getting chicked

this morning the gal next to me in power camp said, I get all my pop culture from this class.
which holds true for yours truly, as well.
trivia, gossip, tidbits of what's going on "out there" . . . power camp brings to me an awareness of the Great Big World that I often don't pay much attention to.

for example, let me tell you about some of my experiences in the past few days.

• I listened to just a sampling of the tiger woods jokes spinning all around the country, as he has been outed as the kind of guy we all dread being in relationship with, and he was just voted Athlete of the Decade. wow. just wow.
• the lyrics of two songs actually stunned me into near-speechlessness this week. I had no idea these songs were out there, as I suppose I listen to "clean" radio. and because you're dying to know, they would be The Real Slim Shady, and Californication. uh-huh. this morning listening to Eminem I was either blushing, or just suffering from over-exertion. your guess.
• I learned that the Tour de France began in 1903, and that the first documented case of cheating occurred in 1904.
• I learned that not only is there a school that requires its students to take a course in unicycling, but that the tallest unicycle is 10 stories high. is there a point to wearing a helmet when you ride that thing?
• and the best thing of all this week, I learned a new phrase, thanks to a story about Ironman competitions and Chrissie Wellington.

this last item needs its own paragraph here.
one of our instructors is a triathlete who was telling us Ironman stories the other day. Ironman competitions are for those people who (I am going to be kind) find enjoyment in completing grueling workouts that combine swimming, biking, and running in outrageous lengths. those would be 2.4 mile swims, 112 mile bike rides, and 26.2 mile runs. back to back, with "transitions" between the events that leave them biking sockless and running until blisters form and toenails fall off. gee, I can't believe I haven't signed up for one of these yet.
this instructor was telling us about Chrissie Wellington, the reigning Ironman champion. apparently she is so fast that she often passes professional male athletes. and apparently, these guys have coined a phrase for being passed by a female: getting chicked.
as in, Chrissie passed me: I just got chicked.
I love this.
and this I also love: chicking guys.
I know, I should be above it all, but I just get some really childish, snarky sense of satisfaction from passing men out there on my bike.
I don't get to do it all that often, and I don't count the guys who are obviously overweight, out of shape, or over 75 . . .
I don't gloat, I don't act superior, but deep down inside that little 5-year-old me is just pleased as punch to be chicking a guy.
up til now I haven't had an appropriate name for this event, so I am exceedingly grateful to my power camp class, which teaches me all sorts of wonderful things about this incredible world we live in.
but californication? geez.