The wheels of women's cycling are turning
by Pip Read
As well as being a competitive cyclist I devote my spare time as a committee member to both the Victorian Masters' Commission and the CycleSport Victoria Women's Commission. I am also a member of the St Kilda Cycling Club's Training and Safety committee.
The women's commission advises CycleSport Victoria (the state's cycling body) on all matters to do with masters' racing, which includes road and track racing. One of the main reasons for my involvement with the women's commission is to further the case for women cyclists to compete in cycle racing and to encourage as many women as possible to come and compete.
The women's commission has worked quite hard to improve women cyclists' lot over the past 12 months and I think any of you who attended the 2007 Australian Masters' Road Championships would have noticed improvements to facilities and the program. Having said that, we still have a way to go. The biggest stumbling block we have at the moment is numbers. To put it plainly the more women who compete the more clout we have on the commission. Some of our advances in 2007 included equal prize money with the men's categories; separate medals for each age group and reasonable race distances.
My involvement with the masters' organization came about following the 2006 Australian Masters' Road Championships. I just happened to mention to a fellow competitor that we, as organization of women cyclists, appeared to have difficulty in attracting women to the sport of cycle racing. Within a few weeks I found myself invited to a masters' commission meeting and within a few meetings I was involved in helping to organise the 2007 event.
To be a masters' competitor you need to fall into one of the following age group categories: MAS.1 - 30/35; MAS.2 - 35/39; MAS.3 - 40/44; MAS.4 - 45/49; MAS.5 - 50/54; MAS.6 - 55/59; MAS.7 - 60-64; MAS.8 - 65/69; MAS.9 - 70+
In Victoria we have a road and track series that runs for the season with aggregate points being scored for each race entered. This is not calculated in age groups but as an overall result. There is a marked difference in competitor numbers between men and women's categories.
After the 2007 Australian Masters Road Championships Lawrence Maskill, Liz Randall and I started talking about how we could go about attracting more women to cycle racing. At the same time CSV were considering the same question. Much talking to many people and lots of coffee and cakes followed (thanks for the extra kilos Lawrence!) and things starting happening.
We firstly held a well-attended forum from which we received great feedback and some quite interesting ideas. We have just finished the first track skills series and are about to conduct another with better than expected promised attendance and great feedback. The next item on the agenda is the road racing side of our sport with the 'Try-a-Cri' series aimed at women who would like to try a criterium. CSV women's commission will be running a series of five events at various club circuits with a breakfast ride to the last 'Try-a Cri' early next year. At this stage participants will only need a 'Ride-It' licence. More details will be available shortly. Keep an eye on the CSV website www.vic.cycling.org.au
The Australasian Masters games are held biannually. The last was in Adelaide earlier this month. Checkout the website - it gives you a great insight into the depth of talent in the masters' categories in a variety of sports. http://www.australasianmasters.com
For more details on the masters' organization check out its link on the Vic cycling website above.
The wheels of women's cycling are turning and if you have been thinking of having a try at racing, now is a very good time.
For those of you not residing in Victoria your State cycling organization also has women's cycling events organised throughout the year, including come and try days. There are also links to various State masters' organisations on these sites. Go to: www.qld.cycling.org.au ; www.nsw.cycling.org.au ;www.act.cycling.org.au ; www.wa.cycling.org.au ; www.sa.cycling.org.au or www.tas.cycling.org.au
Just as an aside - Have you ever been at a loss for words when talking to non-cyclists about why you are so passionate about this pastime/sport? I have. I noticed this on the web the other day, had a bit of a giggle and thought you might like it (so I nicked it!).
To explain why you gladly get up at 4:30am each weekday morning to ride your road bike for three hours on an entirely unremarkable road: "You know how you have to drive your car in stop-and-go traffic to get to work every morning? Well, imagine if you didn't have to stop. And imagine your car going as fast as you can make it go. And imagine starting the day feeling perfect. It's kind of like that."
To explain why you pay $200 to participate in a race you have very little chance in winning: "Ever play the lotto? It's like that, except much, much more so."
Hope you are all well and riding heaps.
Cya
Pip