Out of the gym and onto the road - Ideas wanted.

[MightyMitre]

Hey guys - thought I'd pick your brains. My club is full of men - in fact I'm the only woman but a few of the more progressive members, me included would really like to get some more women involved, even if only to stop the Friday night social meeting turning into big beer drinking sessions

Has anyone got an good ideas for how we can go about attracting some more women, advertising campaings, introductions session etc.? How can we convince women to get off the exercise bike in the gym and come out for a ride in the fresh air instead?

Ultimately it would be nice to get some women who race, but just girls on bikes would be a good start.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[missliz]

Big bright flyers in the bike shops, and a supportive attitude when women reply. I would have loved a club ten years earlier than when I finally found one, but cycling is such a boys club, and they keep all the stuff you need to know a big secret. In my other sports teaching was always a big membership development tool, 'cause people who feel ignorant are intimidated. Being taught stuff makes people feel included, and they'll come back. Spin bunnies aren't your best market, they're just aerobics bimbos with a new kind of outfit; but women who are in the LBS are already interested and probably have a bike. Give a workshop, teach them some stuff, and don't underestimate the appeal of a crowd of fit buff guys as a big attraction. Sex sells, and personally I've always found the pursuit of a handsome male backside a great training aid. But I'm kind of a Shameless Jezebel, maybe that should be handled with subtley.
Women often have never played sports before, and though we catch on quick to things a club sport can be intimidating. Tell the guys that if they want women around, they need to be nice. And explain things like pack riding and using gears.

missliz

Some just women rides might work well, riding in a pack with men and being dropped is a confidence buster. Remember how scary it was to hang your butt out in public in Lycra the first time? At arts camp we call it "creating a safe environment to fail", except that in a safe environment one doesn't fail.

[TXchris]

Most of the women I know like to learn everything before they jump into an activity. Hosting a cycling clinic where you teach a specific skill may be a big draw. Again, keeping it to only women creates that "safe environment to fail" and may draw more in. It would be fine if some of the less intimidating men taught along side you as you don't want to create the illusion of an all girls club. You could plan short social ride after the clinic where they can use their skills and see how fun it can be. Then give them a copy of the schedule and invite them. Afterwards, make it a point to call each participant and get feedback and invite them to come ride with the group.

Good luck!

[Irulan]

I totally agree with Missliz (!!) about spin classes NOT being the place to meet riders.

Althought I mbike exclusively, I think the principal is the same. I've been on a mission for a few years to meet more biking women, as originally I only knew one other. MY solution- talk about riding to everyone I know. Eventually you talk to enough people and you start having conversations that involve "call me" and "hey let's do it". After a few calls you find out who is serious or not; who gets to stay on the "usual suspects will-call list".

You have to be patient. After three years I finally have a really good list of weekday riders. Not everyone can come out all the time, but it's a fun bunch and we've picked up a few beginners this year too.



What about starting a casual club? We have a women's bike club here in addition to a regular road club. It was started by a few women who were originally a 24 race team, who decided to spread the gospel. It's grown from about 20 member to 75 in a year. I found out about it by a flyer at the bike shop.

Missliz, sounds like you have nice club too. I've been real disappointed in mine for a number of reasons but that's a whole nother thread.

Irulan

[tinkerbell]

