"You throw like a girl!"
Hearing that'll ruin any boy's day. I heard it again, today, except that it wasn't directed at me. Then again, I wasn't throwing anything.
If I were to throw anything, would I throw like a girl?
I just got another catalogue from Terry Bicycles. Some of their products are printed or emblazoned with the logo "Ride Like A Girl!"
That got me to wondering whether one rider in the Tour de France peloton ever told another, "Vous pedale comme une fille!" What, exactly, would "pedalling like a girl" look like?
I remember the time a couple of years ago when I passed a couple of guys on Greenpoint Avenue, just after crossing the bridge from Long Island City. They caught up to me when I stopped for the light at the intersection with Manhattan Avenue. One of them yelled, "You ride real good for a lady!"
Then, there was the time--not too long ago--when I was riding down Van Sinderen Avenue in East New York. A bunch of young guys and a couple of slightly-older men looked like they were having a campfire, sans the campfire, on their bikes. A couple of the younger guys yelled, "Hey, babe." Another added, "Wanna ride with us?" As I passed, I heard one guy say, "That's no chick. She rides too fast!"
So...Fast women aren't supposed to ride bikes? Hmm...Well, I'm not a fast woman. First of all, I just ate. And I am--and always have been-- monogamous, if serially.
Now let me get this right: I might ride like a girl because I ride real good for a lady, but I'm too fast of a woman to ride like a chick. Now, if I can formulate a relevant syllogism from all that, I might get tenure someplace--unless, of course, some student actually understands anything I said.
Besides...How can you be offended to hear "You play like a girl" after you've seen Mia Hamm? And why would "You ride like a girl" stick in your craw if you've seen Rebecca Twigg or Paola Pezzo on their mounts?
The irony is that all of the time I spent riding with guys so I could ride like them, only better, actually helped me to my current path. So where will riding like a woman take me?
I remember the time a couple of years ago when I passed a couple of guys on Greenpoint Avenue, just after crossing the bridge from Long Island City. They caught up to me when I stopped for the light at the intersection with Manhattan Avenue. One of them yelled, "You ride real good for a lady!"
Then, there was the time--not too long ago--when I was riding down Van Sinderen Avenue in East New York. A bunch of young guys and a couple of slightly-older men looked like they were having a campfire, sans the campfire, on their bikes. A couple of the younger guys yelled, "Hey, babe." Another added, "Wanna ride with us?" As I passed, I heard one guy say, "That's no chick. She rides too fast!"
So...Fast women aren't supposed to ride bikes? Hmm...Well, I'm not a fast woman. First of all, I just ate. And I am--and always have been-- monogamous, if serially.
Now let me get this right: I might ride like a girl because I ride real good for a lady, but I'm too fast of a woman to ride like a chick. Now, if I can formulate a relevant syllogism from all that, I might get tenure someplace--unless, of course, some student actually understands anything I said.
Besides...How can you be offended to hear "You play like a girl" after you've seen Mia Hamm? And why would "You ride like a girl" stick in your craw if you've seen Rebecca Twigg or Paola Pezzo on their mounts?
The irony is that all of the time I spent riding with guys so I could ride like them, only better, actually helped me to my current path. So where will riding like a woman take me?
