green427

About 8 years ago I commuted to work 2 times a week. The first few weeks were horrendous. I have to walk through the building to get to my office, and it is a gauntlet of people hooting & hollering, laughing, and pinching my ass because I am wearing what they call "gay pants" and a hi-viz shirt/jacket. I am a very patient man, but I have my limits. Yeah, I tell them to go screw themselves, etc, but the constant snickering can make my blood boil.

When I ride my motorcycles to work, it is the same thing, all making fun of my safety gear. All think I am a wuss for wearing helmets on all rides. No one seems to understand why anyone would need to wear a bicycle helmet.

My plan is to commute, try to ignore the insults, and lose about 20 lbs in the next 6 months. If that happens, I probably will rub it in the morons' faces.

Any stories of co-workers hounding you when you arrive or leave the office?

Fizzaly

Anymore with gas as high as it is, nobody says anything other than asking advise for what bike they should buy to start riding to work

colleen c

Give them a good reason for wearing your bicycle helmet by installing a video recorder on it. If they insult, laugh or harass you, just kindly ask them to stop. If they continue to do so, turn in a copy of the recording to HR. Now see who gets the last laugh.

2wheelcommute

Jesus, where do you work? Maybe you should talk to management--if they're letting that environment persist, they're opening themselves up to a decent employment lawsuit (especially the pinching and "gay" comments)

I never get mocked. There are obviously some folks who find it a little odd, and I get plenty of "I hope you wear a helmet" and "I hope you wear lights at night" comments, but 90% of what I hear is explicitly supportive and encouraging. Especially after everyone realized that I was shedding weight quickly.

tjspiel

Skip the spandex if possible or use MTB shorts. Throw the hi-viz stuff in a pannier/backpack before you walk in. Otherwise do what you're doing and don't worry about them.

I'm lucky. Commuting by bike is pretty common in this building and some people wear full kit so my solid color spandex shorts look only moderately "gay" by comparison.

CACycling

I only get mocked when I drive to work.

scroca

Very odd story. Fortunately, I work with adults.

I think my response to that kind of thing would be something along the line of, "You sit in climate control and push an accelerator pedal. And who's a *****?"

Anyone pinched my ass would get a fist in the face so quick and hard they'd know when they came to that it was a bad idea.

sci_femme

Work on smartest, meanest comebacks and deliver them with the sweetest smile in as public setting as possible. You will kill two birds with one stone - embarrass the heck of the clowns and build quite the reputation. I am known for my abrasive tongue but someone chose to ignore the reputation. The zinger was "That's how I am twice your age and half your size". Ouch.

Or build something along the lines of "reducing my carbon a$$-print" into a comeback.

Good luck

SF

green427

Management is also part of the problem.

The office environment is about 90% male, so that explains quite a bit. LOL.

bhop

No mocking here. If anything many are jealous as they sit in traffic. I've been told I look "professional" when wearing a bike jersey with arm warmers, and my clipless shoes, but that's not really mocking.

scroca

No, that doesn't explain anything.

MTBerJim

WOW, just freaking WOW!

I work in a shop environment and I don't get ANYTHING like that, I get some grow up and stop acting like a kid stuff, but that's about as far as it goes.
As someone else has said it's just harassment not kidding around, the whole gay thing is civil rights stuff. If you have an HR you need to talk to them about this.

green427

Pretty much what I've done. Performance Bike had a sale on century MTB shorts, so I got a pair. Just not as comfy as the regular spandex. Will see how much less they react when I walk in with 'normal' looking clothes. I leave a duffel bag in the office with my shoes, etc, so I have to remove my noisy, stiff riding shoes and walk in socks as well.

rex_kramer

I have a lot of patience, but if someone touched me in the manner you described, that someone would be subject to a beating. I work in construction and maintenance, so some ribbing would be expected when I first showed up in tights this fall, but everyone managed to hold their tongues. Behind my back? Who knows what they're saying...lol. It's all about respect and maturity. Apparently the dudes you work with don't have much of either.

My response would be to keep showing up in your gear as YOU see fit. Eventually they'll get used to it and find something else to entertain themselves.

gtragitt

You will have the last laugh because you are extending your lifespan.

achoo

This.

"At least I can wear clothes like this and not look like a blivet."

MVclyde

Right answer.

BTW, I've worked in several male dominated environments.....there's always tons of banter. I would expect to get ribbed about wearing tights and high viz stuff. It goes with the territory. I guess the difference is that the people I worked with respected the fact that I rode so there was no reason for me to take offense. It was all in good fun. Everyone got teased for something.....if not, you weren't part of the team.

PS...if guys pinched me on the arse, they are the ones that need to worry (not that there's anything wrong with that).

tjspiel

I can imagine that kind of behavior amongst my old high school friends but not so much in a work environment. The ribbing between us was always meant to be good natured but sometimes it went too far and usually it was the same people. Even friends can be real a$$es at times.

Standalone 

I teach in a large urban high school in a low income area. And I don't even get any immature reactions like that. Actually, the kids respect it. Adults do have a harder time with it.

tjspiel

Yeah, I know if I were to show up at one of our poker parties on my bike in spandex (even if I changed when I got there), the ribbing would go on for half the night. If I were to happen by one of them while riding to work they wouldn't bat an eye. It's when you get a group of them...

CB HI

Bring a large picture in with the days gas price sign. When they mock you, just hold the picture in their face and laugh hysterically. Post another picture up in the lunch area.

After you get tired of showing them that picture, take a picture of a local traffic jam.

MVclyde

Bike commute to the poker game....now that's hard core!!!!

MTBerJim

Exactly, the guys are--well--guys. That said, they can go on longer than would be considered in good taste, I'm guilty of it as well.

AlmostGreenGuy

I've never been mocked. Coworkers are generally in awe of what I do. The majority of the comments that I usually get are along the lines of "I could never do that. I'd die of a heart attack after one mile."

Then again, I'm a funny kind of guy. Definitely not the serious type. At the end of the day, I always say, "Time to find a phone booth. My super-suit awaits me!!!"

SouthFLpix

No, but I did have one person constantly trying to talk me out of commuting by bike.