OP – I assume that you’re an Old White Guy, much like me?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the pastime I love to be all about other OWGs, I quite like the idea of some inclusivity too and I’m not averse to sharing the trails with people who would otherwise be put off with the overwhelming OWGness of it all.
I also have nieces, who enjoy getting out on their bikes. It pains me to think that the very best that the industry could do for them is to cynically sell them a pink frame at a cost premium and then to peddle a stream of scantily clad glamour models draped over bikes as the ideal that female mountain bikers should look up to. Seriously, it’s not the 1970s – if you’re one of the Neanderthals on the STW facebook feed who posts stuff like “only ugly women complain about this sort of thing”, then perhaps you need to go away and find another publication that fits your worldview. If you’re not a knuckledragger, then perhaps try applying some empathy to the issue, putting the testosterone in the back seat for a minute.
As for those who want to go abroad and enjoy their bikes, the prospect of Brexit does pose a few very real issues – in the short term the pound isn’t doing particularly well, but in the long term there’s issues like reciprocal healthcare between post Brexit Britain and EU member states which anyone would do well to be aware of.
Best to put the tinfoil hat away, eh?