Do People Underestimate You?



sunshiney

Active Member
Aug 19, 2015
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I'm one of only 2 female cyclists in the mountain biking group that I ride with. When I first started, I really feel like I had to work harder to prove to all the guys that I could keep up with them.

They all assumed I wasn't as tough as them, wouldn't be able to handle falling, wouldn't be able to handle climbs and drops. It took a few weeks of riding with the group and really pushing myself before they started treating me like one of the guys, instead of like someone's clueless girlfriend who had been dragged along for the ride.

Like, I get it. Giving the new guy a hard time is pretty typical, but it went beyond that into the assumption that I wouldn't be able to keep up, full stop, because women aren't strong enough. I felt like I had to work twice as hard to gain a basic level of respect.

Have you encountered a similar attitude in cycling? What do you do to combat it?
 
Welcome to the club of the weaker sex, hahahaaa. I had participated in tour riding several times although I started not from the original starting point but in the gate of our village. The tour is just about 15 kilometers (not sure of the distance) but the road is winding and uphill. Some of the guys would be riding around me and upon reaching the steep part, some would tell me that it's okay to walk with my bike. So what do you get of it? But I'm not offended albeit I'm flattered with the attention they accorded me.
 
I only bike around our village or sometimes far into the complex. I don't really recall anyone underestimating me since I am biking more as a hobby. I do get your point though. But I think, in this age, what men can do, women can also do, in terms of sports and fitness. This includes biking. The more we delve into equality, the more accepting society is that women are as strong as men. Maybe not literally, but you know, we have the guts to do what they can do. That is really a key point for cyclists like you who are into more competitive and harder cycling.
 
I guess it depends on the group you hang out with. Not all guys will make you feel the way you did. Sometimes it could be all in the mind knowing that guys would usually react the way you had mentioned it but who knows it could just be the opposite. Some guys would even be very protective and caring of the female cyclist.
 
You can't demand respect. Respect and trust has to be earned. Everyone doesn't deserve respect but they deserve
opportunity and consideration.
 
My wife gets underestimated all the time. Just an ordinary 52 year old grandmother of 9 looking woman. But very strong! I've had forum member men invite me on a ride and tel me I can invite my wife as we will stop and wait for her along the way. Only to end up being that it is her waiting on them ha ha! :lol:

Few years back we did a ride with a large group of forum members. About 20 total and another 10 friends invited. 72 miler.

Half way through the ride, one gal got up and said, don't feel bad when we drop you but we have to get back in a hurry!". :eek: Oh that girl thought she was it having done some double centuries and considering herself a highly decorated rider. Well I picked up the pace on the way back. We dropped the entire group except for 4 or 5 men. The rest of the group finished the ride about 30 minutes after we did. After that that same gal kept praising m wife on the forums. Still to this day when we ride with men, they worry that Gina will drop them ha ha!

Average woman that shock most people when she tells them that she rides a bike. :p

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I tell you though, when you go ride up the mountains and climb 3, 4, to 5,000 ft, a woman can really put the hurt on men while riding the flats. :D

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Funny when we pass other men and all they can do is hang on the back hopping to keep up! :lol:

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Why not form a group of female cyclist if that is doable for you. I know not all the women will be interested but for sure there will be some of them from other places which you can readily find using the help of the internet or forums.
 
When I first started doing group rides I was often asked if I was doing ok, given that it was a "long" ride (10kms, pfft). I just laughed and told them I regularly did 16kms for my commute. But I assumed the concern was because I was a "newbie" in the group, not because I am female. Cyclists here are very encouraging and supportive :)
 
I can see and certainly understand these challenges you face. I am an electronics engineering student and when I first started the program there were not too many other female students. I felt like there were a lot of challenges for me. Most of the men in the classes where already used to building circuits or other projects with their hands, but me I am only book smart and receive my education so far with my mind. I think it was a bit of a challenge to learn to build the circuits but I kept at it and can say I am improving each time I need to build a circuit.
 