Last year, my local club which up until that time had been almost exclusively a men's race team began a Tuesday night women's ride. It primarily started as word of mouth...even as we'd pass women on the road we'd invite them to join us. I know a lot of women mentioned it at their spinning classes and to friends who were maybe triathletes, etc. It's nice because we have a no-drop policy on the ride (which would never happen with the men and also the route and pace is set by the group of women who show up each week, so that it meets everyone's needs. This year we may also start a second night with an increased pace, so that everyone's needs can be met-and we continue to grow (maybe into someday having some women who want to race!) One other thing we are starting this year is women's technical clinics. On various Mondays throughout the summer we will take a night to learn everything from basic bike maintenence, how to ride in a pack safely, to cornering, etc. The men's bike team is helping us out so we have some experienced riders who can teach us the tricks of the trade. This has really helped build confidence and community among the women--many of whom don't have much group riding experience. The club also has "coffee rides" to which anyone is invited--you don't need to be a club member. This encourages people to try it out. These are sunday morning rides which also are no-drop rides and are geared on more of a leisurely note--with a stop for coffee at the end. One other thing you might want to play up is any deals you get from sponsors. I know our team is full of deals from sponsors--I got my bike for half of what it would cost at the local bike shop, as well as tires, tubes, helmets, shoes, etc. For someone who is just starting out biking can be an expensive pursuit, and the sponsorship deals have been a big draw for me!! It's been a wonderful experience for me and I have gone from a non-biker (didn't even own a bike) a year ago to a multi-day long distance rider--rode from MN to Chicago last summer (5 days, 600+ miles!) The women's support and encouragement has been the biggest benefit though and has helped to keep me motivated and excited about riding!! Best of Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

[missliz]

Actually, Irulan, my fencing, skating, shooting, ect. clubs were great- My cycling club went to hell and I quit when the nasty power hungry little people running it refused to help me organize any clinics. Then I needed new knees and have been away, but I know of clubs in other towns that are big on structured teaching and being nice to people, so it works in cycling as well as every other sport. A lot of new riders have come to town, and a friend I saw in the grocery told me the club was fun again so I sent them a check. As soon as I'm fit again, I'm joining the racing club though, fewer women but more supportive of them.
But the point is, men and women both don't want to be *****ed at, intimidated, or made to feel stupid wich happens a lot in cycling. Most of what I know came from magazines or the nice guys at my LBS, and women at festivals have told me they had to learn the same way.
The great model for this is the legendary Jaquie Phelan and WOMBATS. Womens Mountain Biking And Tea Society. <<www.wombats.org>> A lot of the orgs purpose is for Jaquie to make a slender living teaching, but she has a national contact list and a "wear pearls to race in" attitude. She's trying to build a national womens MT biking network. Check it out.

missliz

[Susan126]

I bet there are a lot of other women out there wanting the same thing as you . . . other women riding partners. Someone has to take the first step and let everyone else know this fact. A flyer, like missliz suggested, is a great start. Just get the word out and I'm sure you will find your riding group! Go out and get them, MightyMitre!

PS ... I watched the Paris Roubaix on TV this weekend. Those cobblestone sections look like hell to ride on! Petegem (BEL) was first but "Eki" (RUS - USPS) was third!

[tinkerbell]

Why all the hating on spinning?!!! I know that as a resident of MN (and the same goes for many other places) the weather does not cooperate with cycling for 7 months out of the year (unless you are hardcore!!) So, for many people who are interested on being on the bike, keeping up fitness, and enjoying themselves, they turn to spinning...Heck, to me it sure beats the riding the trainer by myself in the dark, cold basement !! In my spinning class most, if not almost all, of the participants are also avid cyclists! So, as my 5th graders say--Don't be a hater, be a celebrater Be glad that cycling has an indoor counterpart that can offer an outlet on the cold, snowy, rainy, windy days that would otherwise keep many people off a bike altogether!! And don't be so fast to dismiss the good cycling buddies you can find there...ride on my friends!!

[Susan126]

I hope you do find some other women to bike with. When I first got into biking it was just Joe and me but lately he has been working a lot of overtime. That meant either sitting at home and moping or finding other people to ride with. We belong to two bike clubs. One road and one mountain. I knew a few women from our club rides and finally got up the nerve one night to call a few of them and ask them if they were interested in an after work ride. WELL!!!!! Were they elated! All it took was me getting up the nerve to ask and now I have a regular bunch of ladies that I ride with whenever Joe is busy. Good luck!

