Sociable Atmosphere

Boys are fun to hang out with, but there’s something more relaxed about riding with women. Just as you would enjoy a cuppa or a glass of wine with your besties, there’s a different kind of fun and social feel about riding with the girls.

It’s not that we don’t want to talk about Strava segments, gear ratios – and we’re even ok listening to some guy talk about his ‘betty swollocks’. But we also want to moan about how our other half just doesn’t understand how to clean the hob (stereotypical, we know… but seriously HOW HARD IS IT?!) and moan about that totally ineffective sports bra that isn’t working.

Basically, we generally have more in common and it’s a great opportunity to bond, to laugh and make some great memories.

Friendly Competition

Competition between women tends to be a bit different. Whether you compete on Strava, or head-to-head, it’s all a little bit of fun.

Firstly, we’re starting on a level playing field. Men have on average 10% less body fat, more testosterone and more muscle mass – so if we’re beating them we’re basically twice as betterer, and if they’re beating us sometimes it’s easy to just accept it and give up. When we’re racing for the lamp post against anther woman there are no excuses to fall back on and we go harder!

This said – we also tend to feel the whole competition is a little less serious with other women. We compete, but it’s more lighthearted and we never end up feeling like a loser, we just applaud our mate for being a kickass rider.

Sympathy Aches

Irritating sports bras? Period pains? These are things many of us women can sympathise with, along with all the general woes that come with the territory of being a woman.

So if you’re feeling a little more hormonal than usual, achy, or just a bit meh, your female riding buddies will understand better than anyone. Sharing one another’s experiences and advice is a great way to learn more about your body – because no bloke can advise the best on-bike treatment for a stomach that appears to be squeezing your vital organs every 20 seconds. Women do, and they’ll help motivate you through it.

Busy Lifestyles

There’s this mythical concept in adult life called the “weekend pass”, many men are familiar with this term and use it incessantly (FYI – if you’re male and ever ride with us NEVER say “I’ve got a pass from her indoors for the morning” if you want to live).

We all organise our lives in different ways, but in many cases it’s women organising the school runs,  shopping, as well as working and basically keeping the world in balance. It can make it hard for us to organise rides with our women’s groups – but we all understand.

So when we can make it out for a few precious hours, your female riding troop are more often happy to accommodate your timetable, and less likely to bail on you because ‘hangover’ or ‘new x-box game’.

While we do love riding with the guys, we’ve got to side with riding with women as being the most fun.

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