[arctcknight]

my girlfriend hates the fact that i ride (mostly cause i spend about as much time doing that as i do with her). and i was wondering what got you girls into riding and how i could maybe sway my girl into going ridding with me i have a spare bike so she wont have to buy one so i think that will help. any suggestions?

 

[Bonk]

Strap her hands and feet to the pedals and bars and tell her to ride or eat dirt. After tonight, that's how I'd do it. Or you could just kick her to the curb and try riding both bikes @ the same time.

:angry:

Do yourself a favor and stop wasting you life trying to make a girl do something. It's a hopeless waste of your life. Live for yourself and tell her to take a hike if she doesn't like what you choose to do with your own life.

 

[Mtbkngrl]

You can't make your girlfriend like something she's not interested in. Alot of people I know try to make this happen and it just doesn't work. Either accept that she's not into it, and have biking be your thing.........or sleep with your bikes.

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

my girlfriend hates the fact that i ride (mostly cause i spend about as much time doing that as i do with her)....

Sounds like she needs to find a hobby/sport of her own... something that she's interested in... and only she can do that, when the time is right. Lemme tell ya, no offense, but relationships are really difficult when one person is jealous of the other person's hobby, job, school, whatever. I've been on both sides of the coin. Just be yourself. And if biking takes so much time that you're having trouble maintaining a good relationship with your girlfriend, assess your priorities and be fair to her and yourself.

 

[laura]

i have to agree with bonk. if shes jealous of your past time then shes not worth your time. if you really want to get her into riding though, just ask her to give it a try so that you can spend more time together. if shes not willing to try it, then shes definitely not worth your time.

 

[Snacks]

Do yourself a favor and stop wasting you life trying to make a girl do something. It's a hopeless waste of your life. Live for yourself and tell her to take a hike if she doesn't like what you choose to do with your own life.

WORD.

I didn't bike until I met my boyfriend, but now I do. Not to spend time with him, but because I like riding xc(he races dh). It's a great way to get a different workout.

 

[Snacks]

my girlfriend hates the fact that i ride (mostly cause i spend about as much time doing that as i do with her). and i was wondering what got you girls into riding and how i could maybe sway my girl into going ridding with me i have a spare bike so she wont have to buy one so i think that will help. any suggestions?

Does she ride a bike at all? If not start off slow, like a few road rides, before hitting the dirt. Don't push her into it.

 

[RhinofromWA]

I never forced my Fiance into MTBing. She has a fully rigid Trek (about 1998-99) that she would road ride alot when I met her. She would come out to the races with me and chill, take pics, etc. I asked her if she would ever be interested in racing...as I had a OK bike (my old FRish bike) She said probably not....she is a massuse and didn't want to chance hurting her arms and hands.

She asked if she could ride my spare bike when we were headed out to a near by city park and school. I happily provided the bike and we went out. I stayed casual and took her around going down stairs and bouncing over curbs and some roots.....more semi tech Xc stuff than anything else....then we ended up at a elem school and there were some big concrete "benches" You could park a truck on them they are so big and had varying hieghts to drop off of. I started playing around and asked if she wanted to try since she had been trying to wheely drop curbs earlier with much success. I got her going off of the parts that were 1-1.5 feet so she wouldn't die if she messed up becuase there wasn't much room to get speed to jump them. She had a good time but never asked to go out again....and has stuck with her MTB since.

I was happy she wanted to try it but I am not going to force her to go out and do it. It is known my bike is there if she wants to try it. All I can do is leave the door open for her....she will decide if she wants to do it.

She can clean my clock XC riding anyways...she is just to damn fit.

Let it be know you would love for her to come along....but don't ask. If she choose to try it offer her a bike set up for her (tire preasure, fork preload, stem hieght) so she can have a better experience. Nothing like sending a 120lbs 5' tall lady on a bike set up for a 6'2" 220lbs guy. That is not fair to the lady trying out riding. Go REAL easy and let her dictate the pace and the scope of the ride. This is time for her not an all out ride for you...you can session stuff around her if she wants a break.

