Last Sunday (October 4) was the final installment in the women’s-only 2009 Intro to Women’s Cycling and Racing Teams Series. This series is held during WSBA’s Fall Meet the Team season, with a focus on safe bicycle riding and an introduction to bicycle racing in a women’s-only environment.
Gina Kavesh explains all there is to know about women’s bike racing in 5 minutes or less.
Before the ride, Gina Kavesh gave a brief talk about bicycle racing opportunities for women, and members from some of the teams gave brief pitches about their teams. Before rolling out, Gina discussed safe group riding skills and and along with a couple of volunteers did a paceline demonstration.
Pre-ride briefing: Gina Kavesh talks through paceline basics.
The ride started in Leschi, looped around the southern end of Lake Washington, and had an optional loop around the south end of Mercer Island. The complete ride was about 30 miles. During the ride I chatted with a number of newcomers, and none of them had any racing experience or even any group riding experience, but all were enthusiastic about developing their cycling skills. During the ride, Gina rolled back and forth through the group and coached riders on their cycling body position and paceline technique. A couple of other racers helped with coaching duties as well.
I took limited consolation when Gina identified me as “the token guy” for the day, and after I took a pull on the front she mumbled something to the effect that I “would make a good girl racer.” To my credit, my hairy legs are stunning in a skirt.
Post-ride, Gina provided some background about the history of this ride as well as the Meet the Team season in general:
Prior to the invention of the Meet the Team season, and before the Internet, riders interested in racing had to do a bit of sleuthing to find information about bike racing teams–calling bike shops for potential leads, seeing someone in a team kit (uniform) & asking them for more information, and checking (paper versions of) the local race calendar to find races. More often than not it was a matter of luck, and someone interested in racing would accidentally stumble into a team meeting spot or know someone who was a racer, and then end up joining their friend’s team.
Gina noted that prior to the advent of the Meet the Team series there were a lot more unattached riders.
The original Meet the Team rides were started in ’99 (?) by Northwest Women’s Cycling (NWWC–an organization started by Wendy Wahl to promote/advocate more women in cycling), and were originally oriented just towards women. By 2000 or 2001 the rides turned into what they are today, with all teams participating in a non-gender specific manner.
The current version of the women’s only Sunday rides started in 2006 and is based on the original intent of the Meet the Team rides, with the added bonus of some coaching in basic cycling skills. The initial impetus for the women’s-only rides came from members of Union Bay Cycling (Formerly Wines of WA and now Bikesale.com) who were trying to figure out how to get more women to consider their team instead of Team Group Health, which was attractive because it was a women’s only squad. As the various parties talked about it, the more it seemed like the series should be become a project that would support the growth of the entire women’s peloton.
The women regroup before a lap around Mercer Island.
During the ride Martha Walsh told me that it was initially difficult to get folks just to show up, but now it’s become quite the social scene. I estimate there were about 50 riders total on Sunday.
The all-girl aspect appeals to new riders. “The original Meet the Team rides were geared towards women-only, but by the second year folks realized it was a great way to recruit riders of both genders, and the women’s-only focus went away. This left a void that the women’s-only rides now clearly fill–a less intimidating way to entice women to explore the ‘racing’ part of the sport.”
According to Gina: “We have intentionally designed these rides to be about learning to ride smarter, safer, and in a group environment rather than merely having a racer-only orientation. The goal is for participants to learn and practice some basic group riding skills, which in turn can make cycling so much more fun. IF a few decide to jump in and try bike racing it’s a bonus.” In fact, all the newcomers I spoke with were very keen on joining a team and they already had teams in mind.
Gina also thinks that the Meet the Team series in general is helping to break down some of the stereotypes about bike racers. “The most common feedback I get besides ‘oh my god it’s so much fun to ride in a group’ is the ‘Wow you girls are all so nice – my husband/friend/co-worker told me that all bike racers were thus & such (not fit to print), and everyone today has been so helpful, nice, supportive and I’ve learned so much!’ This is ultimately what this ride is all about–helping women become better and safer riders.”
As long as I continue to be invited along as the lone “token guy”, I hope the women’s-only series has a long life.
Old enough to know better: Martha Walsh and Gina Kavesh–the mothers of Washington women’s cycling.
