New Biker, Was recently shunned!

[bicyclulz]

Hello All! First time poster, almost a first time biker and just wanted to share my newbie story:


Some background...

So, its been YEARS since I have been on a bike. But my bf got into cycling and decided that it was time for me to get on a bike again (I have not been on one since my pink huffy ca. 1992). Well, this was almost 6 months ago. I was riding on a Raleigh steel frame bike with friction shifters (!!). I loved that bike....

Well, this past weekend my wonderful guy bought me a new FUJI Finest 2.0 as a present and as a reason to convince me to go out to see him ride in his first century. Since I have only been commuting to the office (7 miles one way---easiest commute on a bike!), I haven't had a chance to get on the road and really have a good long ride. I surely wasn't ready for a full century so I decided to just ride 25 miles.

Here's where the story really begins...

I loved how the new bike felt. it was light and fast and pink! Now, I have always considered myself athletic, but more in the soccer and lacrosse side rather than cycling, but nonetheless, I am by no means scared of a little sweat. There were a ton of women on this 25 and 50 mile route. We stopped at the first rest stop at this mill about 10 miles into the ride. I was feeling amazing and couldn't wait to get back on the road. I was chatting with a group of riders who were riding together as part of a weekend cycling club and they were super nice to me and very encouraging as far as me finishing the ride without wanting to give up biking forever.

I left this group, went to the restrooms and chatted with a few more people in line. there was a group of about 4 women, all about my age, who walked back over to where our bikes were and I smiled and tried to strike up a conversation when one of the women took a look at my bike, smirked, and said in a very catty way, "Cute bike...and look, its pink." Her pals laughed and the other one turned to her friends and fired off with this gem: "I hate girls sometimes...always out riding in flashy colors. Might as well have ribbons in their hair...," all while giving me this nasty look.

Now, my first instinct was to fire back with some rude comment right back... but I held off. THEN, when i was getting back on my bike they laughed and one girl roared with "I wonder if she can even make it back...."

I was so outraged that I think it just fueled my fire and instead of riding just 25, I worked off that anger and rode for another 15 miles before calling it quits.

I want to ride that century next summer and do the full ride....and I surely am not going to let a bunch of catty chicks make me feel lame just because i haven't been riding all my life! We all have to start somewhere right?

ok, that's all. Just wanted to vent about a negative almost-first time riding experience!

[Pedal Wench]

How completely rude! How can some people be so rude??? You should be SO proud that you went far beyond your previous limits - they probably could only do the 25, and their words were the only powerful things they had. Grrr. Makes me made. Especially since I have four pink bikes. Two of them are replicas of the PROFESSIONAL T-Mobile race team, and one of them with the colors of the PROFESSIONAL Lampre men's race team. Yeah - real racers race pink bikes!

Oh yeah - you didn't have a negative first-time experience. YOU rocked. THEY were the ones with the problems!

[indigoiis]

Uh, how old were these... women?

You know, the new Trek Pilot, which retails for around a thousand bucks, is pepto bismal pink. And after test riding it, I can tell ya, it's no ribbon bike.



Congrats on your first quarter plus century. Keep enjoying your fuji finest. I test rode one of those, too, and really liked it. I'm new at this, too, and appreciate the desire to be a part of things -- the nice thing about TE is, you ARE!

[bicyclulz]

Thanks for the encouragement and nice words!

I am going to try a few routes this weekend. There was this great website called babesonbikes.com and they have a few cue sheets for rides in Arlington and in the Northern VA.DC.MD Area so I am really excited!

Also.....bf is getting me to try out some clipless pedals this weekend...wish me luck in not tipping over!!!!!

p.s these women were definitely in their late 20s/early 30s and should have learned how to not be such school yard bullies!

[mimitabby]

wow, what aZZholes!

I ride a gaudy bike and I know a lot of men who do too. Please know that
most of us bicyclists are not like that!

enjoy your new bike and your new passion. I hope you meet many more bicyclists who enjoy biking enough not to make asinine and nasty comments about other riders...

