It Doesn’t Take Balls to Ride a Bike - By Sarah

It seems as though the cycling industry is slowly waking up. It took nearly a century, but I think we are finally beginning to realize the wants and needs of women on bicycles. Admittedly, this sort of realization could not have come to light until certain structural changes in society were achieved. Nonetheless, the purchasing power of mobile females has created an incentive for shops and manufacturers to alter their own entrepreneurial missions.

And yet smaller frames or lavender jerseys aren’t quite making the cut. As always, there is room for improvement. At this point, I’d like to introduce myself as Sarah, the only current female employee at Breakaway. This blog post, as well as those to come, represents just another step toward opening up the world of cycling to women.

Breakaway has a reputation of exceptional customer service. As cycling advocates, we realize that condescending to the customer or ignoring her particular needs is not a great way to run a business. Following this mission, the shop has made strides to accommodate female riders: women-specific frames, saddles, shoes, clothing, etc.

But our shop, like many others, has hit a wall for two reasons:

1) We can only sell the products that the manufacturers produce. Thus, we are limited to certain size ranges, colors, or product designs.
2) Women may account for half of the global population, but they don’t account for half of our customer-base. This is probably due to our limited supply of women-friendly products. However, this supply remains limited because of the lack of demand from female customers.

As a retailer and not a manufacturer, we have little control over innovations from the cycling industry that benefit women riders. But we do have some influence over who comes in our shop. If we assume too much about our female clientele, we can’t adequately address their needs. Hopefully, as a woman’s voice on the inside, I can shed some light on our “issues.”

For many women, the threat of entering a man’s world starts right at the front door. Whether she is a novice or an elite cyclist, she walks in the shop with a thought at the back of her mind: these guys (think they) know better than me. And whether the thought is proven true or not, it is enough to inhibit questions that could potentially lead to furthered knowledge of her bike or herself as a rider.

Even as a worker in the cycling industry, not just a consumer, I encounter this kind of intimidation. I don’t mean to say that I don’t enjoy where I work, or to generalize that all male cyclists are chauvinistic. But all it takes is one bad experience at a shop and you can’t help but be apprehensive.

Ultimately, Breakaway would like to make some changes. We’ve already established a friendly and helpful customer rapport; now we just need to make the shop space a little more women-friendly. For example, in addition to posts about performance and bike maintenance, we’ll be publishing posts concerning women in cycling.

Furthermore, the phrase women in cycling doesn’t just include the ladies training and competing in races, but any woman who rides a bike. Just like the guys, there are women who commute to work, women who ride only on the weekends and women who tear up the trails. The bottom line is, however, that we’re all taking part in an activity that was once considered to be just for boys. And that’s changing.

On November 10th and 11th be sure to stop by for some of the many activities we will have as the Giant For Women's Tour makes a stop at Breakaway.

Pleasures of the Pre-base Phase - By Tyler

There is nothing easy about training correctly this time of the year. Most racers battle fatigue and the sensations of burn out, while recreational riders begin to face inclement weather. Motivation to ride during the first part of fall can be at best, decrescent. I have always viewed this as Mother Nature's request to stop battering your body, to take a step back, and rediscover why you do that to yourself in the first place. For most of my athletes and even myself, late October and early November can be just that, a time of renewal for the body and spirit. But as the old adage goes, all good things must come to an end. At some point you will need to start to focus your training again, right!? What is the best thing to do when you have so many forces pulling you in so many directions? Do you try cyclcross, mountain biking, running,et cetera?

Every magazine you pick up or cycling related website you read will give their two cents, which will always makes it sound like there is a linear solution for everyone. Everyone undoubtedly has read at least one of them over their cycling careers. My favorite, Crush your first century next summer by trying cyclocross! What does that even mean? Sure there can be benefits derived from riding off road, but the likelihood of dramatic gains they insinuate will not be as obvious.

Personally, I have never found that going from discipline to discipline in the winter has lead to many gains physically, but I certainly have athletes who are the complete opposite and thrive off the cross training. It has always rekindled my drive to be better on the road, however (if you have seen me flail on and off a cross bike you would agree). The ability to sort of do whatever you feel like doing is what makes this time of year the most enjoyable, in my humble opinion.You can experiment all you want to find something new or unique, without ruining your season or having a pressure to quantitatively improve your FTP.

Those that are strictly roadies such as myself can take solace in knowing that staying on the road is OK. What is more enjoyable than riding a road bike in 20 degree weather, anyone agree (slightly facetious here)? After all, isn't the best way to be able to crush your first century come from riding your bike in general? If you do it properly (tutelage from these men help), you will be able make it through the winter without all of the cycling fads or trends, while rediscovering your passion for a simple bike ride. Having a little structure and knowing your desired ends helps, but taking a step back also goes a long way. You can go ahead start this process by going for a bike ride! Remove all pressures to go fast or to produce xyz wattage for xyz time. This time of year and the lack of pressure accompanying it does not last long enough, so enjoy autumn while it is here.