self portrait doodle from ago:

sums up my general disposition:

Nope, yesterday got the sun in my eyes and a muddy bum 🙂

Now it’s all cold and grey; and is time for chores and work 🙁

It’s usually the only time that the family (we three kids and mum and dad) are all together, so I suppose that’s rather special.

think it’s perfectly welcoming. however, I don’t know any women who are 1. vaguely interested in bikes 2. enough of a geek to ever consider joining stw

chapa, after this dissertation I’m still confused as to what Abstract-Impressionism is, what’s Abstract Expressionism, and which artists are just being difficult 😕

I tried to do this once (pull the hose round the back of the car) and I couldn’t make it reach! I drove away with no petrol, too embarrassed to go round again 😳

As I’m not really the ‘oggling’ type I must have avoided the sexist ‘rugby-lad’ threads… I must admit though I’d never given a phrase like ‘bang her back doors in’ any thought whatsoever, though I can see it being insulting to some people, and it’s not like I’m going to use it myself..

I think what intimidates a lot of women (and men) is that stw threads can often turn into a bickering argument. it’s the personal insults that I can’t be bothered with. I don’t come across it in real life so I don’t want to be reading it at home. And that’s fine, I normally just gloss over it. But the general atmosphere of certain threads certainly does put me off contributing to the rest. Generalising here, but I do believe women are more likely to take such stuff personally (I know I would)

edit: i.e. what kit just said 🙂

read the first chapter of six easy pieces. explains the movement of atoms (and molecules) and thus how blowing on soup really does cool it down faster

it’s interesting to think about when ‘moving about’ became a chore. For me, I remember when I was in primary school we lived in a block of flats that had a communal swimming pool (not the UK) After school without fail we were always down splashing about, swimming loads – so obviously I had no problem with general moving about; it just felt ‘natural’

Cue secondary school, your fitness is suddenly organised, and into team oriented competitive sports (which I absolutely loathed) – and suddenly I started to associate exercise as something of a chore.

I didn’t really do any sort of ‘extra’ exercise (apart from walking places) until a few years ago. I slowly realised that I could enjoy moving about on my own (I prefer running in the morning when there are less people about) The benefit is that I feel much better and stronger, though I’m not ‘fit’ compared to you types! but I still have a bit of a hangover of seeing it as a necessary but enjoyable chore – I still usually have to ‘organise’ it into my day; it’s not spontaneous.

If I stopped I’m sure I would feel awful, lethargic and become agitated (not any fatter though) – so I guess I now see extended exercise as an essential thing to do, but because I still give it a label like that I maybe don’t see it as entirely natural yet?

I am wearing hat, buff, fleece and my ‘winter boots’. and I’m indoors 🙁

each time you do this thread I’m away with no access to camera or a scanner 🙁
so here’s a drawing (on similar leafy theme) that I did earlier in the week but haven’t finished so far…

gah, clothes don’t go on the floor!

fwiw – one drawer with tights and socks – all paired, neat and tidy. one drawer with underwear, folded and sorted into panties, bras, nighties etc.

but then again, I also iron my bedding so I do realise I’m a bit of a freak 😐

if she has no fitness level whatsoever she’ll struggle…

Had my first snowboarding lesson a month ago (snozone)- 3 hours with a bit of a break and it was fairly tiring – mostly because you’re having to concentrate lots!
Also, I and the other girl found it really really uncomfortable – my feet were killing me by the end of it. Was great fun though, and it doesn’t take long to be able to pick up what you’re meant to do.

btw, is this the same missus that expects flowers and chocolate every friday? Maybe she would like to show how much she appreciates your gestures by giving an activity-holiday a proper go?

I smile when I’m running (not constantly because that would be weird..) – usually because I’m am enjoying the sunshine/wind/driving rain. That and I have bangin’ tunes 😀

Is she wanting to lose weight just for wedding photos or is it a longer-term thing? Sounds like one of those situations where you can offer all the best advice in the world – but it is only when/if that she chooses to commit to that particular route will it be of any benefit.

I am fond of offering advice in situations as I find support takes a lot more effort 😕
So I personally would state what you feel to be good advice and leave it at that. Make sure not to undermine her efforts or try push your own ideas on to her and I’m sure that in time she can make up her own mind about what is the best plan for her.

