Gawking: Women doing roadwork

Her blonde ponytail swished left and right as she jogged to the stop sign this morning. After I pedaled past her, I couldn’t help but do a quick look over my shoulder at the woman in her early 20s. Then I saw another one run up to her. Then another! They looked like the blonde fitness version of the Stepford wives as they regrouped to continue their workout. It was a weird, freakshow-like sight for my culture-shocked eyes. I almost stopped my bike and put a foot down to stare at them some more. In fact, I was extremely tempted to circle back and do a drive-by gawk. I’m glad I resisted.

I’ve been back in the U.S. for about three weeks now, and I still find myself slowing down to look at female runners and cyclists. I’m not “checking out the B side,” as one of my friends in Bangkok likes to say. I’m just not used to seeing women exercising in public. I can’t even tell you what most of these women look like, whether they’re attractive or not. I’m just mesmerized by the phenomenon of ladies drenched in sweat, doing some serious road work. What’s really mind blowing is seeing middle-aged women on a lunchtime run with the July sun blazing down on them.

What is it about braids and muscular legs?

During my past 10 years in Greater China, I rarely saw such scenes. Sure, there were a few expat women who would run in my neighborhood. And there was a graduate student from Colorado who rode with us for a summer and amazed us with her tenacity, strength and undroppability (Why weren’t women like this when I was single?). But the local Chinese women generally didn’t exercise much. Like all things in China, that’s changing. Aerobics, yoga and gym workouts are catching on. A group of salesmen at the fitness center near my office in Guangzhou would stand on the sidewalk and yell, “Hello! Fitness!” at me everyday when I went to lunch. I once told them that I’m a cyclist and the road is my gym. They just looked perplexed and replied, “Hello! Fitness!”