[Irulan]

Just that many of us have had the experience of spin classes NOT being a good place to meet bikers. At least in the ones I go to. None of the instructors ride outside, and most of the women that I have talked in the classes do not even own a bike. I've had much more sucess just talking to people socially about it.

Irulan

[missliz]

Hey Tinkerbell- nobody is hating on spinning. The reality is that for every class full of riders there are many classes full of aerobics bimbos. Spinning started in Artie Bakers backyard in the late 70s as a party thing when trainers were invented, a way for riders to get together and do some thing different. It got turned into a gym gimmick largley removed from cycling culture in the late 80s 'cause the little bunnies get bored and there was cash to be made. That's reality. The same thing has been done to boxing, fencing, eastern martial arts, every sport they could think of. Enjoy your classes, but be a realist. 70 % of people in spin classes nationally don't own a bike, or at least one we wouldn't die laughing at. We are there to train as athletes. They are there to look good in clothes. ( Or as part of their eating disorders) Get the difference?

missliz

Why don't you put the trainer in the living room in front of the TV? Every body I know does it that way, either to use spin tapes or watch sitcoms. Basements are full of gross mold and stuff. Bad for the lungs.

[missliz]

Actually flyers in the gym is a good idea, but I'd look in the yoga classes and the weight rooms just as much as any spin class. I'm not the only rider who doesn't do much spin because the seats are so awful.

missliz

[tinkerbell]

That's the difference between the South and the North I guess--basements in the north are for many of us our living rooms. Many people have "finished" basements that double as family/rec rooms, offices, etc. They are often just as nice as the rest of the house. So when I speak of my basement I'm not talking a cellar with mold and such. I do sit in front of the TV, and also have a computer program that I can program to different courses, so that it'll change resistance for me to varying inclines along the route, as well as varies time and type of ride, but honestly I still think the trainer sucks! Having people around me is a huge motivational draw for me-whether that be at the gym in a spinning or aerobics class, on the neighborhood streets with my cycling group. I guess I am just too social to enjoy doing anything in the basement by myself during the dead of winter (or any other time )...Anyway, I guess it's just a matter or preference...however I still don't see the need to call people who enjoy other activities in the gym--whether it be aerobics, spinning--while not being a cyclist, etc, "bimbos." I think exercising is great-- no matter what form you enjoy...I honestly enjoy aerobics, and don't consider myself for one minute to be a bimbo--or any of those in my classes, no matter what they look like. And why should I care what they are wearing? Heck just because I like shorts and a tank doesn't mean that other people shouldn't enjoy wearing spandex and bra tops if they want-or that their athletic pursuits are any less because they do... I just think we should be careful not to categorize people who are different than us and think that their motivations or purpose for exercising is any less noble then our own. There are plenty of f*%ed up serious cyclists who are anorexic, bulemic, or deal with drug problems, and plenty more who enjoy purchasing cute cycling outfits to enjoy just like those "aerobic bimbos" (including me!)...rock on...

[Irulan]

Originally posted by tinkerbell
...however I still don't see the need to call people who enjoy other activities in the gym--whether it be aerobics, spinning--while not being a cyclist, etc, "bimbos."

oh, so guess you'd get mad at me if I call them "latte crazed soccer moms in Nordstom's gym wear"?

I'm just kidding.


Irulan

[pedalfaster]

I too love the social aspect of "spinning". When I lived in the South (large city) most of the "spin" classes I attended were held at local bike shops. Cyclists would bring their own bikes and trainers and "let the wild rumpus start"(bonus points to moms who can spot that quote!).

I now live in a smallll town in the Midwest and can totally relate to the....what did Irulan call them..."Latte crazed soccer moms..." thing. ;P ( "Not that there's anything wrong with that")I just sort of feel....sorry for them. You start to chat about the joys of being in the great outdoors with the wind in your hair, and they get that "deer in the headlights" look. Sad, really.