She was very supportive. She came to the mountain bike races and held my muddy shoes as I washed my bike. She handed up food. She stood in beautiful but desolate places shouting encouragement. You know the drill. The first time she joined me, I was dressed for the race, and we were walking through the parking lot on the way to the start line. I said to her, “if you do not want to see any ‘sites’, look straight ahead. Definitely do not look in any cars.” Soon after, she screamed. Hah, bike races. A butt is pressed against the window. He is not trying to moon her; he is trying to get his shorts on.
So it is at bike races … and group rides.
Some try to change in vehicles, some try to use a towel outside of the vehicle, some just strip down and lounge about as if attending a nudist camp. As I have said before. “Modesty and cycling do not often go together.” We choose Lycra in public after all. Which in current society now appears fairly normal. People that do not own bikes (or exercise) wear Lycra to the grocery store. I digress.
In some cases, you just need to look ahead and ignore it.
At other times – I think we as cyclists need to be more modest. Not necessarily for cyclists, but for the community. Think about it. The Saturday morning group ride meets in the parking lot. It can be any parking lot, but it always has a neighbor – a school, a gas station, a hotel, a shop. Those cyclists might not care about your sweaty nudity, but the neighbor might.
Sure, they might be a prude. They also might have their grandchild with them. Regardless, if we are part of a community and expect that community to welcome us, there are a few things we need to respect. Not littering comes to mind. Not parking in the fire lane. Not screaming out vulgar language or blasting really loud music. Not standing naked or almost naked in public is on that list.
We are all judged – always. For better or worse. We want that community to accept us, but we are not interested in accepting them? I would like them to refrain from coming to the parking lot and engaging in a behavior that is not appropriate so can they expect the same of us?
True story. Remember that isolated trail in Purgatory Colorado a few stories back? Well, after that ride, in the middle of nowhere (literally), I stripped down to change. There was no one around for miles. We had not seen people for 4 hours. It was desolate. So, I just stripped down bare naked to wash off and change. At that moment, a man appears from nowhere in some type of HAZMAT suit. What? I think he was spraying the trail? He is walking. Where did he come from? There are no vehicles, no people … we just came down that trail and saw no one for hours! Did he teleport here? Yes – even when you think it is safe … it might not be.
Yes, I understand. I also want to get out of my Lycra and into something else as fast as possible after a bike ride. How to handle it?
Me? I use a changing robe. My understanding is that it was first made for surfers that need to change in/out of wetsuits on a cold beach. It works great. Check it out – modest enough for most environments. Easy to use. Choose the microfiber rather than the fleece unless you are really cold natured. Easily found with an internet search.
How do you handle it? What have you seen you wish you had not? How do you manage changing?
