It's what you do with it that counts.
Howdy all! So it's been another big gap, I know, I'm pretty awful. I can't even use "training too much" as an excuse now as it's October and I've had a total of two (albeit erratic days off between days of feeling a bit crap) weeks off. Lots of fun stuff has happened, which I will in time enlighten you all about. However, after a fairly unanimous twitter vote (if you don't already have me on there feel free to follow @mooleur - it's a bit sweary, as you can imagine) it has been decided that tonight's blog post will be a big huge shouty rant.
The other option for tonights blog, other than a big rant, was a geek post about winter riding and gear, which I will definitely be posting about in the near future, as it's getting very cold and extremely wet. So you have that to look forward to if you don't quite enjoy my incessant moaning!
So let's get on to it. Today's rant, I've been sat about today wondering what exactly I *should* be ranting about as let's be honest, in the world of women's cycling and in the world of cycling in general there is always at least three top topics which will be so high on your agenda that at some point they will make you feel a bit angry. Examples? Doping? the UCI? the media? etc etc etc. Well with senior women's cycling there's generally twelve more of those topics sitting atop the bubbling cauldron of dismay and dissatisfaction. Purely for the fact that really, we really do just have a shit deal. Not accepting any qualms on that whatsoever, if you want to argue you came to the wrong place.
Why do we have more to complain about? I'll tell you why! In what world is it OK to allow male pros to accept massive paychecks, sit around on luxurious team coaches, be spoon fed the greatest food and be transported, looked after, massaged, reassured and still go home to wealth and comfort at the end of it - but where their female EQUALS are allowed to work full time jobs to support themselves, drive themselves to races across continents, work out their own training and nutrition plans, GET CHANGED FOR RACES AT THE SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD WHILE ALL THEY HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IS A HOME VIDEO OF THREE MINUTES WORTH OF THE RACE THAT'S BEEN UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE.
COME ON CYCLING - WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? In what world is this OK?! Who is allowing this to happen? There are the worlds greatest athletes being threatened with court action because they refused to race a race they deemed too dangerous, the organisers, sponsors etc are threatening their very careers because to them it's more important for these women to risk their lives for a bit of media attention than it is for them to deserve any ounce of respect from the people running the sport.
Oh. My. God. When will the world of cycling wake up to this? These women work their God damn asses off, they have degrees, they have brilliant and stressful jobs to make sure that they can afford the kit they wear to world class UCI races because half the time that's what bloody happens.
This is pretty much the top of my "anger agenda" right now, not because it's a hot topic but because recently there have been a lot of conversations sparked up with me, between the likes of friends and even strangers on social media. These conversations usually end up going along the lines of "but women's cycling is a second rate sport".
This leads me on nicely to what tonight's blog post is really about. The kind of people that make these statements. At best they are just people who know how wound up I can get and they're pulling my leg for a bit of a giggle. At worst, and usually at most of the time, are the guys who assume that "women's cycling doesn't cut the mustard" for one simple fact, that women cannot be as good as men. These are usually (but granted not all the time) the very same guys who sprint past the group in a sportive. The same guys who spend £8,000 on a shiny Pinarello and ride it once a month. The very same who wear world champions jerseys but have to fit 40 years worth of cheap lager and bad cooking into them. These, my darlings, are the epitome of hypocrisy. They are the all gear no idea. They are the scourge of this beautiful sport, not because they're perhaps a bit unfit or a little rough round the edges, but because they are the core of unbalanced wealth, sexism and down right condescending idiocy that makes me cringe.
These people are not interested in cycling. They are not interested in the history of the sport or what it means to ride in a peloton. They care only about how they look and how much cash they can flash, because obviously sticking a set of 808's on during your Sunday ride will put you right at the top of your game. Oh sod off, you *** **** ******...
Cycling used to be a working mens sport. Most of us accept that it isn't any more. It's just a sport, a sport that we bloody love to the core. Yet frequently I am belittled, vocally, regarding the fact that I'm just a young(ish!?) bird, with a pretty crap, heavy bike, new to the sport (granted!) because obviously my relatively cheap alloys and my bottom of the range groupset means I'm not to be taken seriously . Ohhh nooo of course not! No, my apologies, I'll just take my 16 hours a week training, my uninterrupted 100% focussed attitude my complete obsession and desire to race and to win and I'll keep it quiet because obviously I'm just too slow and too feminine to know anything about anything.
Without wanting to go on even more, I think you get the image I'm trying to portray.
You don't have to have the best gear in the world. You don't have to ride all the time. In the same breath, if you WANT to ride all the time, bloody well do it if it makes you smile. If you want to change your life for something that makes you happy then do it.
What you mustn't do is listen to these ignoramuses. Do not let peoples shallow judgement cloud your ambitions. Be your own person and ride your own ride. So what if your bike is heavier, it'll only make you a better cyclist in the long run. So what if you wear bottom of the range kit, it doesn't need to be top of the range to cover your arse. It doesn't matter if you're a girl, you can be just as good as any other person in your club. It doesn't matter how old you are, anyone can learn to ride a bike. If you love doing something, if you have that fire and passion for something, please please please do not let that go because of anyone else's words or opinions. You have only yourself to live up to.