Odds are she might just be jealous and exposure to biking will probably not fix that. My college buddy had a girl suck the MTB force out of him (he married her ) and even though they have a lot of bikes he does most of his riding going to and from work and riding the road bike on the weekends. When he got me into XC riding and we grew up in the DH revolution...early 90's. I try and get him out on weeknds (we live 2hrs apart) but most of the time it is his Hunny Do list that keeps himhome or his wife would rather do something else *where is that smilie with the bull whip* She crushed him of his biking desire....even though she was very excited and supportive of it when they were dating and engaged. (sorry I am a little bitter and :angry: )

 

[bpatterson6]

No Doubt. Don't Waste your time. Know up front whats up and find someone with whom you have common interests such as Riding.
I live for some FR/DH and I have been going thru that for several years now and it has taken a toll on my relationship, but when you have a child together, you just can't walk away easily like you can with no attachments.

 

[Ciaran]

While my girlfriend/fiancee is not jealous of my riding time she does not like riding herself. I have tried to think of ways to get her interisted in cycling. So far she has expressed an interist in two of my ideas... Me restoring a vintage cruiser for her and doing a little riding at the beach and such. While this is not all out cycling as most of us think of it, it is quality time with the person I love while sharing one of my passions with her. Maybe she will like it and want to explore more. Untill I mentioned and showed her some pix of nicely restored bikes she showed zero interist in bikes. This is a start. The second thing that sparked some interist for her is riding a bike trainer. With my leg broken I am buying a trainer so I can get some exercise and rehab the leg a bit. Well, she expressed an interist in this as well. No cars (she is afraid of getting hit) and she gets to get in some good exercise, which she likes.

I think that (depending on the person) you may be able to get your GF interisted if she can see the many many facets of cycling and decide on her own if she want's to try it. Show her everything... racing, track riding, MTB, road, etc. Also, while I was and am still presenting cycling to my GF, I am not shoving it down her throat. No pressure from me means more enjoyment for her. Nothing turns her away from something faster than when I am pitching it to her alot. "C'mon honey, You'll like it once we get out there. Just try it once! C'mon, do it for me." Ack, that never works!

Just my thoughts, and experience...

 

[Bonk]

Anyone looking for a totally decked bike for a short girl? :angry: :angry:

 

[RhinofromWA]

Anyone looking for a totally decked bike for a short girl? :angry: :angry:

Oh no you didn't *head darting side to side*



Can you DJ it? Into a crumpled pile of metal...it will help you find closure. take pics.

 

[Bonk]

I'd rather ride it myself as an XC bike or get $$ for it, than trash it.

 

[Snacks]

Anyone looking for a totally decked bike for a short girl? :angry: :angry:

How short?

 

[rainbow_smoke]

I got into biking last fall, after I had been with my fiancee for a couple months. I love it! Now I am riding a lot with another woman, who's husband and my man get together a lot to go out.

I have really appreciated riding with another female and feel as though my confidence has just been climbing and I have been enjoying myself a whole lot more then I had been. And I know on my friends part, she had a horrible biking adventure last fall, and the first time she got back on her bike was the first day I met here to go for a ride. SInce then I have been teaching her how to handle her bike and work on some jumps. We have a blast!!!!!

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

Oh, yeah, and to answer your question about how some of us ladies got into riding... here's my story:

My last girlfriend attracted me partly because she was into bike commuting and some road riding. (I don't think she realizes how hot I thought that was.) I learned a little from her and then bought myself a hybrid when I bought a bike. (She said riding a mtn. bike on asphalt was the stupidest thing ever, and I didn't want to buy a road bike 'cause that's not me, so a hybrid it was. Big mistake.) She kinda acted as if I was copying her by getting into biking, so I foolishly stayed away from mtn. biking so that I didn't get all into biking and look like I was copying her even worse. I sure wasn't being true to myself, though.

She and I used to ride together on the asphalt paths around D.C. but I think she secretly hated it because I don't have much of a VO2 Max, so I tire out easily. Plus, my Gary Fisher Zebrano (hybrid) was so unweildy that when I tried to take turns fast I nearly wrecked every time. I think she thought I had no business riding a bike, but didn't want to say it to my face.

Three years later, and I'm free. We broke up last fall, and I tried mtn. biking a couple months later 'cause riding the hybrid on asphalt was getting pretty lame. Now, I couldn't be happier. I am so glad to bike without feeling like she's judging me. I have no idea what she's up to, but I hope someday she comes across my name in a race report or in some biking magazine and goes, "WTF???!!! She's downhilling?????!!!!" Serves her right for thinking she was the only person on earth allowed to be all into biking. :angry:

/rant
/TMI

 

[mpd510]

women!!!! cant live with 'em. can't kill 'em.


just kidd'n Jen!!!

