Endless Biking: Where Have All the Ladies Gone?
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Endless Biking is celebrating 10 years of building riders. As part of their celebration they are sponsoring ten articles that revolve around the fundamentals of their business; bikes, community and learning.
 | I created the EB Chickas Race Team in order to share the experience and knowledge that I had gained through racing with other women. I also thought that by creating a team environment it would make the races feel less intimidating for girls who were new to it. - Kelli Sherbinin, Endless Biking |
In 2007, Kelli Sherbinin created the EB Chickas Downhill Race Team and spent a season travelling to local races around BC with eight other women. This is twice the amount of ladies who raced in the BC Provincials Race in Golden this year. With a continual decline in attendance on the local downhill front for the ‘fairer sex’, it has left us all wondering, where have all the ladies gone?
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 The 2007 EB Chickas at Race the Ranch in Kamloops; the abilities in this crew ran gamut of experience and ability. |
| I learned that putting yourself out of your comfort zone and coming out in one piece felt really fantastic. I always fought (and won) the urge to barf before a race and questioned why the hell I was even doing it, but once I finished I couldn't wait to try another one! It just felt awesome! - Colleen Keyland, EB Chicka |
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| The EB Chickas making racing friendly post race in Kamloops. |
| The mountain biking community is a very fun group of people, and seeing the same faces at each of the races makes it feel even more like family. Racing has definitely helped me reach goals and pushed me to overcome limits I didn't think I could. |
A quick look at overall attendance in BC Cups between 2010 and 2013 shows a slow and steady 20% decline in downhill racing; however, the 2014 registrations reported a small but promising 4% resurgence of participation in the sport. Looking at women’s attendance, specifically at the Dunbar Summer Series - some of the few DH races offering equal cash prizing for pro men and women - the participation in women’s categories has decreased 40% since 2011 without any sign of making a comeback.
| There is no way I would be where I am, doing what I am doing, without DH racing. Racing gave me my skills, my friends, and perspective. It helped me to understand how the industry works. - Katie Holden, Athlete Ambassador for Liv |
We have the vote and can legally ride bikes in Canada, so is it more important that women race downhill or that they have the choice not to? The answers below are from a downhill race focused survey of women who mountain bike:
‘Yes, because downhill biking is a blast!’
‘Yes! I am 13 and have no competition! I am alone on the podium! It is the same with the other age categories for women, there are just very few female riders. Gotta get some girls out.’
‘Women need to be part of the race scene because if more women are competing they will bring more young riders out in the form of their children and their children's friends as well as their husbands or boyfriends. Whether they are aware of it or not, women play a crucial role as both racers and support staff.’
'Yes. Right now the ladies who are competing are labelled as 'hardcore' or 'crazy'. I think that if more women from all walks of life start competing then it would hopefully be more inviting to others to at least give it a try.'
‘Of course! Women racers need to be visible in every aspect of riding!’
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| Kyleigh, in her Provincial Champ jersey, was the only girl to race in her category at the Western Open this year. |
| As a parent, I can tell you that for the first couple of years it was really nerve-racking knowing that she was training on her own most of the time and was waiting at the top by herself for her race run. As she got to know some of the senior women, I felt better since I knew she had someone to chill with at the top. Ky is lucky in the sense that she has a great team to support her now, but she would still rather have some girls to ride with, and they are hard to come by. - Megan Stewart, Race Mom |
We are not solving global warming or preventing teen pregnancy; we are just riding bikes. However, it would still seem that the lack of women competing in this style of mountain biking is something we feel passionately about. The next big question is, why aren’t women racing downhill? Travel costs (59%) followed by concerns that a serious injury would impact work related responsibilities (39%) and lack of time for vacation or work schedule conflicts (33%) topped the list of reasons why the women who completed the survey are not participating in our local races. Perhaps more at the heart of the issue however was this comment, ‘the lack of women racing is a perpetuating feedback loop.’ Less women racing means less support and competition for the women who are showing up, which eventually leads to even less women in attendance.
Unfortunately though, it would seem that none of us know what will stop this loop. When asked for suggestions on improving attendance, the answers were overwhelmingly: ‘not sure’, ‘no idea’, ‘that’s a hard one’, and ‘unsure.’ There were, however, no requests to ‘dumb down’ courses or for preferential treatment. There is a strong push for more division in age groups but this puts us back in the feedback loop; we need more women competing to justify more categories. The suggestion of “more swag and lower entry fees” is an oxymoron as races cost money to run and organizing them is much more of a passion than a way to make money. “Include enduro” was an interesting comment because we all know that enduro is the answer to everything! When in doubt, wear a fanny pack! A few strong suggestions addressed a want for clinics on the specific racecourses and marketing for the events that uses images of women.
