Bike Talk: The Skirt revolution

the new amsterdam bicycle show

Yesterday there were circulating tweets about a female cyclist in New York who was pulled over by a cop for wearing a skirt that could distract drivers (the cyclist and skirt above). I wondered... is that the real reason or was this cop sexual harassing her? I luckily have never had an incident like this, maybe because cops in SF, Berkeley, and Oakland have better things to worry about than harassing me about the skirt that I'm wearing. Either way, wearing a skirt on a bike is not illegal and definitely not an invitation to flirt, period. I cycle in skirts (I wear tights under for modesty) everyday, it feels less restrictive to my movement but maybe others would know how to appreciate this if they only knew? Try it, it's great, really!

But the real issue here is that wearing a skirt on a bike is not an excuse to pull anyone over, nor is it a contradiction to the revolution many of use women bring with us on two wheels. If ever pulled over for this reason, simply be kind and answer the officer while defending yourself and right to ride in a skirt, it's just simply not illegal.

Note: wearing a skirt on a bike is a great way to use clothing to maximize visibility to motorists (to the point of distraction? I think not. Remember this post on the Mary Poppins effect?) The fuller and more colorful the better!

I say ladies, let's start a revolution! Start wearing skirts, organize skirt rides, and ride against street harassment. Tonight, I'm raging my own war against this harassment with the East Bay Bike Party. The theme of this ride, skirt party!