A man once pulled up next to me in a van, opened the window and shouted “lucky saddle”. There was another time when a car of four men pulled up behind me in the middle of busy junction, leered and asked me if I wanted to get in the car. Or when a man cycled past and slapped my bum when I was riding along the canal tow path.

They were three fairly minor incidents which I hadn’t given much consideration, until a few conversations made me realise that insidious sexual harassment is standard fare for female cyclists in London. To the point that journalist Dawn Foster once mapped all of her experiences – which included having her top pulled down while waiting at the traffic lights – on her blog 101 wankers, and was inundated with responses from women who talked about being spat at, slapped and having objects thrown at them.

As Guardian Cities dedicates a week to cycling coverage, we want to find out what it’s like for women around the world who use a bike to get to school, to work or just for fun.

While the level of sexual harassment for female commuters in London may be intimidating or off-putting, in some parts of the world it’s frowned upon for women to ride a bike.

In Iran, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa stating women were not allowed to cycle in public. In Saudi Arabia women are limited to riding laps around parks monitored by men.

In other parts of the world women are held back by social stigma. In Tajikistan women have been told they’ll have problems finding a husband if they are spotted on two wheels, and they could even “lose their virginity” if they fall off – a myth that still prevails in some corners of the internet. In Uganda, a woman commuting by bike in a dress is such a rare sight that it is considered a news item.

Across the world, from Los Angeles to London, cycling communities are still dominated by white men.

While there are no global figures on the number of women who commute, experts say that gender balance among cyclists is a reflection of how safe roads are. In the countries that get it right, like Denmark and the Netherlands, women account for just over half (55%) of cyclists.

In the UK that figure drops to 27%, and 25% in the US. While these problems can be addressed with smarter infrastructure and cycling incentives, battling stigma is arguably more challenging.

Good luck to all the Iranian woman fighting the recent fatwa forbidding them to cycle! https://t.co/9Zc2rXuPrR #IranianWomenLoveCycling pic.twitter.com/rpxndHnb01 — WorldCycleVideos (@worldcyclevideo) October 6, 2016

That’s not to say that people don’t try. In Tajikistan, a few pioneers are defying social norms and using bikes to run errands and get to school. In Uganda cycling campaigner Amanda Ngabirano argues that there is need for a specific push to get women cycling for their own freedom “if the family has one car, it is for the man in the house. This makes the woman so dependent,” she told the Guardian.

Her point also reminds us that the bike was a symbol of emancipation for the suffragettes movement in the UK 100 years ago, providing independence – and a vehicle to get the campaign message out – to those who might have otherwise been trapped at home.

As for more modern attempts to integrate women into the world of men who wear expensive lycra, in Los Angeles the Ovarian Psycos are a cycle crew made up of women of colour who say that the cycling culture is predominantly white and male..

They organise an annual bike ride through the city called “clitoral mass” (riffing on critical mass) and more regular rides based on the schedule of the full moon. They say that for many of them, bikes are the only way they can be empowered on the streets.

How is it for you?

We’d like to hear your stories. Do you recognise the experiences of these women? Have you ever been harassed on the road? And does the thought of it put you off cycling completely?

Have you, like the girls in Tajikistan, ever been told you shouldn’t cycle? If so, we’d love to know the reasons you were given. If you’ve been part of efforts to help women cycle we’d love to hear about those too.

Add your thoughts in the comments below and help us build a global profile of what it’s like to cycle as a woman.

Guardian Cities is dedicating a week to exploring the future of cycling in cities around the world. Explore our coverage here and follow us on Facebook. Will you be taking our challenge to have conversation with a fellow cycle commuter? Tell us about it here or on Twitter or Instagram using #cycleconvo