Getting Women in the Game

Last August I received an email from Strava.com that they were looking for applicants in the Chicagoland area to become Strava Cycling Ambassadors. Strava is an online social fitness community for athletes. I had been using the app for at least a year or more and many of the members of my cycling club joined too. But what I noticed was there were like 90% men and 10% women using the app. Is it that women aren’t as competitive as men? Are we not as tech savvy? What was it?

As I filled out my application, one of the questions was “What is your main goal as a cycling ambassador?” My answer was simple, “Get more women involved in cycling.” I guess that was one of the key factors for me getting the “gig”.  That is one of the goals for Strava, too.

In a recent post by SeleneY she writes about What Women Want. It was spurred by a recent Bicycling Magazine survey asking women about bikes, components, clothing, etc. I was actually a bit offended when I took the survey as it asked very “girlie” questions…like buying a pink bike. While I do agree the cycling industry does a poor job in offering feminine alternatives for clothing, shoes and accessories, I couldn’t see myself riding a pink bike. Well okay, maybe if it came with streamers too.  But I do have to admit I own a pair of pink tire irons. I figured no self-respecting guy would steal them from me. Anyway, basically women are cyclists first. We are as diverse as men, coming in all shapes and sizes.

So back to my original goal, getting women into cycling. According to National Sporting Goods Association there are more males than female cyclist-- 20.2 million male v.s. 19.1 female. The good news is that the number of females is growing. It’s up 4% from last year. I honestly have no idea why there aren’t more female cyclists.

When I started to ride more as an adult, I did mostly invitationals. Just knowing there was a SAG wagon around gave me the courage to do longer miles. But then I wanted to find a cycling club so I could ride more often. My first group ride with the Wheeling Wheelmen (notice the gender) I was terribly intimidated. Everyone had the “cool” bikes, the right gear and definitely faster than me. Actually my first club ride I was dropped within the first 2 miles, got terribly lost, ended up in a hail storm (I guess that’s why we wear helmets) and was the last one back to the parking lot (made it easy to find my car). But for some reason I kept coming came back.

So maybe the reason more females don’t get into cycling is it’s intimidating. If that’s true, then it is our responsibilities as cyclist (male and female) to be more encouraging, inviting and accepting of the newbie riders. Not everyone would have come back for another club ride like I did. But I’m sure glad I did!!

Enjoy the ride,

Sheri