“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”

In her new book Back in the Frame, blogger and writer Jools Walker reminds us of social reformer and women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony’s incredible feminist quote on cycling. And, suffice to say, it has inspired us.

Walker loved cycling while growing up in East London, but lost the passion for it in her late teens. Ten years later, when she turned 28, Walker rediscovered cycling and returned to the saddle. This was despite the odds being against a woman of colour (a 2017 TfL report showed that women account for only 27% of London’s frequent cyclists, while BAME groups make up just 15%). She also refused to give up on her bike after suffering a stroke three years ago. In fact, she went on the write a book about it.

But cycling is for white, male “proper” cyclists who whiz around the capital sucked into Lycra and armed with Garmin gadgets, right?

No, says Walker. Here, she addresses all the lies we are often told about cycling and the reasons we avoid getting our bikes back out.

The 7 lies people tell women about cycling, and why we should ignore them all