The Gender Gap for Biking Is Larger in Seattle Than the National Average

Gene Balk digs into data from Seattle to evaluate the demographics of people on bikes in Seattle. The finding of this analysis: most people on bikes in Seattle are actually men on bikes.

Citing data from Nielsen, Balk places the share of white male cyclists in the city at 55 percent. But, men of color are just as likely to bike, according to the data. The real discrepancy is between the genders.

"In the Seattle area, of the estimated 169,000 cyclists, 128,000 are men — about 76%," according to Balk. "While men here are a little more likely than the national average to bike, women are a little less likely. In fact, among large metro areas, there is only one where cycling is more male-skewed: Sacramento, California."

Balk interviews Aviva Stephens, creator of the blog Biking in the Rain, for an explanation of why more women don't bike Seattle. Stephens, "can reel off a number of reasons why women are less likely to bike," explains Balk. "But the lack of a connected network of bikes lanes is at the top of the list."