H2H feedback from the Ladies

[mandi]

Great post Kathi!

I agree with combining the Cat 2 classes. Since we go off together, I've always had the mind-set that I was racing every single lady out there anyway... regardless of age. (mostly because you 40+ ladies look damn good and I never know if you're in my age group or not 😉 ) It would at least make the fields bigger then what they are now.

I also think that the pre-rides help bring girls into the sport. Last year I went to the Jungle pre-ride (held by the Campmor ladies) not knowing any women & with no racing experience under my belt. It was great for me to meet new people and not feel so intimidated racing. Funny to reflect on how much changes in a year! Now I couldn't imagine NOT racing.

 

[Mare]

Generally speaking, there is a small group of women who even ride MTBs compared to the men. It's a man's sport. That being said, we are getting more women to MTB, but racing adds an extra element of intimidation.

More women would be nice to race against, but it's not easy to just make that happen. That being said, maybe more pre-rides (but make it clear you don't have to be a racer to do the ride (I think Pixy already does this)) would be good because it will attract women who may be new to biking and they will discover on a pre-ride that they want to actually try racing. As it is now though I think Pixy does a great job offering the pre-rides and rides in general for women.

I only did one H2H race this year and I had fun as always...no complaints on my end. I don't race much these days simply because I am wrapped up with other things...not because of anything that I think should be different.

 

[pedals]

Thinking about this thread last night. There's a lot said about combining the cat 2 class. I'd love to race against more women my age, but the truth is that if we truly want to encourage more women in that age group, then asking them to race against women in their 20s and 30s will be even more of an intimidation. The average girl who is mountain biking and is 40+ isn't a spin instructor, has a coach to work with,or putting in hrs. of training. We want to welcome them, not scare them away.

 

[chemgirl]

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 +++.

Heidi, you said this perfectly! About both racing and prerides. I think a lot of us race to get in an awesome workout. I know I'm not capable of going out alone and pushing myself as hard as I would in a race. Not to mention that racing is a heck of lot more fun.

Group rides are wonderful and the Campmore women do a great job with these. I would have never started racing if I hadn't started riding with other women and developed that "Well if she can go over that log, I can too" attitude. Amongst the groups that sponsor these races, are there women from each that would offer pre-race rides? I know Campmore and members of the board offer prerides, but maybe the organizers themselves can stir up interest?

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.
Kathi

Kathi, great point and I'm proof of it. With 2 jobs and 3 kids, juggling time to train is a job itself. The road offers more in way of both competition and opportunity. My heart is a mtber though, and if I had comparable opportunities on both road and mtb, I would choose mtb.

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?

That's a start or even advertisements in shops. When I first started mtbing I never knew of H2H and never saw it advertised. Only through word of mouth did I eventually hear about it. Never saw even a mention of it in any of the Hunterdon County shops.

 

[pixychick]

Thanks for all the feedback ladies!

 

[courtney]

Will H2H ever have chip timing? There was a long gap in between the last race and the final results to be posted. If there was a dispute now that process would be prolonged too. Chip timing would make everything so much better and lessen human error. In the MASS results are pretty instant and you can see lap time etc.