The State of Women's Racing

[runnergirl]

I was thinking of lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, etc. as agressive sports. While crits aren't intended to be full contact it gets pretty close sometimes. Running, swimming, triathalon etc. while competative are more individual.

I understand that some women have no interest, and that's fine. For me, martial arts is a just for fun and personal improvement thing-no desire to go to tournaments etc. I see such a massive gap (only 10% of USCF members are female), but no real explanations as to why that gap is so large.

Racing is only one aspect of cycling, and I respect the many other varieties (messengers, recumbants, long distance touring, commuting etc.). Out of these various cycling outlets women are most under-represented in racing.

Getting into racing has been a difficult process for me, and I hope that by better understanding how other women think about cycling, and the barriers that exist, I might be able to effectively recruit women in my area. Someday I would love to get involved with a women's team or an east coast equivelent of velo bella.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[SalsaMTB]

Just for a bit more feedback...

I've played competitive team sports all my life. I played soccer as a child, soccer and volleyball in HS, and volleyball in college. When I started cycling, I think what really held me back from racing initially was because I thought I was too weak of a biker to race. I'm competitive and I like to do well in what I do. I biked with guys only and I was terrible compared to them causing me to think I would be humiliated racing. Don't get me wrong, they were supportive and said I was doing well, but I compared my beginner skills to their advanced skills and did not think I was capable of racing. Now, after riding with girls a couple times and advancing my skills, I'm more confident and hope to start racing next season.