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| Danice Uyesugi racing in the Elite Women's category at the Silver Star BC Cup. |
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| Danice on the podium, alone, at the Western Open. |
| Downhill racing has changed my life in so many ways. I have always loved riding bikes but I had never pushed myself to really progress until I started racing. Of course as exhilarating as riding can be it can also make you completely and utterly frustrated and disappointed if things do not go to plan. But such is life, and experiencing those emotions and learning how to deal with them is similar to conquering fears and celebrating triumphs in all aspects of life. - Danice Uyesugi, Professional Racer |
“There are women in this sport doing fabulous things, and they are capable of inspiring girls and women to participate and excel in sports. They need increased exposure in order to reach people, have their voices heard, and spread their athletic passion.”
This is exactly what Kelli’s original goal was with the EB Chickas five years ago; to use her experience to have a direct impact on women’s racing, to be a role model and to incorporate other phenomenal mountain bikers, who happen to be women, into the experience. Being on a team allows for coaching (which minimizes the risk of injury), a sense of belonging in unfamiliar circumstances, guidance through the process of finding and registering for races and an opportunity to share travel costs. The strength in numbers breaks the low numbers feedback loop by creating an accessible and attainable downhill race experience and, also, funds coaching jobs for female (and male) athletes, creating a more sustainable race circuit and creating a visible female presence in downhill racing that supports a more balanced industry and community.
| When it was all said and done I felt a huge sense of accomplishment having done a BC Cup race, loved the road trips and especially participating with a group of girls I know and respect |
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| These ladies were the only four women to race the 2014 Western Open course and provincials; Kyleigh Stewart, Danice Uyesugi, Darlene Paranaque, Angie Lowen. |
| In recruiting racers for this year, it was clear that none of the first-time racers would have volunteered to race on their own, and that having a support network to train with and also race with was important in encouraging the girls to race. As well, many first time racers do not have any guidance for how to begin to race, things like where to find information, how to register, and all those details. - Darlene Paranaque, Prairie Girls Racing |
Racing downhill is not for everyone, and by no means should it be. The aggressive nature of downhill riding (not of the community or race environment – to be clear) is not appealing to all. But when it is, it can strengthen who you are in a way that you might not expect.
If you would like to be a part of a women’s race movement for the 2015 race season please contact Kelli ‘if you build it they will come’ Sherbinin.
| For me personally, racing had a positive impact on all aspects of my life; mental, emotional, and physical. And having a team to support you also helps you with the crazy roller coaster we each go through when we push our limits. - Kelli Sherbinin, Endless Biking |
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| Let this little girl's game face inspire you. |
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An interesting statistic would be a comparison between the percentage of men that race from the entire male downhill population, and the same type of statistic for women from the female DH population. It wouldn't surprise me if the percentage was similar.
If the percentage is similar, to get women racing it would be worth considering ways to get more women riding as opposed to racing, and the racing numbers will follow.
So why don't they race? A lot of them fear getting injured, for sure. The biggest issue I come across talking to other girls is that they don't want to get hurt. The second biggest one is that they think they're not good enough, even though some of these girls are actually pretty skilled. Personally, my biggest fear is signing up for a race and finding I'm in way over my head when I get on course, and making an idiot of myself.
I think Darlene's quote summed it up perfectly. "... it was clear that none of the first-time racers would have volunteered to race on their own, and that having a support network to train with and also race with was important in encouraging the girls to race." I'm someone who would actually race. Our local mountain here used to hold toonie races in the summer (they haven't held any since last year) and I would absolutely do those if they came back. If I lived in Whistler I would race Phat Wednesdays every chance I got. And if I had a crew I could hook up with every couple of weeks, or once a month, for coaching and racing, girls or guys, I'd sign up tomorrow. But I don't know if something like that even exists in Alberta. Maybe I should look harder at finding out.
Racing isn't for everyone, for sure, but I think there's more girls out there that might be talked into it than you think. I suspect some formal coaching might be a big part of that - the success of Dirt Series is a great indicator that if women feel that they can learn in a supportive environment, at their own pace, and with the pressure off, they'll step up in a big way.
I also think fear of injury is a moot point too. If someone is that scared why ride downhill? Its an inherently dangerous sport after all. It seems that those promoting racing don't hear (or maybe don't want to hear) the seemingly unsaid reason of why riders don't want to race, which is they are happy and having a good time doing what they are doing.
The fact that stunt by-passes are called 'chicken ways' tells me that the problem might be with the races and the egos they cater too, not with the women.
