Woman competing in Tour de France

[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.

[beccaB]

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.

I think it's even worse that this was actually perpetuated by the woman herself. You'd expect this of men. Fow a Woman to do it in unacceptable.

[ny biker]

I think it's even worse that this was actually perpetuated by the woman herself. You'd expect this of men. Fow a Woman to do it in unacceptable.

I think this is a gross generalization. I don't "expect this of men." I know men who are more sensitive to women's feelings than some women are.

[beccaB]

I think this is a gross generalization. I don't "expect this of men." I know men who are more sensitive to women's feelings than some women are.

Yes, you do have a point. Just venting angrily I suppose. I was and still sort of am still- excited about getting my new bike, and became upset that something was bursting my bubble. I didn't want my bubble burst. I don't think this whole thing would carry so much weight with me if I wasn't in the process of making a major purchase of a trek bike.

My daughter explained it to me fairly well. It's amazing that kids grow up and the parents can glean some wisdom from their nearly adult children. She is a musician and plays a very finely made musical instrument. She said that if the company did some stupid stunt she wouldn't stop playing that instrument or refuse to buy anything else from that company ever again.

[PinkBike]

i received this email also, as I am on their mailing list.

it got me for a second, then i read the "happy april fools day" and realized it was a joke.

i'm not the least bit bothered by it, and this coming from someone who is extremely sensitive to the us-vs-them mentality.

maybe if a guy were to see it he would think, yah right, a woman couldn't ride the tour. of course "he" couldn't ride the tour either. but maybe also if a guy reads this forum he thinks we're way over-reacting. i think we are too.

most of the guys i work with know they couldn't do what i do - ride centuries, ride every day, ride to work - and they tell me so.

my take on the email was that it referred to an ordinary corporate exec not specifically a woman. they even showed a picture of a radio shack rider facing behind him and her face was superimposed over it. i thought it was cute.

[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.

[lunacycles]

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.

Er, they are implying it is a joke to think that women can compete with men.

I am not overthinking this. Or dwelling. Just observing.

[ny biker]

Er, they are implying it is a joke to think that women can compete with men.

I am not overthinking this. Or dwelling. Just observing.

No, I saw it as pretending that a non-professional would be so very very fast that she would miraculously be chosen as an alternate for Johan Bruyneel's TdF team. Which is ridiculous regardless of whether the non-pro is a man or a woman. For so many reasons that have nothing to do with how fast said non-pro can ride.

But maybe I just have been following Bruyneel's teams too closely over the years, up to and including this one.

Not to mention, the joke involved the president of Trek Travel. If Trek Travel was run by a man, I'm sure it would have been about a man.

Anyway. I really hate April fools crap. Waste of my time.

[XMcShiftersonX]

Also, I don't think it's impossible for a woman to do the stages of the Tour de France... I'm sure some of the best women pro cyclists are more than qualified to do it, if they wanted to and trained for it, they're just not allowed to currently, which is the real tragedy (at least as I understand it, but I'll be honest, I don't pay attention to all the ins and outs of it). It would be nice to see women compete in races like this, and I would hope it's not out of the realm of possibility for the future.

[andtckrtoo]

I'm usually not offended by such jokes, but this one does rub me the wrong way. I don't care how they meant it, it does come off as "Ha ha, silly people, thinking a mere woman could POSSIBLY be in the Tour de France - oh get real." If they wanted to make a point about an unknown riding getting a spot on the team - use a man. I don't think this kind of sexism has a place in any US company.

I think the joke was in very poor taste and I'm glad to support Cannondale and Surly over Trek now.

[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