Month: June 2015

fitness

My week of walking on the wild side

Sam B3 Comments

For the past two weeks I’ve been home from work recovering from surgery (everything is fine and I’m now back on my bike) and for exercise that means I’ve been walking, a lot.

One of the cool things about recovering from surgery as an active person is that you can scale back considerably and still have lots that you can do. No biking or running, fine, but I walked lots. Some of it was with the new puppy so it wasn’t all speedy. To the surprise of the staff at the clinic I attended one week out I walked there and back, about 8 km. But parking would have cost $10, I’m frugal, and it’s not like I was getting any other exercise.

But all that walking made me think about pedestrian safety and risk. When Tracy blogged about giving up road cycling and her fear of being hit by a car one of my first thoughts was about walking and cars. Why? Because I’ve had two people in my life in the past few years killed by cars while out walking. One was a friend from church out walking her dog at night and the other was an older woman I knew from the velodrome. She was out walking in the evening. I kept imagining how many people would judge that activity safe and her velodrome riding risky. I blogged about cycling and risk here.

During my week of walking lots I heard of more pedestrian deaths in the news. Another pedestrian was killed in our city this week. A 70 year old, crossing the road, at an intersection. We don’t yet whether charges will be laid but I couldn’t help but note that there’s been no outcry about pedestrian safety.

Should he have been wearing reflective clothing, flashing lights? A helmet? Maybe it’s not safe to walk and we should all just stop. Maybe we should drive everywhere and then walk in our houses on treadmills.

image

See also Toronto driver crashed into four pedestrians leaving one dead.

Pedestrian deaths are common. They don’t make news except on slow days. In big cities hundreds of people are killed each year while out walking from place A to place B.

Freakonomics even speculates that running someone over is the best way to get away with murder.

From Mike’s traffic blog, talking about New York, “There were 1,300 fatal pedestrian crashes there from 2008 to 2013 and only 66 drivers were arrested. That’s the entry point for Freakonomics to analyze pedestrian crashes. In New York City, 52% of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians. That percent drops to 14% for the rest of the United States. Obviously there’s an exposure risk in New York. There are more people walking around there than anywhere else.”

You don’t hear much of that and as a cyclist I find the comparison with cycling deaths a bit hard to understand. There are ghost bikes but no ghost sneakers. That’s part of why I worry about ghost bikes. They single out cycling as particularly dangerous rather than cars as our shared enemy.

Cycling advocacy groups do occasionally promote helmets for pedestrians, on the grounds that what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander. See here
and here.

I don’t think of myself as much of a walker. I say it’s too slow. I say that I’m saving walking as a fitness activity for my old age, along with cruises for vacations, long driving trips, and television for entertainment.

Now the not walking thing isn’t quite true. For years, I pushed strollers. I will always walk dogs. I love hiking. But I tend not to walk as transportation. I usually drive the car or ride my bike for distances over 2 km.

Maybe it’s an identity thing. I am a cyclist, but I’d never describe myself as an avid walker.

And in terms of safety, I’m not suggesting we stop walking. But we should think differently about risk, maybe that means worrying a bit more about walking and a bit less about cycling. Certainly we should pay lots attention when walking (stop looking at our phones! ) and maybe even wear reflective clothing and lights when walking at night. I’m also looking forward to the era of driverless cars. I think smart cars are likely to be much safer for their passengers and for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

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Weekends with Womack

The Case for Riding in the Rain (at least in summer)

catherine w8 Comments

This week I was about to depart for a road ride, when I looked out the window and the weather looked downright unpromising—gray, some storm clouds, a little breeze, and very humid in that it’s-about-to-rain sort of way. There was a weather advisory, predicting thunderstorms after 3pm. And it was 12:45pm already. Hence my dilemma.

But then I thought, you know, there are a bunch of reasons to embrace riding in the rain. So, in accordance with Samantha’s rule of six, herewith six reasons to ride in the rain (at least when it’s warm outside).

Number one: Riding in the rain is badass.

badass

This fact is documented in The Rules for cyclists. I quote from their explanation below:

…Those who ride in foul weather – be it cold, wet, or inordinately hot – are members of a special club of riders who, on the morning of a big ride, pull back the curtain to check the weather and, upon seeing rain falling from the skies, allow a wry smile to spread across their face. This is a rider who loves the work.

