Members of CycleFit’s cycling club exercise during a fitness class. The club may see fewer female members as they trickle over to a new ladies’ only bike club to launch in May.
Sylvie D'Aoust has been trying to start a women-only outdoor cycling club for two years, and now it is finally happening.
“I’m extremely excited to get this going,” she said. “I haven’t had the time to devote to it until now, and I just can’t wait to get started.”
D’Aoust is the founder of CycleFit, a local spinning studio.
She is opening Ottawa’s first women-only outdoor cycling club, the CycleFit Chicks Cycling Club.
The club starts May 5 and is open to all levels of female cyclists from beginner to advanced.
D’Aoust said a women-only cycle club is needed in the city to encourage more women to ride.
The main goal of the club is to have fun and get more women interested in outdoor cycling.
Some women have been involved in cycling teams while other have never cycled before.
D’Aoust said this will provide a great dynamic for others to learn from each other.
She said women have been shying away from learning to ride in the past due to the added pressure and stress of male-female clubs.
“A lot of women don’t like riding with men because men are typically stronger and the women get burnt out,” she said.
“It doesn’t provide a very positive environment and they get frustrated.”
She said the CycleFit Chicks Cycling Club will eliminate the frustration and offer women a more comfortable environment for learning how to cycle properly.
Merely informing her CycleFit members about the club has already generated 20 participants, and D’Aoust said she doesn’t think there will be a problem getting that number up to the desired 40.
But Alex Magdzinski, co-ordinator of the University of Ottawa Bike Club, has not seen the same interest for a women-only club among his members.
He said he relies on participation from men and women to keep the club alive.
“I can guarantee that the more active females we have in the club the more men will come out to the rides,” he said.
“(A lot of the men) would otherwise have no incentive to get active in the club.”
Fiona Morrison signed up for the CycleFit Chicks Cycling Club because she wanted to try something new.
Like the other members of the club, she actively participates in spinning classes at CycleFit.
She said the creation of the women-only club inspired her to take up cycling.
“It’s kind of hard and intimidating to learn how to cycle in a big club and you feel like you are holding people back, so this is a more comfortable way to learn,” Morrison said.
“The support of the other women is really important too.”
The ultimate goal of the club is to participate in the Ottawa Bicycle Club Grand Prix race July 12.
To be in top racing shape, club members will participate in a learn-to-ride session every Monday.
Each ride will have a specific focus such as hills, sprints, drafting, group riding and cornering.
A two-to-three-hour ride will be held every weekend.
Women interested in the club have the option of a full or social membership.
The full membership is $140 and includes Monday training sessions, club rides and club socials, a CycleFit outfit and a bike maintenance workshop.
It also includes discounts on skill clinics, cycling gear and other items available at the club.
The social membership is $35 and includes Monday training sessions, club rides and club socials.
There is also a mandatory volunteer commitment to help with workshops, events, rides and socials.
If the club is a success, D’Aoust hopes to incorporate a teen-girl component in 2009 and start a women’s only race.
“There’s a lot of initiative in this area for males in the city,” she said.
“There’s no reason why the same opportunities can’t be available for women."