MAMIL (Middle-Aged Men In Lycra)

Tonight was a date night. Tammy took the train downtown and met me at the Esri office at the end of day. We walked from there to the Barley Mill Pub in Eau Claire. There was a big pro-Trans-Mountain Pipeline rally at the old courthouse on the way. We walked by just as it was breaking up. I muttered to her a quote from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown:

Sally: “I wouldn’t want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.”

We had a nice dinner. She had the fish and chips, and I had a buffalo chicken burger. A half pint of Guinness for her and a couple glasses of Tool Shed Red Rage.

But all of that was a pretext to go and see MAMIL.

It is a documentary that has an interesting distribution method: they advertise a showing in a city at a particular theatre on a particular date and time, and if they pre-sell enough tickets, then the showing happens (you don’t get charged until the reservation is confirmed). It had come to Calgary in October and I’d missed it then.

There were a fair number of Bow Cyclists there, so it was a bit of an event. There were a lot of chuckles and outright laughter from the audience. I guess there was a lot of truths up there on the screen. It was a study of why specifically there is a demographic of middle-aged, mostly white, mostly male cyclists who insist on wearing lycra (not flattering) and buying expensive bikes and riding in clubs. Sound like anyone you know? 😳

I could see myself in some of the stories. There were a lot of other ones that were not exactly me: I’m not trying to race or compete in any sort of official way. There also was a real focus on the maleness of the phenomenon, which also was a little off from my experience. I have done my best to encourage women in the club, but there’s no denying that most of the riders are men. I’m glad of our female membership and will continue to work for it.

Tammy could also relate to the suffering looks on the faces of the wives being interviewed. 😆

Some very inspiring stories. Some cringe-worthy embarrassing truths. But overall a very entertaining film.

Yes, I’m almost forty-five. Yes, I weigh over 200 pounds and I put on lycra (or as I call it, my super-suit). And I’m also damn healthy and having fun.