Number two: Riding home in a rainstorm is likely to increase your speed, provoking an impromptu high-intensity workout.

cover-rain

On my rainy ride this week I totally hauled it both out and back. On the way out I was trying to get to my turnaround point before the first drops hit, and then on the way back was trying to see if I could beat the rain home. I didn’t, but by then I was in the mood for some serious cranking, so I got a most excellent workout.

Number three: If you’re a) not in a hurry, and b) into accessorizing, riding in the rain presents you with intriguing gear options.

There is a saying (which the internet says is either Swedish or Norwegian) to the effect that “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing (or bad gear)”. In addition to the usual rain pants/rain jacket combos around, I found a number of rain-protection garments and accessories for those willing to stand out in the commuter crowd. You can be little red riding hood in this:

cycling-hood

Or you could try this:

rain-screen

And of course, for those rain classicists, there’s the handlebar-attached umbrella.

unbrella

She doesn’t look very dry, but it’s quite the snazzy setup.

Number four: Riding in the rain gives you an opportunity to engage in exercise of attitude adjustment through force of will, a skill that will come in handy in other situations.

Life presents us with lots of irritations and minor challenges: traffic, noisy neighbors, extra work assignments, clogged sinks, etc.  Raining on one’s bike parade seems like one of those irritations. Especially on a long ride, it can feel like this:

negative

Of course sometimes the rainy weather really gets out of hand. My friend Pata blogged here about a particularly wet and muddy trek on her 2012 cross-country ride with her partner; here’s what she faced that day:

pata

However, barring washed-out non-roads and torrential downpours (by the way, they got saved by a good Samaritan in a red pickup truck), a rainy ride can be rather pleasant.

positive

Number five: Riding in the rain is easier than riding in the snow.

Now that we’re well into June, many of us may have forgotten this:

snow

That’s actually a picture of a side street in Boston in February. There was no bike commuting, much less road riding, for weeks, except for a very few intrepid (read foolhardy) folks with studded tires or fat bikes. So in comparison, a little rain is nothing to fuss about. And remember, it’s warm outside…

Number six: Riding in the rain is a good excuse for singing in the rain. This is guaranteed to make your day sunnier, no matter what. What’s good for Gene Kelly is undoubtedly good for you, too.

Sat with Nat · sex

Feeling Sexy!

natalieh (she/her)8 Comments

Possibly NSFW?

1982308_10155699780845113_7138093325556405987_n

Lately I’ve been feeling super energetic, maybe it’s the warm sunny days, maybe it’s feeling good in my body, who cares? I’m feeling sexy! Like Eartha Kitt kind of sexy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BvL-i–8Ws]

I guess it makes a kind of sense that as I get more active I have more energy and I feel even more confident than usual. (I’ve always been fairly confident, now I’m just short of obnoxious). I’ve been buying stylish clothes at Renegade, this amazing plus-sized clothing shop here in London, Ontario and I am feeling GREAT.

My sister always admired my lifelong love of form-fitting clothes, I abide by the Marcel the Shell principle: Life’s a party, rock your body. Lately though, I’ve noticed I’m wearing even brighter colours, shorter dresses and plunging neck lines. MEOW!

Frankly, feeling a little more athletic, stronger, more flexible and more endurance certainly has invigorated my naked time with my beloved. Yes, feeling good about my body and being able to do more longer applies not only to cycling but all kinds of fun. I don’t think we talk much about how fitness impacts sexuality in empowering ways. I am still 230 lbs with a belly “apron” (the bit that flops over the cesarean section scar and thwaps my thighs). I don’t look like what the dominant culture in North America says women need to look like to be sexy. I don’t care! (NSFW: song lyrics contain swearing)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxxajLWwzqY]

I’m feeling flirty, loving life, and getting plenty of laid.

fitness

The fitness world belongs to us all….

Sam B4 Comments

From Ragen Chastain: “The fitness world is for Every Body who wants to participate.

If you want a space where people of all sizes talk about fitness from a weight-neutral perspective (no weight loss talk, diet talk, or negative body talk) join us on the FIt Fatties Forum and Facebook Page:
www.fitfatties.com
www.facebook.com/groups/fitfatties

Get in touch with us at fitnessforallofus@gmail.com”

cycling · Guest Post · training

Why Athletic Challenges are Not Like Childbirth (Guest Post)

Lauren Freeman7 Comments

Before having experienced natural childbirth (by which I mean, childbirth without any pain medication), I thought that it could be compared, at least in terms of pain, to extreme athletic challenges. In fact, I even wrote a blog post about how, prior to giving birth, I thought that I could draw on my experience as an athlete and train for it.

