美国国家公共电台 NPR--Gravel bike racing focuses on diversity and inclusion and its popularity soars

Gravel¹ bike racing² focuses on diversity and inclusion and its popularity soars

Transcript³

In the U.S., racing on gravel roads has become the dominant⁴ form of bike racing in just a few years. Organizers have prioritized diversity and inclusiveness in a way that other sports have not.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Gravel racing has exploded in popularity. The bike race organizers have prioritized diversity and inclusion in ways other sports have not. Jay Price of member station WUNC reports from Steamboat Springs, Colo.

JAY PRICE, BYLINE⁵: Marley Blonsky co-founded an advocacy group called All Bodies on Bikes.

MARLEY BLONSKY: I'm a fat, short woman.

PRICE: She was about to climb on her bike to lead a warm-up ride here Saturday for some of the more than 3,000 riders who lined up the next day for SBT GRVL, one of the biggest gravel races in the world.

BLONSKY: We're all about inclusion in the cycling world - so making sure that people have clothing and gear and equipment and feel empowered to ride, regardless of what their body looks like.

PRICE: SBT has four courses - the longest, 142 miles. Riders roll cross-country, past ranches⁶, through cow pastures and along streams. Here, as in most gravel races, competitors from pros⁸ to beginners start together. Major gravel races often have warm-up rides like Blonsky's called shakeouts. Among those at SBT, one celebrated⁹ women, trans, femme and nonbinary riders, and another promoted racial justice. Amy Charity is the race's co-founder and owner and says everyone's welcome.

AMY CHARITY: And it doesn't matter if you are at the absolute front end of the Peloton, you're a world-tour pro⁷, or you're somebody doing your very first bike event. We want you to feel welcome and like you belong.

PRICE: This is just the third year for SBT. This time, it's added classes for nonbinary riders and paracyclists. From its beginning, the organizers reached out to women, and about a thousand signed up this time. Other major gravel races also emphasize diversity and inclusion. Molly Cameron is a top transgender racer, a sponsored pro and a consultant¹⁰ to bike industry companies.

MOLLY CAMERON: If you're 2- or 300-pound fat cyclist and you go do, like, a skinny bike race or criterium, you can feel like this isn't the place for you because you don't see anyone that looks like you out there on the racecourse racing. You come do a gravel event and you look around, and you're like, there's 40 other fat cyclists and men and women and queers and nonbinary folk. And like, here at SBT is a ride for racial justice.

PRICE: Black riders have long been rare in bike racing, but more are finding a place in the gravel community. At an outdoor roundtable, racer Lissa Muhammad, a Black single mother of five, triggered tears and clapping with her story about what gravel racing meant after her husband's recent death. She's an amateur state champion racing on pavement but says gravel is about things that matter more than race results.

LISSA MUHAMMAD: With gravel, I can just kind of stop time and just really soak it in, soak in the sound of the wind blowing, the birds chirping¹¹, the sun beating down on my face.

PRICE: And the people in the sport make her feel welcome.

MUHAMMAD: I think it's taken a while for road to really accept athletes of color, where gravel is come as you are, and we're going to have fun. We're not going to take ourselves so seriously, and we're going to enjoy the ride.

PRICE: Top men's pro Ian Boswell says when it comes to gravel, inclusion should mean pretty much everyone.

IAN BOSWELL: Traditionally, in sport we've defined it by who's the best, who's the fastest. And we have this opportunity now to define that in a different way.

PRICE: So Sunday, he tried something besides being the fastest. With the blessing¹² of his sponsors, he started at the very back on an electric bike with cargo¹³ bags stuffed with food and drink and tire-repair gear, then just roamed the course, making sure more people had fun on their bikes.

For NPR News, I'm Jay Price in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

1 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

7 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

8 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

11 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

12 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

13 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。