Women's inclusion in cycling clubs

[yello]

so why "must be able to average 12mph"

To give decent time for cake eating? Any true audaxer knows that!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Personally I have no interest in a group ride witha speed of 15 mph plus

My cycling is basically wandering around the countryside on my ebike so I can look at teh scenery, birds, animals and all that stuff

If I could fine a group that wanted the same thing (with or without motors) then I would love to give it a go - whether it is mainly women or men is not something I am really bothered about
Stops for tea and cake would also be a nice addition!!!

I have never heard of any like that near me - nor do I really know how to look other than a quick DuckDuckGo of it

I am not surprised that a lot of people say there is a lot of clubs that don;t really welcome female riders - I have seen the same in sailing clubs over the years = one place had a female member ship fee at 50% of the main member ship fee (see the concept there??) but they were 'expected' to lend a hand for the 'after sail' cakes and tea every weekend and very few, if any, women actually sailed.
Still - the cakes were nice!

 

[matticus]

Firstly, Audax UK uses a minimum speed of 10-12.5km/h for BPs, 15km/h for short BRs falling to 8⅓kph for long ones, and 12.5km/h for RMs, so the fastest minimum is less than 10mph so why "must be able to average 12mph"? https://audax.uk/about-audax/classifications/

Secondly, 15mph requires 68% more power than 12mph according to bikecalculator.com. I'd call that pretty different. As for "in a bunch" making it easier, I think it'd be 25% more power required even with perfect slipstreaming, and it wouldn't save that much because only a fool would ride in an unknown group without safe stopping distance in front of them (I definitely wouldn't, based on some of the awful cyclecraft I've seen from road clubs around here), plus that might not even be a gain because I think we don't know if DT rides audaxes alone or in small groups anyway.

This is barely worth answering, but anyway:
- Mr Trousers has completed events at the 15kph limit - the other stuff you quote is a distraction.
- No need to quote URLs - Mr Trousers and I both know the rules.
- If you average 15kph moving, you will not be validated, as you need some time for stops. Then add in some contingency - experienced riders are likely to finish most events with at least some time in hand. This is basic stuff!

And finally, the biggest factor - which I think I mentioned twice? - is terrain. Makes a huge difference to average moving speeds.

EDIT: this is a pointless argument, as we're talking about basically ONE rider and Cyclechat member! Irrelevant to the topic at hand.

 

[matticus]

p.s. you'll have to take my word for the 12mph ( -vs 10mph) thing - plenty of riders more experienced than me have come up with this estimate, it's not based on any equations, and I won't be giving you a citation. Please just listen to someone that has ridden a few audaxes, eh?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Always amuses me that the advertised average speed goes up as the distance goes up. No one runs a marathon faster than their 5k pace. Why is it in cycling clubs they seem to think longer distance merits trying to go faster.

A lot of led rides I’ve been on also seem to have no contingency for mechanicals / punctures. They haven’t thought about how the route can be shortened as necessary so the ride gets back by the advertised time.

i have started leading some rides in my local ctc at the longer distances but a slower pace of 11 mph. Introducing some riders to longer rides without demanding they up their pace as well. Maybe in spring I’ll up the average, but it’s a nice sociable pace for the winter months.

 

[fair weather cyclist]

Personally I have no interest in a group ride witha speed of 15 mph plus

My cycling is basically wandering around the countryside on my ebike so I can look at teh scenery, birds, animals and all that stuff

Same here.

I do most of my cycling training in the shape of structured workouts on trainerroad/zwift.

I ride outdoors only to have fun, breathe in some fresh air, and as a form or "endurance" workouts when speed doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is logging in the miles and try to keep my heart rate in zone 1-2.

I'd never join a club where I'd need to crank it up and sweat my ass off at 9am on a Sunday

 

[matticus]

Always amuses me that the advertised average speed goes up as the distance goes up. No one runs a marathon faster than their 5k pace. Why is it in cycling clubs they seem to think longer distance merits trying to go faster.