I wear as much clothing as possible whilst biking (this includes baggies)- it gives me the non-sensical reassurance that if I fall off I won’t hurt myself as much. Thus I must wear my fluorescent rain jacket whilst attempting any jump because it feels like extra body armour 😕

Mercs? Mercs are for old people. My mum had a very nice E-Class – hardly ever went over 70. Never ever floored it. Whoever got it after she traded it in got a bargain.

The one and only BMW I ever drove had been ragged – and more interestingly had an almost unreadable black speedometer. I’m guessing the previous owner had chosen the trim so that he could negate ‘speed management’ as much as possible..

If you can manage to speak to her; come across as genuine and invite her out on a ride then I’m sure that will be a good start. (remember to be nice to her – that impresses us as well)

all alcohol is my nemesis 🙁 sambuca especially though; just ’cause it tastes so so rank.

I don’t get people who actively dislike pink, or any other colour for that matter – it’s a colour! unless you’ve been forced to wear a particularly horrible wooly pink jumper since the year dot and you now have associations of trauma with this there’s no reason to ‘hate’ pink, surely..?

Flash – happy to say I am, for the next week or so 🙂

unfortunately weather is forecast to be wet for the weekend – There is apparently a T1 (and ‘very hot’ warning) in place at the moment but looks lovely outside – OP get here quickly!

Wouldn’t bother with Stanley – it’s a nice trip but nothing worth buying unless you want your name written in ‘Chinese’ as a souvenir. Definitely take a tram somewhere – wonderful just to see everything happening; same with Star Ferry and yes, walk about the Peak a bit.

It’s also very very hot and humid at the moment. Don’t know where you’re coming from but suggest one of you has a $10 fan and an umbrella.. Eat lots (of Asian food) and stay out late; HK is awesome 🙂

Have tried to skim-read some of the responses… and have failed, so I’m going to be very simplistic in my response to the OP:

-I find riding on my own gets very boring after a while.
-I have no girl-friends who would ride with me regularly – only one of them exercises with any regularity. I have taken three friends to Glentress and they enjoyed it immensely, but they would never spend the money and time on getting their own bike.
-I really like riding with my boyfriend – he is the only male I feel comfortable riding with because I don’t feel bad for holding him up. Unfortunately he is much more interested in racing SDAs so there’s not much opportunity for day-trips out somewhere.
-I hate bike maintenance. (I can handle cleaning it and that’s it)
-Appearance whilst riding really doesn’t bother me; nor does the mud/sweatiness factor. However, I get very cold and miserable very quickly if it’s absolutely soaking. I’m quite like my looks but I also seem to scar very easily which is probably a contributory factor when it comes to ‘the fear of falling off and hitting a big pointy rock’
-I’m a girl and I don’t like to get hurt.

None of these reasons suggest alienation to me at all. My own guilt for holding people up has never really been directly triggered from of a riding companion’s response – all the men I’ve ridden with have been very patient and friendly. Having listed so many reasons that put me off mtb I can completely understand why a lot of women don’t want to stick at it – As already mentioned, the girls I’ve taken biking have really enjoyed themselves – but my group of mates (me included) don’t really have hobbies like men do. If I had no girl-friends I think I would spend a lot more time focused on one activity, having noticed that my OH spends most of his spare time biking with his mates, where as I spend most of my spare time biking/exercising or with my mates doing something else.

So yes, lots of reasons why people don’t mtb: looking at my own personal reasons I can see why it would put off proportionally more women than men. I don’t care about the sport in a collective sense because I don’t feel like a part of any community yet. Must be a virtuous cycle – the more women you have involved; the more likely their friends are to participate. From what I’ve seen there are plenty of women-oriented activities being organised and I think it’ll all help female bikers find regular cycling partners- through introduction or just by meeting-up with people already biking. (Guess I personally just find it hard to make friends!)