But was I ever wrong.

As I explained, soon into my own labour I realized that all of my training (or better, “training”) was in vain. It became painfully clear to me that one cannot physically train (as an athlete would) for what one faces during labour.

That is why I was struck, this week, by a comment that Sir Bradley Wiggins – the 2012 Tour de France winner and London 2012 gold medalist – made after breaking the world hour distance record in cycling, a challenge that some consider to be one of the oldest and most difficult. Wiggins stated that his win is “the closest [he] will come to knowing what it’s like to have a baby.”

I do not want to deny the obvious: namely, that in breaking this record, Wiggins experienced a great deal of pain. Nor do I want to deny that this pain was extreme and extremely unpleasant for him. But what I do want to question is the similarity or closeness between what he experienced and what childbirth is like for many women (after all, how many women give birth in an hour?). I also want to question the claim that in having experienced the pain that he did that he came close to knowing what it is like to “have a baby” (by which I take him to be referring to the experience of childbirth).

Here’s where I think the crucial differences lie, and it is not where one might initially think.

The differences I have in mind are not primarily in the degree or even necessarily in the kind of pain at issue in these two types of experiences (although I do think that there are important differences there). Rather, I think that the key differences are psychological in nature and have to do with bodily agency, control, and the ability to prepare oneself (or in the case of childbirth, the inability to do so).

Let me explain.

In training for a cycling challenge (or almost any athletic challenge), one can do precisely that, namely train. In this case, one can get on one’s bike everyday, ride the course (or a similar course), and improve one’s endurance and time. One can train the precise muscles one will be using and one can train as hard and as much as one likes. Crucially, one can for the most part create in advance the very conditions of the challenge.

One knows what to expect and most importantly (although this is not what any athlete wants to consider), even on race day, should something not go according to plan or should one get injured or sick, one can pull out of the race mid-course or not even compete to begin with.

Labour and childbirth are not like that.

Very little is within one’s control, very few things can be done to prepare oneself for the kind and degree of pain, and crucially, if one decides that one wants to stop once things have gotten started, this is not an option. Even if one wants to forego a natural childbirth mid-labour, in many cases, that is not possible (depending on how far along one has progressed). This is because there are certain points past which an epidural cannot be administered, since it would not have time to kick in before the birth.

So in the one case, one has trained the precise muscles, one knows almost exactly what to expect, and one has control over one’s body; in the other case, none of these conditions hold.

The main psychological difference here is tied to the difference in agency, or better, lack thereof. In the case of an athletic challenge, one can set the cadence, push oneself further, or pull back if one has crossed the threshold of pain that’s just too much. Basically, one can turn on, off, or up the energy.

In labour and childbirth, however, this is often not the case.

For many, there is a sense in which there is almost a complete lack of agency, a sense in which one’s body is in control and is calling the shots and one’s will almost entirely vanishes. So whereas one can amp it up or turn it down in biking, one can do no such thing in childbirth.

This psychological difference between the two activities and the lack of control that many women experience in childbirth, makes me question Wiggins’ claim that in breaking the world hour distance record, he has come close to what it is like to have a baby. It is also telling that Wiggins’ wife – the mother of their children – did not respond to his comment. It is my hunch that she was not even asked.

fashion · gender policing

Put on your pants! Or not. It’s about choice…

Sam B4 Comments

Top 7 Reasons to Wear Pants June 11 for Girls Rights

Why wear pants on June 11? Because there is STILL debate about “Should Women Wear Pants?” For girls and women, it’s not a universal freedom.

New Moon Girls invented Wear The Pants Day five years ago because we want everyone to say yes  to  Should Women Wear Pants?  Every year we rally allies to continue the fight for females still denied that right, right here at home and around the world.

The girls we know are often baffled that female pants-wearing is even an issue. What is so terrible about females donning the same type of garments that males routinely wear? The answer is, there’s nothing wrong with girls and women wearing pants, or yoga pants, leggings, or shorts!

