saying has it, an "indicator species" for good biking. Join protected bike lanes, off-street paths and side-street bike boulevards into a network and one mark of success will be that allegedly risk-averse women will start to ride in larger numbers."
This article may explain the gender-based difference in biking.
"It seems possible that physical issues like topography might matter as much as psychological ones like risk."
I'm not afraid to admit that I prefer comfortable separated bike infrastructure also. What do you think?
Thanks for posting this link: it's an interesting collection of studies and ideas. It's definitely true that projecting a tough image and asking for help are hard to reconcile; bummer for all of us who were raised to be stoic and to take pride in "self-reliance"! What a crock! Give me chill greenways and separated lanes!