Marley looked up from behind the wheel she was truing as she heard the bell attached to the door. "Great, two bimbos," she thought as she watched the two young women enter the bike shop. She put the spoke wrench down and wiped her hands on the the worn denim apron then walked out to the sales floor. It was a Wednesday afternoon and she was closing the shop, which meant besides fixing bikes she had to deal with customers, which was far from her favorite activity. She removed the shop worn apron and hung it on a peg, "Can I help you?" Marley asked.
"We're looking for bikes," the taller girl said. They both wore matching Pi Beta Phi Sorority sweatshirts and had the carefree look of girls who'd never had to deal with real life, Marley thought. She instantly disliked them.
"Well you've come to the right place, here let me show you a few," Marley said. She moved her thin body gracefully through the crowded shop, and to a row of cruiser style bikes that were popular with college students. "These are great for getting around campus," she said.
"Well actually we are looking for something a bit more like race bikes," the tall girl said again. She was taller than Marley, and very athletic looking.
"We're going to train for the Little 500," the shorter blond said.
"Oh, you're going to race it next year?" Marley asked.
"Yeah, I'm the Pi Beta Phi coach, team captain, and whatever else they decide to make me do." the taller girl said.
"You haven't raced it before?" Marley asked.
"No last year the team was mostly Seniors, but our house doesn't take it seriously. I spoke out that we should do better than last place, and thanks to my big mouth I'm in charge now," the taller girl said.
"It's good you've got like 6 months to get ready, and you definitely want a drop bar bike to train on. You can spend alot of money on a road bike, but you don't really need to, let me show you what we have," Marley said as she directed the girls over to the bargain area of the shop. "These bikes are about the cheapest drop bar bikes we've got, at about 600 dollars, but they're way nicer then the coaster brake bikes you'll be riding. Marley gave an overview of the bikes, and found that her customers were both engaged, asking questions and genuinely interested.
"I'm Stacey, by the way, and this is Brita," Stacey said and held out her hand.
"I'm Marley," she said and carefully took Stacey's hand noting that it was just as big as her own.
"Do you own this shop?" Stacey asked.
"Oh no, I just work here, fix bikes and stuff, part time, I'm going to school too," Marley answered.
"Oh thats so cool, what's your major?" Stacey asked.
"Physical therapy, what's yours?" Marley asked.
"Marketing and communications, I love your outfit, that shirt is so cute." Marley looked down at her T-shirt, it showed a boy pedaling like crazy on a bike with a girl riding on the back wearing a long black dress with a big red bow. Marley's outfit was completed with tights and a short skirt with decorative buttons up the front, and Doc Martin Boots sort of a cute punk look.
"Thanks, Marley said and blushed a bit.
"Kiki, is one of my favorites," Stacey said.
"You know Kiki's Delivery Service, that is so cool," Marley said.
"Yeah I love Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite," Stacey said. Brita lightly punched her in the side and made a noise. "Oh, Brita has a date or something, we'll definitely take the bikes." Marley gave the bikes a quick adjustment, and adjusted the saddles. Stacey bought both bikes on a credit card and thanked Marley for the help.
"Oh, if you guys are interested, we do shop rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights, I usually ride on Thursdays. It would be good practice for you to get used to riding around others," Marley said.
"That sounds awesome, thanks!" Stacey said while Brita hurried her out the door. Marley watched the girls clumsily mount their new bikes and ride down the sidewalk, her eyes following Stacey until she rode out of sight.
"Calm down girl, she's not your type." Marley said out loud to herself and put her apron back on.

