Daydreaming here...

[bounceswoosh]

Bounce - you use golf and formula 1 as examples
With all due respect, neither of these sports fall into the category of being limited by muscles - golf relies hugely on physics and maths - formula 1 is about reaction times...

Well, they're the examples with which I'm familiar. But iirc these both happened in the last year, maybe two?

I teach gender issues, I am a post-structuralist feminist, I desperately want us to be equal not equivalent, but biological facts are facts - unless we either tamper with them or until we evolve

Maybe so, but I think the jury's still out, and may never be in, on how much physical gender differences are based on early socialization. I realized recently that my mom and I have totally different views on how supportive she was of me growing up. I know she meant to be, but in some ways, it just didn't turn out that way. Anyway, we still have moms and dads who, even if they support their daughters being active in sports, assume that the daughters won't perform as well. As you teach gender issues, I'm sure you know all about expectations and resulting performance.

We simply don't know how much is nature and how much is nurture.

Yes, as I've gotten older, I've begun to say the same thing -- that it's harder for me than it is for the guys I've met. But I can't just accept that. And in cycling, as with many sports, I have to wonder if the issue of fit and availability plays in. So many women have trouble finding a good fit on a bike, or finding high-performance equipment that fits them. In a three-week race, I wonder how much a poor fit would cost you?

And don't discount the boys' club aspect. If you yourself insist that a woman can't compete in the Tour (or whatever sport), how much harder would it be for a man to overcome his reservations and put a woman on the team?

Maybe the most elite male athletes are going to do better than the most elite female athletes. Maybe. But even if that's a given, I don't fit in that category, and neither do most of the people in the world. If someone is the type of person who likes to push herself hard (and I definitely do), setting "unrealistic" goals can be a huge motivator. I'm not looking to join the Tour (I don't even have a road bike!), but I don't see why it would hurt to have that as an eventual goal. Of course, depending on one's current ability level, it might not be a bad idea to set some intermediate goals, too.

[RoadRaven]

NURTURE:

You can do it...

I believe in you...

Absolutely, lets make family time at the weekends cause we want to help you with your interest...

Girls can do anything (a slogan that was BIG in NZ in the 80's - my formative years)...



NATURE:

Men can maintain a high level of fitness at approx 2% body fat... women can't

Men have a naturally higher blood volume which enables them to carry more oxygen to their muscles more quickly... women don't

[Tess851]

First up, I'm with Spazzdog re the sponsorship / coverage thing. Bear in mind the TdF was being run at a time when a woman on a bicycle or even in a 'sweaty' sport was just not on, so we've got some catching up to do in terms of female presence in the cycling world. Here in Oz, we're getting more tv coverage on women's races - albeit at world champion level and the like, than what we used to. It's slow going, but it is happening.

I don't agree that using bodyimage to sell a sport is necessarily a bad thing - who knows, maybe if we s@x it up a bit it will attract more spectators / sponsors?

As for aspiring to ride the best you can, yeah, fine, but part of goal setting is making sure it's realistic. There's a difference between aspiring to just participate in a race like TdF and aspiring for contention in the GC in the TdF. Also, it can take years of hard riding to be good enough to even be seen at the top. How many years did it take Robbie McEwan before he was at the forefront of sprinting - 7 or 8, I think. So it's a long road to the top....,

[Tess851]

Lynne - yes, I've some experience in 'amateur' racing. What level are you talking about? I've been in local, state and national road races here in Oz, and state track races, though not representing any teams, state or national. I'm not good enough yet, though I managed to get about $600 sponsorship from one business last year. Not much, but every bit helps.

Pace differs for the different levels of racing, and whether the fields are women only, women and junior females combined, or combined men and women, and whether they are criteriums, short or long road races, scratch start or handicap start etc. As a general rule, racing at higher grades / categories eg A= best, b= next best etc, against men and in open events (state or national) are faster paced than local races. Are you talking in general, or about a specific style of race etc?


RoadRaven, what do you mean 'equal not equivalent'?

[RoadRaven]

RoadRaven, what do you mean 'equal not equivalent'?

Hey there Tess
By "equal" I mean being able to compete on equal footing with men in an event like le Tour de France

By "equivalent" I am referring to the fact that for the same time spent training, same dedication, same pain, women can acieve on an similar footing but in women's races.

If we were "equal" in cycling, then genders would be mixed all the way to the top.

But we are "equivalent" in cycling, so women will not race in the mens Tour or Giro, they will race in the women's Tour or Giro.

Does that help?