 

[mpd510]

Oh, yeah, and to answer your question about how some of us ladies got into riding... here's my story:

My last girlfriend attracted me partly because she was into bike commuting and some road riding. (I don't think she realizes how hot I thought that was.) I learned a little from her and then bought myself a hybrid when I bought a bike. (She said riding a mtn. bike on asphalt was the stupidest thing ever, and I didn't want to buy a road bike 'cause that's not me, so a hybrid it was. Big mistake.) She kinda acted as if I was copying her by getting into biking, so I foolishly stayed away from mtn. biking so that I didn't get all into biking and look like I was copying her even worse. I sure wasn't being true to myself, though.

She and I used to ride together on the asphalt paths around D.C. but I think she secretly hated it because I don't have much of a VO2 Max, so I tire out easily. Plus, my Gary Fisher Zebrano (hybrid) was so unweildy that when I tried to take turns fast I nearly wrecked every time. I think she thought I had no business riding a bike, but didn't want to say it to my face.

Three years later, and I'm free. We broke up last fall, and I tried mtn. biking a couple months later 'cause riding the hybrid on asphalt was getting pretty lame. Now, I couldn't be happier. I am so glad to bike without feeling like she's judging me. I have no idea what she's up to, but I hope someday she comes across my name in a race report or in some biking magazine and goes, "WTF???!!! She's downhilling?????!!!!" Serves her right for thinking she was the only person on earth allowed to be all into biking. :angry:

/rant
/TMI

jen, i have you to thank, for the lil pep talk you gave Tara at Sarah's party. She's all about riding now.

Thank you...I think????

oh, and by the way, her name on here is DHbarbiedoll.

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

jen, i have you to thank, for the lil pep talk you gave Tara at Sarah's party. She's all about riding now.

Thank you...I think????

oh, and by the way, her name on here is DHbarbiedoll.

Oh, cool! From ballet to biking!

 

[arctcknight]

she has shown a little intereste in riding so we have gone on a few night rides to the DQ and back (nothing like a good workout going to get junk food.) the size of the bike is not a problem i ride urban so all my bikes are smalls im 5' 1" shes 5' 4" so it fits her fine i set the fork and bars and what not for here so shes comfy and its going good so far.

 

[chicodude]

riding is the reason i dont have a girlfriend. i spend like 15 hours a week riding. none of the girls around here like doing anything except partying and watching tv. it's depressing as hell. Is it too much to ask for a hot girlfriend that i can go on rides with?

 

[lilstinky]

Anyone looking for a totally decked bike for a short girl? :angry: :angry:

How much? Why are you guys selling it?

 

[ncrider]

I recently got my girl into riding. It's been interesting. I'm into dh/fr, so I got her a little giant ds1(good cheap dh/xc bike for a chick) and full armor (don't want those pretty arms and legs to get messedup)
I taught her the basics, stopping, turning, and then toock her to a mellow fire road. We hiked to the top of a medium hill, when I stopped and said "o.k. this is your first dh run, lets go back down." she started CRYING!!! she said this is too steep and I'll crash"
A little pep talk calmed her down and then I told her if you use your brakes you'll crash.-----MORE CRYING----PEP TALK----CRYING----PEP TALK----AND DOWN SHE WENT----screaming and laughing!!! She loved it.
So why no brakes??
It's important that girls understand what they are actualy capable of on a good bike.
3 months, some crying and crashing and now we are headed for Mammoth next week and my girl is so excited

Yes it can work, but be ready to wipe tears, be a chear leader, a mechanic, and a medic!!! have fun and good luck!! 

 

[tmx]

I recently got my girl into riding. It's been interesting. I'm into dh/fr, so I got her a little giant ds1(good cheap dh/xc bike for a chick) and full armor (don't want those pretty arms and legs to get messedup)
I taught her the basics, stopping, turning, and then toock her to a mellow fire road. We hiked to the top of a medium hill, when I stopped and said "o.k. this is your first dh run, lets go back down." she started CRYING!!! she said this is too steep and I'll crash"
A little pep talk calmed her down and then I told her if you use your brakes you'll crash.-----MORE CRYING----PEP TALK----CRYING----PEP TALK----AND DOWN SHE WENT----screaming and laughing!!! She loved it.
So why no brakes??
It's important that girls understand what they are actualy capable of on a good bike.
3 months, some crying and crashing and now we are headed for Mammoth next week and my girl is so excited

