Bicycles, Men and Women

"I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike.
I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like."

I had an epiphany this week about the difference between men and women. And it happened to be about bicycles.

I've had a bike for several years and have never worn a helmet. Recently we moved to a busier street and I thought that a helmet would probably be a good idea.

Last week, my wife got a bike. Suddenly we're off to the store to get helmets, a bike rack for the car and bicycle locks. I lived for years with just a bike, and now all of a sudden we "need" all of this extra stuff???

That's when the light bulb came on. She's thinking ahead. Women do that.
She knew that she'd want to take the bikes on a road trip, and would want to be able to secure them to the bike rack. Or, if we rode them to the mall, we'd want to be able to make sure they didn't get stolen.

See, when I rode alone, it was around a specific route, just for some exercise, and back home. But she's planning bike rides together - to specific places - and to do that, we need a few extra things.

It doesn't mean that either of us are wrong in our approach, just different. And I appreciate the fact that she's interesting in riding with me. It will be good healthy exercise for us. It will be fun - and because of her thinking ahead, it will be safe.

Guys - please - learn to see past the different approaches that you and your partner take - and appreciate her perspective. I bet you'll find that far more often than not, she's adding value to what you're doing.

Stay in touch -

Mark