New Biker, Was recently shunned!

[bicyclulz]

Amy,

i love your signature. And thanks for the kind words of encouragement....

..i cant bike fast worth a damn, but i try:-)

[Cactus Flower]

Hi everyone - I'm new to this site and pretty new to cycling.

I'll tell you what - there are WAY more friendly accepting riders out there than those women you encountered. And your story made me smile. When I went to pick out my bike, I took my trainer with me. She's a triathlete and has completed the IronMan THREE times (training for her fourth). One of the first things out of her mouth was, "What color are you gonna get? The pink ones are so HOT!"

See? You never know. I didn't end up with a pink Fuji, but a Fuji nonetheless and it is AWESOME!

I'm about to go for my first group ride tomorrow and already the group has been very welcoming. I'm so lucky - hang in there, and you'll have many wonderful stories to share as well.

[flirtees]

I'm one of those women who bought my first bike based on colour. I love to chat and gossip on long group rides. I love to buy kits that match. We all do our nails before a race. WE love Pink!!! The common denominator is that we love to ride. We should all encourage women to ride.

It's wonderful to read everyone's posts! This is a great community of women cyclists. Look forward to chatting.

Tanya

[quint41]

Late getting into this thread, but just wanted to say ...

1) the vast majority of cyclists are fantastic people. Which leads me to believe those women you encountered are not "real" cyclists.

2) I agree with the very first comment -- they probably are not capable of riding any farther than 25. My very first thought was, "if you're such a great cyclist yourself, why aren't you out on the century?"

3) I heard of a guy on a group ride (and this guy was apparently all man), who rides one of those pretty pastel teal green Bianchi's. He had the green bike, water bottle, bar tape and even the helmet to match! I'd like to hear them comment on his pastel ride!

4) Someday I'm going to have MY frame powder coated like this:

[sundial]

Personally, I would be honored to be smoked by a chick on a pink bike.

[LadyInMotion]

I know this is a late response, hadn't been online in awhile but I also had a similiar experience as a new rider. I winced as I read this because I know how it feels when you want to fit in and some are determined that you are not.

No they did not attack the color of my bike and no, its not pink. I brought up the end of a group (both F and M)ride and two of the front female riders made a comment they didn't think the big girl was going to make it - in not so nice tones and both laughed. Others nearby looked very uncomfortable and obviously did not know what to say. Yes, I know I am a big girl trying to lose the weight and I know my face was red and sweaty but by-gosh I did it and I was not going to let these two diminish my accomplishment. The adult thing to have done would have been to ignore them but I just couldn't. I just smiled and said "I'm sorry {long pause}...exercise usually helps PMS." and then went over to fountain and refilled my water bottle. I did notice after that others made a point to smile or encourage me on the ride.

There are some like this in all groups, not just cyclists, and they will ridicule anything and it really wasn't about the color of your bike or my size they had a problem with.

[indigoiis]

When I first rode with the local bike shop, I was riding my mountain bike.
The owner told me to leave early with the fat bottom girls.

I couldn't believe what he said. I looked at him askance. "Tha whaaat?"

What he really said was "The flat-bar'd girls" meaning, the girls on mountain or fitness bikes who were leaving early because of having fatter tires / slower bikes.

His accent really threw me off.