1. “That’s the smallest size”
The dark ages are gone, women’s professional cycling is taking off and yet still some brands do not make clothes, shoes or bike frames small enough to accommodate all women. How distressing to see the bike of your dreams, and find out you can never ride it.
2. “We’ll wait for you at the top”
Okay, in some groups some women might be relieved to hear this at the bottom of a climb. But in others it’s hugely patronizing and suggests no woman could ever pass a man on an incline. Think about it before you say it next time – not everyone takes it in a jest.
3. “We only take cash”
This isn’t actually restricted to female cyclists, but it’s very annoying turning up a café stop with your neat cardholder and finding out they don’t take cards!
4. “There aren’t any showers in this office”
Men generally don’t seem to mind cycling to work and splashing their face in the toilet sink, but not ladies. So when you start a new job and find out not only is it nowhere near the gym and its showers, but it’s also without its own shower, thoughts arise of years being the smelly girl in the corner.
5. “Shall I put a triple on?”
Assuming that a female couldn’t manage to ride a bike without three chainrings is carte blanche for a female to punch you in the face.
Plenty of women are strong enough to ride bigger gears than any men.
6. “That’s the only colour it comes in”
With men’s sizes often just not quite right for a female cyclist’s body, many brands have come up with women’s specific cycle clothing ranges. However, much of their design work has gone not into fit, but colours. The old ‘pink-it-and-shrink-it’ tactic remains and that slick black jersey your male cycling partner was wearing last week? It only comes in neon purple in women’s sizes.
7. “Good girl”
It’s as common as hello, or rather goodbye, as this is the well-practiced parting comment from a man passing a female cyclist on a climb.
8. “Cycling will give you big thighs”
First of all, we know! Secondly, so what? They’ll be big, hard, powerful thighs that can take us anywhere we want on our shiny bicycles.
9. “Nice arse”
Don’t be that person who shouts ‘nice arse’ out of the window as you drive by a female cyclist. Nine times out of 10, it isn’t appreciated.
10. “Is that a motor in your bottom bracket?”
Okay, that’s not something women cyclists ever hear, but after Belgian under-23 racer Femke Van den Driessche was found to have a hidden motor in her bike at the Cyclocross World Championships last month, they just might start!
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