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So this morning the White House posted a letter from a 13 year old girl, Ayla, on Instagram. In the letter, Ayla expressed to the president how frustrated she feels about gender inequality in sports. We’re frustrated, too.
It’s an important reminder to us that we still have a long way to go before we see real gender equality, especially in the bike world.
Last year we were thrilled that we were able to host the Women’s State Championship Singlespeed race as a part of the Corvallis Cross Classic (CXC) event. Under the “Equal Opportunity, Unequal Payout” banner we worked with our sponsors to provide prizes and a venue for some excellent women’s (and men’s) racing …and this year we’re looking forward to extending that payout to racers in all female categories.
We’ll have prizes from Sugar Wheel Works, Smith Optics, PDW, Gracie’s Wrench and more for our woman racers …and free entries to this year’s SSCXWC in Vancouver for the top finishers in the Women’s Singlespeed category!
Why the emphasis on women?
We like riding and racing bikes with our friends. We want to make sure that everyone and all of their friends feel welcomed and celebrated in the cycling community. That’s the long and short of it. There’s no question that the cycling world has come a long way with gender equality, but it still has a long way to go. Our goal is to make this day of racing a fun way of continuing to take steps in the right direction.
The event will be held November 7 at Peoria Gardens in Corvallis. Visit http://cxcrace.com for more details about the race.
Photos by Dan Gonzalez