What dumb stuff have men said to YOU since taking up cycling???

I guess there's ALWAYS a bright side... while this is somewhat appalling it's also pretty darned funny...I keep going between being annoyed and amused.

So, Friday night I'm out on a first date with another guy from the online sight I joined... he's spent most of the evening talking about himself... but finally asks about my interests and specifically about my ride the week before (Lighthouse Century)... so I describe the beautiful day, the scenery and all the amazing wildlife we saw, including the whale....

I finish and he says, "Yeah, I can tell you ride a lot..." I said, "Oh?" and he says...... "Your legs are like tree trunks. You look really good!" :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :o

uhhhhh.... HOW do you respond to that. I just sat there with my mouth open while Mr. Oblivious continued the conversation, obviously believing he'd just given me a wonderful compliment.

TREE TRUNKS???? :mad: There are SO many other adjectives.... well sculpted, nicely toned, muscular quads... the best thing he could come up with was "tree trunks"... sheesh. Now I feel like an abnormality. Look, I KNOW I'm not skinny... but I think my legs, despite being large, look pretty rock solid thank you. :( :D :( :D :( :D

yeah, annoyed and amused all at once is a weird feeling.

So, what DUMB stuff have men said to YOU since taking up cycling???

Tree Trunks...that's great! I love guys compliments, sometimes guys just don't think. Mine isn't really cycling related, but my husband on multiple occasions has complimented my chest my comparing it to golf balls, tennis balls, or small handfuls (obviously I wasn't blessed with a large chest). He means well and I just take it like that!!

I'm sure he meant well with the tree trunks comment (rather off the wall though), so just try to be flattered by it!

The guy I had been living with for the past two years and who introduced me to cycling (actually it's more like his family did but he likes to take the credit for it) left me at the end of June. The breakup is not cycling related, but I was quite sure it annoyed him that I had gotten quite passionate about it, and possibily more knowledgeable than he was on the topic.

In August he announced to me that he was going out with some other girl. I know her, she's not really sporty so I made some smarty comment about taking her camping. He replied that maybe he'd convince her (or something like that), but then added: "I will not let her buy a bike though."

Now, to borrow from a recent tread, "that's a guy who's not very safe about his masculinity!"

bikerchick68 "So, what DUMB stuff have men said to YOU since taking up cycling???"

bikerchick....unfortunately.....it's.....not...just...guys :rolleyes: what is it about this sport that some folks have such a hard time with? While some may express it better ahem but what I'm hearing is "love the legs, can't understand why you do this".

Sorry folks, legs like this don't grow on trees (pun intended) they take maintenance ;)

I went for a nice ride with my girlfriends one Saturday recently, one of our usual routes. On our way home, there's a gentle but sort of long climb that I really love if I'm feeling good. So I was feeling good and moving right along...and up ahead were two men. (Personally, there's nothing more motivating on a climb than seeing a man I think I can pass.) So I cruise past them, saying hello as I go. The first guy says, "That's not fair," and I respond, "What do you mean?" No further response. The other guy just says hello.

So my girlfriends and I regroup, and we drop one off at a popular starting point for the ride we'd just done, and the two guys I had dropped show up. The one who whined "not fair" said, with no provocation whatsoever, that he was not having a good day because he had just given and pint and a half of blood on Thursday.

Right. Last I checked, most blood banks take only a pint. Now, I realize that giving blood does, in fact, affect your body for several days. But it's such a male thing (I think) to have to justify being passed or dropped. The women I ride with tend to compliment the strong riding of others, not give excuses for why they are being dropped.

Anybody else notice this difference?

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he first guy says, "That's not fair," and I respond, "What do you mean?" No further response.

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LOL, you "chicked" him and he couldn't handle it.

My guy did something similar. We were on a trip, sitting on the airplane with a stranger next to us. My BF said something along the lines that I could power up the hills with my 'thunder thighs'. I could see the guy next to us just squirming, then start laughing and he wondered out loud something about seeing how my guy was gonna get out of this one!

On the flip side, I was doing a century a few weeks ago, and one of the SAG guys said something like I didn't look like a century rider. What the heck does that mean? I had no comeback, but my BF said that neither did the SAG guy! He recovered by saying that I was looking all fresh and happy. Yeah, whatever.

I have never decided whether this was a stupid action or not, but last year while I was riding a very narrow singletrack I pulled over for a couple of guys to pass me. When I'm on a narrow ledge I hate having someone behind me so I had called back to them that I'd pull over as soon as I could.

As they passed, the last one said "Thanks, sweetheart!" Normally, I would bristle at an absolute stranger, a male, calling me sweetheart especially in a athletic activity. For some reason, the way he said it just made me laugh. Both guys were quite a bit younger than I so I just reasoned that from the rear I don't look as old as I think I do.

