Cycling UK seeing sense

Cycling Weekly, those well known feminists!
Exhibit A from 2017 (when the image is approved).

I've written to CUK, to express my support for the women only awards, the importance of women only awards and please can they continue.

I still don't understand why some women (NAWALT 😉) are so keen to put men first. Mind you I also don't understand how people deny biology either!

My forthcoming book Suicidal Empathy further examines the descent to madness by highlighting the inability to implement optimal decisions when our emotional system is tricked into an orgiastic hyperactive form of empathy, deployed on the wrong targets. This is how the rights of a minuscule minority of trans women (i.e., biological males) trample the rights of actual women in athletic competitions. Gal Saad

Why do women take stances that cause damage to women as a group?

Suicidal empathy
a term used primarily in social and political commentary (coined by scholar Gad Saad) to describe an excessive or misdirected application of compassion that ultimately undermines a society's cohesion, values, and security.

@Camelos Criticism from Bikeability CEO is a big surprise. I'm quite shocked. She seemed pleased about being on the 100 Women in Cycling at the time. Was that on LinkedIn? I don't do LinkedIn (got nothing to link!), and can't see anything without an account.

I always thought that the 100 Women in Cycling was a list that couldn't last. 100 is a lot of women to find each year. It was nice to be on the list, but I really felt they must be scraping the barrel by including me! Horrid if it has to end on a note like this, but it was always going to be something with a limited timeframe. I wonder why Cycling UK felt the need to put a statement out about going with the SC judgement - very much doubt anyone would have noticed otherwise!

Yeah it’s all very disappointing. I’ve been following the various LinkedIn posts of women asking to be removed from this or previous year’s lists and congratulating each other on taking a moral stand of ‘standing up for all women’ and some of whom I genuinely like and respect. However just feel annoyed that they are essentially attempting to cancel the recognition of women’s achievements both this year and previous years. The silence elsewhere has been deafening, no one with any voice has stood up and defended it. Even, the CEO of Bikeability trust criticised but at least didn’t go as far asking to be removed herself.I did try on one closed group to defend Cycling UK and suggested it was likely a pragmatic decision but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

I think changing the awards in future to a diversity/community champion is probably the way to go as cycling does have a wider inclusion problem. Feeling very frustrated with the cycling industry just now - continually ignored by men and now I feel gaslit by the women over this.
I also feel pretty annoyed at the pile on particularly by the cycling media especially Cycling Weekly punching down when it is not really paragon of diversity and inclusion.

I truly don’t understand why these women are so blind to this issue. Emily Chappell was also an inspiration and role model to me, but I rarely have time to read her newsletters, so this one passed me by. I nominated six women this year for the Cycling UK list, and I know at least two of them will be featured. I will be so upset for them if their recognition is tainted by activists rejecting their places and tarnishing this important initiative. My guess is that this will be the last year it is delivered, and it will be even harder for women to see who they want to be.

@CyclingSam succinctly put! It's so frustrating that she can write NAMLT pieces like this https://emilychappell.substack.com/p/not-all-men but can't see (doesn't want to look?) behind the Scooby Doo mask.

@Brevet1000 PM sent! Yes, I'm disappointed in Emily too. I know my situation above is hypothetical, but only just for me and it may well have been an issue for other female LEL riders. The TIM I met (sounds like probably the same guy you met) was long gone by the time Emily was on the desk at Northstowe; had she been actually faced with putting him in a women's dorm, probably something would have clicked. Probably.
I feel so betrayed. As a cyclist, she was an idol for me. It's left me sick and emotional to think that she might have volunteered my consent.

Could you pm me the email address please.
Whilst aware of Ms Chappell’s position, her recent newsletter subjects around matters affecting the female body, led me to hope. Mistake clearly.
The LEL TIM was fairly obvious from a distance.

Example # N+1 that trans makes people stupid.

Sorry about the rant. I'm so cross.

In other news, I have been given a generic email address that will make it through to Cycling UK CEO, Sarah Mitchell. Is it a good idea to share here?

I don't really do social media - spend too much time riding my bike - so not sure if sharing the email address (it's a generic one, doesn't go to anyone in particular) is just likely to lead to even more unpleasantness for Cycling UK.

Omg, the hyperbole from Emily!

https://emilychappell.substack.com/p/setting-an-example

I’m genuinely a bit heartbroken that an organisation I care so much about has taken this step, which will unquestionably affect trans people’s access to the cycling community, at a time when they need it more than ever.
Emily, it is just a certificate. Even then, you have to request the certificate! I was thrilled to be on the list myself a few years ago. But it's not that deep. Being on the 100 Women in Cycling list isn't a permit to ride more miles. It's a list of women who have friends who have done nice stuff and who have clubmates who are good with their words. It's a very nice list, but it is just a list. That's it.

