Bringing bicycling to every woman

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women bike

bringing bicycling to every woman Liv/giant ambassador program is creating local women’s cycling communities nationwide

By janette sherman

W

omen and men are different. There’s really no way around it. Volumes of books have been written about our differences in communication style, and clearly our physical make up is rather distinguishable. So it should come as no surprise that we also approach bicycling differently. We recognize this at Liv/giant and set out to create a program to bring cycling to every woman. When I first starting working in-house 10 AMERICAN BICYCLIST

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at Liv/giant USA — a full line of women’s specific bikes from Giant Bicycles — I had a long discussion with a male-dominated carpool group about the riding habits of men versus women. While I’m usually happy to ride solo, I was clearly more interested in riding in groups than my male counterparts. Now, this “data” is anecdotal but, from what I’ve learned, given the right scenario, women love riding, learning and experiencing life in group settings. We thrive in communal, supportive and non-judgmental environ-

ments. We seek to make emotional connections with others and share our experiences. In early 2010, we debuted the Liv/giant demo program, which involved a female driver touring the country offering clinics, group rides and bike demo opportunities to retailers. In just one year it took off. As we went to retailers and events throughout the country, the response of the women’s-only group rides and clinics was clear: These women wanted more — and the Liv/giant Ambassador Pro-


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