"Not A Real Athlete"?!?!

[SadieKate]

Corsair just whispered it in my ear. I get it now.

Is that enough "eeks!" for you, Corsair?

[CorsairMac]

ROFLMAO!!! Hmmm I don't know - one can Never have too many eeks in their life I'm thinking!

[Dianyla]

Bwahhahaaa!!!

Similar to the way one can change the meaning of the D in DH to mean "Dear Husband" or "Damn Husband", I also mentally change the meaning from ManFriend to MF'er depending on his behavior.

[profàvélo]

(doing a PhD right now)

Hmmm...so am I...interesting...

I am teaching and trying to dissertate and trying to be athletic. That's my trinity.

[sydney_b]

Bwahhahaaa!!!

Similar to the way one can change the meaning of the D in DH to mean "Dear Husband" or "Damn Husband", I also mentally change the meaning from ManFriend to MF'er depending on his behavior.

I like that MF ....

[caligurl]

WOW... this thread got me thinking.. i've never thought of myself as an athlete.... i ride a bike and work out every morning... but athlete????? me?????

[Pax]

WOW... this thread got me thinking.. i've never thought of myself as an athlete.... i ride a bike and work out every morning... but athlete????? me?????

Yup!

[doc]

I have a friend who is a firefighter. He called me the other day to let me know the firefighter obstacle course was open to the public for one day if I wanted to try it out. He told my husband, "I know how competitive she is. She would love the challenge". He also went on to tell him it is super hard, guys sometimes have trouble finishing, but he thinks I could do it. As it turns out I was working that day so I couldn't do it but you can believe I'm planning to do it next year.

So what is my point? It is clear to most men that a woman who can ride a century is a mega athelete. I've never done a couble century. I bow down to your athletic prowess.

[maillotpois]

Bwahhahaaa!!!

Similar to the way one can change the meaning of the D in DH to mean "Dear Husband" or "Damn Husband", I also mentally change the meaning from ManFriend to MF'er depending on his behavior.

Um... or d*ck head.

[Barb]

I am overweight and have been for about 5 years now. But I ride. Now I have begun to lift weights and track my rides. I use a heartrate monitor. I was an athlete in high school and I am an athlete now. For me it is not about how I look but how I feel about what I am doing.

I FEEL GREAT!!!!

[Lise]

In a moment of feeling like an absolute fraud last summer, I looked up "athlete" in the dictionary. I wrote the definition I found inside my training journal: Athlete: One who takes part in activities requiring agility, endurance, or strength. Next to it I wrote: Therefore, I am an athlete. (BTW, non-athletes don't keep training journals.)

I suggest you rent "Miracle" to watch with the MF. It has a lovely scene of Olympic athletes puking their guts out after a grueling training session. It's about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, and it shows that there's a lot more to being an athlete than just athletic ability.

I love the heart and soul of every woman on this board. I am proud to be among you.

I want to see MF keep up with Corsair on her daily commute. I'd like to see him keep going when Nanci and Dianyla hit their stride on mile 167. And if he can, great! Welcome to it! If he can't, well, do what doc does, do what I do, and bow down to their athletic prowess. L.

[Duck on Wheels]

Of course you're an athlete! All of you gals (or am I committed enough now to say us gals?) are athletes! And shame on any man who tries to deflate your self-esteem!

That said, I'm not so sure about the advice to challenge said MF to a ride and rub it in his face that you can leave him behind on a hill. Your MF is hardly alone in being particularly competitive vis a vis women, not least in the area of physical prowess. Another area might be, say, earnings. Even my DH, who was very supportive and proud of me when I got my PhD, even though it outranks his ME academically, was a bit shaken (or at least joked about being shaken) when I made full professor and began to outearn him. It may have helped him get over it that he can still outrun me hiking or biking. And just to show how common this need to outperform women is, check what men report as their greatest biking embarrassments on this site:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=humbling

Every other one (well, I haven't counted, or even read to the end, but it seemed that way) is embarrassed that women, older men, or people with shoddier sports equipment left them in the dust. That and falling through failure to unclip -- when women are watching.

So before you brutally make MF face the truth, you might want to consider whether you're mad enough to actually want to be rid of him, or whether this is one flaw you're willing to try to tease him out of slowly and diplomatically. If so, then when you take him out on a ride and leave him behind on that hill, remember to say that you're sure he could BECOME faster than you if he trained for it.

[Veronica]

Great, now I can't see MF without thinking bad words.

V.

[CyclaSutra]

And just to show how common this need to outperform women is, check what men report as their greatest biking embarrassments on this site:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=humbling

Every other one (well, I haven't counted, or even read to the end, but it seemed that way) is embarrassed that women, older men, or people with shoddier sports equipment left them in the dust. That and falling through failure to unclip -- when women are watching.

Bikeless, this was a hilarious thread. But I, too, was amazed at how many of them kept mentioning "fat chick" or "girl" as the MOST humiliating type of cyclist that could pass them. I mean, it's NOT a guy's forum, so I have to assume that 95 percent of them ARE men, and they just don't care how sexist they sound?

I mean, if I didn't enjoy the male energy and equipment so much, their MF attitude might send me switching teams. LOL!

Now I'm even MORE intimidated to try riding with guys. Jeez. I ride by myself 90 percent of the time, and I really have enjoyed the group rides with women, although they're sorta competitive, they're always supportive. I'm not the fastest one, but at least the ladies respect that I can keep my butt in the saddle for 10 hours...

[Duck on Wheels]

Yep, very funny thread. Even funnier when you start seeing the sexist pattern. Poor boys. It can't be easy trying to stay ahead now that more and more women are serious about training. Remember when Grete Waitz came in ... oh, some single-digit place in the then still otherwise all-male New York marathon? Turns out that women have some advantages in endurance sports. And if it's any consolation, ladies, fat plays a part in it

But I can't take credit for finding the site. That was Salsabike. I just saw her reference to it in another thread, as an all-in-the-same-boat comfort to somebody who fell at the start of a ride.