I went cycling with a woman's group

A couple of days prior to Christmas, I was somewhat bribed to go cycling with my friend H. To be shouted a coffee in exchange for a bike ride! Only catch was it was with a woman's cycling group here in Wellington (Revolve). To be completely honest, this really freaked me out, but I did agree to go. To paint a bit of a picture here, I'm 6'1", 185cm tall and I feel very androgynous when I exercise, especially cycling. No makeup, hair under my cycling helmet, an XL unisex bike (XXXL woman's size) and less than feminine curves when in cycling clothes. To state I was paranoid as hell is an understatement, but I promised so I went along.

First off, I met H around the corner from the meeting place which happens to be the entry to an old shop I worked at 10 years ago. We were 3rd and 4th ones there. Polite introductions, then a couple more turned up, eventually there were 7 of us. Everyone was around 5'3" - 5'6" so my additional height was really starting to make me more paranoid. After a quick briefing and casual chitchat, we took off. After we had been going for about 30 minutes, we were able to ride 2 abreast and were able to chat and start to get to know other people. The usual conversations for a bike group started, what's your history, what's your goal, what have you done previously etc. A few of the girls were interested about my triathlon history and what I was going to do going forward. A couple of others were interested in some of my previous events. When I said I still had at least 2 1/2 to 3 years before I was allowed to compete, or I said that previously I have never been allowed to enter some events they mentioned, I got confused looks. I had to explain that I am transgender and I have to wait until I can compete under the IOC rules. Everyone reacted the same way. They were all surprised. They didn't realize I was not born female. They never picked it up.

With every comment they made that they had no idea I am a transgender female made me feel really good. I had so much reassurance from these woman that I was on a bit of a high. I am learning to believe that I am not a girl trapped inside a body that doesn't reflect the person I am on the inside, I am starting to feel more and more like the woman I know I am. The more interactions I have with people that tell me they cannot see the male in me, the more I grow. The more I begin to feel at peace in this life. The turmoil I once had is settling down. I know I have more hurdles to overcome. I have things I want to do, a lifestyle that I want to live will come the more I re-engage with the world at large.

For anyone who wants to know the criteria set down by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) regarding the policies for transgender athletes in competition, I will try to explain it as it currently is. This policy was adopted in November 2015 and is current. (Document)

Female to Male athletes

"Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction."

This sentence is fairly easy to interpret. Female to Male transgender people can enter and compete in the male category without any evidence or criteria freely.

Male to Female athletes

There is 2 criteria that male to female athletes need to meet in order to compete in IOC sanctioned or governed sports.

1. "The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years."

This criteria is a little subjective for age group and recreational athletes, When does the 4 years start? Is it when someone comes out? Is it when someone begins living 24/7? I understand the for an Olympic cycle which is every 4 years, so for a high performance athlete looking to gain entry to an Olympic event, that is fairly straight forward, but for someone like me, this is a little vague here. If we go by when I started living female to my family and friends, everywhere except work, then that would be September 2016. If it when I started living 24/7, then that would be August 2017. So I have either 2 1/2 years to go, or 3 1/2 years before I can compete in the woman's category.

2. "The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to her first competition."

There is a clause that this can be longer than a 12 month period also, but I believe this is fairly easy to record and provide for proof with regular blood tests as long as you make aware your GP needs to have these easy for you to obtain.

I know that with my history in triathlon, there will be objections to my participation in the sport again. I doubt it will be much of a problem unless I wish to go from a participation level to competitive level. If I ever attempt to race age group competition again, for a spot in the Age Group Representative or attempt to gain an Ironman World Championship Qualification, then I will potentially cost a cis-female at accolades or chance to represent on the world sporting stage. That would be the time when I would attract the negativity that most trans-woman athletes incur. For now that is a while away and I'm not sure I want to get back to the level I once was, but who knows.