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

[Trekhawk]

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."

latelate - dont worry about what your coworker said God gave some of us fewer brain cells.

Well done on the ride, you and I will make that century yet.

[Trekhawk]

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!

bikerchick68 - I love that definition.

[archibella]

lol! this thread is great I think the strangest/funniest thing a guy (I've actually heard this on two separate occasions now) has ever said was during a breakfast break on a ride: "did you know you left your lights on?"

because (semi-sarcastic) you know I might not be able to start my bike if my battery dies...

[Trekhawk]

lol! this thread is great I think the strangest/funniest thing a guy (I've actually heard this on two separate occasions now) has ever said was during a breakfast break on a ride: "did you know you left your lights on?"
because (semi-sarcastic) you know I might not be able to start my bike if my battery dies...

archibella - lol I love that.

[Veronica]

Think about a beautiful birch tree. I'm picturing the ones that used to be in my mom's front yard when I was a kid. They were slender and strong. In the winter we'd get some sleet and snow storms that would cause them to bend over and touch the ground because of the weight on them. But they didn't break and bounced right back to their original slim, willowy shape.

V.

[Deborajen]

I agree, Veronica! Tree trunks come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. There are slim, beautiful tree trunks, and at the other end there are sequoyas - all are strong and firm. If a guy tells a woman, knowing that she's a cyclist, that her legs are like tree trunks, I'd assume he meant her legs are strong and firm. That's a compliment to her athleticism and athletic figure.

Take it and run!

Deb

[Dianyla]

Heh, I had an acquaintance say to me that with all the training for the STP I was starting to look like a quarter horse, and I know him well enough to say that he didn't mean it as a compliment. I just smiled and beamed "why, thank you!" as if it had been a compliment. Sure made him feel like an oaf.

[SandyLS]

This may be a bif off topic but........
Early this spring just after I had purchased my first road bike,
I was half way through my first 20 mile ride of the year when a guy riding in my direction pulled up along side me and started to chat. He asked me about my bike, my route and other bike stuff. He told me about trying to get his lady friend interested in riding. (I recommended that she check out the T.E. site). He said his goodbyes and peddled off ahead of me. About a quarter of a mile up the road he turned around and headed back to me. He told me that he just came back to tell me what a good job I was doing on the bike and as another biker he knew that we don’t hear that often enough! I haven’t seen him again on the road, but he sure made my day. What a nice way to start the biking season.

[profàvélo]

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!

This reinforces my secret desire to open a bike shop for women. My husband's response was that bike shop owners don't make any money; I replied that I wouldn't be doing it for the money. I just want to help more women get out there and ride, on any kind of bike. I would hire women mechanics so that women customers would never be intimidated. I would have a book section, too--I've never seen one in a bike shop--books on training, riding, nutrition, etc.

Would you go out of your way to get to a LBS for women?

[jeannierides]

This reinforces my secret desire to open a bike shop for women. My husband's response was that bike shop owners don't make any money; I replied that I wouldn't be doing it for the money. I just want to help more women get out there and ride, on any kind of bike. I would hire women mechanics so that women customers would never be intimidated. I would have a book section, too--I've never seen one in a bike shop--books on training, riding, nutrition, etc.

Would you go out of your way to get to a LBS for women?

I would SO be there! The guys at my lbs are pretty good, but I'm almost always there with my dso. The few other bike shops in town where I've been, just pretty much ignore me...

[sydney_b]

This reinforces my secret desire to open a bike shop for women. My husband's response was that bike shop owners don't make any money; I replied that I wouldn't be doing it for the money. I just want to help more women get out there and ride, on any kind of bike. I would hire women mechanics so that women customers would never be intimidated. I would have a book section, too--I've never seen one in a bike shop--books on training, riding, nutrition, etc.

Would you go out of your way to get to a LBS for women?

Although the guys at my LBS are really nice, they don't seem to get the idea that I'd really like to learn more about my bike. So, I learn on my own and gradually ask better questions, but it would be nice if their attitude was one more into teaching.

One might not need to do a shop. What about a sort of cooperative where folks could pay a membership and maybe be able to purchase parts at lowered prices and be able to use tools? Of course, you'd still need to have an expert on hand once in a while, but maybe it could be more along the lines of mentorship instead of client/professional.

[Ninabike]

I would support a women's LBS or co-op in a minute.

I think there is a general lack of recognition in the cycling industry that women make up a significant portion of the market. I have a couple of good LBS's who are attentive to my needs, but I am looking for a "winged" carbon handlebar with short drop and reach, and my LBS guy looked all over for one and said he would check at Interbike - Nada!! There is nothing out there. He said there is just not enough demand from women!! I told him if the stuff we wanted was out there, there would be plenty of demand!! (By the way, anyone out there know of a 40cm, short drop and reach carbon winged handlebar?)

Nina

[Asphaltgirl]

a female LBS?! I'd be there in a heart beat! This summer, cycling on Cape Cod with DH, we stopped in a bike shop that had the most beautiful purple Specialized WSB that was just my size. But I left it there when the salesman tried to sell the bike to my husband...like he thought I didn't have a clue what he was talking about-- I was just "the little lady". It really made me angry that he thought he couldn't talk to me about the components on the bike--I know what the heck a derailleur is! Happens all the time--into the bike shop--talk to the husband....ignore the woman. Makes me really really mad!
~~AG~~

[Trekhawk]

This reinforces my secret desire to open a bike shop for women. My husband's response was that bike shop owners don't make any money; I replied that I wouldn't be doing it for the money. I just want to help more women get out there and ride, on any kind of bike. I would hire women mechanics so that women customers would never be intimidated. I would have a book section, too--I've never seen one in a bike shop--books on training, riding, nutrition, etc.
Would you go out of your way to get to a LBS for women?

Yep I would - I was looking thru some Australian Bike shop info on the internet the other night (so I know whats around when we eventually go home) and there was a shop in Sydney that had a big blurb about how half of the shop is now set up for women. With lots of wsd bikes and all the cycling gear and accessories for women. They had even done a makeover on that part of the shop because he believed women feel better in nicer surroundings. Anyway this guy seems to have gotten the right idea about women cycling being an untapped area of retail. He said he had heaps of women coming in off the street saying I havent cycled in years but maybe I will give it a whirl and he believes its because the environment he offers is non threatning for new women cyclists. He even sort out qualified women to staff his new area for the customers that prefer to deal with women. Hooray for him.

[snpdragn]

Does it have to be cycling related? Cause... I could go for days. Like my ex telling me that the reason I had trouble keeping the seats at the movie theater unfolded was because all my weight was centered around my butt, causing the seat to want to fold in easier.

Or my ex telling me when I was playing on the floor with my daughter and had my hair in a high ponytail - and he told me I looked like a sumo wrestler with my hair like that.

or my current bf telling me that my legs are shaped all curvy like drumsticks.

or him telling me when I raise my arms up to stretch: 'stop! your boobs are where they're supposed to be when you do that!'

I could go on and on. I'm thinking of writing a book. lol. Men really do say the most interesting things.