One of the key objectives of the Syracuse Bicycle Women’s Race Team is to grow bicycle racing for women. But, what would women’s bicycle racing be if not for the next generation? After all, there are only so many 30 to 100 year old women to recruit! Our job would not be complete if we were not also making a concerted effort to encourage girls to embrace racing (or even just riding!) on two wheels. A 2015 report published by the League of American Bicyclists found that there were four main barriers that prevented women from cycling:
Perception of safety: Fear, inexperience, confidence in one’s body, poor or lack of infrastructure
Logistics: Office facilities, preparedness, gear, time commitment, bike storage
Social norms and expectations: More responsibilities as a mother/woman, bike shop intimidation, street harassment, professionalism, misconceptions about femininity and athleticism, double standards for men and women, hardcore-ism, social status
Social support: Less access to supportive and encouraging friends and family that already bike and want to share biking
Overcoming these barriers for the next generation can be done is so many ways: stopping to talk to or assist girls just learning to pedal, always showing up to cheer on the junior division at races, encouraging a neighbor’s daughter to bike more, teaching a girl to change a tire, lending a spare bike, or volunteering to mentor or coach these young women. The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) dreamt up their own version of this in 2018: Women’s Mountain Biking Day, which falls on the first Saturday of May every year.
Several years ago, I began to volunteer as a coach with CNY Composite and sb Kids on Bikes junior teams. CNY Composite is a spring mountain bike team through the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and sb Kids on Bikes is a fall cyclocross-centered program. When these teams were first formed in 2014 there were only 10 children registered. In 2021, over 60!
As Women’s Mountain Biking day approached, I hatched a plan with the fearless leaders of our CNY Composite NICA team to organize a “girls ride” that didn’t just include the female coaches and student athletes; but also moms, daughters, friends, and sisters of those involved with the team. In Central New York early May can yield beautiful weather……..or snow. It became readily apparent that Mother Nature was NOT going to cooperate on May 1, 2021. Snow was in the forecast for the night before the ride and the temperature at our 9:00 AM start time was expected to be hovering around 35 degrees. Not exactly the ideal weather to encourage and empower new mountain bikers! However, a total of fifteen ladies showed up! Considering the weather and the fact it was a NICA New York race weekend and many families were at a race hours away I could not have been happier with the turnout.
All our student athletes, coaches, and guests shredded 6 miles and almost 500 feet of climbing at Green Lakes State Park that included some rocky, root-laden singletrack. Quite a feat for those in the group who were new to mountain biking! It was the best feeling to see how proud the moms were of their kids and what skills they demonstrate every week on two wheels. Everyone left feeling accomplished and empowered. Something I hope to repeat every Women’s Mountain Biking Day – but with better weather!
Commentaires