And yet, the sexist headlines keep coming. At graduation ceremoniesthis year, even as speakers tell young grads to soar for the sky, female grads got the message that their soaring comes with a gender lockstep. They are told they’d better follow the still-common rule of dresses-and-skirts-only under graduation robes or no walking across the stage. And showing up in a tux for prom is nixed for top honor student Claudetteia Love, despite the logic and legal precedent that formal wear is formal wear.

Worldwide, the penalty for females daring to wear pants is much higher. Sudanese activist Amal Habani says at least 40,000 women have been publicly flogged and imprisoned for wearing pants and exposing their hair in public in recent years.  Women in Swaziland seeking to nominate themselves and others for Parliament were rejected because they wore pants to participate in “democracy.” Female sugar-cane workers in Swaziland are now required to wear long skirts over their pants because men “tend to lust” when seeing pants, an official explains, claiming falsely that it’s caused a rising rape rate.

But don’t be tempted to think places such as Swaziland and Sudan and North Korea are just in an “other” category of backward thinking and religious fringery. The enduring false belief that female clothing makes males commit sexual assault is the reason that scores of US schools now forbid girls from wearing yoga pants, leggings and close-fit jeans.  Administrators say these outfits are “too distracting” to boys who are helpless to focus on schoolwork.

I was reminded of this recently when I wrote a blog post called, The case against pants. A number of slightly older readers wrote in to say that they loved the freedom that pants wearing gave them and that when they were younger they weren’t allowed to wear pants.

You don’t have to go very far back. When I was in elementary school, Catholic school, the uniform for girls didn’t include pants. This was in Newfoundland, home of very cold snowy winters and I once got punished for failing to go into the change room to put snow pants on over my school uniform skirt. I was wearing tights and I did pull the snow pants  on very quickly. But the nuns weren’t impressed. I’ve never been very ladylike!

My mother had it worse. She had a part-time job in high school helping to deliver milk. But again, she wasn’t allowed to wear pants. Instead, she left the house everyday in a skirt and kept jeans on the milk truck and changed there.

And years later when I was a journalist in Ottawa, women had to wear skirts in the press gallery.

So yes, though I’m no fan of having to wear pants, I’d be much more upset if I couldn’t. It’s about choice.

I didn’t think it was an issue today, here, until I came across this image:

Paints to church day celebrates diversity in Mormon congregations. It’s not a protest. Rather it’s meant to celebrate inclusivity. “We are active and faithful Mormon feminists who want to show that there is more than one way to be a good Mormon woman. We believe that everyone is welcome at church.” But what’s striking for me about the campaign is that pants are still a powerful symbol for feminists about the freedom to choose one’s own way.

It’s an issue too for women who ride bikes. It’s tricky to ride in a skirt and while you might choose to do it (see Riding bikes in skirts and dresses) you don’t want to be required to do so.

See Will bike riding in Saudi Arabia change the way women dress?

And then there’s boxing, Skirting the issue: women’s boxing and enforced femininity

So on June 11th, wear pants or not, but celebrate choice.

martial arts

Study shows self defense makes a difference but the issues are still complicated

Sam B5 Comments

This post discusses personal experiences of sexual assault.

We’ve had lots to say on this blog about self defense as a feminist issue. See Audrey’s guest post Self Defense and Sexual Assault and my post Self defense is a feminist issue. We both think it’s a complicated issue.

Audrey writes, “I’m conflicted as someone who’s taught self-defense workshops (women only as well as co-ed), and who has a lot of martial arts experience. This is something I’m pretty good at. I’ve done over 25 years of taekwondo, several years each of wushu and capoeira, and about 4 years of high school wrestling, not to mention bits and pieces of other cross-training here and there. I’m not particularly big, but I’m definitely not delicate and I can use my weight pretty well. I can take a solid hit and keep fighting. These are all things I know about myself. If I’m out late at night, I walk with good posture and confidence, and stay aware of my surroundings. I know I can defend myself in a lot of situations.

I’ve still been raped. More than once.”

I write, “I can say that for me, I didn’t feel invincible after the taking (self defense) classes. I was more alert and aware of my surroundings and I probably took fewer risks not more. Even now, after 6 years of martial arts training, I don’t feel invincible. I do know that i can yell loudly. In Aikido there is even a name for the yell you make when striking. It’s called a “kiai” and is a self-defense technique in its own right.

