Cyling is a male dominated sport..why?

ROK ON

Me@ucd. Your post is the type of attitude that gives any sport a bad name.

I know a lot of A4 riders who would murder most fit sportive type cyclist, but they are still A4.

Maybe the reality is that uf a sport us to grow and become atttavtive to both sexes that A4 is not enough. May e there should be an A5 that people can be in until the have done a season.
It would allow the fat and the week noobs to get some competitive action and want come back for more. I am a pretty competitive person but don't race. But the thing I hate a out cycling is the 'go hard or go home' attitude. That is not my idea of sport at a beginners level.

IM0

ROK ON wrote: »

Me@ucd. Your post is the type of attitude that gives any sport a bad name.

whooosh.. but thats ok, your entitled to opinion.

Junior

harringtonp wrote: »

With cycling, how many of you know of or have heard of women who have turned up for club Saturday/Sunday spins only to be dropped in the first few K and never come back again ? I know of a case of two. Not all clubs are like this but many are. And its sort of understandable as guys look forward all week to their weekend club spin and want to roll at a decent pace.

That happens every n00b on a club spin, it's not being sexist, it's just screw the n00b. No matter who you are, young old, ex-pro male or female. There is also the part that no matter how fit you are, if you've been riding on yer own for a long time nothing prepares you for the increase in pace from a group, the only way to get up to group pace is keep at it.

I've tried one cycle race, entered the A4 in whitechurch a few weeks ago. This is meant to be the "easiest" entry level category. I kept with the group for 3 of the 5 laps, then got dropped and finished the last 2 on my own. Didn't notice many others getting dropped, which meant on the day I was right near the bottom of the field. By comparison, did the TRI3 triathlon in Galway last week and my bike leg time was 10% of the way down the field. There were a lot of women participants and probably very few if any had a faster bike leg.

If you want to get competitive on a bike and you're not up to racing standard, then do Triathlons or Adventure races.

I don't understand your point here, should we lower the standard of racing to suit your level or should you try get fitter and race better ?

ROK ON

Junior wrote: »

I don't understand your point here, should we lower the standard of racing to suit your level or should you try get fitter and race better ?

No the standard should not be lowered at all. However if the sport wants to grow more lower standards should be added maybe. If you contrast with some other sports (say golf, junior soccer, GAA, junior rugby) there are very few levels that someone cannot play competitive sport at. Now I is I realise down to numbers, but maybe if say a handful of noob races were provided in every province it maight attract people in, who could then progress to A4. Say sports such rowing do not have these multitude of levels of competitveness.

As I said above, some of the A4s that I know are savage riders with a helluva lot of experience. Yet they are still lowly A4's. The noob is going to be slaughtered by these folks in most races. No one is saying that cycling should become easier, but it could become more accessible. A4 is a start, but maybe the level there is too much for some people who are starting and would like to race on a bike. However down to numbers so very much a chicken and egg thing.

zzzzzzzz

I think local club leagues provide a great stepping stone to open racing. You get to learn the basics of racing in smaller bunches, so it's a lot safer for people new to the sport.

I suppose it all depends on how well organised your club league is but I know I found the Orwell/Tiernans/Lucan/UCD/IRC one a great introduction to racing last year.

ROK ON

That's true. But orwell stagg usher are big clubs so a club league makes sense.

There are many parts of the country where it is open races only. I would have joined a club where I live but the three closest clubs don't AFAIK have a club league.

Bunnyhopper

me@ucd wrote: »

thats the harsh truth and seems to have been the way since at least the gladiators time. Its not just sport either, look at the army, male doninated it goes back to the beginning of time, men chased food/killed each other and women cooked it
I really dont mean to cause ANY offence with that seriously ladies Im all for women in sport and even kicking some guys asses more power to ye's, but the fact is there is a gender imbalance in practically everything in life, and thats just the way it is.

Also out training I see a significant amount of them and even a few seperate ones on their own, and in group rides there are lots.

As for the why [almost coming at it from the descrimination point of view OP] they simply dont want to and has NOTHING to do with whether there are not enough resources to support more women in racing/sport.

Its just the way it [shrug]

This strikes me as a very simplistic reading of the situation. Swap "the professions" in for "sport" and it strikes me that we're back in the 1970s:

seriously ladies Im all for women in the professions and even kicking some guys asses more power to ye's, but the fact is there is a gender imbalance in practically everything in life, and thats just the way it is.

...

As for the why [almost coming at it from the descrimination point of view OP] they simply dont want to and has NOTHING to do with whether there are not enough resources to support more women in the professions.

Its just the way it [shrug]

(You could probably lose the "almost" there, too.)

I know some might argue that sport depend on physical attributes more than competence as a lawyer, medic or senior executive does, but you don't have to go back too far to find arguments about women's unfitness for public or professional life because of inherent physical infirmity, anatomical feebleness of mind, etc. (The etymology of "hysteria" is a neat example.)

I'm not suggesting that you'd actually agree with any of that, me@ucd, but I still think that elements of your position are uncomfortably close to it. Like ROK ON, I'm entitled to my opinion, as are you: I just think we have better reasons for ours

onimpulse

I agree that there is generally greater male participation in sport than female however...

I'm in a triathlon club. If you turn up to the club run or swim sessions - the girls nearly outnumber the guys. Turn up to a club cycle, esp a long cycle & suddenly you can count the number of girls on one hand and the guys are out in force!