“It used to be viewed almost like a sin in Catalunya or Spain for a woman to be on a bike,” said Anna Pérez, Ramos’s bike-riding instructor. “In the same way that women didn’t dress in certain clothing styles, or were frowned upon if they drank or smoked, they were likewise never taught to ride bicycles because it was considered indecent for them to do so.”
Pérez teaches bike-riding classes at the Biciescola, an initiative of the Bicicleta Club de Catalunya (BACC), an association that promotes cycling in Catalunya. She told Metropolitan that over 90 percent of her students are women, whose average age is 46. The school opened in 2001, and since then the number of students hasn’t stopped growing, with between 600 and 800 new people each year learning to pedal on two wheels.
Mari Ramos explained that a female friend of hers learned to ride a bike at the school and inspired her to do likewise. “I finally have the time. My children are all grown up. This was something I always wanted to do; learning is not a question of age,” she said, beaming a huge smile as she pushed off and glided down the gently sloping grounds of the Parc de la Barceloneta, where the school stages its two-hour classes.
Another student, 60-year-old Thelma Scharschmidt, was equally happy about her classes. She grew up in Jamaica and said that when she was young girls didn’t ride bikes there either. “I came here to live from London, because my two daughters live here, and they got me to take classes.”
The great majority of the students learn to ride confidently after taking one or two four-day courses. The school receives a subsidy from the Ajuntament, which means that course fees can be kept at a reasonable €45 per course; the fee includes insurance and a year’s membership in BACC.
“Many women are also encouraged by their families,” said Anna Pérez. “Their children and husband can all ride bikes and they want to be able to join them on their excursions.”
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