Trek Women Who Ride

[Trek420]

I think it would be kind of cool to read about a whole family of sisters who got into riding.

You mean like DoW and me? Well that's just two...add her daughter also therefore my niece UK....three....

and since I'm a big butch fagg*t I got all happy

You are? Well, taller than me

Since I'm 51 I was glad to see age difference. I would have liked some weight difference too. There are a few who've lost quite a bit and kept it off cycling but where are the women riding and flourishing with an extra pound or two?

There's a theory in design when you want to show diversity "show everything or show nothing". Not just people-type-diversity but the cafe that serves a variety, the store that carries everything etc. You show allllllll the stuff....or you show an abstraction like an abstraction of food or store items.

With people that can end up like the ads for a clinic in CA that serves a variety of people, the poster was on the side of the bus with 30' long line of every type of person. But yeah, coulda been better.

Then I thought WTHeck. Nice try, maybe the next group. Still nothing compared to the wit and wisdom of TE ..... and came back here.

This is where the "women who ride" really are. Long live TE

[VeloVT]

I do find the whiteness troubling. It's pretty striking. Heck, if not a single non-caucasian person applied, they really should have fabricated someone or waited to publish the article until they could recruit someone. I live in what is very possibly the least diverse state in the union and I have met a number of non-caucasian cyclists in the past year (all of whom live here), so I doubt the task is impossible.

So we can't forget that this is, at the bottom line, a marketing piece. But even if the largest market segment is still white, I still have this pollyannaish attitude that business, like politics, **should** as a gesture of goodwill towards the consumers, current & potential, that keep it afloat, strive to reflect as inclusive a community as possible.

yeah, I'm pretty naive.

I suppose it's possible that it's simply an oversight, though that seems hard to believe given what Trek likely spends on marketing. And, frankly, in this day and age, as far as diversity is concerned, sins of omission are just as offensive as sins of commission.

(getting off of high horse...)

[Trekhawk]

Heck, if not a single non-caucasian person applied, they really should have fabricated someone

You are joking about that right??
Im sure most "non-caucasian" cyclists would be offended by that.

[sandra]

Regardless of color, I just want to comment that I am so inspired by Marie, the 60 year old widow that started cycling!!!

[VeloVT]

You are joking about that right??
Im sure most "non-caucasian" cyclists would be offended by that.

Surely I expressed that badly, and I apologize if I offended anyone. The idea that I wanted to express was that sometimes its necessary to take proactive measures to ensure diversity (though, of course, not extending to fabricating it!). Actually, I think in most public settings, it's not simply "sometimes" necessary but always necessary.

But I don't want to be too harsh on Trek. I'm glad they are doing more to cater to women riders.

[SlowButSteady]

I would have liked some weight difference too. There are a few who've lost quite a bit and kept it off cycling but where are the women riding and flourishing with an extra pound or two?

Right here with an extra forty or so pounds. Cycling for two years and still plus-sized. I feel discriminated against, also. Not feeling welcome in groups...the sideways glances...a few remarks on cause rides...the inability to find pretty and functional clothes, much less clothes that actually are cycling clothes that I can squeeze into.

I was very glad to see a couple of women there who look like they weigh more than 100 pounds. Somewhere along the line I was "sold" the idea that if I started cycling, I wouldn't be fat for very long. It didn't work and I feel somewhat militant about the fact that heavier people can be in excellent shape.

Sorry...I'm new here and don't mean to hijack y'all's topic.

[Trek420]

Sorry...I'm new here and don't mean to hijack y'all's topic.

Right here in the back of the pack militant with ya! No apology needed, you're right on the topic. Welcome to TE!

Oh, and the clothes thing? .... Check the selection right here 8-)

www.teamestrogen.com/categories.asp?catID=53

[PinkBike]

yeh i would've liked to seen at least one heavier bicyclist. but it's trek, they're trying to sell bikes, so they need to sell the image that if you ride you will eventually look like so-and-so.
i'm glad they did the project and hope it turns out ok.
so far it seems every other outfit that wants to do a "women who ride" type of thing end up concentrating on fashion and cookbooks and other redbook-type concerns. i dont care about fashion or cooking or makeovers, i just love to ride. i love aching lungs and burning thighs. i love fast descents. i love the feeling of riding and i wanna do it all the time. that's why i'm here at TE.
that's why i wanted one of us to be one of the trek women.

as for the people of color, i dont think you should force diversity for diversity's sake. they only chose 5 women. forcing them to select one black woman, one hispanic, one asian, one native american, one i-apologize-for-not-including-your-race, it really wouldn't be about the women who ride. it would be tokenism at best. i dont need to see someone of my race or even my gender to identify with them. when i'm struggling up a mountain i feel like i'm alberto contador, i picture him in my mind, i identify with that picture.

i'm going to wait and see if this "trek women who ride" ends up being about real women who ride, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.