Originally Posted by
furiousferret
I don't mind that the sport is growing, and if it is Gran Fondo's so be it. Its funny that people enter these events under the perception that they are somehow safer than actual racing.
+1
Originally Posted by
UmneyDurak
It takes certain mentality and "aggressiveness" to race road bikes. Because it is direct competition against other people, and is relatively dangerous. Most women just not interested in such a thing, and/or have that mentality. Those that do usually end up in other sports. I think that is why a lot of women who cycle and want to compete end up in triathlons. They can still "compete", but it is more against themselves rather then other people. I think there should be a bigger drive to get women in to cycling in general, and if they want to race groovy.
As stated by someone else above, that's called CX. You get some running, which is already familiar to most. It's a race against yourself. You have people heckling/cheering you every lap. It feels like a running sort of race and has no trouble attracting female participants.