Woman competing in Tour de France

[jp4995]

I can see how they would think it's funny, but I don't really think it's funny. Glad I don't own a Trek bike, it's saving me from writing a strongly worded letter to them. I might just write the letter anyways.

[KnottedYet]

Certainly poor taste, and a bad move on Trek's part.

Look at the grumpy reaction Trek is getting from folks here. Someone in the mix should have thought a bit more before making an "official" April Fool's that might p.o. one of their major focus markets.

[ny biker]

I'm not offended by it because it's just another lame april fools attempt. Really I don't know why people feel the need to do this sort of thing.

[Desert Tortoise]

Oak and MM QFC have good points. It's irritating when people look at men's strengths as the be all of strength and then dimish women's strengths.

Yes, men and women are different and men do tend to have more muscle mass thereby making them physically stronger. That said, there is also mental strength and endurance. Men have some serious competition from the women in this department.

From ultramarathoners to stay at home moms, all of this stuff takes serious endurance to do on a regular basis. On a side note, when men mock women who stay at home to raise kids and ask "what do you do all day?" I respond with, "If staying at home with kids is so easy, why don't more men do it?"

I digress, sorry. Several times I have heard Navy Seal instructors talk about the difficulty and challenges of being a Navy Seal. Yes, you do need to be very physically fit but even the biggest, strongest guys drop out if they don't have the mental strength and stamina for the job.

Another example, when the USA was competing with Russia in the space race and wanted to be first in space, they kept trying to find ways to get the men to withstand the rigors of space flight. In the testing, they also used women. Guess who fit better into the tiny capsule and who endured the pain better? But the thought of women astronauts before men was too much and so the Russians did it first, and with a woman. If I remember correctly, the story/book is called "The Mercury 13: The true story of 13 women and the dream of space flight"

So to mock womens' abilities (and use it in deragorty terms at times) as something less than mens is offensive. Especially when people believe it.

[oz rider]

Another vote for poor taste. And a useful demonstration of Trek's attitudes to women.

[moderncyclista]

I'm not "that" offended.

I don't think Trek meant to jab at women with this. Many companies are doing April fool's jokes. I have a lot of other things in the world that I can be indignent about. Unfunny joke to be sure, but what else do you expect April 1st? I'm tired of hearing everybody is pregnant, divorcing, etc on facebook too. Just isn't funny to me. I'm not offended though. I just wish a woman was competing in the Tour de France. That would be cool.

[WindingRoad]

Yeah, that wasn't really funny at all. I would chalk it up to a brain fart but it does really illustrate the collective thoughts of the people working for Trek. Somewhere along the line they thought it would be funny to take a shot at women athletes, Heeelloooooooooow. To me that could only have been thought up and decided appropriate by a bunch of men. Not cool.

[smilingcat]

I think more companies need women on their marketing decision making.

Trek's lame attempt is the latest but not the last. Look at iPAD from Apple. Really!! if there was a woman on that decision making, I don't think it would be named iPAD. geeze. Some of the men I'm sure were married and I'm sure they have come across a pad or two... I really liked the iSLATE for the name but that

Naw. Trek's April Fool's fall flat. It's not funny, and I'm so desensitized to sophmoric remarks like this, I just yawn.

Boyz, lets see how tough you really are with the original epilator. the "streaming" coil of spring that would catch your body hair and rip it out. I don't think they are tough enough for that. I learned it the hard way.

As for the right stuff, pilots should be small, light and short. Shorter person can withstand G's far better than a taller person. The heart has to fight less to pump the blood to the head. The old belief of good looking tall, macho man is all wrong. Besides, which gender is better able to multi-task? well okay guys have better spacial and directional sense than women. part of evolutionary development. Men went out to hunt, and they better know how to find there way back to the camp. Those who could, survived. Those who couldn't, went the way of evolutionary dead end.

[ny biker]

Another vote for poor taste. And a useful demonstration of Trek's attitudes to women.

There must be something wrong with me because I've read it 3 times now and I don't see how it says anything about their attitude toward women.

[MartianDestiny]

There must be something wrong with me because I've read it 3 times now and I don't see how it says anything about their attitude toward women.

Not just you, I don't get the issue.

If anything it's complimenting her abilities in my mind. April fools "jokes" are supposed to be BELIEVABLE enough that you have to do a double take or read through to the last lines (where normally April 1st or similar is mentioned). If they were demeaning women athletes then this wouldn't have been much of an April Fools stunt (it wouldn't have been "believable" in their minds).

I don't find it particularly amusing but that's probably more from a poor execution standpoint (now Fatty's this morning was pretty good, at least from a funny writing perspective), I'm not offended by it though.

[Tuckervill]

There must be something wrong with me because I've read it 3 times now and I don't see how it says anything about their attitude toward women.

I'm with you.

If a woman was invited to ride in the TdF I would be really really surprised. I wouldn't doubt her ability because if someone knows something about it, and who can compete in it, it's the teams who do. I really doubt it is going to happen any time soon, if ever, so if it is such an unprecedented thing, they're not really poking fun at inability of women to compete in it. It's just too far out of the realm of possibility and that's why it's humorous.

Karen

[Trek420]

Guess Trek doesn't know their racing history either

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=10230

[beccaB]

I don't watch MTV, so maybe that would have been a reference to this being a joke, as far as following her "story"

[mariacycle]

I don't watch MTV, so maybe that would have been a reference to this being a joke, as far as following her "story"

if anything MTV's MADE is a show about unlikely candidates trying something that seems impossible (like an unathletic guy turning into a ladies man). it just adds to the ridiculousness of her making the tour.

[malkin]

Last year's one about some rider getting carbon bone replacements was way better.