I was only being half sarcastic.

I talked her out of going on the trip. While she wanted to do it, and I wasn't pushing - after she read the forums to see if people agreed with the what I told her:

100 percent dedication
Accept that riding these distances is hard, very hard (mentally and physically)
Never let people tell you it can't be done
The reward for success is personal, but life changing


She found that what most people told her is that the effort was beyond her. I jokingly told her to take up knitting. Regardless, she still wants to ride a bike, but now she just doesn't want anything to do with riding long distances or this forum.

Sad really, because I told her about how people on BF encourage people to ride 25-40 miles one-way commuting 5 days a week; I told her how the Clyde/Athena forums are really amazing and the people there have my respect (and have helped push me to get back what I lost). I even told her that people like Machka do exist, and that being a woman is the last "excuse" that can be made about what can and can't be done on a road bike.

And then she saw this thread. I've been a semi-regular poster on the forums for almost six years, but I probably will just start keeping my riding and my advice to myself from now on.

Good luck, ride safe and if you see a heavily tattoo'd rider on a Synapse/CAAD9-5 in South Texas - it might just be me.