WOMEN'S CYCLING

In June 2018 we held a ladies social event, and also undertook a survey to get a greater understanding of what the female members wanted to get out of the club. Here is a summary of the findings, and where relevant, the club's response (in red). We hope this demonstrates how we take on board the comments received, and how we are trying to ensure the club is as open and inclusive as possible. It's great to see more ladies out on club rides, and we will continue to listen to feedback to ensure the club offers something for everyone

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Cycle survey feedback

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• 18 people responded, mostly those who have been out a couple of times, or not at all

 

• People’s overall experience (for those who have attended rides) has been:

  • Very friendly club

  • Well organised

  • Good range of rides

  • Good range of speed groups

 

• Peoples main barriers to coming along to club rides :

  • Concern about pace (over 70%)

    • The club now has a broad range of pace groups, from steady rides though to fast rides. We are also looking to organise a couple of sessions for beginners. All ride leaders will ensure nobody gets left behind on club rides. The pace of rides is published on the facebook group, and we encourage everyone to come along to find which pace group is most suitable. All riders understand that it may take a few rides to figure out exactly where you fit in terms of pace group.

  • Timing of rides not convenient (39%)

    •  A lot of effort has been put in to try and meet as many people’s preferred time as possible, and at the last AGM changes were made to ride times to reflect people’s preferences. Following the social, a survey was put on facebook to see people’s preference for ‘transition’ rides. The outcome was that the current ride time is the preferred option. As the club progresses and more people get involved, it is possible that the number of rides per week will increase, meeting more people’s needs.

  • Concerned about distance (28%)

    • The club now hosts a large number of rides per week of varying speeds and length. Many rides can also be cut short, and many riders do this due to time constraints. If you want to attend a specific ride but are concerned about distance, please message the ride leader who can look at options to modify the route.

 

• What distance people want to ride?

  • 77% wanted long rides (50km +)

  • 50%  wanted medium length rides (30-40km)

  • 33% wanted day rides

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These distances are reflected within the current range of rides available, so we don’t feel any changes are required here.

 

• What pace do people want to go?

  • Preference (39%)  is for medium pace (around 18-22kmph)

  • 23% would prefer a faster pace

  • 17% would prefer a steady pace (14-17kmph)

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These speeds are catered for within the ride classes available, so no changes are considered necessary.

 

• People’s views on hills:

  • 83% want to improve at hills, and are happy with moderately hilly rides

  • 17% prefer flat rides, and 17% prefer very hilly rides

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The speedy and progressive rides range from very hilly to fairly flat, and everything in between. The newer transition rides have been fairly flat to date. However ride leaders will look to incorporate more hills into these, allowing all riders to improve on the hills.

 

• Peoples preferred time for rides:

  • A wide range of responses were received, demonstrating how difficult it is to cater for everyone’s needs.  The most popular options were:

    • Evening weekday rides (61%)

    • Saturday am rides (50%)

    • Sunday am rides (50%)

 

At the moment the Wednesday evening ride is the only weekday evening ride. Additional evening rides are likely to be difficult to cater for in terms of having sufficient ride leaders. However as the club grows, this is something that could be looked at.

 

• Socials

  • Most people want to come along to socials, but haven’t done so yet due to other commitments. Most common reasons for not attending: 30% find the timing difficult, and 30% were deterred by the lack of other females attending.

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Attending social events was also discussed at the ladies social evening. Following comments raised, the committee are looking to host socials at a wider range of venues (the next is at Toast in Tutshill), which will hopefully appeal to more people.  It should also be noted that females are present at most socials, and nobody should be deterred from coming along.

In terms of the most popular type of social events, 72% supported bike-related socials (maintenance, or similar), 66% supported drinks, and 61% supported food (i.e. curry or pizza night). Another suggestion was a family orientated event, such as a summer BBQ.

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The club have hosted a number of bike related to socials, which have varied in terms of number of attendees.  As more people attend existing social events, the range and number of events organised is will increase.

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