For the racers:
1) Why did you descide to start racing? I was a core mountain biker in upstate NY, moved to a area where there was'nt any decent mt biking,rode a TT on my MT bike for the fun of it did pretty well so I bought my first RB. Raced all 1st summer in every event and I always finished in the middle.
I love having goals and watching my body get stronger. Although I do feel it can also take the joy out of cycling when you have to keep your HR in a certain zone and work on different aspects when sometimes I just want to RIDE. I've learned to also not take my training to seriously.

2) What kind of local support do you have(ie team)?
I found a wonderful cycling coach who after my first summer of dabbling into racing put me on the right path of training that winter and I shot up to the top three in my age group the following summer. My DH is also very supportive in always taking care of our kids and dragging everyone to the races at 5am! Could not be able to do it without him! He also makes all the difference when you feel you can not make it to the top of a 3 1/2 mile hill and you have your hubby following you saying "get your A** up that hill"

3) How much of your group riding is with men, do you have female teammates? When I was mt biking mostly men, they made me stronger especially my DH. Road biking I've been lucky to find great strong women who race and I learned a ton from them.

4) Did you play agressive sports in HS/college?Yes !!

5) What do you see as the main obstacles to women racing?Needs more recognition. We also need to focus more on getting young women into cycling.