Every competitive cyclist has a dream of becoming the very best version of themselves. But what does that really look like? A competitive cyclist has always been measured by the way they dominate their skill and competition.
But what if the competition is weak?
Is dominating as satisfying?
Whose responsibility is it to develop more female cyclists and a healthier, competitive racing environments anyway?
We could point fingers in several directions but what would happen if every competitive female cyclist took responsibility, and what would that look like?
Thinking about these questions and why we started Reach For Rainbows, we took a good look at what we wanted, needed and how we could create a positive difference within the space we have access to.
The answer we came up with, is starting with accountability. Changing what puts women off racing, which is firstly, a pretty crappy attitude. Yes, we are all guilty of this.
If we had to take responsibility for the way we behave during training, at races, when interacting with others, how much of a difference that would bring. A simple congratulatory (genuine) handshake after a good race, sharing tips with the “competition” after a race to ensure others grow too are to name a few better behaviours we all could be practicing.
We duplicate the men’s environment with the expectation that it’s the right thing for women. But we are different, we have hormones that make us a little nutty, to be honest. So, what is it that we really need, to encourage more women to want to race.
We need a positive, supportive environment to ensure cycling (and personal) growth. What’s stopping us from making this happen? Ourselves. How about we make the change? Start by taking accountability for our own behaviours.
As Reach For Rainbow, we aim to initiate a positive space for development through practicing responsible response behaviour to create a healthier competitive cycling culture.
We hope that this will inspire others to do the same.