It's not about what you ride. It's about how you ride it. It's about you and your bike.
Oh.. but definitely DO shave your legs. :D
The other option for tonights blog, other than a big rant, was a geek post about winter riding and gear, which I will definitely be posting about in the near future, as it's getting very cold and extremely wet. So you have that to look forward to if you don't quite enjoy my incessant moaning!
So let's get on to it. Today's rant, I've been sat about today wondering what exactly I *should* be ranting about as let's be honest, in the world of women's cycling and in the world of cycling in general there is always at least three top topics which will be so high on your agenda that at some point they will make you feel a bit angry. Examples? Doping? the UCI? the media? etc etc etc. Well with senior women's cycling there's generally twelve more of those topics sitting atop the bubbling cauldron of dismay and dissatisfaction. Purely for the fact that really, we really do just have a shit deal. Not accepting any qualms on that whatsoever, if you want to argue you came to the wrong place.
Why do we have more to complain about? I'll tell you why! In what world is it OK to allow male pros to accept massive paychecks, sit around on luxurious team coaches, be spoon fed the greatest food and be transported, looked after, massaged, reassured and still go home to wealth and comfort at the end of it - but where their female EQUALS are allowed to work full time jobs to support themselves, drive themselves to races across continents, work out their own training and nutrition plans, GET CHANGED FOR RACES AT THE SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD WHILE ALL THEY HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IS A HOME VIDEO OF THREE MINUTES WORTH OF THE RACE THAT'S BEEN UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE.
COME ON CYCLING - WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? In what world is this OK?! Who is allowing this to happen? There are the worlds greatest athletes being threatened with court action because they refused to race a race they deemed too dangerous, the organisers, sponsors etc are threatening their very careers because to them it's more important for these women to risk their lives for a bit of media attention than it is for them to deserve any ounce of respect from the people running the sport.
 |
| ..actually probably a lie. Shhh... |
This is pretty much the top of my "anger agenda" right now, not because it's a hot topic but because recently there have been a lot of conversations sparked up with me, between the likes of friends and even strangers on social media. These conversations usually end up going along the lines of "but women's cycling is a second rate sport".
This leads me on nicely to what tonight's blog post is really about. The kind of people that make these statements. At best they are just people who know how wound up I can get and they're pulling my leg for a bit of a giggle. At worst, and usually at most of the time, are the guys who assume that "women's cycling doesn't cut the mustard" for one simple fact, that women cannot be as good as men. These are usually (but granted not all the time) the very same guys who sprint past the group in a sportive. The same guys who spend £8,000 on a shiny Pinarello and ride it once a month. The very same who wear world champions jerseys but have to fit 40 years worth of cheap lager and bad cooking into them. These, my darlings, are the epitome of hypocrisy. They are the all gear no idea. They are the scourge of this beautiful sport, not because they're perhaps a bit unfit or a little rough round the edges, but because they are the core of unbalanced wealth, sexism and down right condescending idiocy that makes me cringe.
These people are not interested in cycling. They are not interested in the history of the sport or what it means to ride in a peloton. They care only about how they look and how much cash they can flash, because obviously sticking a set of 808's on during your Sunday ride will put you right at the top of your game. Oh sod off, you *** **** ******...
Cycling used to be a working mens sport. Most of us accept that it isn't any more. It's just a sport, a sport that we bloody love to the core. Yet frequently I am belittled, vocally, regarding the fact that I'm just a young(ish!?) bird, with a pretty crap, heavy bike, new to the sport (granted!) because obviously my relatively cheap alloys and my bottom of the range groupset means I'm not to be taken seriously . Ohhh nooo of course not! No, my apologies, I'll just take my 16 hours a week training, my uninterrupted 100% focussed attitude my complete obsession and desire to race and to win and I'll keep it quiet because obviously I'm just too slow and too feminine to know anything about anything.
 |
| Be who you wanna be! |
You don't have to have the best gear in the world. You don't have to ride all the time. In the same breath, if you WANT to ride all the time, bloody well do it if it makes you smile. If you want to change your life for something that makes you happy then do it.
What you mustn't do is listen to these ignoramuses. Do not let peoples shallow judgement cloud your ambitions. Be your own person and ride your own ride. So what if your bike is heavier, it'll only make you a better cyclist in the long run. So what if you wear bottom of the range kit, it doesn't need to be top of the range to cover your arse. It doesn't matter if you're a girl, you can be just as good as any other person in your club. It doesn't matter how old you are, anyone can learn to ride a bike. If you love doing something, if you have that fire and passion for something, please please please do not let that go because of anyone else's words or opinions. You have only yourself to live up to.
It's not about what you ride. It's about how you ride it. It's about you and your bike.
Oh.. but definitely DO shave your legs. :D
Class!
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