Regarding the specific question, all the women here that I know seem to have taken up road riding and Strava-commuting......
web.archive.org/web/20100414093607/www.arduum.ca looks like the event was cancelled in 2011 due to low registration.
Perhaps it's different stateside but here, although there is always room for improvement, we seem to be heading in the right direction.
Although we have a VERY limited national level womans field, we have slowly been growing the regional scene in the PMB area which is great.
With some coaxing, we have about 6 to 7 ladies competing in our regional series out of a total rider entry of 60 ....
Thats up from 3 riders two years ago ....
National events are just expensive and time-consuming to attend and unless you have sponsorship (which is null and void in SA) then its a strain on most riders.
Hopefully this will change in the coming years as I would love to see more South African ladies competing Nationally and Internationally
At the risk of being attacked by some of the less open minded members of the PB community, I strongly believe that there is a case to suggest that one of the reasons that "the aggressive nature of downhill riding" may not be appealing to all is that there are very few examples in the mainstream media of women taking part; no-one knows about it essentially. Where I live in Japan you would forgive young girls from thinking that their sole purpose in life is to be "kawaii" (read cutesy), develop painfully thin looking legs, shop, shop and shop some more and then eat dessert at an up-market restaurant, whilst at work the glass ceiling ensures you serve tea in the office until the boss suggests to you that its time you got yourself married off (yes, it is a gross over simplification however what is served up in the media bears a remarkable resemblance).
So come on Fox, NBC, CNN, BBC, Channel 9, CANAL give the girls some more coverage: young women won't go DH racing unless they see some!!
For those of you here who know the Japanese media, wouldn't it be great to give the anchor roles to more women on news, sports and current affairs shows, rather than their all to common current role here of "nodding sycophant" whose brief is to look around at the men talking whilst proffering "ums" and "ahhhs" and never be asked for their opinion.
I think for me (taking away the whole social side of racing which is a huge part for me), racing is like having a deadline. This deadline is relative- relative to you skillset and goals but it is indeed a deadline. You have to show up some place, learn a track, tackle the things that scare you and somehow but it all together into the best possible final project. We all have things we want to do and achieve on our bikes, we want to be better but sometimes it is hard to push ourself and to really make ourselves make leaps and bounds in our learning because we procrastinate or get distracted or whatever. I am a procrastinator, as are many so when I have a set amount of time to achieve a goal, I excel because I have to get it done. It is hard to make ourselves ride things we don't always want to ride (but are fully capable of), at a race you have to and you become SO MUCH BETTER because of that.
I have plenty of fun riding, but me racing just isn't my scene.
Then my mates get stuck into me saying "then pay just to ride, don't race"..... that pretty much turns me off riding all together. Then you have to pay for the weekend away, food, fuel etc.
The worst thing is, the cost to enter race's is more than the first prize in elite class...... now that is backwards
Also, the younger people who were doing those races 5 - 10 years ago, a lot of them probably have mortgages and families now. $5000+ (can you even get a decent racing DH bike for $5000 anymore?) DH bikes probably aren't a high priority on the family budget.
That being said, the way to increase attendance in those races will be the ability of teams to form, organize, and recruit and try to help minimize some of those costs. And sponsors to get behind them. Maybe, as an example, instead of companies spending crap tons of money on dealer launches and flying people around from across the country to come look at their product late every summer, they should focus a bit more getting more racers directly on their product and representing them?
Here in Utah, we have a rapidly-growing MTB scene with more and more women showing up everyday on the trails and at the resorts, while the race numbers still suffer both locally and nationally.
Women are naturally competitive creatures. We all know this. We see evidence of it every single day. But we're also inherently insecure -- racing and competition (especially at an elite level) requires complete confidence in one's skills and ability to perform. Where a dude will crash and blow up, then hike back up and try it again, women don't have that mindset -- we have to protect ourselves. I've seen it on the local tracks and at the World Cup level, and it usually comes down to an aggression and mental strength that a lot of women simply haven't cultivated. I'm not saying it's not there, I'm simply saying it's not actively cultivated in most cultures.
Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm the largest proponent for women's racing out there. I think everyone should all get their daughters into some sort of aggressive competitive pursuit at some point or another to teach them appropriate outlets of aggression. But we don't. As a culture, we shun aggressive, competitive, go-getting women. We've poked fun at Hillary Clinton for being a frigid b*tch instead of celebrating everything she's done for women's politics. we do the same to any woman in any field.