Marley rolled her pink spray painted beater bike into the communal bike rack, scanned her card to enter the apartment building, and made her way to the 3rd floor. "Hey," she said and dumped her messenger bag on the kitchenette counter. Amy rolled over on the couch and sat down her Psychology book. The apartment the two girls shared was far more spacious than a dorm room, tasteful Japanese art prints were interspersed with brightly colored anime posters, there was little in the way of furniture, other than a couch and coffee table. The four bicycles hanging from the ceiling on hooks were dead giveaway that this was the home of a serious cyclist.
"You're late," Amy said in her detached monotone voice.
"Yeah I sold a couple bikes to some sorority girls and had to finish the repair work I was doing," Marley said as she flopped onto her bed.
"I hope you get paid for that extra time," Amy replied.
"Yes Mr. Scrooge I did, they were buying their bikes for the Little 500," Marley said.
"Let me guess, they were bubbly, friendly, and invited you to a 'mixer' or some other social event," Amy said.
"They were friendly, and one of them liked my shirt."
"Ahh, perhaps you can start watching your cartoons with her, and stop torturing me with them," Amy said.
"You know you like them, anyway it got me thinking, why haven't you ever done the Little 5?" Marley asked.
"Because it's a stupid event, you ride dumb little under geared bikes on a dumb cinder track while a bunch of drunken idiots watch," Amy said.
"You were never invited on a team." Marley said with a laugh.
"No, I was invited," Amy said.
"Oh, you were kicked off, that's it!"
"No, I quit... I was the only one who took it seriously, all they wanted to do was hang out and drink, it was a waste of time and it still is," Amy huffed. Marley poured a bowl of cereal and sat down on the couch. Amy picked her book up and pushed her thick glasses up her nose, then sat up higher on the couch, "You want to do it don't you?"
"Do what?" Marley asked.
"Race the Little 500."
"You know I can't do that," Marley said unable to disguise the bitterness from her voice.
"Why?" Amy asked.
"You know why, don't be stupid," Marley said.
"You know NCAA rules stipulate that..." Amy was cut off.
"I don't give a shit what the rules say OK, I'm not racing, what do you think it will be like for me when they all find out that chick they're racing against has a dick, or maybe you forgot how well it worked out the first time?" Marley asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to upset you," Amy said.
"No, its fine, who said I want to start racing again anyway, and like you said, it's a stupid event. Now I've got something new for us to watch, "Midnight Occult Civil Servants," Amy said flicking on the TV.
"Oh Lord spare me," Amy said, but once the show as she put down her book and pushed the glasses up her nose again.

Marley and her friends had staked out a regular spot in the student center and met there like clockwork every Thursday between classes. It was a secluded corner on the third floor with comfy couches near a piano that would often be played by students. "So can I talk you guys into coming to ride with me tonight," Marley asked, speaking slightly loud over the music student playing piano.

"Let me check my social calendar, nope," Tink replied and took a drink from her big plastic disposable coffee. Marley chuckled, but wished her friend would change her mind. Tink, was big, about 6 feet tall and overweight, she claimed to like being overweight because she felt she was more passable with her "baby fat." The truth was that Marley found her quite pretty, her long dark brown hair was always smooth and gleaming, her makeup just right, and her seemingly never ending supply of cute dresses. Marley met her Freshman year at the LGBT center and they quickly became best friends.

"I'll go, if you loan me a bike." said Jordan. Jordan was new to their group, a Freshman and feeling very out of place and alone. She was the definition of androgyny. She fit exactly down the center, seemingly in all aspects, not exactly short, but not tall either, her skin was not quite white, but not quite black, her hair not short, not long, her button up shirt and pants were those of a man. A couple weeks ago she saw Tink and Marley talking and asked if she could sit with them. She asked to be referred to as a she, but both Marley and Tink believed that she was harboring a mistrust of her biological gender.

"Really that's awesome," Marley replied.

"Well have fun girls, I'm off to see the wizard," Tink said as she lifted herself off the couch.

"What does that mean?" Jordan asked.

"I'm going to the bathroom, you know to whiz, then I've got a class, see you," Tink said as she adjusted her big purple cateye framed glasses and projected her bright smile.

"I'm worried about her," Marley said once Tink was gone.

"Why she seems fine," Jordan asked.

"She's put on 15 pounds at least since last year, which is fine, but I know her, she's a stress eater, she's like really good at acting happy. Anyway I'm glad you're going, I'll get you set up on a loaner bike if you can come by the shop a bit before the ride" Marley said.

"Yeah, sounds great, but I don’t know if I’ll be any good, I haven’t rode a bike in a long time,” Jordan said.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, it’s always a no drop ride,” Marley said.

“No drop ride?”