I told my group about the story and they spent the rest of the day calling me sweetheart. It was pretty silly.

[QUOTE=bikerchick68]I finish and he says, "Yeah, I can tell you ride a lot..." I said, "Oh?" and he says...... "Your legs are like tree trunks. You look really good!" :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :o

I've never had anyone say that to me or about me, but some guys who were painting our house said that about my husband's legs. He came back from a mountain bike ride and they where talking to him about riding, etc. and then turned to me and said "man he has legs like tree trunks"! He has really buffed legs so I think you can take that as a compliment. ;)

MEN, they have no clue when it comes to complimenting! :D

Not a guy but one of my Best Girl Friends actually made a comment to someone that I wore black "spandex" cycling shorts because I thought I looked hot in them. She's clueless to the sport and does not know that they actually serve all kinds of purpose to the sport! Ughhh female friends who do not cycle can be so annoying of our "obsession" as most of my friends like to tell me.

Tree Trunks are strong and solid I would rather be given that comp than alot of other things legs could look like~Jello? Men, they are good for laugh are'nt they? :confused:

Kim

My aunt once told me that "piano legs" run in the family...

Nanci

I've never had a "tree trunk legs"-like comment, but my personal favorite happened on the Houston to Austin MS150. I had just come down a hill and was cruising along a flat when I passed a heavy set middle aged man. He turned to me and said, "I just don't understand how a little girl on a *seafoam green* Bi-AN-chi could be passing me."

While I wanted to tell him that it was celeste, thank you, and it might have something to do with riding on a regular basis, I just said, "Well, it's a pretty fast bike," and then I left him in the dust.

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"Your legs are like tree trunks. You look really good!"

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You needed to tell that stupid man that calling a women's legs "tree trunks" is NOT a compliment. Gesh. Men can be so dense sometimes. No offense... but if he's about the age of 25... I would wonder about his social skills.

This is not cycling related... but I had a man on the street (in New Orlens) tell me, "Uuummm girl, you got some meat on your bones".

Now mind you, at the time, I was at my heaviest, 5'4" and 128 pounds. So, I stopped and politely explained to him that telling me that... was NOT a compliment. I was cool about it... and we had a good laugh... but he needed to be set straight.


Cycling related... I saw my sister after a year... and in that year I have taken up triathlons, and cycling. When she saw me changing... she says, "Your legs are huge!". I didn't really comment... but dang... :rolleyes:

I've heard a lot of dumb, dumb, DUMB!! stuff, because most people think "thin = in shape, large = couch potato." Sometimes, after a week that included 3 days of weightlifting, 2 or 3 days of spinning, riding on the road and a tough yoga class, a male friend has suggested I try "Curves." Or a neighbor asks if I ever considered walking a couple times a weel as a way to begin to lose weight. I hear less of it now (maybe because the muscle layer is beginning to win out?), but when it happens it burns me up or devastates me for a few breaths. Then I contemplate how far I've come, and what I know to be true. Way too many people assume that if you're large, you're sedentary, and if you're doing the right things, you will become thin. Some of us will never be thin no matter how hard we work out and how careful we are about our eating habits. As I understand it, we are called "Athena's!" :cool:

Men can be really dense.

"You're fast for a girl" or "Hey, you're still with us" when I pull through after a hill-it's not really a compliment, I know they mean well, but it seriously gets old. I'm not that fast, there just aren't any other women here.

The dirty old men in the club regularly comment on my *** (or the riding behind it part), but the racing team guys are gentlemen enough to not say anything. No one has ever made a comment that could be negatively construed, maybe they know if they did I would go seriously apes**t. :o

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Originally Posted by bikerchick68

...and he says...... "Your legs are like tree trunks. You look really good!" :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :o

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I believe the correct response to this is "All the better to kick your arse with!" :D

The legs like tree trunks "complimate" has reminded me of 2 compliments that I have received. First, I was visiting a long time friend, people in her culture are very small framed and slender. They gave me my first ever pedicure as a gift while visiting, and the one girl asked if I worked out, and I had replied that I rode a bicycle. She then replied, "your legs are huge". Okay, so much for the self asteem there, after losing weight and thinking to myself, my legs are finally getting slimmer. I am of the pear shaped figure, and my calves are probably as big as their thighs! The second so compliment was I just finished a 55 mile bike ride on a 20mph wind day, and a semi-retired gentleman came to visit my DH and I was telling him that I was riding bike in his neck of the woods. I was wearing baggy pants, he looked at me, then to my covered legs, and back up to me then stated "you must have legs like a gorilla". I started to laugh..what else do you say to a "compliment" like that! :rolleyes:

shelly :he looked at me, then to my covered legs, and back up to me then stated "you must have legs like a gorilla". I started to laugh..what else do you say to a "compliment" like that! :rolleyes:

"yes, as a matter of fact I do have legs like a gorilla, want to see me pick up twigs with my toes?" or.....


