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

[doctorfrau]

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

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!

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

[bluerider]

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!!!

[LBTC]

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!

Namaste,
~T~

[skibum]

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

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.

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!

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.

[Shaula]

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!

[Adventure Girl]

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

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

[Irulan]

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

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.

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

[bikerchick68]

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...

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

[rn2binca]

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!

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

[Trek420]

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

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

[latelatebloomer]

I'm still smarting from something a coworker said yesterday. I proudly told him that I had ridden 13 miles on Sunday (that's my best so far, and I've battled that up from a very shaky 3 miles in the spring! It's been the hardest work of my life!) and he said, "I guess that's good for a start."

[Blueberry]

It's been the hardest work of my life!) and he said, "I guess that's good for a start."

Grrr......That comment and the bike shop manager who said "YOU cycle" make me *really* mad. How insensitive. There are *many* days where I feel like 13 miles is a LOT and I certainly don't want someone telling me it isn't. And I sure don't want someone looking at me and telling me I don't look like a ride. My brother in law made that mistake. He won't make it again (actually, he made a comment along the lines of my big chain ring being large and he didn't think I could really pedal it, and a comment about "posers" having bikes in their living rooms - some of us don't have garages - though we *could* talk about the extra set of wheels with winter tires for his sports car that reside in a closet...).

A start. Harumph. That's more exercise than the majority of this country gets in a week - heck - probably a month.

Keep riding and don't let it get to you. Do what's a good workout FOR YOU!

And DO NOT support the bike shop that made that comment. You do not have to be a size 2 to be athletic. More shop managers need to realize that.

[bikerchick68]

LLB- now see! THAT is exactly what I mean... he most likely didn't mean it to sound that way... ugh! just not thinking...

13 miles is GREAT my friend... I was on a "Long Distance" forum just the other day and here is something I stumbled across... a discussion over what distance exactly is "long distance"...here's the quote:

"I said then and I'll say again I think Lon Haldeman's definition should suffice:

Long distance is just going farther than you have before.

If it works for Lon I think it's worth considering."

Lon Halderman and Susan Notorangelo are a husband-and wife team who are both two-time winners of the Race Across America (RAAM).

so LLB, YOU are a long distance cyclist!

[Rakekay]

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...

What I really want to know is, are you going out with that guy again?

[bikerchick68]

LOL... No... but not because of that comment... there were some things said and behaviors discussed that were big red flags for me... he'll be great for someone... just not me...