What would you like to know?

[GLC1968]

The other challenge is to teach new women skills, and to maintain contact with them through the season to ensure they have picked those up, and are progressing. Kind of like a mentorship program. One of the things our club realized last year is that learning from an experienced FEMALE racer/rider builds more confidence and self-esteem.

Ok, how about from me? I'm not a racer, and I've only seen 1 women's race in real life (CAT4 crit - about 20 women raced that day). I'm one of those that would LOVE a women's group in my area for the above reason I quoted from SheFly. I know that I'd love racing. I can be fast, I'm strong, I'm very competitve...but I'm almost 40, generally shy and super intimidated by the crazy male cycling community around me (which is HUGE). If we had a women's group that had a program for riders who wanted to race, I'd be way less intimidated.

I think skills would absolutely help...and not just for racing. Skills for group riding, for general road and moutain riding, for climbing in the mountains an hour from here, etc.

To do that locally, like Salsa, I'd want to know how to start something like that in our local area and how to effectively get the word out. I think it would be also important to know how to keep all levels interested. I see it often here, but we have one women's group ride locally. In the spring, we have a mix of skills...but as the season wears on, only the slowest riders continue to show up for this ride. My guess is that the better riders split off to find their own groups to ride with, but that makes it really hard for a good rider to enjoy the group later in the season. Information on how to effectively keep all levels interested (and informed) would be helpful.

And then, from someone who has NO experience with racing, I'd need to know how do you secure sponsors, how to you drum up interest from non-riders, how to do put an effective 'season' together (scheduling tips) and lastly, probably how to throw/host an event?

Did I ramble on too much?

[velogirl]

GLC, that's perfect! I'm a big rambler. Rambling is highly encouraged.

Thank you!

[velogirl]

GLC made me think of another question.

If you have "something" for women in your area, what are your frustrations?

What would you do differently?

I guess that's two questions.

[snowtulip]

I am another non-racer in the traditional sense. We do have a WOMBATS group here and admitedly I've never done anything with them because of the many negative experiences that people I know have had with them. Apparenlty newbies are ditched on rides and there is a good amount of bashing other riders on the trail. Could all be heresay, but enough to discourage me.

I would love to have an open environment for all levels of rider. I primarily mountain bike ride, but having a group that is open to all types of riding is also great. I think mentorship is a great thing! As well as comraderie for trail maintenance activities, etc. Having the opportunity to share riding with young girls that might not have the opporutnity or are in financial distress and need a bike and role model. How to clinics are great!

We have an adventure race club and I really like that they offer opportunities for training, opportunities for learning or enhaning a skill, and opportunities to provide open feedback on the needs of the members to keep evolving.

[velogirl]

snowtulip! thank you for your great comments.

[salsabike]

Then let me continue the rambling a little. I'm a moderately seriously recreational rider, 2000-3000 miles a year, started up about 4 years ago. Before that I hadn't been on a bike for a million years. I have other friends my age who shyly express interest but have no idea how to use a bike with gears, since when they were kids their bikes didn't have any. I've read notes from what I think was one of your Velogirls basic skills clinics and this would be the perfect thing to offer relatively new riders. In fact, I had to fight off for several days the urge to answer your question with, "I would like to know how we can convince you to move up here."

As far as I know, in this region, there is not much to make the beginning, as in haven't-ridden-since-childhood, female rider feel comfortable. I don't want to debate with anyone about whether they SHOULD feel OK in a mixed ride or clinic. Some of them don't and won't. There's a great untapped riding market here.

Loved the cigarette comment.

[velogirl]

Salsa, I bet if you poked around a little you could find a coach or a LAB Instructor who would be interested/willing in putting on a woman's clinic for you.

Beginners are definitely an untapped audience. Which reminds me (totally off topic) . One of missed opportunities at most bike shops is that they send brand new riders out for test rides all by themselves! Bike shops would do customers a great service and sell more bikes if they had a dedicated sales staff who would test ride with customers, teaching them how to brake and shift and giving them small tips about form and technique.

[shootingstar]

I seem to hardly talk about my cycling...I get off topic.

But part of my past that has been silent until now:

Am just a lifestyle cyclist, with no car in my life for past 1/2 century. Average about 3000-7000 kms. annually in past 14 years after returning to cycling at 31.

I was part of a core group of organizers for a women's cycling group, Women on Wheels, for the Greater Toronto Area...for 5 years. In addition to my partner who is a rabid cycling advocate and heavy cyclist himself, this women's group did shoot up my passion for cycling.

We did organized rides, organized conferences ever 2 years and had workshops about 5-8 running simultaneously...on bike maintenance, touring, nutrition, etc. We did attract newbies, racers and bike couriers...all women. We did have some veterans...ie. the lst Canadian woman who raced competively. She was a distant "mother", role model to us all...

It was a heady 5 years. But with heavy hearts, we had to fold our group, because we couldn't find other fresh new volunteers to carry on the torch faithfully. Our non-profit organization had enough money in bank to run the organization.

So these are my thoughts:

* how to cultivate cooperative leadership among seasoned female cyclists to run low-budget cycling organization...that blends both competent cycling skills plus ...long term lifestyle approach to cycling.

