H2H feedback from the Ladies

[pixychick]

It's about that time of year to reflect back on this past year. If you have any feedback on your racing experience as a woman, please feel free to post up here or PM me direct if you prefer. The race series may not be perfect for all women, but I do like to hear from you to make sure most are getting a positive race experience. Anything from class structure and courses to pre-rides.

Thanks!

 

[RacerChick]

Way more women need to be involved in MTB racing, not sure how to go about this. It could be that it's just at a low right now, times have changed. Possibly deeper prize payouts with cool prizes. An open class for each category. I know racing against 1 or 2 other competitors in the 40+ class isn't much fun. Different courses for the women, I know in Cat 2 some are out racing for close to 3 hours, don't know Pixy.

 

[Robin]

I know this has been a topic of discussion in the past - why more girls don't go out for the races. I am not sure if it's some feel intimidated...too busy...or just not interested.

I think the pre-rides definitely help - especially when its posted as a "girls ride" - I know that I sometimes get nervous if I don't know who I'm riding with/will slow down a group. I really benefited from the Campmor ladies showing me around.

Prizes/schwag is always good when you are on the podium, or even top 5 - even if its a water bottle!!

 

[chainsaw]

It's about that time of year to reflect back on this past year. If you have any feedback on your racing experience as a woman, please feel free to post up here or PM me direct if you prefer. The race series may not be perfect for all women, but I do like to hear from you to make sure most are getting a positive race experience. Anything from class structure and courses to pre-rides.

Thanks!

My two cents?

I think more women led pre-rides would of course be great. I would definitely be willing to help more with this.

Don't think we need different courses, do not need to be singled out any more already as "special needs riders" do we? If any cat 2's find 3 hours too long, perhaps they should stay cat 3's, it is an endurance sport. In my very humble opinion.

There definitely needs to be more publicity and more support targeted at women riders. Most active gals nowadays seem to be into tri's. Let's get some of them to join us!

On a side note: howsabout starting the cat 1s at 8:00 for a change? maybe right before the Cat 3s? That would shorten up the time the races are taking up the venue and I know for MY family, it would be nice if these events did not take up the ENTIRE day! sometimes we're getting home to the kids at 7pm on sunday nights! it's killer!

oh, and pixychick, can you change my thing from Beginner to Cat 1?

thanks for all you do pixychick! see you at the awards dinner!

 

[Robin]

At first I thought Mr. Chainsaw replied to this...then realized it was Chainsaw...lol.

 

[Pokgirl]

Same request as about one year ago -
Combine cat 2 women classes like what happened with Cat 1, except perhaps for the juniors. Or go back to drawing the over/under category line at age 35. Yes, swag would be nice. Maybe one cat 2 category, with prizes 5 deep, like Robin said.

 

[pixychick]

Thanks, This is great so far .. keep it coming.

 

[RacerChick]

Same request as about one year ago -
Combine cat 2 women classes like what happened with Cat 1, except perhaps for the juniors. Or go back to drawing the over/under category line at age 35. Yes, swag would be nice. Maybe one cat 2 category, with prizes 5 deep, like Robin said.

Hey Pokie Prizes 5 deep along with cool prizes was my idea! If there was a new Coach bag waiting for the winner, I'd damn sure take you out! :getsome:

Thanks, This is great so far .. keep it coming.

Pix, I've been thinking so much my head hurts! Also check out my new "Baking thread" here http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24326 it already got stepped on!

 

[cmg]

I'm a girl who rides my MTB all the time but don't race all that much...mostly because I've been focusing on longer races (50-100 miles) but partly because there's so few women out there to race against...and I don't know how to change this...I think racing is intimidating to a lot of people, not just women...I think that the misconception is that races are full of really technical riding and one needs expert skills at all times during a race...that's really only true at blue and waway for the most part...so how do we communicate to the non racers among us that races are fun and it's ok if you walk some sections and that the important thing is to get out there and try and have fun! I think that's a fundamental issue...I do my best to encourage friends to take the leap but more often than not, they choose to keep riding and not sign up for the races..

And I would probably race cat 1 if they didn't start at the end of the day....I have to teach the youth America on Monday morning and need to not be getting home from a race late in the day...

Anyway, hope my comments are helpful and I'm hoping to get a tour of away one of these days that includes the Buddha trail...I don't know my way around well enough to find it....

 

[Pokgirl]

Hey Pokie Prizes 5 deep along with cool prizes was my idea! If there was a new Coach bag waiting for the winner, I'd damn sure take you out! :getsome:

That would be interesting swag... bags and shoes!

 

[Eileen]

I think that the Cat 2 could be combined into one age group. There aren't too many in 40+ so we might as well race together and have some more competition. Otherwise I would say leave everything else as is. The ladies rides are awesome, especially when I was just starting out.

I've spent way too much time injuring myself over the past couple years instead of racing, this thread is getting me pumped for next year!!

 

[jackie]

hi ellen,
i did the bagels & bacon #1 which was the first off road race i had done in many moons. i had no idea what to expect since i literally had to dust off the spider eggs from my not so current mtn bike, not to mention i had no idea the last time i had ridden the poor thing. I signed up since it was close to home, the road season was over, and it was called short track which i thought was just a dirt crit with maybe a couple of things thrown in.basically i was wrong, it was really a mtn bike race but just happened to be a short loop. it was the hardest thing i had done in a while.

all facets of bike racing face a similar challenge when it comes to developing female racers,juniors, and entry level racers. i think the first place a positive experience starts is not with the course, not with the pre-ride, not with prizes but with the rider itself. a person who rides needs to make the decision of, do i want to race and do i want to be a racer ? this applies to males or females. if they make the decision this is what hey want then COMMIT to it and stop with the lame excuses. at bagels & bacon#1 i think there were 7 women pre-reg and there were not 7 starters - where were they all ?

