courtneywylie

@ElStig: I'll also add that the women's market has been growing in part *due* to these events/camps. The first couple years I rode at Whistler (e.g. before Crankworx was even Crankworx), I felt like an alien in line. I took a women's camp, went on to end up coaching for them, and in the intervening years the ridership up there grew exponentially. Whistler figured it out quickly too, with their women's nights, etc. I think the market followed these things, not the other way around, but it's very difficult to pull causation from correlation here, obviously.

@ElStig: Thanks for a decent discussion (especially by PinkBike standards). Let me try to explain the "uncomfortable" comment the best I can. What most women describe is feeling a need to push beyond their comfort level in co-ed situations, which often makes them feel like they are going to be unsafe or feel stupid. It's not men *directly* that make them uncomfortable, it's just the way these naturally male-dominated rides and events tend to work can feel intimidating. Whether it's what guys intend or not (I lean towards honestly believing dudes aren't trying for this), women, especially those newer to the sport, find co-ed rides and/or races to be overwhelming. Consider a race with practice that only separates the pros from the amateurs--I've seen this at plenty of local races, and it means that when you're out for a practice run, you could have a pack of much faster dudes on your ass and trying to pass, which admittedly can be very disconcerting. It's the little details like that--feeling like they don't know enough and will look dumb, or be put in a situation that could actually be scary/harmful, etc. Not all rides or races are like this, but the majority are. Men aren't trying to make situations that are unwelcoming to women, it's just that the default isn't what women new to the sport find encouraging. So people (mostly women) listened to what they want, and designed programs and events that foster those things. For example, the Sturdy Dirty has a couple of pre-ride events, which encourage women to come out and check out the course together. These have been wildly popular, and they also help women feel more comfortable with trying out a race for the first time. So, consider all that, and maybe you'll see that we're not saying "men are the problem." Hope that helps.

@ElStig: I did in a different response. For example, the Dirt Series has had over 10,000 women roll through their camps since they started. I coached for them, and I know for a fact that women cited the intimidating nature of co-ed rides/events, not that one man or men in particular made them uncomfortable. You are putting those words in their mouths. I also commented that most women we coached said they went on to feel more comfortable in exactly those kinds of co-ed situations. The rise in women at events like Whistler's Toonie series are definitely related. See also the comment from the Cascadia Dirt Cup organizers further down: "Last year we had a 40% increase in women participating in our races. The vast majority of the our new racers got their start at the Sturdy Dirty." Women have been *asking* for these kinds of events, and a bunch of smart people have stepped up to provide them. So they're listening to women and what they want--if they listened to just men, well...that's where things were for a very long time. The changes now are positive, for the entire industry.

"does it hamper integration in to the larger community? If not, awesome! But I guess it's probably too early to tell one way or the other." Not really. I've coached women's camps, and one of the most consistent pieces of feedback was how women who took them felt significantly more comfortable riding/racing in co-ed situations. But they found the initial step of either learning/racing in women-specific formats allowed them an environment in which they were most likely to learn the skills and confidence to get them there. The Dirt Series has coached over 10,000 women, so we're well past "too early too tell." There's a lot of subjective guessing like this on the thread, but the fact that these kind of events sell out consistently show that the demand is there.

@robaussie99: These events consistently sell out. And, like this one, are growing. You're raising questions that you can't reasonably answer to try to sow doubt, but the evidence is there, in the number of women's events and camps that are consistently drawing bigger and bigger numbers every year. These events and programs are proving as great feeders for the other, co-ed events, so it's hard to argue against that in the larger picture.

@jayacheess: "or am I just insulated from this as a guy?" This is a question I wish most guys would ask themselves. So many of the comments here are the result of guys not even trying to imagine a reality different from the one they experience every day, as though their experience should be the default or norm.

These women-specific events (and camps like Dirt Series, Liv Ladies All Ride and Gold Rush) consistently sell out. That's more informative than any subjective comments on this thread.

Someone wins every single world cup and world champs, turns out she's female. Dudes on the internet lose their minds. We've got a long way to go.

I love that their new space has the original DirtBag displayed next to the new Patrol--my first Transition bike and now my current one. It's been great watching these guys get to this point.

The next time an article about Steve Smith comes up, will every please start talking immediately about who he should marry? Because that would make my day.