Yes it can work, but be ready to wipe tears, be a chear leader, a mechanic, and a medic!!! have fun and good luck!! 

you are a prince!!! can't speak for all women, but the majority of the ones i know would benefit tremendously from the introduction you've described here, self included.

to anyone interested in introducing dh to your sweeties/female friends/moms/sisters/daughters/cousins/..., i strongly recommend tattooing this guys post to the inside of your eyelids. same for those of you who have sweeties/friends/etc already riding but the two of you have an impossible time riding together in peace and harmony. (eh-hem, ... mr. youthereacrossthewillyb)

thanks for sharing ncrider. if your betty would be interested in sharing her experience too, it'd be cool if she'd drop a line to us in here. tell her we said congrats and wheeeeeee!

edit: "the ex, the bike and the dream" by captn jack sparrow. hehe. as always, a great read. thankful to the stars you never lost heart for it because what would we do without the gemini toss or the gemini slide?!!

 

[Transcend]

1 - if she is jealous of you doing something you love, which you did well before you met her, she isn't worth it.

2 - In that vein, you will never "convince her" to like riding bikes. If she doesn't, she doesn't. Just like she can't make you enjoy having your nails done.

 

[TreeSaw]

OK. I was in a similar situation (once upon a time). Squirrel, my darling husband, loved biking and wanted to go a lot. I wasn't jealous that he was going, just bored and wished that I could go to. So, I tried it. He is quite fast and a great (VERY) technical rider that will do anything!!! He was generally quite a ways ahead, waiting for me to catch up (which was making me feel bad because he was waiting and could have been riding) Needless to say, I sucked...couldn't keep up, crashed a lot and wasn't having a good time. I kept going for a little while (I can just quite I thought) but I finally told him that I didn't like biking (strictly XC at this point) and wasn't going anymore.

Well, in hindsight, there were lots of reasons for me not to like riding. 1) I didn't really have a bike that fit (I was riding his old diamondback totally rigid 30+ lb. bike in a size medium/large...I am only 5'4"). 2) I didn't start out easy...right into the hard technical stuff and there was a lot of crashing. 3) I hadn't been on a bike in years (since road riding in HS) and just wasn't in shape for the physical part!!! So yes, having the right equiptment definately makes the experience much more enjoyable, so I bought a friend's Trek 850. Now I had a bike my size. Unfortunately, I went out and didn't really like it a few more times before I finally called it quits! My husband was disappointed, but didn't push me to keep going.

Well, after a year of collecting dust and moving into a new house and sitting over the winter, I decided that I wanted to ride my bike again. Our bike group rides every friday night and then heads down to one of the local pubs for beers and dinner. I decided to ride my bike from my house to the trail head and meet up with them after their ride one night. It's about 12 miles of back roads and hills, but I did it. They were all surprised to see me and that was nice. So, for the next few weeks, I continued to ride to the trial head. Finally after a few weeks, I started getting faster and got there really early one day. I wasn't tired, so I decided to ride into the trails and look for an easy trail to ride on. I had SO much fun!!! The next week, I left earlier and rode farther into the trails and so on, and so on. Eventually, I had a nice little road ride to warm-up and some fun XC riding. Well, one day the group found me and I had to ride out with them. The look on my husband's face was priceless. He was so proud, shocked and excited.

After that, I tried riding with the group a couple of times and found that I wasn't as bad as I had thought. Then, last summer, I purchased a freeride bike (K2 Disco ) and rode virtually everyday during the month of June...I :love: the bike so much! I even tried riding bridges, teeters and DHing. I simply ride for me now and not because I need to spend that time with my husband.

Now, I am addicted to riding. We got as often as we can. I have 4 good bikes (XC-hardtail, XC-Jekyll, Freeride-K2, and DH-Ironhorse). I am even riding without my husband and am beginning to teach other riders (I have my 1st off road ride with a newbie either this afternoon...if the T-storms hold off or tomorrow).

Whatever she decides, make sure she's riding for her enjoyment and not for you! Also, ncrider is totally right!!! You're going to have to be a cheerleader, bike wrench (make sure to show her some things too), medic, coach, and riding buddy. It's a tough act to balance, but it can be done! Also, I would recommend getting her out on the bike with some other women riders too...it really does help to learn from both prespectives.

Good luck to you both!

 

[Str8OutaBallard]

my girlfriend hates the fact that i ride (mostly cause i spend about as much time doing that as i do with her). and i was wondering what got you girls into riding and how i could maybe sway my girl into going ridding with me i have a spare bike so she wont have to buy one so i think that will help. any suggestions?

