Bicycle NSW is proud to announce that Gear Up Girl, the women’s only series of workshops and annual bicycling event, will once again partner with the Heart Foundation in 2016.
Bicycle NSW CEO, Ray Rice said in celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March), Gear Up Girl will take place on Sunday 13 March to encourage more women to get on their bike.
“Gear Up Girl was founded in 2008 as a response to the fact that more men than women are riding their bicycle for recreation and transport,” he said.
“Males are more likely to participate in cycling than females with 22% of males and 13% of females having ridden in the past week. The situation is improving but we need to do more.
“Only seven per cent of Australian women use a bicycle for transport which is why there is an urgent need to get our girls geared up and ridingregularly.”
Heart Foundation NSW, Chief Executive, Kerry Doyle believes getting more women active for sport, travel and leisure will help in turning the tide around on the number of women dying unnecessarily from heart disease.
“Heart disease claims the lives of 24 women every single day. In fact, it’s the leading cause of death for women here in Australia killing three times as many women as breast cancer.
“Yet, there is good evidence to tell us that by making small changes, such as increasing how physically active a person is can greatly reduce their risk.
“By partnering with Bicycle NSW for the Gear Up Girl event it’s our hope that we can encourage more women to choose physical activities, such as riding a bike, more often,” Ms Doyle said.
As part of the Gear Up Girl event program there will be a number of practical information workshops held throughout 2016 to break down these barriers by providing women with a safe environment to learn essential bike riding skills, share information, meet like minded local women, and find the confidence to get on their bikes.