“Yeah like if you can’t keep up that’s called being dropped, so on this ride no one gets left behind,” Marley explained and Jordan nodded in understanding.

“So why don’t you and Tink don’t go to the LGBT center anymore?” Jordan asked.

“I don’t know, I’m busy with school, working and riding, and it’s really not my thing I guess,” Marley answered.

“But you’re still...” Jordan stuttered.

“Transgender?” Marley asked and Jordan nodded in embarrassment. Marley chuckled, a couple years ago that question and answer would have left her so insecure, but now she looked down at herself. She was wearing pink and purple girls trainers, jean shorts that revealed her long smooth legs, and a loose fitting casual shirt. She only wore a tiny bit of makeup, a little mascara, a little foundation, a dash of eye shadow, her long hair was pulled up in a high pony tail. Most importantly two years on HRT had changed her skin and caused her to grow some small but clear breasts. She had no doubt who she was now. “Would you mistake me for a boy?” Marley asked with a laugh.

“No of course not,” Jordan said.

“It’s very political, the people there… They are always aggrieved, always so pissed off, it’s like just go live your life, you know. That's why I stopped going last year,” Marley explained. Jordan looked off into space. “Hey you know, it’s not all like that, there are lots of good people and they really listen if you want to talk and you know you can always talk to me if you want.”

“Thanks Mar,” Jordan said and checked her digital watch, “Well time for class, I’ll see you tonight.”

***

"You are so going," Stacey said as Brita rolled over in bed and pulled the pillow over her face.

"Get up! I bought you that bike and you're going to ride it."

"Can't you get someone else to go?" Brita asked. Stacey grabbed Brita under the elbows and lifted her up off the bed. "Jesus, how did you get so strong?" Brita yelled.

"Cross fit, now come on I need you. When the others see how much fun we're having we'll have no problem getting them fired up for the team," Stacey said.

"Yeah, woo hoo, we're having so much fun. What do I even wear? I don't have any bike clothes," Brita said looking around the messy bedroom they shared at the Pi Beta Phi house. It was obvious neither girl was a neat freak.

"I don't have any bike clothes either, just put on some workout clothes," Stacey said.
Brita huffed and began digging through some stacks of clothes and found some capri tights, sports bra and a workout top and stomped to the bathroom. Through the half closed door she said, "Why are we going on this ride, we don't know what we're doing, anyway that bike shop girl kind of freaked me out."

"What do you mean freaked you out?"

"I don't know, something was off, plus she dressed like a weirdo." Brita said.

"You should hear yourself, you sound so stuck up, but you're right, we don't know what we're doing, that’s why we need to learn, hence we go to the ride and learn from Marley," Stacey explained.

"FIne," Brita said as she stepped through the door and pulled her hair into a ponytail, "lets go make fools of ourselves."

Stacey and Brita rolled into the parking lot of Campus Cycles a few minutes early and immediately felt like they were on another planet. There were three distinct groups gathered in the parking lot, A tight group of athletic riders in skintight lycra stood around with sleek high tech bicycles that looked more like something from the future. A second group of riders mostly on similar bikes but with less uniformity in clothing style and body shape formed a second group, and a third group appeared to be composed of more women in far more casual clothing and bikes more like hers.

There was an awkward moment when everyone on the parking lot seemed to turn towards Stacey and Brita at once and stare. “Lets get out of here,” Brita said.

“Chill,” Stacey replied as she scanned the crowd for Marley. “I don’t see her anywhere,” A tall guy rolled over from the skintight group and smiled taking off his sunglasses to reveal bright blue eyes., “Hey, I’m Ben, are you guys here for the ride?” He said in a deep voice.

Brita reached over and pinched Stacey, and she seemed unable to form words, “Yeah Marley invited us, I’m Stacey and this is Brita.”

“Cool, well she’s in the shop and will be out in just a second, do you guys need helmets?” Ben asked.

“Ummm,” Brita said, seemingly unable to remember what a helmet was.

“We don’t have helmets,” Stacey replied.

“Yeah, gotta have a helmet to do this ride, but we’ve got loaners, Marley will set you up, just head over to the shop.” Ben said. Stacey had to pull Brita away, thanked Ben and headed towards the door.

