'Being a Cyclist': Gender, Health and the Cycling Body in London.

In London (unlike some other cities in Europe), women and those from minority ethnic groups are relatively under-represented among those who commute by bicycle. Against a policy backdrop of attempts to increase cycling rates (to improve the health of the population and the environmental health of the city), we explored the relationships between transport mode choice, health and morality in the accounts of commuters in London. Drawing on data on cycling participation, published literature and interviews with commuters, we suggest that the meaning of cycling for health is gendered, and ethnically constructed. The specific kinds of 'health' that are seen as produced or displayed by cycling are differently understood across different population groups. Many of those who cycled regularly saw themselves as 'cyclists', and saw cycling as a holistic strategy for improving their own health, their moral health and the environmental health of the city. Non-cyclists, however, focused on threats to health (injury, pollution). These differences did not map directly onto gender, but some gendered (and ethnic) identities resonated more closely with a 'healthy' cycling body than others. These resonances, we argue, help explain why cycling participation rates appear to vary across population segments. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]