What better way to begin my maiden voyage into the world of cycling diaries then to write about the Redlands Bicycle Classic, comparing it to racing in Europe in the spring?

Racing in California in March and April is not always the best preparation for Europe. It makes you soft. Nice weather, wide open roads, and a small, non-aggressive women's peloton — it’s a pampered life, including host housing that is comparable to living in "Pleasantville.” I have never seen such manicured lawns, houses the size of castles, and host families so welcoming that it is almost surreal.

So I felt some trepidation in catching a transatlantic flight immediately afterward, bound for the hardcore European races. The horrible conditions in the pro men's spring classics like Flanders and Paris-Roubaix also afflict the women's events. Would I be able to adapt quickly enough to ride with the best women in the world in the cold, rain and wind, on the narrow, cobbled roads of Holland and Belgium, within an unforgiving peloton that takes no prisoners? Would I be able to avoid all the crashes that are inevitable? Would I be able to deal with the cramped, cold hotel rooms, spotty Internet connections and the smell of manure wafting in the gaps of the doors and single-paned windows?

Ah! Northern Europe in the spring. Tighten the pedals another notch, clutch the handlebars more tightly, and grit those teeth. It was do-or-die time.

But let us backtrack a bit, to Redlands. This year a few key players were absent, notably Amber Neben (overall winner the last two years), Kristen Armstrong and Ina Teutenberg. And a strong contingent of U.S. pros was already in Europe, riding for the U.S. national team. So one might have expected that the racing at Redlands would be somewhat tame.

Instead, the absences opened the door for others to be the animators. And if anyone has questioned the level of American women's racing in the past they need to look at last year’s Tour de Toona and this most recent edition of Redlands. When the overall was won on the last day, in the closing meters of the race, by a single second — wow, that is exciting racing! The women raced as aggressively as the men. I challenge anyone to dispute that.

Team Canada at the Ronde van Drenthe World Cup in Holland.

Photo: Leigh Hobson

What was missing was the stuff that would make it hardcore, things you can only find in northern Europe in the spring: narrow, cobbled roads, rain, wind, screaming, pushing and shoving to make it to the front at all costs, and the blaring of car horns from the caravan as they try to push their way past the poor, disheartened souls already dropped in the crosswinds from hell.

Another major contrast between American and European racing, especially for women, is the difference in officiating. There is no compassion in Europe. When you are off the back in the first 30kms of a 135km race, and the officials motor up to say, "Okay, you are on your own now,” you just hope someone in your group speaks the language and can get you back to the team vehicles. So good luck. Bonne chance. Viel glück. But hey, they did provide you with a miniature plastic map to stick in your jersey pocket just for this occasion. None of the course is marked.

And you do not finish. You become one of the 80 riders labeled as DNF in the results.

Now let's contrast this to racing in the United States. In Redlands the time cut was listed as 110 percent. After the new Beaumont stage, the time cut was increased from to 111 percent for the men and 115 percent for the women. On the start line for the women's race it was announced that the time cut could be increased yet again under "extenuating circumstances."

Team Canada, curb to curb at the World Cup in Holland.

Photo: Leigh Hobson

What exactly is an "extenuating circumstance?” It must include excruciating pain and suffering, or what I call the "compassion clause," which can always be applied by the officials when they see fit. Heck, why else would this time cut be increased? There were no big crashes, no acts of God like a mudslide or earthquake (this is California, after all), which normally are defensible reasons for increasing a time cut. In the women's race the “compassion clause” was applied to let eight riders continue. One went on to finish third in the next day’s criterium and then failed to finish the subsequent Sunset stage. Yes sir, no arguing that U.S. officials are nice. But is this really helping our sport?

In women's cycling we are in a constant battle to prove ourselves against the men. We are seen as the weaker sex, and thus we always draw the short end of the straw when it comes to media coverage, sponsorship money and availability of races. There is a perception that we are not quite as professional as our male counterparts. And it does not help when we get a bigger time cut than the men. It does not do us an ounce of good. In fact, the “compassion clause” is actually hurting us.

Mmm, hmm, good: You just can't beat those wide-open European boulevards.

Photo: Leigh Hobson

We need to raise the level of women's racing in North America if we are to be on a par with our European sisters. When the bar is raised, our women need to be able to clear it. This brings out the best in us, pushing those who are close to become better. The women who did not make the time cut in the Beaumont stage will have to raise their game to be on the start line next year. This is not a bad thing.

One final point: I have endured many a neutral start in Europe, where we — and the men, too — are often escorted out of the center of a town. But can someone please explain to me why at Redlands the men can start the Sunset Road Race without a neutral, but the women must sadly parade for five miles up to the beginning of the circuit before starting to race? At the end of our nine circuits we are allowed to race back down. Why can we race down but not up? Is it to protect the weaker sex from overdoing it on the climb to the Sunset loops? Heaven forbid we cause more excruciating pain and suffering among ourselves?

But who am I to complain? Once upon a time the women did not even do the Sunset Road Race. In fact, we did not race Redlands until 1993, and did not enjoy a full-fledged event until 1994 (Redlands debuted in 1985). If this natural progression continues, I suppose one day we will be allowed to start at the bottom, with no neutral. Just like the men.