Even inside of racing (and other athletics), women have their place -- there are still glass ceilings for women, and making it as a professional racer is goddamn tough, let alone a female professional racer. Some of the top women in the world are experience this right now as UCI factory teams shut down support for women and other all-male teams (again) go after points value decreases for female racers. It's a constant battle, and one that usually ends in injury.
At the end of the day, women don't race because we're too smart -- the risk/reward payout isn't high enough for most of us, and our self-preservation instincts take over. What future is there in racing for women right now? We have no support, no Olympic team, no future coaching options. We don't have a future as trainers or 'ex racers' employable as experts on ESPN. Hell, look at the women of the 90's! If they're not still racing, what are they doing? Where have they faded away to? When the timer stops, what do we do?
For those of us who do race and who spend every penny on bike equipment and race costs, it's literally become our lives. We work so we can race and feed the addiction.
Believe me, I've questioned my sanity more than once when tax time comes around and I look at what I've dumped into racing; the only reward there is what I'm getting out of it, and right now, that's enough. But someday, someday soon, I'll want to just stay home during the 7 months of race season and ride with my buddies instead of coming home when I'm hurt. I'll want to put my cash towards pretty sweet bike trips with the boys instead of cramped hotel rooms with other racers. But for now? I'll race.
Of course, there are some complicated childbirths that can be REALLY painful, more than all but the worst of injuries (sorry Mum - I nearly killed you!).
Any DHers out there needing a topic for your medical degree, it's all yours.
Secondly, you're absolutely right -- childbirth is painful. Excruciatingly painful. But crushing my sternum, puncturing both lungs and breaking ribs was infinitely more painful than the 14 hours of hell I went through. Added up, pregnancy & childbirth sucks balls compared to any injury I've had outside of my back injury last fall, but that was pretty similar -- kind of like reverse pregnancy. It would be an interesting topic of research, for sure.
Cons: I realized that "enduro" is this annoying word that all the marketing guys have jumped on and hammered to death. And that the haters gonna hate. And I hate jumping on a band wagon as much as the next person, I really do.
Pros: But if you disregard these silly cons (they are silly, because at the end of the day we're all here to ride our bikes) and just focus on the actual riding that takes place during an enduro race... it's freaking awesome! You ride to the top with your buddies and then you race down! Repeat, all day. Someone else looks after the mediocre tasks of deciding where to ride, providing the food (and medics).
I want to reiterate: You ride to the top with your buddies & then race down & you get to do that ALL DAY (and probably all weekend)...
So what gkarin said above about making it into a race weekend event and somehow working a DH event into the mix could be quite awesome! As a new rider (1.5 years on a mountain bike), I want to push my boundaries & make up for lost time. However, at 32 years old I am cognizant of the fact that I can actually break myself if I push too far to fast. I wasn't interested in going to throw down at a hardcore DH event at all. But I discovered the BC Enduro series this year which is aimed at casual riders that wanted to come out and explore some new trails.
I never felt intimidated, had an absolute blast in that series, discovered that racing can be quite a lot of fun (even if you know you won't win). And with the confidence / comfort I gained, I would consider joining a more serious DH event if it came up (locally).
But I would never commit to a huge expensive trip & a long drive solely for a 4 minute race... it's just not worth it at all.
I would however sign up for a DH race if it was part of a full weekends riding event.
Do some Enduro, do some DH, do some BBQ, drink some beers. Now that, that would get more people interested.
Cons: Finding time to practice the DH course while racing an Enduro would be limited. And you'd have to bring 2 bikes... but these problems could be over come. Hell, you might end up with families coming out and each only competing in different events.
A woman does not need to be "good looking" either in order to be a cyclist, it is attitudes and statements like that that help keep women from being part of this sport.
We all collectively need to be the change in the sport. Stop making sexist remarks, stop feeding into the testosterone fueled culture and embrace every gender to our sport with open arms. Cycling as a whole is better than what is seen in mainstream sports like the NFL (which I refuse to recognize as a sport or sports body). Cycling is for everyone regardless of gender, age or race and especially physical appearance.
@iamamodel..I support all women that want to be part of the sport, if @lindapaluc races or not that is up to her and IMHO she does shred pretty hard from what I have seen based on my own experience riding with women here in the US.
At lot of times for girls it matters more "who" they're doing things with and for the guys it matters more of "what" they're doing. Perfect example is if we're going to watch a movie and some of the girls don't want to go, all of a sudden none of them want to go, but with the guys it doesn't matter who goes so long as it's a movie they want to watch. But the next week same movie but now the majority of the girls can go, now they all want to go, but now that the guys have seen the movie, they don't want to go because it is no longer something they want to do.