"almost, but I shave mine" ;) :cool: or....


"yes I do, but that's better than dragging my knuckles on the ground like a gorilla like you do" or...... :p


ok, heading off to work, plan to ride today. I'm wondering what my coworker will say THIS time. This itty bitty gal is full of advice for the rest "all I eat is this, I never eat that" crits everyones food and lunch choices including a gal who's lost 80+ lbs with diet changes and excercise and another who is very obese now going to the gym, makeing a start.

I'm thinking next time just "you, me, running the stairs, any day, any time".

Maybe itty bitty girl is trying to be helpful. If not, "Shut the frack up." works well. :D

V.

LMAO. Such a funny thread!
Had a "first date" with a guy from Match Sunday. Did a 20 mile road ride into a 20 mile an hour head wind. He starts off not wearing a helmut (idiot) to asking how fast I ride. I explain I'm a hill slug so I want to hit some hills and work on it, so he dusts me on the hills (I believe the word ******* escaped my lips a few times). Macho man blows a tire :p 10 miles into it (chubby boy!), but I digress.....when he met me for the ride, I'm in my biking shorts and jersey and ready to try out my new bike saddle (still got a sore), and he says "I never would have recognized you from your picture". Is that a good thing or not? He says "yeah, it's a good thing. You look much better in person".

Think it was the bike shorts????? lol. Men....

mtbdarby reports "he says "I never would have recognized you from your picture". Is that a good thing or not? He says "yeah, it's a good thing. You look much better in person"."

Houston, we have progress! Sounds like an actual compliment...and from a man no less!

And men, if you're lurking reading this take note of what NOT to say to a woman ;-)

And V, yeah, itty-bitty gal is probably just trying to help :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by tlkiwi

I believe the correct response to this is "All the better to kick your arse with!" :D

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bwahahhahahahhaha! THAT would have been the perfect response... I may have thought of it if I hadn't been so completely floored... I was just sitting there with my mouth hanging slack... LOL

well, at least I know now I'm not the only one hearing rather pathetic, back handed compliments... clearly some people are really obtuse!

One of the first times my husband and I rode together he had to make the comment "Your butt jiggles alot when you ride."

The last ride we took my husband said "you sure do look a lot different since the last time I rode with you." Being that I was 8 months pregnant at this time I was waiting for a repeat of the "jiggling" comment, instead I got "your legs are really toned. Must be from pushing all that baby weight uphill." I was so relieved. He's learning . . . sort of.

It's hard to believe that people actually said some of these - too funny. :D

The one I hate is the variations on "you look good when you try" I sometimes get when I make the effort to dress up for something, usually from my mother. :rolleyes: I love her dearly, but she just does't seem to appreciate jeans, well-loved t-shirts, hair in need of cutting and no make-up the way I do. :p

I had a guy tell me recently that I had the biggest calf muscles he's ever seen on a woman. I think he meant it in a good way. The way he said it sounded like a compliment but still... most women don't want any of their body parts referred to as being big. Couldn't he have just said 'nice calves'?

lol - well I guess we have to cut men some slack because if they were perfect well then um I think that would make them women. :D

Tlkiwi - man you make me laugh. I nearly had my cuppa tea squirting out of my nose. Lucky Im not in an office at work. Only spectator was my 4 year old who thought I was trying to do a cool trick. :D :D

Most common comment to me is "nice socks" when I'm tooling by in my sneakers, toe clips and novelty socks (I like to wear the ones with the dancing turtles for events).

Did a century with three first-timers this Saturday. We had 25 mph winds and a little bit of hail - but everybody finished and was still walking :-) :-) When the sag wagon came by, we just laughed and waved 'em on. (THere was some real eye candy there, too - pegged him as cute in his car as we pulled up, but then I saw him at the rest stop and he has a smile that comes from oh, the inner core of his spirit or something. Just nice to dodge the wind for awhile wtih him - and a toe clip fellow, too!)

Oops - never meant to endanger your sinuses Trekhawk. Here's hoping your four-year-old doesn't try to master your "cool trick." :eek: :D

Shoot, girl, I think it was ME who said that! Seriously, you've got amazing definition, not size. In fact, inquiring minds wanna know what can one do so one can look JUST LIKE YOU! Really - running, lifting? I want 'nice calves' too! ;) Trust me, it was meant as a compliment!

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Originally Posted by skibum

I had a guy tell me recently that I had the biggest calf muscles he's ever seen on a woman. I think he meant it in a good way. The way he said it sounded like a compliment but still... most women don't want any of their body parts referred to as being big. Couldn't he have just said 'nice calves'?

