The State of Women's Racing

[mtbdarby]

Hey Runnergirl,
Interesting thread, I can see why you stirred the pot.

For the racers:
1) Why did you descide to start racing? Lots of reasons. I've only been mtb since May of this year. I did my first 4 x 12 race at the end of July. One reason was a personal goal - I need a goal to motivate me. Second was I was told I shouldn't even ride let alone race because of my thyroid. Guess I don't like being told what I can/cannot do And finally, I had just broken up with my bf and I had told him I'd ride on a team with his 13 yo son. I wasn't not gonna ride because we weren't going out, I just got a new team.

2) What kind of local support do you have(ie team)? I joined a local bike club and (can't believe I'm admitting this) I hopped on match.com and found some male bikers in this area to ride with. It's hard to find female mtb's.

3) How much of your group riding is with men, do you have female teammates? Group riding is with the club which is actually about 50/50.

4) Did you play agressive sports in HS/college? Oh yeah...

5) What do you see as the main obstacles to women racing? Knowing that it's out there and how to get started. A huge obstacle in training for me is that I'm a single mom to a 3 yo and I'm new to the area. I can't afford $60+ a month for babysitting one night a week because I only get my little guy during the week. I will only give up so much time with him so I can ride. I do have a trailer for him but he doesn't always want to ride and I will only take the trailer on the road. There are no trails within biking distace to me, I have to drive. I don't have a bike carrier either, so cost is also an issue. I've spent over $1000 this summer on a bike, clothes, assessories, trail passes, race fees, trailer and baby sitting. I also think it's a little intimidating to get into the sport. It is male dominated and they treat you like you know what you're doing or are at a level beyond where you are. I think that was a big source of my nervousness and frustration in the beginning. If you can start out making it fun and challanging, I think you stand a better chance of getting women into in and retaining them - wether they choose to race or not. You have to get them riding first, right?

Hope that helps.

[RebeccaAnn]

I don't race. While I enjoy an occasional group ride, riding for me is much more a solo activity. I enjoy looking at the scenery, taking new roads, and the only competition involved is against my own prior performance.

Now I'm usually pulling a trailer anyway. Singletrackmind, do you think we can organize a race of Trailer Moms here in St. Louis? One with stops every 2 miles or so to retrieve toys & sippy cups from the bottom of the trailer, use the drinking fountain, watch construction workers/trash collectors/trains for a few minutes, eat Cheerios, etc.?

Runnergirl, what reasons are the guys at bikeforums giving for racing/not racing? Do their responses differ from ours? I guess I could amble over and read it for myself....

[Grog]

If you don't race, but plan on it, what is the threshold? A certain avg. pace? Staying with a fast group?

I started riding very seriously this year. I need to build more skills a little bit, a bit of strength too.

But I was truly scandalized at the low number of women in competitive cycling where I come from (Quebec). That is strange because I say we have more local cycling stars who are women than men (Genevieve Jeanson, Lyne Bessette, Marie-Helene Premont in mtb). At a recent race there were 8 women out of 200 men!!! (Actually it was not an official race but we were timed and I finished 7th, I think 8th was DNF... The first lady in, a 16 yo girl!!!, was totally up there with the fastest men, I was really impressed!!!)

That is maybe my biggest motivation, put some women in there. But I couldn't care less about winning or even coming in the highest spots on the roster... I love being involved in something where I can be last and it doesn't matter.

I also find events in general make extremely good and motivating training goals.

Personnality issue? It may have become a personality issue, but maybe because I'm a sociologist I definitely see it as a social thing. Until recently in history women were NOT encouraged to participate in competitive sports but rather to stay on the side and cheer for their male heroes... Even today many competition sports are not considered appropriate for women, and let's say that, exception made for some families, girls are not pushed in becoming competitive in sports, and there's not that many role-models for us out there compared to men. So of course many of us may (sincerely) not be interested in racing (of any sort) but it's not as if it would have been seriously presented as an acceptable option for a lady through our lives. So no wonder it doesn't come "naturally" to us to feel like racing.

[limewave]

Quote:
If you don't race, but plan on it, what is the threshold? A certain avg. pace? Staying with a fast group?

After starting cycling last summer, I had decided to give racing a try. However, an unexpected pregnancy squelched those plans. Maybe next season???

Road riding came really easy to me. After just a month of riding, I was keeping up with the faster group ride at 23-25 mph for 40 miles. The club has been trying to recruit women to race along with their mens team and I thought I would step up to the challenge.

I like doing new things and proving myself against the odds. I love facing physical challenges and finding out how strong the human body really is. Hopefully I'll be able to give racing a try.

[han-grrl]

1) Why did you descide to start racing?
It started as being on a team for a 24 hour mtb relay race. I found that i liked pushing myself.

2) What kind of local support do you have(ie team)?
I am sponsored by a local bike shop. I used to have a coach, but he quit coaching to go back to a "real" job.

3) How much of your group riding is with men, do you have female teammates?
I do most of my training on my own, and i have to say right now that it is 50/50 with men and women.

4) Did you play agressive sports in HS/college?
Nope. Mom never let me play. it interfered with studying.

5) What do you see as the main obstacles to women racing
Most women aren't competitive enough or agressive enough. They don't see the point of racing. Many women don't get a lot of support, and i believe that the lack of exposure of women's sports in general just give that "what's the point" feel to female competitiveness.

[Musclicious505]

I have not yet raced but would love to. I have only been riding for about two months and need some more time and training on the bike so I am looking at next spring. I have always competed in "aggressive" sports, like martial arts, kick boxing, body building and powerlifting so I am kinda used to being one of very few girls in a training atmosphere. I think the challenge will be to either find a trainer to help me get started or perhaps get on a team that has members that might be willing to help with this. I think something that would help more people race is maybe local seminars about racing and as far as Im concerned it wouldnt matter if they were for men or women, I would really want to attend.

Thanks for asking and showing interest in getting more of us to race!