The problem with time on my hands when I can't ride, walk or climb is that ... well ... it's time on my hands. This means I have choices. I can be productive, I can wallow or I can meddle and dabble.
I suspect my natural tendency to being militant is coming out in rolling waves, big fat, unstoppable ones, forces of nature indeed.
It seems that every interaction I have with our Head of Communications is such that he must surely be feeling the need to run for cover. The bee was placed in my bonnet by an unhealthy level of expectation from the get women cycling campaign. My belief was that this was no longer just something being done because of a paying lip service attitude towards women having an equal share in the cycling market, or potentially having that share. It seems, unbeknownst to myself that I have a strongly held belief that women and men do have gender differences, and we do have different requirements in all sorts of things. I mean, men have different needs in the areas traditionally associated with women.
I believe we can see a breath of fresh unjaded air here. It would be a great country where women got up on a Saturday morning, looked out the window and thought "what a great day for a bike ride", and knew that they could step out into the street, swing a leg over the saddle and ride into quiet lanes, encountering other riders, male and female, all of whom nod a smile of mutual respect and acknowledgement of a beautiful spring day. A world where cars patiently wait and move past when it's safe, and where the cyclist doing their part is aware of the traffic and meets them part way by pulling over if it makes sense to do so. A world where the pothole perils are low, and where you can leave your bike outside a cafe, and where it's just normal to be out on your bike.
Not to stereotype women's interests. Well, OK, yes, to stereotype women's interests, men like things to be different in their kitchen. They like functionality, as of course do women, but they like their gadgets to be quirky, interesting, enviable as well as practical. Men and women shop differently, decorate differently, garden differently, dress differently, use the toilet differently, talk, sing, move differently. So yes, it should be obvious and accepted that we will have some common ground and some areas of difference when it comes to cycling.
I suspect women other than those at the top end of our sport may not draw such black and white distinctions as men do in pursuit of their hobby. Are the reasons for getting out on your bike gender specific? With men it'll maybe be an over riding passion, an obsession, a way of living, a lifestyle indeed, a competition against themselves and against others for hill climbing for sprinting, tangible measurable goals. Which is probably indicative of a somewhat odd world I work in, and may not represent the norm. With women, it'll be a joy of endorphins over adrenaline, a social pastime, camaraderie, a learning curve, simply a part of living, a way of staying looking good, feeling good. Let's accept that, the vanity aspect as high as the health aspect.
This website: http://totalwomenscycling.com/ would potentially not work in a man's marketplace. Men, I suspect like to think they are something separate, something apart from the norm. They like to use grrr and gnarr words, like to do a bit of willy waving, and I'm not knocking that. And I'm not saying it's a man's world; of course it's not, there's overlap that's for sure. But the women's website which is great, all encompassing, bringing together in a non niche, non patronising way every aspect of riding your bike just wouldn't work in a man's market. It allows for the competitive edge but it allows for cycling handbags too, and it's intelligent and sharp and controversy is beautifully dealt with. And it's the men's loss.
I am absolutely not going to post the stereotyped link to Sisters doing it for themselves ... no. Not happening.
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