The biker girls!

Early in our lives, my sisters and I were warned that going on bikes with boys/men was not the thing done by girls like us. 'We are not like that' - my mom used to say and still says for everything. It is her 'because I said so' statement. The three of us were fairly independent with our own modes of transport when we needed to go out. Once in a while, there were times when in the interest of our environment, the group of friends I'd hang out with would consider vehicle-pooling. Strictly frowned upon by girls' parents because the vehicles chosen for the ride would invariably be bikes which only boys rode that time. *hmph* (I did learn to ride a bike later on in my life much to my mom's horror) So, while I never needed to go on a bike ride with any of the guys I knew, this was a constant source of argument with my mom. When I was in Class 12, and had to run for tuitions and that is when most kids in Bangalore got their first bikes/scootys etc, my parents insisted I learn things the hard way and made me cycle all over the city running for coaching classes. Until I did so badly in Math that I attributed it to the time spent cycling all over the city. Finally, my dad gave me his trusty blue Kinetic Honda. Soon, I was to be known as the Kinetic girl. I was everywhere with my Kinetic. It carried everything from people to dogs to huge cutouts for plays. It also carried varied carpenters and painters from the college auditorium to the nearest bus stand. Of course, my parents didn't appreciate it too much. My grandmother felt I was 'mingling' with men I should not 'mingle' with if at all 'mingling' was the issue.

I'd ferry my mom on her innumerable shopping trips. Trust me, they were innumerable. One such trip, we were cruising along with my mom doing what she does best: backseat driving. She believed in shoulder squeeze backseat driving. The moment she senses danger which is always, she'd squeeze my shoulder hard. One such time, she wanted to point out to me a girl we knew going on a bike with some guy. My mom squeezed my shoulders. I slowed down thinking of the obvious. However, this time, she whispered in my ear that X was going on this bike with this boy she didn't know. So, the argument ensued. About how girls and boys are so physically close on a bike that 'anything' could happen. And that in our 'youth,' we dunno what we want and we end up losing 'control.' And with pride, she said to me (warning me, actually!) about how her daughters, she knew, would never do such a thing. About how her daughters were fine women who were independent and would never seek out a ride on a bike with random men.

Finally, as I was driving, I mentioned to her about how my best friend V and I were always roaming around together on my Kinetic or her Scooty. I could sense her nodding vigorously and proudly (everyone in my family loved V. She was an antithesis of me). I continued talking. Suddenly, it all stopped. She suddenly withdrew her appreciative hand from my sore shoulders. She grew quiet. She stopped nodding. When we got home, she didn't stop to comment on how I got off the Kinetic like a boy, and how I walked back into the house like a victorious racer.

And all I said was : What if V and I were 'going around', then would she approve of us, two girls on the Kinetic hanging around?

P.S. - Why don't parents understand that a lot more can happen in a car than on a bike? My mom always insisted that my male friends drop me in the car and not the bike. Ugh! However, when I was talking about this to a male friend of mine, he grinned and confirmed a bike was worse. I haven't understood how, still!