New Biker, Was recently shunned!

[ibcycling]

Hey, I might be able to make the "Fat Bottomed Girls" ride! I'm going to post a thread when I know the dates for sure but I'll be in Seattle for 2 weeks training on my new job. Of course my bike HAS to go with me and I'll need some of you gals to show me around. I've been to Seattle twice since we moved here and LOVE it! I'm not a city gal but for some reason Seattle spoke to me and I'd love to ride there! I don't have a pink bike but I definitely qualify as a fat bottomed girl.

Lora

[teresa]

Why do women treat each other this way? I hate that you had that experience. I've only been on one organized ride myself and I know how out of place I felt and that would have really hurt my feelings. I am especially glad that this forum exists for women to share that kind of experience and then receive the support they DESERVE from other women. My bike is sea foam green with flowers painted on the top bar and I love it!! I hope you do the century next year. I hope I can ever do one.

[sassyc]

Those girls aren't cool enough for pink!

I have a friend (male) who is an INSANE athlete. He has pink streamers on his MTB, and a pink Chris King headset (which retails for $125ish, snazy).

... and his girlfriend just bought a pink Ellsworth Truth... retails for over $5,000!!

so there.

[teresa]

That is one very secury man!! I don't know him but I love him already!! Yes, pink does rock! And sea foam green! And streamers!

[mimitabby]

secury?
what IS a secury man?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I got a new digital camera for myself a few months ago. I'm not sure why, but all the black and silver ones seemed so boring to me, and plus i wanted my camera to be "different" from my DH's clunky older digital camera. So i got a PINK one!
When DH saw it, he said "Hah, I bet you bought that pink camera so that I would be too embarrassed to borrow it and use it, right?....well your plan WON'T WORK!"

That's a secury man.

[Pedal Wench]

I just rode my mtb for the 3-Day, with pink streamers, a pink stuffed hare on my seatpost bag, and every inch of the top tube covered by a fuzzy pink boa. And people thought I was a hero for doing it. Proud to be Pink.

[teresa]

Sorry, don't know what was going on with my fingers. What I was trying to type was "secure", not "secury". Now I'm not feeling very "secury" about my typing.

[alicestrong]

Hey there

Sorry that happened...

I'm building my first fixed gear bike and it's going to be pink. Yeah! Proud to be pink!

[caribou]

What a great thread!

Check this out for something similar from Seana Hogan, multiple-time Race Across America woman winner who gave the guys a run for their money, too:

http://gainesvillecyclingclub.org/1995/10seana.html

I also had a snitty comment from a woman rider once, re. my Speedplay cleats, of all things. She seemed put out the whole ride that I was there; everybody else was nice. This was a group ride I was trying for the first time. At our rest stop, she said loudly, in a snarky voice, in my hearing, "Those cleats she's wearing. Those are the ones that are supposed to be hard to walk in, aren't they?"

I was too shocked to give the obvious answer--"They're a little awkward to walk in, but they're meant for riding and they're great for that"--which would have been delivered with a sweet smile and tone of voice that made it clear that I was the much nicer person of the two of us . Needless to say, never tried a ride with that group again.

Thank heavens most riders, women AND men, are nice, supportive, etc. etc.

Re. FatBottom Girls Ride: maybe we need multiple venues at once!! An International FatBottom Girls Day. Complete with bike bells encourageed on all bikes. I would SO go for that!

And, is that Slug shirt available somewhere??????

Okay, enough time wasted reading about riding. Time to get on the bike.

[KnottedYet]

The hill slug shirt is here on TE: http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=23089

Maybe the rude chickie was just jealous of your cleats. I've heard of road bike riders getting a little friendly harrassement for using mtb cleats, but can't say I've heard of someone getting it for road cleats! (and SPEEDPLAY of all things!)

[KnottedYet]

And I totally agre with Seana Hogan: I love whuppin' the racer types on my steel bikes while wearing a skirt and all the fred reflectors and screaming yellow I own. It's especially sweet when I'm also wearing my flip-flop sandals.

(the best one yet was when I did it on an uphill riding a steel mixte singlespeed! Wheeeeee!)