So I guess when it comes to catering to the genders girls tend to prefer a more social aspect. If a girl knows "all the girls are going" then they're usually all for it. Perhaps starting female group rides and riding teams will help give the females riders a more social experience. That way they don't have to compete all alone and "all the girls" will be there also.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Another aspect that I believe plays a roll is future involvement in the sport. It's easy to travel and participate in something that's arguably more dangerous than it's counterpart when you are single and don't have tons of "life" commitments. But once there's a family, kids, steady job, the need to 'stay safe' out weighs the desire to bounce down a hill. At the end of the day, I think it's an easier and safer decision for a lot of people to choose a 'safer', 'easer' and more accessible form of cycling because once those life commitments start to come into play, it's a heck of a lot easier to continue to participate. Lets say someone starts racing at 15. Has their first kid at 25. They've now dedicated 10 years to the sport. Lets say they have 2 kids spaced 2 years apart. They are probably going to be 32 or so before the kids are both off to school full time enough that they have time to dedicate back to training and racing. But that's only during the week, what happens on weekends when the races are held and the kids aren't in school?
Yeah, I hear the argument of introducing your kids to the sport and what not, but I know for a fact that when I was 5 I had a hard enough time not eating sh*t in the driveway. Heck, when I started racing XC at 14 I was a time bomb about to explode at any moment. So many trees... If my parents would have taken me to ride DH, life would have been presented me with the 'Darwin Award of Natural Selection'.
Thanks for the article and pushing the conversation.
I just got back from Trestle and saw quite a few women riders. It was awesome to see all types of people out there shredding it; men, women, and kids.
1. Change is coming, I see more and more families mountain biking here in Marin County, this is why we have high school leagues across the entire state of CA. I would argue that the mountian bike is great equalizer between the sexes. Especially, now that bike manufacturers figured out if you make bikes for females, they will buy them and ride them.
Which leads me to my second point: there needs to be DH and female specific mountain bikes if you truly want that segment to grow.
As for me, downhill racing was a 5 hour wait for a 4 minute ride...
You sir, are implying that there needs to be more marketing in MTB. You are wrong.
So if any of you Canadian ladies want to check out a DH race, come on down to the states and join us at Port Angeles next year!
There's some undeniable truth to this, despite the politically correct telling us otherwise. It's a generalization and doesn't apply to all women, but the fact is that testosterone and male brain wiring drive men to different choices and behaviors than women.
Can't wait to get my little girl into BMX though.
There has been an upsurge in uplift served venues so perhaps there is less impetus to go to race weekends like one 'had' to. That said there is obviously a healthy DH race scene as evidenced by the number of British riders in the top 50 at WC level (and European Cup level as well).
It is so easy to jump in the car and, if one owns one's own bike, ride more laps in a day than one would ever get at a race series, for about half the price of a race entry fee. If one finds it a little too crowded on the weekends, then a mid week 'flex' day allows a 10 hour riding day (during extended play) for less than the cost of race entry and without the hassle of the long drive and finding accomodation. Breakfast, jump in the car, 10 hours riding, dinner and home by 11 in the evening!
Add to these facts that Juniors cannot be awarded cash prizes and there is the issue of winning not even paying the bills assocaited with the travel and accomodation, fine of the prize is a better version of whatever you run or need on your bike, otherwise there is the hassle of selling it in order to raise the cash that an adult racer would have been given by cheque.
So those that do the most riding and are, statistically, the most likely to be the best riders have no real incentive to race unless they individually harbour a burning desire to beat other people. It appears from the numbers that the majority appear to be happy with a Wednesday night social race (regularly 200 entrants at Phat Tyre Wednesday) or "racing" with their friends on a quiet day when one can almost get an uninterupted 'run' on almost any trail on the mountain.
Not saying anyone is right or wrong just saying that it is fairly obvious why the Lower Mainland does not produce more racers as I see a fair number of female DH riders everyday.
They are all helping advance women in mtb along with Lindsey Vories
Then add to that, the ugly, sad, but true fact that no one really flies f*cks about women's sports at all except to be all nice & politically correct & shit, & you have this article. Hate me all you like, but men are stronger, faster, tougher & consequently much bigger risk takers & that's why it's always more interesting to watch men pushing the limits of physical potential & why there are more men doing it. Men set the limits. Men exceed them. The only thing I can think of where women impress me as much as any man when it comes to physical accomplishment is in gymnastics. The shit those girls do is mind blowing. Hannah Steffens was an incredible bike rider but had no future in it because she couldn't keep up with the guys & surprise, she was the only girl that could throw down at the level that she did. She was one of a kind. Sometimes there's a few that are remarkable, but it's rare.