Ask if she would like to go on a crosscountry/single track ride... if she want's too then borrow or rent a basic c.c.bike... explain what your bike is designed for and because of this you will be a little slow (weight, rake, etc.)... take it from there and see what happens... if she wants to go great, if not they go for a ride anyway... she likes it she likes it... not much more you can do about it beyond that...

 

[Jamsoul]

take em to big bear and let ride fault line and log chute...fast easy trails. If they do anything tech and get hurt they will quit before they develop a love for the sport. If they are into xc the same applies go slow at first you have to crawl before you can walk....

 

[flatulant_man]

i have to agree with bonk. if shes jealous of your past time then shes not worth your time. if you really want to get her into riding though, just ask her to give it a try so that you can spend more time together. if shes not willing to try it, then shes definitely not worth your time.

yeah, if she hasn't tried it yet, just ask her to try it. if she doesn't like it, then give it up. and if she's angry at you for spending time doing something you love, she's not worth it.

 

[Heath Sherratt]

Just tell her how cheap it is to get into the sport, and how nice all the people on trails treat you, and how there's no pain or suffering involved, no maintenance on bikes, did i mention how cheap they are to maintain?, upgrades?, dirt tastes good honey, really, and trees give lots more than lightposts/street signs...or maybe she would like road riding, that's a lot safer, except for cars...and potholes at thirty...and dogs...and it's pretty cheap to start up too, well at least there's no suffering, or pain, or maintenance...why do I do this? Well good luck

 

[Heath Sherratt]

women!!!! cant live with 'em. can't kill 'em.


just kidd'n Jen!!!

Can't live with 'em....can't live with 'em.

 

[ncrider]

Just thought i'd update my post from a few months ago. Here's some pics of my girl and i in Mammoth. Not bad for a girl that only rode a beach cruiser one month prior to our trip :heart:

 

[bpatterson6]

Just thought i'd update my post from a few months ago. Here's some pics of my girl and i in Mammoth. Not bad for a girl that only rode a beach cruiser one month prior to our trip :heart:

Nice! Looks like things are going well then.

 

[MUTOLI]

I had know idea I could ride or enjoy it for that matter until my husband (boyfriend at the time) asked me to go for a cross country ride a couple years ago. I thought he ment to just ride on the road ..then all the sudden we were in the woods going over roots, down steep little shoots and around tight corners etc;! It was so much fun. Now I am not only riding cross country but I also downhill too. You never know what you are good at, our will enjoy until you have tried it! Maybe she will be like many of us girls..and find a liking for it!

 

[bomberz1qr20]

my girlfriend hates the fact that i ride (mostly cause i spend about as much time doing that as i do with her). and i was wondering what got you girls into riding and how i could maybe sway my girl into going ridding with me i have a spare bike so she wont have to buy one so i think that will help. any suggestions?

New girl time.

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

Good news: I just took my gf on her first-ever mtn. bike ride! We rode 4 miles XC, easy terrain. It was her suggestion that we go. I had mentioned it way back but left the ball in her court... then she was like, "So can we go out biking this weekend?" I think she enjoyed it and will want to do it again. At the very least, I think it helped her understand the feelings one can get when mountain biking, so she understands a little bit more of what I crave and why I am into this sport.

 

[dante]

heh, all I can say is, start easy and make each ride a "date" instead of a ride. prep well, stay on overly easy stuff, body armor is important, and then end the ride at a diner or someplace decent to get food. It's not about the ride, it's about spending time with the person. Oh yeah, and make sure it's just the two of you when you first go. My gf was VERY intimidated by my friends, and still doesn't like to ride in large groups where she feels like she's the worst rider.

Eh, now she's innundated with schoolwork (works 40 hours a week and is also going to grad school) so she doesn't get to ride as much as she'd like, but she still gets out when she can.

 

[Louder]

Does she ride a bike at all? If not start off slow, like a few road rides, before hitting the dirt. Don't push her into it.

This is a very true statment when I first meet my boyfriend I hated riding my bike but now we statred off just riding street, but know I don't mind riding dirt and I am getting used to riding at skate parks. You can not puch her to do anything she doesnt want to do. My boyfriend first got me watching riding videos and now I love it. Maybe not as much as my boyfriend does. But it is a good way to get excersise and to spend time with the one you love.