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Pedal Wench "Seriously, you've got amazing definition, not size."

anyway isn't it the GUYS who say it's not the size it's what you do with it or they say sumthin' like that. ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

Seriously, I think some of you gals need to take a breath and just smile and say "thank you". :p

Guys don't admire the stuff about us that we WANT them to admire and they don't always put it in a WAY we want to hear, but if you turn off the chick-filter they really ARE complimenting you.

Guys admire muscles on other guys, so noting your muscles or your tree-trunk legs isn't a slam - it's a compliment!!!! Grab it and RUN! :D

Noting that you must have gorilla legs is the way for the guy to say - wow, I don't think "I" could climb those hills - you must therefore be awesome!

I used to really mind the fact that an old boyfriend would always comment on how "strong" I was. Why couldn't he say how good my hair smelled, or how sexy that new bra looked on me? I finally realized that in "guy-speak" he WAS complimenting me by admiring my strength and calling me "athletic" - which is something that I hadn't ever perceived myself as being.

Don't diss their compliments - you just have to "translate" them :D

This is such a hilarious thread. Don't know if anyone has seen this but Nike has this new ad campaign out and it's about what our body tells about us. I love this one about "thunder thighs". I am proud of mine!!!

http://nikewomen.nike.com/nikewomen/...hs_800x600.jpg

this one from a girl I work with.

just for reference...I'm not a lot overweight - like 5 - 10 pounds - I just don't have anything straight on me! and I'm really short. and the girl who said it is a stick. way too skinny. probably 20 pounds lighter than me and 4 inches taller.

so she says "wow, for someone so petite you sure are stocky"

yes, I have some muscle definition in my shoulders and arms and I was wearing a sleeveless top. no, I'm not ripped, that extra 5-10 pounds hides the muscles a bit...

anyway, she kept on talking, trying to recover or something, until I finally said she she stop, after all, people might think she's flirting with me! heehee. for a catholic girl, she took that really well! :p

Namaste,
~T~

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

Shoot, girl, I think it was ME who said that!

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Oh, I remember you commenting on my calves but it was said in a very complimentary way :) More along the lines of great muscles, nice definition, etc instead of the guy mode of saying wow your calves are huge.

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

In fact, inquiring minds wanna know what can one do so one can look JUST LIKE YOU! Really - running, lifting? I want 'nice calves' too!

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Some of it's just genetics, everyone in my family has nice calves. Another piece of it is that I'm a 'toe runner'. That means that when I run, I just land on the ball of my foot, my heel never touches the ground. It's generally considered to be a bad running style but it does work your calves pretty well especially when you run hills.

I've been cycling over a year and have gotten so much better. I'm not the slimmest person in the world. So, saying all that, I went to a bike store the other day. The manager is a cyclist, doing it, he said for over 20 years. I told him that I was looking for a better seat. He looked me up and down and said "YOU cycle?" I wanted to knee him!

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Originally Posted by Shaula

He looked me up and down and said "YOU cycle?" I wanted to knee him!

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Lots of the posts on this thread are pretty funny. But that one is just RUDE! :mad:

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Originally Posted by doctorfrau

Seriously, I think some of you gals need to take a breath and just smile and say "thank you". :p

Guys don't admire the stuff about us that we WANT them to admire and they don't always put it in a WAY we want to hear, but if you turn off the chick-filter they really ARE complimenting you.

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yes, thanks for saying that. Focus on them and the gift they are giving you and not what kind of wrapper it comes in.

~Irulan

awww, comeon now... I LIKE the wrapper... and the bows... and, and...

LOL. Yeah, I KNOW he meant it as a compliment. If I really believed he didn't I would've got up and walked outta the date. That, however, does not prevent me from shaking my head at the compliment itself... tree trunks... :rolleyes: :D

My garden friends have suggested I find out if he meant a crape myrtle or an oak! :eek: :D

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Originally Posted by bikerchick68

awww, comeon now... I LIKE the wrapper... and the bows... and, and...

My garden friends have suggested I find out if he meant a crape myrtle or an oak! :eek: :D

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All I can say is thanks for this topic. I truly needed a great chuckle this morning. This one finally got me laughing out loud.

I say "Be Proud, Be Strong!" The fact that we CAN ride a bike (although mine isnt here yet so I should say YOU) is a gift. :)

Women want the bows and pretty wrapper. Most men just don't know how to wrap a present.

Tracy :rolleyes:

Shaula "He looked me up and down and said "YOU cycle?" I wanted to knee him!"

how rude :mad: "yeah, and now I'm also looking for another bike shop as well as the saddle"