Sexism is endemic in cycling. Keep calm ladies and ride on When I first began commuting by bike in London a female friend started at the same time. Every day she had a new tale of being bullied, shouted at or harassed by fellow cyclists and motorists. She was cat-called at lights, motorists constantly wanted to give her their opinions, male cyclists at traffic lights challenged her to race then jeered if she chose not to. If she stopped to fix a puncture the cacophony of horns was worthy of a Jay-Z track. Although hugely sympathetic to her plight, I just couldn't identify with her experiences. I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of comments that I had ever received on my bike. Then I thought about the differences between her and me. She embraced form-fitting Lycra and her pneumatically curvy, top-heavy figure looked sensational on a bike. Her blonde hair flowed out from underneath her helmet. I am not curvy and wore baggy shorts, a scruffy t-shirt and kept my brown hair in a plait. Cathy Bussey It was only when I traded in my blue men's mountain bike for an exceptionally girly, pink, cream-wheeled Dutch model that I started to understand what she was going through on a daily basis. On my blue bike I was invisible. On my pink "lady-bike" every motorist and cyclist in London had something to say to me. From "get off the road, Barbie" at traffic lights, to motorists rolling down their windows to shout "advice" at me, I was seemingly fair game. The more feminine I appeared, the more attention - almost universally negative - I attracted. I wondered if it was just me. So I wrote a blogpost on the subject and was overwhelmed by the number of women - and men - who came forward to share their experiences online with me. "The comments I receive are typically "lose some weight, fat-ass,"" said one US-based female cyclist. I'm overweight and I'm a woman so that makes me double fair game. Do they want me to drive a car to the gym and take a spin class? "I've been chased, threatened and even had bottles thrown at me - but never when I'm with my boyfriend," confided another UK-based female cyclist. I asked if she let it put her off. The answer, happily, was no. "Biking is "what I do." When we bike, we are advocates for it. So our job - all of us - is be calm and ride on. "I've had men snatch tools off me when I've been fixing a puncture on the street," a different response read. Another, male, cyclist bemoaned the cat-calls his 14-year-old niece attracted on her bike. A female cyclist with a Dutch bike told me how she was frequently patronised and sold the wrong sized parts by bike shops as male assistants refused to believe she knew the correct sizing for her own bike. "I view a trip to the bike shop with about as much enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist," she confided. And a seasoned female cyclist told how her training sessions in Richmond Park almost always ended with male cyclists "like a pack of dogs on my tail," treating her to pleasantries such as "I wish I was your saddle." These accounts are classic "everyday sexism," harassment and abuse received by women purely because they are women. A significant number of men got in touch to say how horrified they were by the behaviour of some of their ilk. One added that as an older, grey-haired man he felt he'd experienced similar discrimination. But by and large the men who contacted me had no idea this phenomenon existed and were disgusted by it. It certainly doesn't happen all the time, or to every female cyclist. As I myself found, if I dressed neutrally and rode a sporty-looking bike I remained invisible. Other female cyclists who contacted me said they'd cycled entirely hassle-free for years, often adding "but I do ride a man's bike and wear sports kit and generally "keep up with the boys"." The crux of the issue appears to be femininity. Appear "feminine" on a bike and it's taken by some as an invitation - much as the fabled short skirt is taken by some as an invitation for sexual harassment. Leading lights, including Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead, have spoken out about the differences at the top, noting how male cyclists are paid far more and given far more support and exposure than their female counterparts. And British Cycling has pointed to the lack of female representation on its own board, pledging to recruit women board members to help even the playing field. But with years of male domination to contend with, despite the overwhelming success of female British cyclists at a top level, it could take some time before this sexism is stamped out through all levels of the sport. The good news is the behaviour of a small minority is very much abhorred by the majority of decent road-users. And the double good news is none of the women I spoke to allowed this kind of behaviour to deter them from cycling. Fortunately events like Cycletta means there are always safe havens for female cyclists until this kind of behaviour has been eradicated completely. Cathy Bussey is the author of The Girl's Guide to Life On Two Wheels, a fun, friendly and accessible guide for female cyclists published by Ryland, Peters & Small. She is also author of Brilliant PR and What To Do When You Win The Lottery and lives in London with her husband and children. She blogs about all things cycling at thegirlsguidetolifeontwowheels.blogspot.com and can be found tweeting @cathybussey.