Yes, that seems to be an ever-present psychology of cycling clubs!
Completely at odds with distance riding. perhaps this is why "MAMIL" clubs aren't great nurserys for Audaxers ... !

 

[DCLane]

Always amuses me that the advertised average speed goes up as the distance goes up. No one runs a marathon faster than their 5k pace. Why is it in cycling clubs they seem to think longer distance merits trying to go faster.

Because they're aiming these at 'stronger' riders.

Similar to the op's better half I've had problems finding a local group for my son to ride with. My club's 17-18mph average 'fast' ride is too slow. Other groups and clubs won't take him because he's under 18 and/or their riders might be embarrassed (according to one response ).

It took one of his ex-coaches asking very nicely to the leader of another club's 20+ mph fast group to get a ride. Needless to say he went, coped fine, and has joined them as a thank-you. He takes a parental consent form with him and the ride leader has my contact details.

 

[I like Skol]

Oh dear oh dear!

Nearly three pages in and the thread has descended into the petty arguing and point scoring that infests the male cycling world.

I think it is patently obvious why many females and a lot of other cyclists don't want to be involved with 'proper' cycling clubs or 'proper' cyclists.......

 

[Dogtrousers]

Seeing as you're interested, I typically finish 200k audaxes in roughly 12 hours at a moving average of about 20kmh / 12.5 mph. Thereabouts. Ish. Or at least I used to, I've not done one for a couple of years.

I still think 15/16 mph is very fast for a ride advertised as being for beginners.

I have no problem with clubs having no rides in my speed range. They are just obviously not right for me.

 

[matticus]

Seeing as you're interested, I typically finish 200k audaxes in roughly 12 hours at a moving average of about 20kmh / 12.5 mph. Thereabouts. Ish. Or at least I used to, I've not done one for a couple of years.

I still think 15/16 mph is very fast for a ride advertised as being for beginners.

Oh sure, I wasn't quibbling with the latter! Just saying that 15-16 isn't *necessarily* as fast as I felt you were making out, relative to speeds that 200k riders are capable of ... hmmkay? :-)

 

[matticus]

Oh dear oh dear!

Nearly three pages in and the thread has descended into the petty arguing and point scoring that infests the male cycling world.

Don't worry - we don't want Your Sort anyway.

;- )

 

[PaulSB]

Oh dear oh dear!

Nearly three pages in and the thread has descended into the petty arguing and point scoring that infests the male cycling world.

I think it is patently obvious why many females and a lot of other cyclists don't want to be involved with 'proper' cycling clubs or 'proper' cyclists.......

What I find difficult to understand is how people have such a poor experience of clubs.

I've belonged to three over the past 27 years and I haven't encountered the issues described here. I would agree in relation to speed and/or distance it can be difficult to provide rides suitable for all members.

My club offers five weekend rides which vary in speed averages from 12/13 mph to 20+ and distance between 27 and 80+. There are those who consider we should introduce a sixth. This arose because the group which used to ride at 14/15 has improved to 16/17 (same riders) leaving a wide gap for the 12/13 riders to bridge. The problem from the club's perspective is just how many rides can we manage?

 

[Dogtrousers]

What I find difficult to understand is how people have such a poor experience of clubs.

One of the reasons you & I have good experience of clubs may be we've been lucky and have chosen good clubs.

Another, relevant to this thread, may be that we are male.

 

[PaulSB]

One of the reasons you & I have good experience of clubs may be we've been lucky and have chosen good clubs.

Another, relevant to this thread, may be that we are male.

The first sentence is very probably true.

I don't know quite how to express the next bit. I'm sure being male is relevant but not in relation to point scoring etc.

I've some knowledge of the entry barriers for women and I'm going to post separately later. Two reasons for leaving it; to ensure I express myself properly and secondly to separate my points from a post about club quality.