Women's Cycling magazine

[circlegirl]

There is another Women's cycling magazine coming out in September.
She Pedals: The Journal of Women in Cycling

The editor is a 20 year veteran to competitive cycling looking to create a quarterly journal (sans race results) that features articles that inspire ALL women to ride. It will not be a "ROAD", "Bicycling" or "VeloNews" as that market is fairly well covered.

The only way to grow women's cycling is for women to support all women in the sport not just focus on the only thousand or so (literally) who race.

Postcards went out at Sea Otter that offer a FREE debut issue for registering as well as email newsletters and gear give-a-ways coming soon.

The website is: http://www.shepedalsmagazine.com

If you do not have flash you can access the registration at:
http://www.shepedalsmagazine.com/She...istration.html

[Resi]

If we all put our head in the sand because of our world economy, nothing would move anymore. I support people which don't let all this negative hupla stop them from starting theyr own business, whatever it is. I know print media, worked for 15 years in one of the biggest newspaper in Germany, and we had a couple of recessions...yes the printmedia business is changing, but not yet...it will take some more time to go away...
To the Womenscyclingmag. I like that sombody is finaly getting this started. To cover the stories, well, look at the bicycle mag., they cover a lot, but I never see them going to much into details. Also one thing I would love to see, it shouldn't only cater to racers, I am a hard core biker but I just don't want to race, done that been there... I just love to bike...

I will support them

Resi

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The only way to grow women's cycling is for women to support all women in the sport not just focus on the only thousand or so (literally) who race.

I agree.....and I'll take it even one step further!- how about covering and problem-solving for women who use their bicycles as part of every day life- instead of bicycling always treated as a "sport". I'd love to see a practical magazine all about women riding bicycles for commuting to work, for good health and helping the planet, for shopping, for economizing, for hauling kids and dogs, for transportation and for transporting things. Fixing/adapting bikes, choosing a bike for the purpose, dealing with traffic, finding bike parts or helpful resources, organizing, practical issues when commuting/locking/traveling/parking....Must be enough wonderful material for years' worth of issues!

[Eden]

The only way to grow women's cycling is for women to support all women in the sport not just focus on the only thousand or so (literally) who race.

ummmmm while I'll admit that racing is not the biggest women's sport around I'd beg to differ on the "only a thousand or so" bit.... we have 80 -90 women just on our team in any given year. That's one team in one city. Yes, we are all amateurs and most of us probably are not going to be the subject of magazine articles, but since when has that been the point... because in any case, do you actually think that 99% of the guys who read Sports Illustrated (or any of a myriad sports magazines) even participate in any sport, much less do it professionally? Of course not, so who's to say there wouldn't be a large enough audience to support a magazine that reports on a women's sport just as thoroughly as others do for the guys. It's not like there's more than a thousand or so pro football players, baseball stars, etc, yet there are plenty of fans. Why not give people the opportunity to become fans of women's bicycle racing, by giving them the opportunity to actually follow it? I for one am interested in the high caliber women (and have actually been in races with some of them.... due to the way fields are sometimes combined it is possible even for us nobodies....) If I want to read about touring or get reviews of sports drinks I don't necessarily need a magazine all about women...

[circlegirl]

I'd beg to differ on the "only a thousand or so" bit.... we have 80 -90 women just on our team in any given year.

There are actually ONLY 5417 registered females with USA Cycling (our national governing body). In actuality only about 35% percent of those registered ever race. The number of women who are registered as UCI Elite cyclists in the US is only about 100. USA cycling covers all disciplines of cycling.

Most of the women are grouped together in several states: WA, CA, TX, AZ being some of the largest.

[Resi]

There are actually ONLY 5417 registered females with USA Cycling (our national governing body). In actuality only about 35% percent of those registered ever race. The number of women who are registered as UCI Elite cyclists in the US is only about 100. USA cycling covers all disciplines of cycling.

Most of the women are grouped together in several states: WA, CA, TX, AZ being some of the largest.

Thats well explained. I know some women which registered, but they don't race...so why pushing up the statistics and waist money... I don't understand that...

[circlegirl]

I think a lot of riders do it to support USA cycling.

And some riders race ITT's (time trials) but never do mass start races. There is a bit of crossover from the triathlon crowd.

Even for the few years I didn't race I always kept my license current...just in case.

[smurfalicious]

There are actually ONLY 5417 registered females with USA Cycling (our national governing body). In actuality only about 35% percent of those registered ever race. The number of women who are registered as UCI Elite cyclists in the US is only about 100. USA cycling covers all disciplines of cycling.

Okay so 5417 x .35 carry the two and cross multiply by the weight of their bikes and that gives us over 1800. Your original statement was only 1000. Keep in mind not every race is USA cycling sanctioned. In Colorado our governing body is the ACA. In my SW4 field this morning there were 35 of us. That's 3.5% percent of the ONLY 1000 women who race in my class alone this morning.

Of course this is Colorado, and Boulder no less so maybe that number is skewed, but I doubt it. I think there is a reader base out there, it's just a matter of getting it into their hands. I think they'll do themselves a huge favor following VeloNews' format and keeping race results online and doing the monthly mag.

[Eden]

Not only do I think the numbers are a bit underestimated - I still think its *moot* - unless you really believe that only women and only those who participate in racing would ever be at all interested....

(oh - and btw some states, at very least Oregon, don't use the USCF, they have their own governing body, so they are not counted in the USCF stats unless they intend to race outside of Oregon and cannot buy a one day license and have thus purchased a USCF license)

[circlegirl]

I am not quite sure how this thread got off on the numbers tangent...1000, 1800, USCF, OBRA, ACA...who cares?!? The point is that the sport is small even from the male side in the US compared to Europe, and Oceania for example.

Cycling has a very small following compared to say, NFL. Yes, over 500,000 watched the Amgen Tour, but that was over the course of a week. Millions watch a single NFL game.

Yes, 80-100 women start races here in the bigger fields, but in Europe, for example, you can race a 200 female start, or several in a weekend that are actually within riding distance of each other. That is what our National Team is doing right now:-)

Cycling has a very elitist aura. Especially in pro competitive road cycling and even more so in track cycling. Prima donnas abound-I know, I see them everyday on the track.

In order to bring competitive cycling to the forefront, cycling itself needs to be recognized as a lifestyle, be it from a commuter's pov, a RAAM rider's pov, or someone who rides charity rides.

I fully support any effort to do so :-)