The Androgyny of Cyclists

In a same, but different way to Schrödinger’s cat, a cyclist is neither a male or a female… but both.

Never make the mistake of admiring the physical form of an approaching, or retreating cyclist – particularly if they are in full lycra regalia. 

Chances are, that hot chick is a man…  or that fit looking stud muffin, has a muffin of her own.

This common misidentification has even made an appearance in popular culture, when Ewan McGregor in The Long Way Round thinks a “female” cyclist has a really nice rear end, only to discover it’s a man.

To paraphrase our friend Erwin Schrödinger:

“Nobody really doubts that the presence or absence of the meow is something independent of the act of observation.”

I think there’s something in that for all of us.