Totally get it IRL, but less so in a virtual ride.
Totally agree!
One group ride I was on years ago, a woman pulled up to the back of the group riding a fairly rad TT bike. She made her way through the group, and most of the guys were drooling all over her. I tried to make small talk as she got towards the front. Before I knew it, she bolted/disappeared from the group, dropping all of us like a bad habit.The subgroup of racer-wannabes were so pissed that she didnât stick around to shower them with attention and compliments, apparently, and the grumbling after she bolted was pretty odious. Yeah, they were piggish. Rude even. I can only imagine why women wouldnât want to ride with a bunch of preening and pompous men/boys.
Oh, another time someone came riding up with translucent leggings with a opaque section that looked like a g-string, and the drooling was crazy. She too dropped the group after about a half hour. Different woman, but same/similar reaction from the group. That was a few years earlier than the above incident.
Men need to do betterâŚ
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I see enough in the chats just free riding to think it could be an issue in Zwift group rides too. Or at least enough to make people gunshy about participatingâor just flat out happier to join in a group where there will almost certainly be far less chance of that sort of stuff.
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But the chatting can be rough. Plus the pace could be harder/easier. 
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I would suspect also that the simple sense of community, chat or no chat, is appealing. I know it is to me when I do rides with friends, or rides for causes. Simply riding along with people who are specifically welcoming you for a reason you want to be welcomed for feels good, right?
Zwift is a sausage party (quite often, just talking numbers). If a womenâs ride simply makes some women feel more welcome on the platform, thatâs supportive, right? 
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