These are some of the classic quotes people say regarding to cycling. They become a little predictable after a while. Maybe you recognise some of these quotes or perhaps can add your own tired phrases people often use regarding cycling.
‘So When Are You Going to Do the Tour De France?’
I don’t know why, but, if I tell anyone I came 3rd in a local club time trial they often want to ask ’so when are you going to do the Tour de France?’ When I reply that I have no intention of riding the Tour, they kind of lose interest and walk away with disappointment. If I scored a goal for a local Sunday football pub team, the same person wouldn’t start asking when I would be playing in the world cup.
- Note for non-cyclists: 180 of the top pro riders get to ride the Tour each year; you can’t just turn up on the start line, pay your £2.50 entry fee and tag onto the back of the peloton.
‘How much EPO have you been taking?’
- Even if you only commute 4 miles a day on a fold up bike, you can guarantee that some smart alec at work, will make plenty of jokes about how much epo you take. Just because you do a few sit ups doesn’t mean you take steroids like bodybuilders, so why do people think I’m going to spend £500 on a course of EPO so I can win the top prize of £15 for winning Wiggly Wheelers 25 mile TT?
‘Why do you Shave Your Legs?’
Actually this is really quite a good question. The problem answering is not so easy. “Well … aerodynamics, easier to massage, easier to clean up wounds, it’s just something we do” - somehow they don’t seem so satisfy the questioner… (To shave or not to shave)
Why?
You’ve just enjoyed a great 100 mile ride through some spectacular scenery and great mountains. But, there will always be someone to ask why? I don’t know how to answer this, I’m only tempted to retort - “Why do sit in front of the TV all day, taking no exercise and increasing your chance of heart disease by 85%?”
Stupid things people say in Races
‘Keep Going’
It’s hard to believe, but, sometimes you get spectators coming to the time trials I race in. It’s not the greatest spectator sport, but, it is of course encouraging to get some support. Anyway, your racing in a 25 mile time trial and half way round a spectator kindly informs you to ‘keep going‘ I have to admit there are times when I feel like quitting, but fortunately, spectators come to the rescue and tell me to ‘keep going’ - presumably to the finish.
‘Looking Good’
Your racing up a hill, your face is contorted with pain, you have dried saliva dribbling down your chin, your wearing a one piece lycra skinsuit; and some spectator says to you ‘looking good’ Well if this is looking good, I hope I don’t look like this on my wedding day….
Related Cycling Blog
Hopefully, these old sayings won’t discourage your cycling. Brett has a good post for Beginners to Cycling at his new blog Something Maybe
Photo Bridge of Sighs, Oxford
5 comments ↓
Hey, thanks for the link! Excellent post. Have you ever taken a swipe at a spectator encouraging you to “keep going?”
No one in the States ever makes the EPO joke, but its just because no one here pays the slightest attention to cycling. Yes, that is still true even after the recent hullaballoo. The only American doper anyone has ever heard of is Barry Bonds (an aged, surly and overweight baseball player)
“Lovely legs!” I have had that shouted at me more than once while riding through town in (non-lycra) shorts. This is even without shaving them!
I haven’t heard any of the ones you quote, but as cycling is mainstream in Cambridge I suppose it’s less comment-worthy. “There’s a path over there” I have had shouted at me exactly twice: once by a pedestrian when using a shared-use path to avoid a junction in the intended way (the path pointed at went the opposite way to where I wanted to go), and once on a busy roundabout where the nearby cycle path is ridiculously narrow and adds an extra two minutes to the journey (assuming you don’t meet anyone coming the opposite way).
In America, people often shouted to me”come on Lance” “It’s Lance Armstrong!”
I’ve never had the pleasure of being told ‘lovely legs’
In the ski area of Vail, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains, the locals ride mountain bikes UP the ski hill (about 7 miles on the cat tracks), where we get incredulous looks from the tourists who took the gondola up, rented bikes at the top and are going downhill in jeans, city shoes, helmets that are way too loose, and seats that are way too low. They sometimes make a comment like “wow, you ride UP?” or “I’m glad I’m going down and not UP!”, we return the greeting with: “Ya gotta deserve the downhill!”
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