Want to see London’s ‘shadow side’? Try cycling around the city as a woman

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Other examples include a man grumpily saying, “don’t run me over” when I was several metres away from him, and another case of a man saying, “oh beware, a cyclist” super loudly, or jarring comments such as, “do you need help getting up that hill?” Interestingly, last November, British Cycling warned London cyclists are fearful that “dehumanising” language aimed at them online could translate into real-life aggression on the street. Nick Chamberlain, policy manager at cycling’s chief national governing body, told the Evening Standard fears centred around aggression manifesting “verbally, or tragically physically where people have used a vehicle as a weapon”. She equates the abuse she endures cycling to standard road rage, but believes you get “treated differently because you’re a woman”. “Some friends don’t want to cycle in London because they think it is scary and feel a bit intimidated by both cars and then other cyclists who are really assertive – cyclists in lycra going 20 miles an hour cutting you up feeling like you are getting in their way, shouting at you.” Nevertheless, despite the abuse I’ve experienced while cycling around London, the benefits still radically outweigh the downsides.