[East Hill]

All I can say is--it's obvious they weren't TE ladies.

Not proper TE ladies, at any rate .

So never mind them, just get out there and enjoy your PINK bike.

East Hill

[PinkPilot]

Uh, how old were these... women?

You know, the new Trek Pilot, which retails for around a thousand bucks, is pepto bismal pink. And after test riding it, I can tell ya, it's no ribbon bike.

Trust me (and the rest of us who bought this no longer available 2007 Trek Pilot 5.2 WSD, although that's a picture of the 2006 model)......she retailed for three times that!!!! And she's an all-carbon powerhouse and light as a rose petal. With an experienced rider--or maybe someone p*ssed off enough after their comments to be raging with adrenaline--she would leave them whimpering in her wake!

I'm new to cycling entirely myself and I can totally identify with you since I have not yet ridden in any event like this. I'm outraged.

There was a thread a few days ago about "motivation". Like you this past weekend, bicyclulz, I just now figured out what mine is! Ride on, FUJI Finest!!!!!!!!!

[Eden]

don't worry about people like that - they are most likely insecure and try to bolster themselves by putting down others.
Just take that pink bike out and show them what you're made of. At 5' tall and a little over 100 lbs, I do not cut an imposing figure by any stretch of the imagination and I often hear comments about my "cute little bike", but most people find rather quickly that it does not pay to underestimate me - I won 3 state championship medals this year

[silver]

don't pay any attention to these people! Up with Pink Bikes (I don't have one)

There are some really snobby cyclist out there. But I think there are soooooo many more friendly cyclists!

Where's a picture of TrekJeni's purple bike with the purple streamers on the handlebars? She can stream past most of the riders out there on that baby.

I get the snobby thing from road cyclists quite a bit, because......I'm thin, I'm a triathlete, I was riding with someone who was killed..... Then I get the snobby thing from the tri folks because I don't ride a tri bike. Oh well!

here's another pink bike thread

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ight=streamers

I could only find a picture of Jeni's bike from her wreck pics:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ight=streamers

[bicyclulz]

Just wanted to let you all know that your words of encouragement have been amazing....

....wish me luck...i try clipless tonight!

[mimitabby]

how about this bike

[Eden]

or this outfit....

[Jo-n-NY]

I will repeat what everyone else said, IGNORE THAT SNOBBY LADIES if you want to call them ladies. geeeez I am sure next year you will be riding right past and leaving them in the dust if they are still riding by then.

Good luck with the clippless pedals. If you fall, do not worry, it happens to all of us

Chins up bicyclulz, you rode a great ride!!!!

~ JoAnn

[mimitabby]

well, Eden, at least YOU'RE wearing a helmet!

[teigyr]

It's too bad you couldn't have had some fun with them. I'm the type to say something to interject into their conversation ... like "oh RIBBONS! That would've been SO CUTE! Oh wow, I wish I would have thought of that. Thanks for the idea, I will definitely do that next time!" And at the rate I've coordinated things to my bike (the Bianchi, not the gaudy Orbea), I have even done things like match nail polish.

I know what it's like to be athletic but new at something. I would have felt bad too - swimming is new to me and if someone made fun of me or made me feel inferior, I'd be upset.

When I was first riding, I was doing a century on my mountain bike. I had equipped it with city tires but the bike was not geared for road riding. I was riding about 6,000 miles a year on it though and was proud that I could keep up with roadies on occasion. On a century once a guy said in this totally patronizing bike "oh wow, look at you go! That is SUCH a heavy bike!". It wasn't said in admiration, I felt like he was talking to a child. I ended up passing him on a hill. I really wanted to say something but I didn't.

Life is too short not to have fun. Nothing wrong with pink bikes or streamers or ribbons. Go see an Aids Ride sometime if you want to see festive