It's funny how guys always seem to think because you are a woman that you can't keep up to what they can do. I have it even worse because I'm an older woman, Think you have it bad now, wait til your my age. But the laugh is on them. Most of the time I can outdo a lot of the men because I have excellent cardio vascular health. What I may lack in brawn is made up by my ability to keep breathing at a moderate rate with deep inhalations and full exhales. I remember years ago, my first husband and I were climbing up this steep gravel road that led to his parents beach cabin. I was a smoker (still am but I smoke very, very little now) and he automatically thought that I'd be huffing and puffing long before we reached the top. Much to his chagrin, it was him who was doing all the huffing and puffing and he's never smoked a day in his life, Not only did I make it to the top faster, I wasn't the one gasping for every breath. Men often interpret female as meaning weaker than men, and especially if you are older. I am sick to death of being asked, can you manage that? when I need to lift something. No matter how out of shape or old a man is, they never get the "you probably can't handle this" the way women do. I'm really not sure what the answer to it is,
 
I had been invited by a riding group with female as the majority. It is actually a rider's club for physical fitness and not exactly pure riding. I am thinking if I would fit in because there is a social part like evening dancing occasionally and the aerobics in the morning. Riding is reserved for weekend, twice a month only so that means they are not "professional" riders but occasional riders only. My leg feels okay now and I am intent on buying my own bike after Christmas... if my husband would not gift me with a mountain bike.
 
Mr. Beanz said:
My wife gets underestimated all the time. Just an ordinary 52 year old grandmother of 9 looking woman. But very strong! I've had forum member men invite me on a ride and tel me I can invite my wife as we will stop and wait for her along the way. Only to end up being that it is her waiting on them ha ha! :lol:

Few years back we did a ride with a large group of forum members. About 20 total and another 10 friends invited. 72 miler.

Half way through the ride, one gal got up and said, don't feel bad when we drop you but we have to get back in a hurry!". :eek: Oh that girl thought she was it having done some double centuries and considering herself a highly decorated rider. Well I picked up the pace on the way back. We dropped the entire group except for 4 or 5 men. The rest of the group finished the ride about 30 minutes after we did. After that that same gal kept praising m wife on the forums. Still to this day when we ride with men, they worry that Gina will drop them ha ha!

Average woman that shock most people when she tells them that she rides a bike. :p

IMG_1894_zps860f57c2.jpg


I tell you though, when you go ride up the mountains and climb 3, 4, to 5,000 ft, a woman can really put the hurt on men while riding the flats. :D

020512E.jpg


Funny when we pass other men and all they can do is hang on the back hopping to keep up! :lol:

DSCN9818_zpsj1gl3trs.jpg
We never one one's biking skills until we see them on the road and this is one great example of how someone might not look to be skilled at first and in the end of the day outperforms many. :)
 
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oportosanto said:
We never one one's biking skills until we see them on the road and this is one great example of how someone might not look to be skilled at first and in the end of the day outperforms many. :)

Exactly! Another funny story. On another bike forum, some dude worked at a bike shop as a mechanic. He rode off road, single speeds, road bikes, pretty much every discipline of cycling. He told me he was coming her from out of state and wanted to know if I was interested in a ride. Sure! Should I come alone or bring my wife? He said I could bring my wife and if she fell behind, we could stop and wait for her. It ended up her waiting on him! :lol:
 
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Haha, so there you go, it's proven, that guy could have been a great mechanic, but apparently lacked some hours on the road to be more resistant. Nothing like riding to become a better rider. :)
 
I guess in some sports women really have to push themselves harder to prove that they can do it too. It's mainly because men are dominant in those sports so they automatically think that they will do it better than a woman. I bet they backed off once you proved you are just as good.
 
Yes, another double standard. Women - a weaker sex. I just can't believe it is still being like this. Men will I am guessing, always be men in that specific meaning of the notion, and they would always be considered a stronger sex, even today you can find many men acting like they were a weaker sex.
I did not get that kind of treatment in cycling, but I got in mountain climbing. Everyone assumed I would not have been tough enough to get to the peak of the mountain. Once I did, I shut many dirty mouths. :)
 
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It has happened to me, even friends keep asking me if I will be able to keep up with them when we go cycling, and that is a bit annoying. The worst part is that it doesn't only happen in cycling but in different aspects of life as well.
 
Yes, another double standard. Women - a weaker sex. I just can't believe it is still being like this. Men will I am guessing, always be men in that specific meaning of the notion, and they would always be considered a stronger sex, even today you can find many men acting like they were a weaker sex.
I did not get that kind of treatment in cycling, but I got in mountain climbing. Everyone assumed I would not have been tough enough to get to the peak of the mountain. Once I did, I shut many dirty mouths. :)

I'm proud of you for holding the flag of women everywhere! I'm not even strong enough to climb those made-up walls for climbing in amusement parks, lol. Anyway, I guess that's what society has taught us, that we're the weaker gender. But women everyone are proving otherwise, just like you did. Even women who ride bikes had been able to keep up with the strength of men. It's such a winning moment for us when these instances happen.