I hate you all.. 👿

I had a Summer job a few years ago that was incredibly stressful. My role basically involved too much work for one person to do in too short a space of time. To make matters worse, I had to work alongside a bullying cow (who had a track record of bullying the previous girls in my role) and I hadn’t the nerve to say anything (I was 18, my mum worked for the same company, it was a summer job so I didn’t have to be there for too long)
Result was crying two or three times a day and ended up hating half the people who worked there. Learned valuable lessons but not an experience I would want to repeat in a permanent job

oh, I would like gently to point out that I donated yesterday after seeing the thread but didn’t wish to enter the raffle (I hate bike maintenance and not a fan of metallica 🙂 ) – I’m guessing that I’m not the only person to have done this so I would imagine your total is probably higher than your receipts say?

bah, it’s grey and wet and I am freezing 🙁

It is quite amusing to see a woman ride a bike that has blatantly been designed by their OH (I fall into that category – I didn’t have a clue what I wanted and have ended up with a bike set-up that is much more geared towards going downhill than uphill..)

I’m biased because I hate the feel of cruisers, but I’ve given my friends shots on my orange msisle and they found it actually very comfortable and more confidence inspiring than the bikes they would normally ride. *whisper it* Just ’cause it’s a mountain bike/hybrid doesn’t mean it necessarily has to get splattered in mud..

Last time I was in London went to a little (bit grubby) restaurant full of Chinese people, with lots of interesting proper Chinese food on the menu – and the Western couple behind us ordered chow mein. Guess we have only ourselves to blame 😕

all the more for me 🙂 (actually, the ingredients say cuttlefish on them but they just taste mildly seafood-ey. you get ones that are shrimp and lobster as well I think…)

the picture of the squid gives it away methinks 😉 (they’re actually peanuts with rice cracker substance around them; decidedly asian and scrumptious)

ah, and I thought we were going to be talking about tasty things like these..

gonna go munch these now 🙂

this may or may not help: but I used to be very angry and miserable, and I eventually got out of it – I was much calmer and accepting of myself and as a result everyone commented on how much calmer and patient I was with other people.

So are you also frustrated with yourself/your limitations or is it just everyone else who is annoying you and you’re grand?
Obviously you can try, but I don’t think it’ll be easy to stop finding fault with other people until you’re first calm and forgiving with yourself.

hmmmmm, definitely not going to compare crimes with other crimes as I don’t see the point.

Wearing whatever or even nothing is never going to come slightly even close to a ‘she was asking for it’ justification, and I don’t think I’ve read (skimmed) anything in this thread that would suggest that.

As for caution, well, I exercise caution by having my keys out ready before I get to my front door, not being completely plastered, automatically lock the car doors if I’m sitting in the passenger seat by myself etc. I do this because I know some people would take the opportunity to attack, mug, rape me and I want to minimise risk.

In my ‘common sense’ mode – I think that girls who wear not very much or who dress to show all their flesh perhaps should anticipate more attention, but I’m fairly sure it’s also a women’s attitude/body language that contributes to how they are treated by people.
for some reason I feel I have to separate the clothes issue and the drinking issue. I see getting so drunk you don’t know where you are/who you’re with as pretty reckless whether you’re male or female.

One of my friends is South African and she won’t walk home alone in the dark, she crosses the street to avoid men, etc. We live in a fairly safe neighbourhood but her attitude is understandable as she has friends who have been raped and assaulted. thus I feel it’s hard to define an ‘acceptable’ level of precaution.

I see nothing wrong with education or prevention strategies, but I don’t think clothing by itself has much relevance. I’m also not saying people shouldn’t drink, but if you’re partially incapacitated I think you should put strategies in place to make sure you get home safely – prevent yourself getting hit by a car, falling down a ditch, etc.

when I was single I didn’t come across anybody who sparked my interests; partly because of lack of talent (Dundee!) and partly because I take a fair while to decide if I like someone, be that within friendship or romantic relationship- saves a lot of hassle in the long run.

I would have to reconsider any bedding propositions if a date had that Juke as his pride and joy – unless he could give me serious reasons as to why. It’s an improbable scenario anyway as nobody my age would be likely to have one.

I have no kids/no idea about kids- but this courgette lasagne recipe is extremely easy and tasty

pffft, obviously I am a scared-ey-kat……..

think the best plan is to stomp around a lot and scare it into permanent hiding…

at least it’s not a flying cockroach – that was not a fun night 👿