I know I can engage physically with another person without freezing in panic. And I think I walk wi
th confidence, eyes up and alert. I do believe that my martial arts training makes me much less likely to be attacked in the first place. I’m going to post later about some of the things Aikido has taught me.

When I say that I’m not saying I won’t ever be attacked again, nor am I blaming women who are attacked.”

Both of us agree that the focus shouldn’t just be on teaching women self defense. We also need to educate young men not to commit sexual assault and to be active bystanders.

But today the case for teaching women self defense as way to reduce sexual violence on university campuses made the news in Canada. See Teaching women self-defence still the best way to reduce sexual assaults: study and it even reached Boing Boing, Study: women trained to resist assault less likely to be victimized.

In the debate over how to reduce sexual assault on university campuses, proposing self-defence classes for women is controversial. Women aren’t the problem, the reasoning goes, so why is changing their behaviour the solution? Putting the onus on women to drop-kick rapists, map out safe walks home, or geo-track their drinks at parties, writes the rules in the wrong direction. And it swerves too easily into victim-blaming.

But, according to new landmark Canadian research, it works. The study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the Canadian-designed intervention, which focuses on teaching women how to detect risk in situations that could lead to sexual assault and defend themselves when necessary, reduced the rate of rape among participants by nearly 50 per cent. At a time when universities are facing harsh criticism for mishandling sexual assault, when the White House has called for action to reduce sexual violence on campus, when it’s estimated that as many as one in four female university students may be assaulted before they finish their degree, is it responsible to deny young women access to a tried-and-tested program?

The four-year study tracked nearly 900 women at three Canadian universities, randomly selecting half to take the 12-hour “resistance” program, and compared them to a second group who received only brochures, similar to those available at a health clinic. One year later, the incidence of reported rape among women who took the program was 5.2 per cent, compared to 9.8 per cent in the control group; the gap in incidents of attempted rape was even wider.

While it’s terrific to see evidence that such classes make a difference, Marina Adshade asks why we focus on university students. They’re not the most at risk group of women. She also asks why the focus on women at all.

See Teenage boys not young women need sexual assault programs.

If women can be taught to recognize situations in which they are exposed to the risk of sexual assault, then men can be taught to recognize when they are about to become sexual offenders.

If women can be taught not to lead men on by letting them buy drinks, then men can be taught that women who let them buy drinks have not relinquished their right to refuse sex.

If women can be taught to stay together to provide protection, then men can be taught to challenge other men they see exposing women to risk of sexual violence.

Canadians don’t need to teach women to resist rape while we await cultural change that brings an end to violence against women. We need programs that bring about that cultural change starting with the men who are most likely to be sexual offenders – boys under the age of 18

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fitness

Is Aging a Lifestyle Choice? #tbt

Tracy I2 Comments

For Throwback Thursday and in honor of my partner Renald’s 60th birthday today, I’m re-posting an under-read and excellent piece that Sam wrote way back when we had hardly any followers: “Is Aging a Lifestyle Choice?” Enjoy! And happy birthday, Renald!

fitness

A reader asks…

Sam B16 Comments

“Do you have any recommended resources for women who are just starting to exercise?”

Share your wisdom in the comments and help a reader out. Thanks!

wonderwoman

fitness

Exuberance and Why Busting a Few Moves with Confidence Is a Feminist Statement

Tracy I4 Comments

Did anyone see this youtube video this week of three little girls dancing to Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT? If not, don’t skip past it — it’s worth every second of the 2 minutes and 47 seconds it takes to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9vto-eWPaY

I presume the middle girl is Johanna, and yes, she is channeling Aretha Franklin, big time.  We’re not all about posting cute videos on this blog. But this act just warmed my heart. They’re not perfectly in sync.  They don’t get the steps quite right (not even Johanna).

But it doesn’t matter at all because the ATTITUDE just oozes through without apology or self-consiousness. This girl learned to bust a few key moves and busts them with exuberance and confidence. And taking that attitude to the stage is what steals the show.

And that, to me, is a feminist statement because all too often we are cautious and careful. We think we need to do things perfectly.  We hold back for fear that people will judge us harshly (and sometimes they do). I’ve heard the “dance like no one is watching” thing before.

Do you think Johanna is dancing like no one is watching? Hell no. She is keenly aware that people are watching and she’s owning the show.

Here’s my hope: that when she is 10, 20, 30 and yes, even 50, Johanna is still owning the show.