Women’s Freedom Ride demands safe cycling spaces for women in London

Hundreds of people participated in the LCC Women’s Freedom Ride on March 5 in London, UK in the lead-up to International Women’s Day.

The ride was organized by the London Cycling Campaign alongside its partners for the event Joy Riders and Londra Bisiklet Kulübü.

According to LCC, the event was held “to call for a London where cycling is safe and inclusive enough for women to cycle in equal numbers to men.”

LCC points out that in cycle-friendly cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam daily cycling trips are undertaken by more women than men, while in London men’s cycle journeys outnumber women’s by 3 to 1.

“The evidence is clear that women won’t cycle until they have protected, safe-feeling routes that suit them, and that when you create the conditions for women to cycle, that unlocks cycling for many others as well – including the elderly, children and people with disabilities,” stated the LCC. “It would transform cycling in London into a form of everyday, healthy mass transport. But until women feel good cycling in London, we’re doomed to a car-dependent city.”

This is the first event put on by the LCC’s new Women’s Network.