Since I only did the one race I thought it was really good that they offered a womens race at all, and gave equal payout to the top 3 male & female, well equal merchandise. The only thing I notice with off road is they have alot a catagories. when there is only like one and two in a catagory I think combining catagories is better so there is a bigger field. They can still be scored seperately but send them off at the same time. the less experienced riders can learn and be challenged by the stronger riders which will help them improve. Maybe have a womens clinic in the off season or on a weekend where there is no racing.

 

[dnap]

I'd like to see an open category for Cat 2 like they have in Cat 1. Maybe keep a separate juniors category, but I think they should have the option to race open if they like also. Not all ladies aspire to move up to Cat 1, so having the field larger in Cat 2 will keep things fresh and competitive for all of the ladies who do want to continue to participate each year without racing the same 2 or 3 ladies all of the time.

I like swag as much as the next gal. At one of the races I think they went 5 deep with a variety of swag options. That was pretty cool.

 

[chemgirl]

For me, the reason I've stopped racing mtb (I did maybe 3 this yr, only 1 H2h) is the lack of women. On the road, and now with cross, I can line up at the start line with 20+ women, we just dont see that on the mtb bike. I love to race, i would race every weekend if i didnt kids, but I'm not traveling and spending an entire day to race against 5 women. I'm not necessarily winning either, but I still race, so the importance of swag is nil to me.

I think Cat 2 should be combined. I'll be in the 40+ category next year, for that reason alone I have no plans to race mtb. That category is way too small. I would rather get beat by someone half my age than race against 4 people. I would also probably race Cat 1 if the start time was different. I think there are several of us that fall in between that cat 1-cat 2 that choose cat 2 for time convinence.

Hopefully more women will start coming out. I wish I had the answer how to spark interest but I don't. We have to keep spreading the word.

 

[Kathi K]

I think races are too long. I raced xc years back and loved it. I would race xc, but I don't really have the time to train for a 2.5 - 3 hour cat 1 race. And even if I do cat 2 - I'm still out for 2-2.5 hours. Just not the type of fun I'm looking for. It's not fun - it becomes just survival. If the fields were more competitive, longer races might make sense, but once the fields are all strong out, it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Pokgirl]

I've always thought it a weird thing in biking that as you move up in category, the races get longer. You have no choice to race stronger riders but not go longer. Not the case for other sports I participate in such as running and swimming. In those cases, you choose your distance, and everyone competes. But then again, there are not categories in those sports. As Snooki says, "Waddaya gonna do?"

 

[pedals]

I'd like to see more women racing too. Getting together w/ the girls for pre rides is 1/2 the fun. I've only been racing 2 years, so I still have so much to learn. Cat 2 has been a challenge, but one I've welcomed.--Yes, it's survival. I don't have a lot of time to train, but the racing gives me incentive to be healthier. I found that I feel a bond with the girls who race.We are very supportive of each other and I think of them as friends first,competitors second. If the girls who don't race could only realize that, maybe more would give it a shot.

As far as combining the cat 2--It doesn't matter. We always go off together anyway. I do wish there were more in our 40+ group though.

 

[Pokgirl]

Oh, a comment on lack of time and training...

I have several friends that agree with me... we race to get fit. There's no way you can push yourself as hard as you would in a race. It's the best training program IMO.

And when I was starting out, riding with other women definitely helped my confidence. When I rode behind a more experienced rider, I would always think, "Well if she can go over that log, I can too." Women group rides and prerides are definitely a +++.

 

[Kathi K]

I still think the races are too long. Even if I had the time, I'm makes no sense for me to race for 3 hours. If I go to nationals or master's worlds - my race is around 1.5 hours and that's what I would train for.

If you want to bring women into the sport, make it more fun, make the courses a length that laps can be adapted for different distances more easily for the different categories to keep the fields somewhat closer together. After all, it is a race - it's nice to be able to be somewhat close to your competitors. (9 mile race loops may be easier scoring for the promoters, but makes it much harder to adjust distances for the different categories.)

Don't put a cat 3 racer out on a course for 1.5 hours or longer if you want them to come to the next race. 45 minutes is enough - if even that long (30 minutes can be a good enough into for a total newbie). Cat 2 races should be about 1.5 hours and then 2 hours for cat 1/pro. That's how it was back in the day - and the women's fields were bigger. Even if I raced pro xc I would only be training for a 2 hour race - so why the death marches locally?

How many people quit after Cat 2 because they don't want to race for 3 hours? Now we lose women racers to cyclocross and road because they can go race and be done in a reasonable time, socialize and still get home at a reasonable hour. We're dealing with women who not only work full time, but have children and family responsibilities - let's think about that too. If we don't cater to the women, we lose them to other cycling disciplines that are more friendly to those trying to balance many different roles. I know many that post here have children to take care of too.

I've been around this sport for a very very long time. I hate to see the smalll fields out there - even though there has been some revival, we still need to make changes to bring the women's fields up to the levels they should be at.

I'm sorry - I don't mean to go on - thanks for listening,
Kathi

 

[ellenserruto]

I wish I could drum up some enthusiasm for our sport among some of the very
"fit" women I know in my community however there seems to be fear of the unknown holding them back.
If riding was legal in So Mt I am sure I could show the trails to women in the community & get some interested in racing but for now they stick to the road.
Ironically, those who are fearful of giving the dirt a chance are riding the most dangerous roads around Essex Co.!
H2H for women could welcome more participants with a training ride series and publicity. . how about press releases to the community newspapers & online patches to create awareness?