Most of the time, sex of riders doesn't matter on mixed-sex social club rides. On more competitive rides or audaxes I've been annoyed when a TIM has elbowed me out of an echelon or off a Strava top ten, but I suppose neither of those situations bother Emily.

You have to wonder what women like Emily do when faced with real situations where sex matters. Emily was on the desk for the women's dorms on London-Edinburgh-London at Northstowe this year. What would she have done, faced with one of the TIMs? Because there was certainly at least one TIM on LEL.

The clarity of language and availability of women's dorms was one thing that gave me confidence to give LEL a go this year (even if most of us didn't get very far). I very much doubt that Emily Chappell reads Mumsnet. But if you are reading, Emily, I would very much like to know what gives you the right to take my consent where it has not been given. What would you have done when you were sitting on the desk of the women's dorm overnight at Northstowe, if a TIM had asked for a bed? Would you have let a man, however he identifies, sleep in the women's dorm beside me?

I'm a member of Cycling UK (I used to be a member back in the early 1980s when it was still the Cyclists' Touring Club!) and have written to them to thank them as I understand that they are getting a lot of pushback from the TRAs.

Emily Chappell's position doesn't surprise me in the least. Lesbians are consistently the most vocal TRAs in my experience. Emily has also been consistently opposed to British Cycling's policy on trans athletes - perhaps she believes that just because she is faster than any man in her chosen discipline, then any woman who objects to men in their events should just try harder? Maybe Sarah Ruggins believes the same.

Yes it is a bit of a pile on mostly from women within the cycling community making statements of disappointment about this on LinkedIn or returning their awards from previous years.

I’ve written to the organisers to thank them because I bet they’re getting a pile on from the TAs.

Emily Chappell's newsletter was a lengthy essay on the subject.
Summary: what about the men. Horrid Cycling UK.

Seeing Sarah Ruggins on this thread is a massive disappointment. Hard to believe that she doesn't get it. Sigh.

I've written to Sarah Mitchell to thank her for Cycling UK's clear messaging. Makes me proud to be a CUK member!

I see Cycling Weekly are deleting at least some critical replies to the piece on their site; mine, for one. All I said was something like it was a welcome return to sanity.

Good news it's only a very small number of women protesting against Cycling UK following the law. I expect most are either quietly relieved or aren't bothered either way.

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/cycling-uk-100-women-in-cycling-trans-exclusion

@JamieCannister I remember BrokenBetty's wonderful posts, and while I initially survived despite coming out in that thread as GC, was later banned for it too. (Saga begins here though I don't expect everyone to be able to navigate my eclectic posting style.) Such a shame, as it could be a fun place (that's one of my old classifieds).

@Pharazon It's good to hear that most people you meet are relieved, though it would be better if they didn't feel they had to be quiet about it.

I'm afraid there is too little protection for single-sex spaces for my liking. By opening them up to trans and non-binary these are now essentially open to anyone, and what sex you are becomes meaningless. I can give lots of examples, including female clubs open to anyone who identifies as a woman, non-binary, etc, British Cycling Breeze programme adopts a similar policy, organisational guidance and policies describing so-called women's spaces as "women-plus" and now Cycling UK practically apologising for complying with the law. I appear to be the only woman in my professional network who is concerned about this, and I despair for the women of influence I see celebrating the women rejecting their place on the Cycling UK 100 Women in Cycling list because of the new policy.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. I don't live in London so that entire scene seems quite distant. My nearest tracks are Reading and Calshot and I don't see any of that attitude there at all, nor in Wessex CX league or our local road league, or at Preston Park, which being in Brighton you might expect to be a bit more right on.

In CX in particular we see enormous support for women and girls and the scene is thriving.

Yep @JamieCannister not surprised the Herne Hill bubble is involved. Lots of great stuff happens there, but its also a prime 'be kind to my trans child' location and a few personalities can have a big impact. LFGSS has always been bonkers, often very amusingly so, but its never been a place to go to for balanced discussion of women's issues.

I agree @Pharazon. Storm within a teacup and irrelevant nonsense to most riders. This stuff does tend to be given more significance than it deserves by advocacy orgs who are desperate to be seen to include everyone and often don't have strong enough leadership to hold the line. Hope that Cycling UK can.