Manchester Wheelers' Cycling Club :: Forum

	13/11/2011 15:31:51 permalink
Cathy Posts 34	It's great that there's been a good response to the women's rides. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this. Some of the men on the intro. ride today were asking how it was going. My other half, who rides with the club, mentioned that if we have a womens' section, then some of the men (not him), might suggest men-only rides! I'm aghast at this - 1. as it would be divisive of the membership, 2. I like pushing myself harder to ride on the general club rides, and having a go at other sections of the club, and I'm certain most of the women do, 3.Some of the girls are as fast as the men, anyway. 4. One of the great things about the Wheelers is the 'open'/relaxed, (but very organised and structured), nature of the club, so everyone is made to feel very welcome to join in with everything. Also on this morning's intro ride, there was one man who rode for the first time, but excused himself very early, on the grounds that the pace was a bit fast for him - this morning's group was quite spritely, and I think we actually averaged about 16mph for the whole ride. This got me thinking that the women's rides are really to give us a way to improve, apart from the intro rides, if we're less able to keep up - whatever the excuse for this!! So, perhaps these should clearly be open to slower potential new members, or any of the lads who just want to come out for a spin that day - because they want a steadier ride, or want to ride a particular route - without them feeling they need to remove their beard and/or wear a tu-tu! We might even be able to attract some older members of the club who don't race anymore, but still ride at a leisurely pace - to ride with the club more, which would be nice. What do the other women (and men) think? No sexist comments from either side, please! - Unless they're really funny ones!
	14/11/2011 07:37:01 permalink
Julia Coleman Posts 32	Hi Cathy thanks for this. I think that you're right that there are plenty of men out there who want to join the club and progress, but it gets diffcult once you've reached a level of achievement to remember what it's like to be dropped or to have everyone freezing waiting for you. My partner who is now an accomplished time triallist, was dropped and left for dead by another Greater Manchester club when he started out. I would be happy to have a more mixed approach to a beginner's section from the new year and like you I aim to join in with the boys when I'm ready-it just takes more than one intro ride a month to get there. I think that's the gap that Viv and others identified. I also think think that there is a window for the wheelers to really grow an active women's membership and to do this we need to ensure that we have a variety of rides that they can go to. There is a gap "in the market" between people new to cycling who have come through commuting and may be bike fit but racing unaware-I have male friends who are considering joining the wheelers because of the warm welcome I have had-but like me when I started are nervous about having just one bike and not coming from a cycling background.
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