Women in cycle clubs - is this the norm?

[CharlotteBog]

I have recently joined our local cycle club (medium sized town) in order to get some longer distances in.
Their main big ride is on Sunday morning. I have been the only woman on both rides.
They have a 'Ladies Ride' which goes 9am in the week, which I wouldn't be able to do.

I'm not bothered by being the only woman, my main concern was to check the speed.

Is it not so common for cycle groups to be mixed or is my teeny sample not representative.

Just curious.

The clubs I know in our area have several club rides based on average speed. You do tend to find the fastest group is mainly youngish men of course but the other groups tend to be pretty mixed. Overall there are more men and women in cycling clubs I suppose so group rides will tend to be have more make riders but I wouldn't say it's the norm for rides to be segregated by sex.

Often very few women in my experience, I'd say 10% or less generally.

Thanks. No, they're not segregated, it's just that there is a Ladies Ride on Friday morning. The Sunday rides are for everyone.

We have women on most of our rides but definitely a minority particularly in the faster groups - I've been the only woman with 10+ men on some. I'm not sure if we do a women's ride or not (it's likely to be slower than I want to go and/or not at a time that really suits me so I don't really check!)

Our Sunday social ride is for all and will be a mix but as the club generally has more men than can also be the case here.

There are other rides aimed at an average speed and there are no women usually join the fastest group , maybe one or two in the next group down and then as the speed goes down the women get more in number and the men get more in age!!

The slowest groups are predominantly women with the odd much older man.

Id just check you aren’t forcing the group to slow to your speed if that’s slower than their usual and if you are new and have joined without checking their aims but if its a social ride or you can keep up regardless then you are good to go and enjoy!

Id just check you aren’t forcing the group to slow to your speed if that’s slower than their usual and if you are new and have joined without checking their aims but if its a social ride or you can keep up regardless then you are good to go and enjoy!

Oh I checked all this before I put my foot on my pedal!
I joined the social ride that was slower than my usual average pace, though the mileage was more than I'm used to. I fell off my cleats. Twice. That was the biggest noob flag.

If I stick with them I would prob be OK in the next faster group, but it would be more of a challenge for sure.

I think it's a positive thing for a club to have a separate women's only ride - mine does, we have two a week. I don't go as the midweek one is too slow and the other tends to be difficult around family commitments. In my experience it is 'nice' as it can be a more chilled out space, more welcoming to beginners. Some women will only go on a 'women's only' ride as they perceive the general rides as too fast (which they aren't). I'd like to think it's a positive step for a club to offer this as it's perhaps indicative that the committee have thought about how to get more women involved.

I am inclined to agree, though as a newbie to the cycle club I don't feel qualified to give an informed opinion.

I know running and swimming and other sports have sessions just for women.

The social rides I have been on have not been at all competitive, or sneery. The way I see it, if the club clearly states the average pace, the distance and the number of stops then anyone should feel free to join.

Anyone can join any ride at my cycling club as long as they can do the required distance and pace. A couple of us sometimes test ourselves with the fastest group if its not too long and hilly, but mostly ride in the next group down. The mid group can quite often see 50:50 men/women though of course not always. The slower categories are quite female heavy. Remember you need to be a very good woman to go at the speed of a decent bloke because of genetics so it is natural for the women to trend slightly slower. We also run a womens only ride because whilst women are generally well represented in the club anyway, sometimes you want to be able to just discuss things on the ride that you wouldn't with some of the guys, and it can provide a less intimidating barrier to newer riders joining. There's definitely a different vibe on the womens rides but the mixed rides are in the main very supportive. There is a sub-set of blokes who don't get why women should get a womens only ride, and it's safe to say they fit a very narrow demographic and that the stereotype of the early retiree cycling golfer who believes the woman's place is in the kitchen is definitely based on real life! Thankfully in our club these are very much a minority and so easy enough to just go 'oh do piss off Geoff' and carry on.