CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
It's in America -
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/women/forum_schedule.php
and organised by a group similar to the UK's CTC -
http://www.bikeleague.org/about/history.php
Just wondering if this is a case of 'US is often a few years ahead of the UK'.
Happy to report that Scotland is doing a lot to improve the gender balance. There are several projects on the go. Belles on Bikes has been one such successful initiative run through CTC Bike Club. CTCS also has a number of female only cycle groups around the country.
In addition Scottish Cycling has been driving forward a female coaching and riding academy sponsored by Scott contessa. The aim is to develop both female coach and female cyclist. There are female only forums, facebook pages and groups popping up all the time accross the country. Females have also got a real boost from the increase in professional teams in the UK. Team CTC, Honda Wiggle, and Team Breast Cancer care in association with SC. This really drives the profile of women on bikes.
I (as a woman) am conflicted by women-only stuff. Part of me wants to say that we should be encouraging cycling (or running, or triathlon or whatever it might be) for all, and why should women need a separate space/event/whatever? But a bigger part of me accepts that there is a need for this sort of thing - and if it doesn't appeal to me personally, then it is possible that I'm just not the sort of woman that it is aimed at.
Incidentally, Kirst77, quite a lot of what you mention is about getting women involved in cycle racing. Which is not a bad thing to do, but there are other ways and reasons to ride a bike than to race...
"But a bigger part of me accepts that there is a need for this sort of thing - and if it doesn't appeal to me personally, then it is possible that I'm just not the sort of woman that it is aimed at."
+1
As a man I "am conflicted by women-only stuff" too.
"a bigger part of me accepts that there is a need for this sort of thing - and if it doesn't appeal to me personally, then it is possible that I'm just not the sort of woman that it is aimed at"
With the aim of 'getting more people cycling, more often', if it works it's worth doing.
"there are other ways and reasons to ride a bike than to race"
Indeed, and that's not just a gender or sports/activity issue.
I think I am more concerned about "Olympic legacies" concentrating on "sport" - especially where there is an emphasis on 'finding the next generation of elite athletes'.
Fortunately, in cycling at least, key people - Boardman, Wiggins, Pendleton etc. - have put a lot of emphasis on the 'cycling is for everyone' (and not just racing) message.
When it comes to policy making, women are massively under-represented in the bike world (even bearing in mind their lower cycling rates). If something like this means women's voices get heard (and not just shunted off to a nice pink conference somewhere so the men can get on with the real discussions) then it's a good thing. If women were better represented in the mainstream campaigning world, then it wouldn't be needed - maybe that's the answer. I know that the LCC have made a special effort to get more women on their board and committees in the last year or two. That might be the way to go - should we be storming the boardroom of CTC, Cycle Nation, and Spokes?
"should we be storming the boardroom of CTC, Cycle Nation, and Spokes?"
Yes, why stop there...
P.s.
I am aware that the majority of posters here are male.
Some people have gender obvious/probable usernames although many don't.
I think 'we' generally manage to have discussions that aren't unduly gender biased or presumptive.
There can be little doubt that 'transport' is predominantly staffed by men - at most levels.
I suspect generally at a policy/political level too.
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