I am stunned and excited to have been nominated in the Singletrack 2015 Reader Awards, in the Best Written Article category. I’ve been shortlisted for my post ‘The trouble with womens’ mountain bikes’, which was originally published on the Singletrackworld.com site earlier this summer.

Singletrack had approached me about writing for them after I published a story on this site celebrating their choice of a female rider for the magazine cover – a hugely popular story that even Rachel Atherton retweeted!

For the nominated post on women’s mountain bikes I went back to the drawing board and spent a lot of time checking facts and researching details from brands such as Santa Cruz, Trek, Specialized and Orange, as well as talking to female cyclists and local bike stores. The result – I hope – peels back the layers of marketing and gets to the bottom of why it can be so difficult for women to find the right bike. It also addresses the fact that there is actually no such thing as a ‘men’s’ bike: perhaps it is time to start using the term standard bike instead, make more sizes and fit options, and also show women riding them alongside men in advertising.

There are several categories to vote for, but I believe Manon Carpenter (nominated for personality of the year) and I are the only women up for a prize. So lets hope at least one of us gets to make a victory speech and fly the flag for women’s mountain biking at the awards ceremony on the 25th September!!

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 20th September and (hint, hint) you can vote here or on the link to the post above.