*outreach to young girls and teenage girls exposing them to cycling (and boosting their self-confidence and having fun)....this was always in the back of our minds but all of us had fulltime daytime jobs

*outreach to women who do not fit the majority, mainstream of regular cyclists but who could benefit from the independence of cheap travel

*options for regular cycling mentorship or developing partnerships with other related cycling groups...ie. a group that is working on/advocating for new cycling routes.... I suspect alot of newbies are just afraid of cycling...because they don't know good, reasonably safe routes and are afraid stuck unprepared near the highway interchange or similar.

I agree abit of socializing at the end or during a rest stop, is helpful to keep the vibe dynamic of women's cycling group running.

It would be kind of neat ...one day...if there was a mega cycling convergence ride..you know several women's cycling group rides converging from several cities to 1 meeting point. Such a display of cycling power...

[RoadRaven]

I think part of a womens programme could include some clear explaination/teaching around how women's metabolisms are so different to men;
- how the muscle/fat ratio affects us and our power output
- how more muscle means it is easier to burn fat (which is why men find it easier to drop weight than women)
- how women will never develop the same/equivilent muscle mass to men and therefore will never to the same times/speeds at the top level as men

I think from discussions with women, these basic facts about how our bodies respond to exercise are oftne unknown or misunderstood.

I also want to agree with the others - specific training for women
- developing confidence in bike handling
- skills in riding with others (my partner says some of the men he rides with prefer not to ride with women in training rides or racing because they are unpredicatble and cant hold their lines)
- women's only training rides (I will never ride with my partner on his Sunday morning training ride because the guys there just go too fast - 35kph is a moderate pace for them - for me its race pace... I just wouldn't go the distance)

Excellent thing to be asked to do VeloGirl
All the best

[sundial]

It's too bad Little Rock is so far away. Are there any shops a bit closer to you?

Yes, one is an hour away. They do all my work on my bike and I'm tinkering more on my own. Hey, maybe you could create a women's guide to bike mechanic series--with lots of pictures. Maybe a video too!

[mtbdarby]

Hi Lorri,
Great topic and here's my take on it.

I live "up nort". We have smaller towns that are 30-60 miles apart. There is a cycling group in the larger town but I've struggled with them. Wanna know why? In central WI people are very cliquey. It's HARD to "break into" an existing group. I was the first new member they'd had in many years. So here are some questions I would ask myself:

-how do I hit a female "target" market given the geographical challanges?

- there's only 2 bike shops around and they don't seem to take me seriously as a biker but it does depend on the day. How do you get their support for a program?

- what kind of training programs or rides would be effective for women starting to bike so they aren't intimidated and will stick with it through the seasons?

- knowing you would get a diverse group of abilities how do you do rides together while pushing those that want it and providing social interaction for all? (I highly doubt you would get a lot of people to join at first).

- what types of city/town committees, organizations, etc. would you approach for any help funding, advertising, support etc.?

- how do you start raising funds just to get started?

I have the passion but tend to get bogged down in details like this. If you could put a "How to get a womens cycling group together manual" and make it available to the masses I think it would be a great tool for those of us who don't have the time for the learning curve of getting it going. Of course, that could just be me

[tulip]

GLC made me think of another question.

If you have "something" for women in your area, what are your frustrations?

What would you do differently?

I guess that's two questions.

I haven't read all the comments yet, so I hope this isn't a repeat. I am a former racer, but I have very little interest in racing now. I like riding, touring, centuries, and organized rides.

When I lived in DC, there was a group of seemingly energetic and interesting women called Babes on Bikes. They are still around. Perhaps someone on this forum is a member. They had rides of varying levels and I would have loved to go riding with them. However, they were SAHM and the like, and only had organized rides during working hours on weekdays. That's great for them, but I (and I imagine alot of other interested women) could not participate because I worked during those hours. That was frustrating because I bet there is alot of energy and fun and good ride vibes in that group. They did not go on weekend rides (but there are other good cycling groups with weekend rides in the area--men and women mixed)

Ironically, now I work from home and could manage a ride or two a week during traditional working hours, but there's no such club here. Maybe I'll start one...I'll finish reading the posts now.

[tulip]

Alot of women have issues with changing flat tires. They say they have tried, it takes too long, they can't figure it out, etc. The secret, and it shouldn't be a secret, is to practice, practice, practice until you can change a tire without a problem. I think the fear of getting a flat keep some women from getting on a bike.

I think it would be great to hold Flat Tire Parties wherever you live. Have women cyclists over, bring their bikes, have some goodies to eat and drink, some tools, and practice changing tubes over and over in a safe, social environment. Of course, someone in the group should be conversant in flat tire fixing to help the others. In a few hours, a bet the participants would be alot less fearful of changing flats.

Who knows, the party might lead to some rides and the birth of a women's cycling group.

[RoadRaven]

I didn't get the split coming from you Velo, but it is certainly "out there" in the mindsets of some of those who ride bikes...

Its something you might have to "break down" in the minds of your clients... perhaps an icebreaker/getting to know each other activity??

Perhaps focusing on the intentions and aspirations and sharing those in some way so that those who aspire to race and those who aspire to commute and those who aspire to randonneur all realise that, despite different goals, the dedication and passion for achieving their individuals goals is the same, and every goal carries equivilent value.

Creating a Meaningful Women’s Cycling Program: Fantastic content
Well done. You could probably market it as a programme/course for others to deliver. For example, I am sure that our Health and Sports Science Faculty where I work would be interested in delivering a programme like this.

And I am sorry about your bf... whatever the circumstances, the end of a long-term relationship is always tough.