Quote Originally Posted by AllezGirl View Post
And just so I don't come off as being whiny...I personally race bikes for fun. Heck, I pay to do it, and I don't get a lot in return. I'm grateful for every little bit I get. But, when I see my neighbor getting more...not because he's stronger or faster, riding for a bigger team or bringing more fans to the race (I drag my kid AND bf to the office park all the time)...but because he has an appendage I don't? It burns me a little.
It's ok, I do not think you are whining at all - if I were in your shoes with the team just dropped, I would probably see red as well!

The issue is that there is very little that we can do quickly, really. There is something we can do - but the results will not show up widely very quickly. What we are trying to do here - and what women racing all over the world have been trying to do for decades - is changing a culture. It takes decades and more.
Ask Jeannie Longo, she was winning championship when I was a little girl on the junior 40cm bike, and she still wins today at over 50 years old. She has seen how this world of cycle racing works.

Changing culture and habits is hard. Here's an example. Think about it - many decades ago it was impossible for a woman to enter medical school. And now I look around in my hospital and there's more women physicians... but still some sides of the culture are hard to move. Most women in teaching hospitals are paid less than their male counterparts, and many are lower in rank despite similar accomplishments. Fewer are Division chiefs or Department Chairs. It is changing, but it is changing very slowly.

Same thing in bicycle races. We can make changes in our 'small world', and publicize them in a way that would drive others to do the same. But it will take time.
So, suggestions for the team, and suggestion for the cultural changes? Very few.

Let's start with the team, which I see as the more 'emergent' issue. Here's a few things that used to work when my sister and myself and our friends were around racing teams:
-Use competition between commercial entities. That used to work a lot in Europe. For example, the local restaurant sponsors another team? Well, find one of the competitor restaurants and go talk to them explaining how much sponsoring your team will benefit them and their competition with the other businesses. My sister used to do this with local private hospitals and clinics - they were jumping on each other to contribute and be the first to place their business logo on a team jersey. Competition is always a driving force, even (especially?) in a tough economy. So if your team has been dropped by a big sponsor, find the main competitor and see if you can strike a deal.
-Use personal interest. This is a tough one but may be a help when there's not much funding for the team. Find someone interested in cycle racing (even better if he/she is a racer on your team) who also owns a business and could use some publicity for his/her business. This is likely to give a limited amount of funds, but everything counts.
-Use the sport to raise awareness for a cause. For example partner with some organization, so that they can receive publicity at the races, and then raise funds. Some of the funds can cover team activities and expenses and the rest go to the charity organization.
-Have team members/club members do some 'legwork' and look for sponsors. Everyone knows some business owners - so if every club members talks about the team and potential business exposure to two or three local businesses, then the whole team is probably contacting over 100 potential sponsors. Even if 98 say 'no', there's a good possibility that some will decide to contribute and take the opportunity for some advertisement.

As per cultural changes - I have no suggestions to offer other than: keep going.
-Keep riding, so that many more women cyclists are seen on the road.
-Keep racing, so that more races for women are happening.
-Advertise local racing teams and support them as much as you can - so that more women decide to participate and more often women races are organized.
-Contribute to the community, which also shows your team as a supporter of the community - for example volunteer sometimes to teach a bicycle safety class at the Y, or at a local school, or at a park. This helps the community learn about the existence of your team, and shows the team as member of the local community, which may in turn stimulate the community to support the team.
-Help grassroot sport organizations - this is one big deal! For example support high school cycling teams, maybe help start a women high school team or college team - and establish a connection so that talented athletes may move from high school league into your team. It is a long a cumbersome process but it does pay off.

I think I'm exhausting all the suggestions I could think of... if something else comes to mind I'll post again
Good luck!