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How many women here have raced in the past 2 years? (tri doesn't count)


How many women might want to try racing? (again, tri doesn't count)

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I'd like to try racing, but I don't really know where to start. Any suggestions? Or are you trying to get a group together?
I'm still seeing races that only have 5-10 women in the field (regardless of what Liz Hatch is doing for women's cycling). e.g. The Glencoe Grand Prix womens 1,2,3 and Pro races had a field of about 11. The official, when talking to the women at the beginning of the race said, "I'm not gonna pull any of you." The reason: such a small field.

Anyways. I'm just encouraging ya'll to get to it.

It's cyclocross season. Time to buy a bike and start gettin muddy, cold and sweaty!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrcLdn4nJAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnSgZ8IB7Hc&feature=related

If you promise to start racing I promise to stay and cheer you on during the race. I will even buy an extra cowbell.
Do you want to be the team manager/trainer? That would be great ... tell me what to do and I'll do it :)
*chuckle*

That'd be funny. I'm happy to ride with ya though.

corinne said:
Do you want to be the team manager/trainer? That would be great ... tell me what to do and I'll do it :)
I've considered it but have never done it. I'm mildly curious as to how I'd stack up against other women and I've been meaning to jump on a xXx or other team ride to see, but again... just haven't done it yet.
I'd be interested in testing my speed against others too though I fear I would be blown away. I have thought of doing an xXx ride but having to change a tire in 5 minutes scares me. I can change it that fast, but can't necessarily find what flattened it that quickly. That's the hard part!
J, that sounds great - more info please
Hey just thought I'd post to this (only seemed fiting)

Get a Grip Cycles is looking female athletes interested in an all women's racing team. I have details in the Wanted: A few good women post.

Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Novices interested in racing next year should look into joining a club now, as spots are often limited and some teams have winter training programs.

Besides Get a Grip, Half Acre and my team are also recruiting right now. Kenda, ABD, Apache, Alberto's, xXx, and Tower also have women's programs. St. Louis-based Revolution has an elite women's development program. WDT is looking to start a women's team this year.

Each club has a slightly different approach and flavor... many are focused on masters racing. Some have coaching and group training, others don't. Many teams have one or two lone women racers, but in general the W3 and W4 categories are pretty small in Chicagoland. Hopefully this will be changing a bit in 2009.
I did a cross race this past summer. Craziness, let me tell you. It was super tiny in Valpo??
Hey,

If one decides to check out Alberto's one might want to speak to Francine Haas. I've known her (and her husband Brian Haas) since 1999 they're superb people. Both have worked with Vision Quest and both kick ass.

http://albertoscycles.com/chick_train.html
Yeah I'm with Tommie on getting into it with cyclocross. It's such a good vibe and the fields pretty much get strung out right from the get-go so there's no need to fear being the one person who fell off the pace and is riding around in circles by herself. At our Jackson Park CX race, there were 4 women I know personally who were doing their first race ever and each had a blast, planning on doing more.

The good news is that indeed there are a lot of women's programs in the area. Join a team if only to dip your toes into it. You'll find like minded women who will be enthusiastic about helping you figure stuff out.

Of course I'm biased, but I think xxx is a great place to start. For more info, come to a meeting (1st monday of every month @ goose Island on Clybourn), or email our women's program director Gigi: gigi@xxxracing.org. In '08 we had over 30 women on the team.

And yes do come out and try out our Sat ride. Really it's not that intimidating. Yes we'd like you to be able to change a flat in 5 minutes, but if you can't (you should learn), someone will help you out. True you may be riding next to pro's and elites, but they are on the ride to help noobs figure it out.

This fall you'll find Webcor pro and current U23 World TT Champion (former xxx'r) Rebecca Much out regularly on the ride and she's as happy as anyone to help you find your groove in a paceline.

I'm always happy to answer questions about our ride, our team in general, so don't hesitate to holler. If you come out on a ride, say hi.

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