It is a week of skepticism for me it seems.

Okay, Cyclefemme is a celebration of the female liberation that the bicycle brought in the 19th C. Here it is in their own words:

Cyclo Femme is presented by Girl Bike Love. Our mission is to create a unified voice for women in cycling, encouraging and empowering more riders. By highlighting the health and environmental benefits, community building and positive social impact that cycling can have on our world, we hope to engage more female riders.

And they have a cool logo:

Now I’m going to be a bit of a bastard: while acknowledging the classical lines of the logo and its clever historical ties to car/bicycle branding, I am going to say that it also invokes some of the worst aspects of male driven female iconography – to my mind at anyrate. Winged victory fits in nicely with the theme, but the appropriation of the female form by mysogynistic cultures is part of what led to this association. Ancient Greek culture I’m looking at you as a for-instance. Troubling iconography aside, I love this idea. More women on bikes. At the moment traffic is pretty much a sausage fest, especially on main routes. This perhaps has something to do with the perception of danger. I’m not sure. Regardless — smarter cycling culture in North America is something to be encouraged. (Even if I appear to be doinging it somewhat cack-haneded in this post).