Missy-- regarding your original post. That situation is BS.
Voted off the Island?...maybe a blessing in disguise... If the group didn't have your back well in advance, they might not have it when it counts in the backcountry.
Not only is my GF an anomaly, in the fact that she rides (rides well), but she is also a mechanical engineer. She works almost exclusively with dudes, including young (horny) male soldiers. If I couldn't trust her in that situation, why would I be with her? Do I have a rule with her about not sharing rooms with single (or married men?) .....NOPE! Are separate rooms going to keep cheaters from cheating?..... Seriously?
My GF gets "voted off the island" pretty regularly with guys that haven't ridden with her. I always choose to ride with her-- not out of duty, guilt, or pressure-- but because I enjoy riding with her more than anybody else. Sure, some of my buddies are better riders then she is, and they are all stronger than her.... But, she doesn't need to stop every ten minutes from exertion, and she HATES trails.
The scenario that always sticks out in my mind:
me unloading the sleds while she runs to the last toilet she'll see for the next few hours, a guy will walk up to me and ask if I want to ride with him or his group. I agree and then Val walks up....... All the guys faces drop. Their minds are racing to the thought of endless trail riding. They don't know what to say. I say it for them. "No worries, we'll ride on our own" a collective look of "phew!" All around.....
Fast forward two hours. Come across a group of stuck sledders. Oh wait, it's the group that didn't want the "chick" coming along. Stuck, stuck, and ....stuck. Then they realize the "little dude" on the Pro is actually Val, sidehilling past them while giggling in her helmet. I just wave, shake my head and ride past.
This has happened more than once.
I'm hoping to get Val out to one of the ladies rides this year-- I feel bad for her that she is always the only chick. I also know that riding with other women will take her to another level.
Voted off the Island?...maybe a blessing in disguise... If the group didn't have your back well in advance, they might not have it when it counts in the backcountry.
Not only is my GF an anomaly, in the fact that she rides (rides well), but she is also a mechanical engineer. She works almost exclusively with dudes, including young (horny) male soldiers. If I couldn't trust her in that situation, why would I be with her? Do I have a rule with her about not sharing rooms with single (or married men?) .....NOPE! Are separate rooms going to keep cheaters from cheating?..... Seriously?
My GF gets "voted off the island" pretty regularly with guys that haven't ridden with her. I always choose to ride with her-- not out of duty, guilt, or pressure-- but because I enjoy riding with her more than anybody else. Sure, some of my buddies are better riders then she is, and they are all stronger than her.... But, she doesn't need to stop every ten minutes from exertion, and she HATES trails.
The scenario that always sticks out in my mind:
me unloading the sleds while she runs to the last toilet she'll see for the next few hours, a guy will walk up to me and ask if I want to ride with him or his group. I agree and then Val walks up....... All the guys faces drop. Their minds are racing to the thought of endless trail riding. They don't know what to say. I say it for them. "No worries, we'll ride on our own" a collective look of "phew!" All around.....
Fast forward two hours. Come across a group of stuck sledders. Oh wait, it's the group that didn't want the "chick" coming along. Stuck, stuck, and ....stuck. Then they realize the "little dude" on the Pro is actually Val, sidehilling past them while giggling in her helmet. I just wave, shake my head and ride past.
This has happened more than once.
I'm hoping to get Val out to one of the ladies rides this year-- I feel bad for her that she is always the only chick. I also know that riding with other women will take her to another level.
