MANILA, Philippines – A cycling community has taken over the streets of Marikina to increase visibility of women on bikes, advocating for safer active spaces.

Shop owners Camille Fernandez and Iryll Plurad of the Local Host Coffee collaborated with the Happy Pedal Project to host “Together, She Moves,” a group ride for women and allies on Sunday, March 22. 

Cyclists themselves, Fernandez and Plurad believe it is essential that women can feel safe in the streets they ride through.

“As women, it’s very empowering to ride your bicycle and go from Point A to Point B, or wherever it is that you want to go,” Fernandez said. “Biking allows freedom, but we must be able to feel safe while doing it. This is why we made this event.”

At the Happy Pedal Project booth in Marikina’s car-free street, more than 30 cyclists met just after the sun had risen in the cool morning hours. A third of those cyclists were women. 

With several riders wearing T-shirts saying, “I ride like a girl, try to keep up,” the group weaved their way along back streets and congested highways through to Quezon City’s car-free street.

The group said the traffic along this 10-kilometer route between Marikina and Quezon City’s car-free streets is five times as bad during weekdays. 

Metro Manila itself is ranked the 40th most congested city in the world. With few bike lanes available, cyclists are fighting for road space alongside cars, trucks, jeepneys, tricycles, and motorbikes.

Biking is not just a man’s world

“The roads are very hostile to women in Metro Manila,” cyclist and event attendee Nika said. For her, joining the event helps increase visibility of women on the road.

Despite Philippine streets being home to a high number of cyclists, a wide gender gap is apparent. The cycling event further evidenced this. Although it was an event specifically for women, the majority of participants were still men. 

Advocacy group Mobility Awards noted that of more than 200,000 people counted on bicycles during its citizen-led bicycle count in 2025, only 2.75% were women. This was a decline from the previous year’s count.

“Here in the Philippines, there’s a stigma against women cycling alone on the streets. The majority of the people that I know are scared of biking, and I’m here to claim my space on the roads,” said cyclist Angelika De’Lores, a participant who joined the event to celebrate the independence and strength of women cyclists. 

CAR-FREE SPACES. The ‘Together, She Moves’ cycling event route went from Marikina to Quezon City on Sunday, March 22. Photo by Samantha Mythen/Rappler

Meanwhile, for Happy Pedal Project volunteer Coi Castillo-Sayas, “Biking is not just a man’s world.”

She shared that she used to ride along cycle lanes when she was first learning to bike, gaining confidence one kilometer at a time before she began commuting to work.

“The more people see women cycling, the more they get used to it, and they respect women on bikes,” said Castillo-Sayas.

Alongside facing heavy traffic conditions, women cyclists also experience catcalling and groping on the roads. For Fernandez, feeling safe on the road at any time of the day is actually the biggest barrier women face, preventing them from cycling. 

“We’re able to cycle freely because there are marshals in these car-free areas. This feeling of safety is very different from the daily commute,” Fernandez said. “There, that’s just you and your bicycle against all the traffic.”

Car-free spaces, held every Sunday morning, are expanding in some areas across Metro Manila. The initiatives allow residents to enjoy their urban area through active movement such as biking, walking, running and taking part in Zumba classes.

But for many women cyclists, these measures are not enough.

“It’s a good start to show support for those who are mobile,” Plurad said. “We think the government should really look more into it,” he added. 

When discussions around mobility and urban planning take place, women cyclists say they want a seat at the table.

“We should be in the room while they’re planning these things, not just an afterthought,” Fernandez said. 

Fernandez pointed to solutions such as adding more bike lanes, deploying marshals on the roads, and improving street lights to make cycling safer. – Rappler.com

Samantha Mythen is a Rappler Intern from Aotearoa, New Zealand. She has worked as a reporter in Kiwi newsrooms for several years, alongside growing her storytelling career through freelancing while travelling and living overseas. She is passionate about covering Asia-Pacific and the issues that connect this diverse region.