Yesterday was installment #1 of 3 of the annual Intro to Women’s Cycling and Racing Teams series. Alas, one side benefit of producing this blog is that it gives me an excuse/opportunity to occasionally ride with 30 women.
These rides are similar to other WSBA Meet the Teams rides, but are for women only, and each ride is attended by representatives from the women-only teams and teams that include women. While the Seattle-area women’s peloton has enjoyed quite a bit of growth over the past few years, there are inherent challenges in maintaining a deep field of women racers.
Given that male cyclists mostly have shaved legs and are decked out in tight-fitting lycra, it always surprises me how intimidating cycling in general, and racing in particular can feel. All that macho bluster creates barriers that turn off members of both genders who would otherwise love to take their cycling to the next level. Gina Kavesh has observed that it can take years from the time a woman decides she wants to get serious about racing until she actually tries a race.
These rides offer a supportive entry point into the Seattle area women’s racing community. As one of the women told me during the ride, “men and women do things differently; cycling with men (and men racers in particular) feels Darwinian…if you can’t hang with the group you are on your own.”
Even if you aren’t quite ready to race, this series is a great opportunity to connect with other women cyclists. The ride includes a clinic on some basic cycling skills including pacelines, riding a straight line, and racing tactics/techniques. Depending on turnout, the ride is broken up into smaller groups (about 30 women were on Sunday’s ride, and we broke into groups as small as 4-5 depending on where we were in the route) to keep things safe. On the other hand, the ride does include an optional “hot lap” around the south side of Mercer Island that is a high-speed opportunity to test your legs against some of the fastest women cyclists in Seattle.
Dates: September 30, and October 7 (Sundays).
Time: 9:00 AM at Pert’s Deli in Leschi. Prepare to be on the road by 9:10 AM.
Route: A loop around the south end of Lake Washington
For more information contact Gina Kavesh: gkavesh [at] gmail.com