“I think I’m going to love cycling,” Brita said as she turned around for one last look at Ben’s chiseled backside. “That is so hot,” she said and licked her lips.

“Would you calm down,” Stacey said. As they approached the shop door Marley and Jordan came out pushing a bike.

“Hey you made it awesome,” Marley said. “This is my friend Jordan, she’s going to ride with us tonight,” Stacey felt a bit of relief in knowing Jordan was a girl, as she wasn’t quite able to place her gender. Jordan stuck out her hand for a handshake.

“Why don’t these bikes have kickstands?” Brita asked.

“That’s a good question,” Marley said with a laugh and showed them to lean their bikes along the wall of the shop. She took Brita and Stacey in to loan them helmets but made a funny face. “Well, we have a slight problem here,” she said and lifted two helmets out of a box. One was a standard white with blue accents, while the other was a girls helmet with several variations on neon pink and purple and huge hearts all over.

“Oh no,” Brita said.

“I’m sorry these are the only two we have left,” Marley said.

Stacey reached out and took the adult helmet and stuck it on her head, “Sorry but this is one of the few times having a big head has been an advantage, it’s a perfect fit,” she said.

Brita grabbed the kid’s helmet and stuck it on her head, “Whatever it’s fine, it's cute, I like it,” she said as she stomped out.

Ben rolled over to Marley’s group back in the parking lot, “Big group tonight,” he said.

“Yeah, little 500 brings them out,” Marley said.

“Well I’ll see you afterward,” Ben said and rolled back over to his group. There was a sudden storm of clicking sounds as the riders all locked their shoes into their pedals and began rolling out.

“Are you guys like dating?” Brita asked Marley.

Marley raised her eyebrow and couldn’t help but raise a smile, “Why do you ask?”

“Because he’s flipping hot,” Brita said.

Marley laughed and said, “No, he works at the shop too, we’re just friends.”

“Cool,” Brita said.

Are you done embarrassing us now?” Stacey asked then turned to Marley, “So I take it that’s the fast group.”

“Yeah, thats the A group they will do 35, we’re the B group and we’ll do 25, and over there is Mary and the C group they’ll do 15,” Marley explained.

“25 miles? Tonight?” Brita asked.

“Yeah, it’s really not that far, but you’re welcome to go ride with the C group,” Marley said.

Brita looked over and studied the group, it was mostly older women and men, many of them looking a bit pudgy in tight fitting spandex and didn’t say anything. Marley clicked into her pedals, with the same style of shoes as the guys had in the A group. Stacey looked over Marely’s bike, it was spotless, sleek and aerodynamic. The paint was gloss black with highlights in feminine colors, and the word Specialized was emblazoned across the downtube in a beautiful rainbow gradient. “Wow that’s a really nice bike, do you race?” Stacey said.

“Thanks,” Marley said as she began to lead out the B group. “And no I don’t race,” she said.

Out on the road Marley stayed in the front of the group leading them through the hustle and bustle of traffic and then onto quiet city streets where she drifted back to Jordan, Stacey and Brita. “So if you want to take a break, just stop, the C group will be by and stay with you. In about ten miles you’ll need to decide if you want to do the longer ride or take the shorter one with the Cs,” Marley explained. For the next 5 minutes Marley gave the girls a crash course in group riding, covering drafting, car back warnings, road safety, and the basic tactics. Stacey noticed they were no longer in town as the group turned a corner onto a smooth country road. There was a change in the group, the pace began to quicken. Stacey felt her heart rate begin to rise as the group stretched out into a line.

A smile found its way to Stacey’s face, the feeling of blood pumping, wind in her hair, and the ground rushing by reminded her of cross country running in high school. Minutes ticked by and Stacey found the smile growing. She looked behind her to see a frown on Brita’s face. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah peachy,” she said between breaths. Ahead of her Marley’s friend Jordan was beginning to struggle to hang on and a gap was growing between her and the other riders. Marley drifted back from the front of the group.

“If you guys want I’ll hang back with you until the C’s get here.” she explained.

