"Beauty and the Bike" film – why don't teenage girls ride bikes?

This is an 8 minute version of our 55 minute documentary Beauty and the Bike. The film follows two groups of young women from Darlington and Bremen. Between them, they discover what makes – and stops – teenage girls from cycling. The answer? "It's the Infrastructure, stupid!" The full DVD is available from http://www.bikebeauty.org

It also features a beardy cargo bike rider 😉

The première of the full-length documentary is at Darlington Arts Centre on Wednesday 9th December.

I just saw a Dutch(?) girl say of cycling "It doesn't cost you any money" 😆

German.

Because nerds ride bikes init 😉

Normal teenagers play football/rugby and drink/smoke, girls like this.

Nerds drink soy milk and ride bikes, girls don't like this.

No need for DVD.

they is northern, aint they.

could barely understand the second one when she started speaking. i understood the german girls better (without having to read the subtitles); i've been here too long….

you do see some really nice stylish girl bikes here.

2:07……. i'll ride her bike! wahey!

That is really, really good Mike. Thanks. 🙂

"its not cool having a bike"…..some bikes agreed but come on, see someone burn around on a really nice bike…thats cool. If its not, it should be, or maybe thats have the charm of biking…we are not cool 😀

"i got into..things like shopping" "it doesnt cost anything" made me chuckle having just spent another £500 on bits for a new build 😆

I rode a bike as a teenager. Loved them, and Mint sauce. I thought bikes were way cool.

I also like star trek, red dwarf and graphic novels…. ummm 😕

'cos you get dirty, cold and the sport is bizzarley populated in the main by 35-45yr old me with a strange liking for wearing lycra shorts.

Can't blame them to be honest with you.

In Germany cycle lanes keep priority over side roads eh? Imagine that. Also imagine the fuss if a transport minister here actually said that they wanted to give bicycles the advantage over cars.

Edit: OMG THEY'RE NOT WEARING HELMETS!!!! THEY DESERVE TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!111!!

They don't ride probably because they are more afraid of a certain Simonfbarnes and his voyeur cam 🙂

Seriously though until the F..K you attitude of the British public/motorist changes people will be afraid to ride on the roads even with cycle paths in place. The laws are wrong and the sentences handed out for bad driving, killing or harming some one while driving a vehicle are just an insult, time people were made to realize driving is not a right it is a privileged, maybe then they would take more care and respect human life.
As for the video, it is a good idea and i hope lots of good comes from it.

Sorry about the rant but witnessed several offenders on the way home today, one was a copper.

Simon.

Think part of the problem is there are just way to many cars on the road here compared to other countries. Not sure of the stats but my perception is that traffic is generally much worse here – which leads stress, frustration and bad driving.

It's a nice theory anyway – might not be even slightly true. 😛

2:07……. i'll ride her bike! wahey!

I'll let Lauren know. I'm sure she'll be flattered…

When my daughter was a teenager, she helped out with food and drink for an event that my local bike shop were sponsoring.

Her attitude was one of "do I really have to do this cos it will be full of geeks?"

After the event, she remarked "can't believe how many fit blokes ride bikes".

Priceless 😀

I think alpin's respones answers the original question nicely.

'cos you get dirty, cold and the sport is bizzarley populated in the main by 35-45yr old me with a strange liking for wearing lycra shorts

Sport? You've not watched the video, have you?

That is really, really good Mike. Thanks.

Ta. I think we're going to try to arrange screenings round the country, so you'll hopefully have the chance to see the full-length version.

I think we're going to try to arrange screenings round the country

Get your sponsors to pay…. 😉

Get your sponsors to pay….

Not sure the 'deal' would stretch that far 🙂

Teenage girls don't ride bikes (or do any exercise) as the perceived opinion is that anything that makes you sweat and/or get out of breath means you're not only ILL, you're probably DYING.

Teenage girls don't ride bikes (or do any exercise) as the perceived opinion is that anything that makes you sweat and/or get out of breath means you're not only ILL, you're probably DYING.

Possibly true, but why would you sweat or get out of breath riding 2 miles to a cafe with your mates?

Excellent stuff. I hope it makes people think.

There are are few reasons for girls not cycling:

Perceived danger
A real issue, due to the volume of traffic and the ignorant & in some cases, extremely aggressive, attitudes of drivers in the UK. Being squeezed off the road and cut-up are constant hazards.
UK Cycle lanes are generally pathetic -I rarely use them.

The physical effort involved
Despite Many towns being very flat and easy to ride, people in the UK are typically lazy, especially women (not everybody obviously). The possibility of 500g of mascara and eye-liner being dis-lodged by perspiration is also an ever-present possibility.

The weather
The perception that it rains more often than it actually does.

Clothing
the less practical the better, in most cases…

The helmet hair issue
Having spent about half an hour preparing their hair, to wear a helmet will then negate all of the beautification.
-Watch women driving cars, they check their hair and re-arrange it without any obvious improvement about once every minute, unless they can check it more often.

Lol @ Aristotle.

You have correctly guessed all but one of the reasons why teenage girls will not ride a bike.
As a teenager myself I went on my very first date in the local park on my bike. Yes I was laughed at by all his mates, he very nearly 'chucked' me ( chucked was dump speak in those days). They vandalised my bike and it put me off for years, until of course I discovered mtbs.
So not being 'cool' is one of the reasons.

If they could see Tracey's 2 daughters riding their bikes though, they may think differently.

they're all too busy messing with my head!

I know they are in the minority, but i know a few teenage girls who biked. Namely an ex who got into it due to me, and then her friends. At one point they were going out more than me…They didn't take it really seriously, but they enjoyed it and would ride 10 – 15 miles quite often. I don't know if they still do to be honest, but i hope so…

I know they are in the minority, but i know a few teenage girls who biked. Namely an ex who got into it due to me, and then her friends. At one point they were going out more than me…They didn't take it really seriously, but they enjoyed it and would ride 10 – 15 miles quite often. I don't know if they still do to be honest, but i hope so…

Again, watch the film. It's not about "going for bike rides", it's about using a bike to get from A to B every day.

I like the idea of having the signs giving time, rather than distance. i.e town centre 7mins instead of town centre 1 1/2 miles. I think this will encourage people to use bikes for quick and short journeys.
good film too
EDIT Ive burnt me tea watching it 👿

Good film and an interesting subject matter.

As others have pointed out, it's not just cycling for transport or competitively where teenage girls seem less likely to take part in the UK, but also tennis and quite probably many other sports.

Are you sure some of those girls are from Darlington? The usual local accent seems to have disappeared in that case….

i have actually watched the film now, it was very good, i just want to add though, that the girls i mentioned earlier did also start using them for transport to get to each others houses etc. I had to go out to mend a puncture for one once as she was cycling to see her nan 11 miles away, and didnt have a tube, pump etc and didnt knwo how to fix it anyway!

Are you sure some of those girls are from Darlington? The usual local accent seems to have disappeared in that case….

They all live here (apart from the German girls), but weren't all born here.