I thought I replied that we are on equal levels of riding. She can pull hills better than me and I pull flats better than her. So it balances. She is also riding a much newer alu frame bike that probably weighs 4 pounds less than mine and she probably weighs 10 pounds less than me.

I also asked her during the first ride if she wanted to push the pace. She said whatever she has no agenda.

I will watch for zombies though. Mostly its squirrels or dog walkers that let the leash go all the way across the MUP.

lolololololol. She usually won't shut up.


My gf is quite athletic, and a very, very good swimmer (mid and long-distance). In terms of strength and power, she'd crush almost all of the women I've ever known. I've never evaluated her aerobic capacity, but I'd expect it to be pretty high for a woman.

The thing is: even she is a horrible cyclist compared to me. I'm only a decent rider, but I still ride away from her without realizing it. So, I let her pace and pretend that I'm on a recovery ride or something. Probably about how a pro would feel riding with me.

well if you guys are genuinely competitive and on a similar level and are actually riding hard....id say no problem. /thread

And how long have you two been dating?

LOL nothing like a pro compared to you. It's a much, much larger gap.

Seriously though, you can ride solo or with a group of your approx skill level to get better. You can also ride at least once or twice a week with your significant other, friends & family just for fun. If you're not getting enough of a workout on the casual rides, get on a 29er with 2.3" knobs and give it a go.

Definitely time to put her in a burkha, if you think any male she's hanging out with is going to be oogling her (or even, horror of horrors, ogling her) and finding sex-driven reasons for hanging out with her.

None of you guys have female friends - as in, just pals???

I said before she has more guy friends and I have more women friends. By oogling I mean 1 guy obsessing. Guys are gonna look just like I look at women. I won't obsess over another though. I like my girl to look hot.

There is a difference between "just looking" and creepy ogling/obsessing.

I know I am replying to your post but my point isnt directed specifically at you - I am just amazed by how many people here seem to think that their GF or SO going out with a single guy is somehow an invitation to cheating or to creepy thoughts on the part of the other person.

I've done a bunch of consulting gigs in the Middle East and I expect this attitude there, not here. This is precisely the type of thinking that is behind the burkha, or the Saudi rules that married women must not be alone with other men.

ask my wife....who ended up divorcing her husband after she started riding with me. If there is an attraction (or you are former HS sweethearts like we were) "DANGER WILL ROBINSON" should be your guiding principal.

ditto quad. To me that type of mistrust, avoidance of evil sentiment just reeks of fundamentalism (and no I DO NOT mean exclusively the Islamic variety). It is so un-evolved socially in this day and age. Not saying "you suck" for thinking it folks but in our supposedly forward-thinking, equality-focused, "enlightened" society it is a VERY archaic mindset....

Well, examples supporting either side abound but realistically the cycling together has nothing to do with the coed dynamic or outcome. Happy, committed couples w/ solid morals and foundations generally do not disintegrate with the introduction of extramarital coed activity. Not saying it never happens but simply that when it does it usually is due to factors inherent w/in the relationship and not the result of the outside influence....

I'd like to know if there are couples that are cool with not just riding with but the other type of riding as well as long as there is no hiding the fact.

I voted yes but so far no woman has ridden with me as a duo for a while now so I think I am in the clear or I just am plain fugly.

My wife does not really care. One time because of hotel unavailability/finances her friend who is really good looking and younger and our two sons traveled together for a meet and we stayed in the same hotel room. My wife was more worried that her friend will not get sleep if I snored. Her husband was cool too about it and we are on friendly terms but not buddies per se.

However prolonged hanging out over several times will have a big chance of leading to sexual encounters, however innocent it is to begin with. You just have to be honest with your self if it is leading to that. Usually we deny and before you know it you are doing Kama Sutra experiments. I 'have experience before my marriage and seen it happen more than once at work, with friends and family. I do not want the emotional drain that goes with that anymore.

To the OP unless you are willing to take it further just keep it strictly to cycling and when something innocent as going to a museum or helping out in the local food bank comes up, you know that could mean the beginning of the end.

C'mon, chip...that's a totally different issue.

My wife doesn't have any issues with me riding with a friend she jokingly refers to as my "bicycle girlfriend" (I also have a "violin girlfriend", by the way) but she would have serious issues if I were to be riding with a former flame/high school sweetheart. I wouldn't blame her on that count. Spending long hours in lycra doing physical activities all alone with a girl that I once...um...did things with. There is a complete recipe for disaster. But it's unique...there's narrative involved there, not some hypothetical rule about the nature of men and women.

My "bicycle girlfriend" and I don't have history like that. Therefore any future like that would be a matter of choice that has, I believe, very little to do with cycling or un-chaperoned interaction and more to do with individual choices and beliefs.

Why are we still writing about this? I feel like I may have landed in a chapter from a Victorian-era novel.

I have a friend and his GF of around 10 years that are into polyamory. So here goes.

The guy and girl are together. The guy says to his girl that there is a mutual girl/guy friend that he is interested in and would it be ok to bring that person into the couple's relationship. The girl says ok. Same thing happens with the girl. Now you have a couple who have other BFs/GFs, but the original BF/GF are still a couple.

Now here is where it gets complicated. Those extra BFs/GFs can have other BFs/GFs that they bring into the relationship and so on and so on.

My friends do not ride, bikes that is.

There's an easy way to get around this, just have the woman wear a Burqa when she rides.

+1, this is soo true!

A lycra Burqua?! Very aero, where can I get one.

I would want a divorce after riding with you. You are such a HUNK!

I love this thread. Not in a, let's go riding together kind of way. More of a polyamorous fondness kind of way. Can I read this thread and have the other threads not get jealous?

What if the woman is a lesbian?

I'm having trouble finding training partners - I want someone who will really make me work, but when the dudes find out that I'm gay they vanish (which, seriously, I'm fat, I fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, so why were they even thinking along those lines?!), and the chicks apparently think I want in their shorts and can't run away fast enough. I just want to ride!

Thats too bad. One of the people that kayak fishes with us is a lesbian and she is good. Kicks our ass every-time. Its never been a problem with the guys. Fish have a problem with her but thats about it

That's a tough one and something I can't really say I've encountered. Think you're going to be a bit of a trailblazer with that one, hope someone here can help.

If you keep trying you will find riding partners of similar ability and the gay/straight thing won't matter. I've been a member of a road club for 20+ years and people end up riding with people who like the same kind of riding.

You need to have more faith in your self. In over 25 years I have never cheated on my wife, but that does not mean I can't be with a pretty single or married woman. i have taken business trips and had lunch with many pretty ladies, if things start to get to friendly i always talk about my daughter wife and family pets. Our Marriage is built on trust not suspicion!

I did a series of group ride this year with a pretty young woman and we became friends but does not mean i will cheat on my wife!