Sydney Sotelo, a sophomore ecological anthropology major interns with BikeUMDto promote female ridership infront of South Campus Commons on February 24, 2014.

When Sydney Sotelo learned that only 22.3 percent of the 7,089 bikers on the campus are women, the student outreach intern for bikeUMD knew something was wrong.

“The question that I had was: When offered the same opportunities, the same riding paths, the same number of bike racks and programs, why is it that so many fewer girls choose to ride as compared to men?” said Sotelo, a sophomore anthropology major. “I’m hoping to change that.”

Sotelo is focusing on promoting female ridership on the campus. She helped compile the data from last semester’s manual bike count, then analyzed and presented it to Department of Transportation Services directors.

Sotelo said she speculates that girls might be hesitant about biking on the campus because of an atmosphere she equated to city riding.

“Most people aren’t used to city riding, which is riding along with other forms of transportation, and it can be more intense,” Sotelo said. “I think girls may be intimidated by that fact.”

Talia Feldman, a senior hearing and speech sciences and Jewish studies major, said she does not bike on the campus because she is nervous about safety.

“I don’t have confidence biking on campus because I’m scared of cars and not having control of my bike,” Feldman said.

The bike count also found that an overwhelming number of female bikers prefer to ride on sidewalks than on streets, a habit that is unsafe for pedestrians and bikers, she said.

However, “with the right knowledge of safety and awareness, anyone can ride on campus,” Sotelo said.

Sotelo’s female ridership program combines research and collaboration with other women- and bike-friendly campus organizations. She also plans to interview female cyclists and noncyclists to further her understanding of why women choose not to bike.

Sotelo has partnered with Changing Health, Attitudes, and Actions to Recreate Girls, a club that aims to inspire girls to find alternative ways of exercising outside the gym, to plan biking events for women.

They are currently working on putting together a “BikeYo” trip, which would include a bike trip and a yoga lesson. Sotelo said CHAARG has also agreed to work with bikeUMD on an event for April’s annual Bike Week.

“We’ll have a few events targeting ladies at Bike Week, as well as throughout the semester,” said Valerie Goubeau, DOTS marketing, communications and demand management assistant director, and Sotelo’s overseer. “I certainly see this kind of work to be an ongoing partnership with the student group CHAARG.”

Sotelo is also a member of the Maryland Adventure Program, a university-funded organization that oversees the bike shop located in Cole Field House.

The shop focuses on teaching students how to fix their bikes, a resource everyone, including women, should advantage of, Sotelo said.

“When promoting female ridership, you don’t want to say, ‘We have the bike shop and they can do everything for you,’” Sotelo said. “You want them to become independent and learn on their own by using our multiple resources and by taking advantage of them. You have the same opportunity to learn how to fix a bike as a man does; it’s just about sparking that initial interest.”

Sotelo plans on attending the National Women’s Bicycling Forum at the League of American Bicyclists’ annual conference in Washington on Monday to get ideas for how to bring biking to females on the campus and provide for girls who are already biking to commute.

“The overall goal is to get more girls on bikes and to get more girls to be comfortable on bikes,” Sotelo said. “You hope to leave girls feeling independent and confident on a bike, and especially confident riding on campus.”