Brita stopped pedaling, “Yes please,” she said. Jordan slowed her pace as well and the main group kept getting farther away.

“I can keep going,” Stacey said.

“I’ll stay back with her if you guys want to keep going,” Jordan said.

“Are you sure?” Marley asked.

“Yeah we’re big girls, we’ll be fine,” Brita said.

“OK the C group rides a lot slower and they won’t leave you behind,” Marley said and gave Stacey a good look of appraisal. She was breathing deeply but appeared more athletic and toned then Brita or Jordan. She winked at her, “You ready to catch up?”

“Yeah lets go,” Stacey said, and immediately felt cheesy for her enthusiasm. She waved bye to her friend and tucked in behind Marley who very slowly and steadily increased her pace until they were beginning to catch back up. “How fast are we going?” Stacey shouted into the wind.

“21,” Marley yelled back. It wasn’t long before they were back with the B group. Stacey noticed that Marley still didn’t seem to be breathing hard, but she was taking deep breaths and feeling a not altogether unpleasant burning in her legs. Marley went back to the front of the group and worked her way in with the guys breaking the wind. A few miles later she drifted back to Stacey, “OK, point of no return, still feel like doing 25?”

“Yeah I feel good,” Stacey said.

“Awesome, this road has a few hills and segments, you’re going to see the group come apart but we’ll regroup in a few miles, just stay on this road.” Marley said. They turned onto a smaller road and soon were climbing a significant hill. Just as Marley said some riders surged forward and others began to drift back. Stacey began passing people, and noticed Marley was on the front setting the pace. At the crest of the hill her lungs and legs were burning, but she couldn’t believe she was still with the group, at least what was left of the group, it was now just Marley, herself and two other riders. Marley turned around and looked surprised to see Stacey still with them, she gave her a thumbs up. The downhill rush was incredible, then they turned a corner and another huge hill loomed before her.

This time Stacey found herself in the easiest gear and still struggling, one by one the riders she all passed went around her, giving encouragement and praise for how strong she was on her first ride. It was a huge blow when she saw what she thought was the top, wasn’t really the top, but just the halfway point. “Crap,” she said as the last rider she could see disappeared over the top.

Marley stood alone, leaning against her bike and watched Stacey struggle over the crest of the hill and roll to a stop a few feet from her. The exhausted girl slumped over the bars to catch her breath. “Sorry this was way too hard of a ride for someone who hasn’t rode before,” Marley said.

“Now you tell me!” Stacey said looking up, then laughed and said “Thanks for waiting on me.”

“No problem, a few others wanted to wait but I shooed them along,” Marley said. The girls began to ride and soon were coasting down out of the hills and into some more forgiving terrain. “Trust me you’re doing great for your first ride, all of us have been doing this for years.”

“So how did you get into riding,” Stacey asked.

“Well, my Mom was a bike racer when she was in college, we rode bikes as kids, she took me to my first race when I was 13,” Marley explained.

“I thought you said you didn’t race?” Stacey asked.

“I don’t anymore,” Marley said with a slight edge to her voice.

“Why’d you stop,” Stacey asked.

Marley felt her breath shorten and not from the sedate pace they were riding, she thought about what happened. She could still remember the way people looked at her, the stinging hatred in their eyes. Not only was she a freak, but a cheat who had stolen from “real” girls. A big part of her just wanted to be honest and say, I’m transgender and was hated for riding with the girls. Marley forced a smile on her face and looked at Stacey, “I just got tired of the stress of competition. So what’s it like being in a Sorority?”

“Well, I’ve only been there a month now, but it’s good, lots of new friends, lots of opportunities, the hazing wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Stacey laughed

“Hazing, that’s for real?” Marley asked.

“Yeah, I mean, some of the houses are kind of intense, like insane stuff, but Pi Beta Phi is really pretty tame,” Stacey said.

“Well what happened?” Marley asked.

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Stacey said.

“I’m trying to live vicariously through you, my college experience revolves around going to classes, riding my bike, and working at the shop,” Marley said.

