I Ride Like a Girl

Yesterday, Layne and I decided to ride with the Trek group ride for our Saturday date. As they usually only do 20 miles and we wanted to do more than that, we left an hour early and got in 10 before they started.

Those 10 miles got me good and warmed up, so my legs felt great. We were doing a fairly uphill course-- from American Fork into the foothills of East Alpine-- and I had plenty of time to make some interesting observations.

First. My life and the people I know are pretty homologous-- similar backgrounds, tastes, interests, etc... However, I've met some pretty Interesting people in the cycling world. (With a capital I, if you know what I mean.)

I'll call one of them Ebed-melech. (If you want to know the reason, you're going to have to go to Jeremiah 38:7) "Ebed" used to be a man. Yep. You got it. (I guess I should call him/her Ebedina?) I'm never quite sure which pronoun to use for Ebed. Is it "him?" Is it "her?" Is it "it?"

He-She has a death wish, and I guess I can see why. He-She is obnoxious to ride with-- always trying to prove something and darting into traffic to pass other riders. I'm always worried when he-she starts talking to me because, and I know it's hard to believe from me, but I can't find any words to say back. I always think strange thoughts when I'm around him-her that I'm afraid will come out of my mouth without me thinking. Things like, "So. Is it more comfortable to ride a bike as a woman or a man?"

Inappropriate.

Anyway, the second most beautiful thing about yesterday was that about 2 miles into the ride when we started up the hill on 100 East in American Fork, I sailed past Ebed and never saw him-her again.

Tender mercies.

I say the second most beautiful thing because there was one thing even better than Ebed in my rear-view mirror, so to speak.

A little background, before I divulge.

There were nearly 30 people on this ride-- probably about equally split between men and women. As we started, the testoserone-laden half dashed for the front of the group. Team Estrogen naturally gravitates to the back.

Except for me.

As I mentioned, I was good and warmed up when we started. I had also taken my vitamin full of guarana, taurine, caffeine and other good stuff. For whatever reason, I hung right with the boys- up the big hill at 16-17 mph. (I usually do about 14.) I soon passed every woman who was in front of me, and a bunch of the men.

We rode into Highland, then turned west. We rode through Bull River and then turned up the Suncrest road. That is one steep, long incline! However, I just kept pedaling and knocking off the men one by one. Only 2 managed to stay in front of me-- and I have to say that I didn't try very hard to catch them because I began to note an interesting phenomenon.

Boys don't like being passed by girls. Especially ones on pink bikes with pink jerseys and pink sunglasses.

I got funny looks as I motored past. As soon as we'd crest the hills, they'd make sure to fly past me on the descent.

That's okay, boys. Knock yourself out. When push comes to shove, we know who's getting to high ground faster.

I had a blast-- I don't remember the last time I had that much fun on a ride. Layne didn't have as much fun as I did. His Lucky Charms didn't last as long as my Frosted Mini Wheats and he was hungry.

I guess that some days it's okay to ride like a girl. I think that Ebedina must agree.