“It was last year, and I was scared because I’d heard horror stories about Rush week. First we were all assigned a ‘Mom’ and mine was Brita. So for a week we had to call her mommy, which was like no big deal you know. They all treated all the pledges like little kids, we had to ask permission for everything, and I mean everything, but in the process they taught us everything we needed to know,” Stacey explained.

“Well that doesn’t sound so bad,” Marley explained.

“I’m leaving out the real embarrassing stuff,” Stacey said with a laugh.

“You can’t leave out the good stuff!,” Marley said.

“Well they took the whole mommy and daughter thing kind of far, we had to wear a pacifier holder with our letters on it, at all times that week, and then there were the spankings and diapers,” Stacey said.

“The what!” Marley said.

“Well a big part of the week was learning the culture and history of the Sorority, so we were given lots of tests, if you didn’t pass you’d get spanked,” Stacey said.

“Umm, and diapers?” Marley asked with a giggle.

“Yeah, I guess we sound pretty immature,” Stacey said. In my defense they were those cute pull-ups for bedwetters, so you know.

The thought of Stacey in such a garment getting spanked brought butterflies to Marley’s stomach, but she forced the thoughts out of her head and said “Well it’s not for me.”

“I know it sounds stupid, but it really helps bring us all together, now Brita is my best friend,” Stacey said.

“That’s cool,” Marley said.

“Now it’s your turn, tell me an embarrassing story,” Stacey said.

Marley felt a lump in her throat as she thought of all the ways her life had changed and how many emberassements she’d suffered. “No thanks,” she said.

“Come on, it’s only fair,” Stacey said.

“I don’t really have an embarrassing story,” Marley said.

“Every girl has an embarrassing story,” Stacey said.

“OK so I was doing this ride once and there was a rest stop with tons of people. I rolled into the rest stop and couldn’t get my feet out of the pedals and fell over,” Marley said.

“Ouch, that sounds painful,” Stacey said.

“It really just hurt my pride,” Marley said.

The girls rode together chatting and the miles ticked away, soon they were back in the parking lot of Campus Cycles. A few riders were hanging around talking but most everyone was gone including Jordan. Brita was talking to Ben and waved when they rolled in. “Can you guys believe that Ben rode 35 miles tonight,” she said.

Ben just smiled, and Marley laughed, “He’s pretty amazing,” she said.

“Jordan had to go, she left her bike up against the wall over there,” Brita said. Stacey helped Marley gather up the loaner bikes and helmets and return them in the shop.

“Thanks for waiting for me, I really enjoyed riding with you,” Stacey said.

“Oh.. great thanks, we ride every Thursday night,” Marley said. Stacey approached her and hugged her, Marley immediately tensed her back, and left her arms stretched out in front her. “Oh, OK,” she awkwardly said.

Stacey laughed, “Sorry, I’m a hugger, thanks again.”

Stacey turned to leave and Marley felt a word forcing itself up from her throat, “Wait,” she said a bit too forcefully.

“Would you like to get some coffee, we could talk about training for the Little 5,” Marley said.

“Oh, that would be awesome, but I promised Brita I’d help her with some school stuff tonight,” Stacey said.

“Oh, yeah cool,” Marley said.

“How about tomorrow night, say 6 or something. Let me get your number,” Marley struggled for a few seconds sputtering before she could remember her number, and Stacey laughed again. “Bye,” she said and left. Marley didn’t move for several seconds then finally took a deep breath.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked herself.

“So did you get his number?” Stacey asked Brita as they rode home.

“Whose number?” Brita said with a smile.

“Don’t be coy with me bitch, the hunky bike guy you were drooling all over when I pulled up,” Stacey said.

“Oh Ben, why yes, yes I did,” Brita said. The two girls fist bumped and giggled. “By the way, thanks for leaving me with that weirdo.”

“Weirdo?,” Stacey asked.

“Jordan, she was so awkward, but I did find out something interesting, I was right about Marley, I knew something wasn’t quite right about her.” Brita said.

“Right about what?” Stacey asked.

“I asked Jordan how her and Marley were friends, and guess what, they met at the LGBT center, they’re lezzies.” Brita explained.

“Oh, wow, I’m going out with her tomorrow night,” Stacey said. Brita nearly fell off her bike laughing.