bikerski

I started riding recumbents because I was too heavy and unfit to ride DF bike. I can now ride DF bikes and also still enjoy riding recumbents. Attended the Midwest Recumbent rally this weekend. WOW did I see a ton, pun intended, of seriously over weight people. Would have been alright if these people were new to the game. Problem is I have seen these same people many years. Don't see this amount of over weight people in the DF riding circles. Come on recumbent people, quit pigging out!!!!!

scarry

They say an overweight active person is healthier than a skinny inactive person.

bikerski

I suppose.............but a correct weight active person is even healthier. Besides, I just want you heads to represent well. Seeing all the grossly over weight bent riders, especially the trike riders, doesn't speak well for the group.

bikerski

edit bent heads

JCB

You'll see more fat folks riding bents because fat folks can ride bents. Some will get better, some won't. I think it's great they are at least getting out a little.

scarry

I think it's just great that recumbents allow folks who could not other wise ride a bike to do so. Good for em. I just wish publications such as Buycycling (Bicycling) would promote recumbents more especially as a practicle model for everyone. They just published an article about heavy riders and not a word about the practicality of recumbents for fat people.

aikigreg

Did you see this month's bicycling mgazine?

ppc

As an overweight person who's rides both upright and bent, let me tell three things:

First of all, when you say you "were too heavy" and "you can now ride DF", I have the feeling that you're a normally thin guy who had 20 lbs too many. I have heard many lycra-clad weight-obsessed roadies pull that sort of line, and if you decided to start "riding recumbent because you were too heavy", I think you might belong in that group.

Secondly, some people have no choice but to be heavy: some are very tall, and some, like me, bike a lot but don't shed a pound. That doesn't mean they're fat slobs. I for one do thousands of miles a year on my mountain bike, my Brompton or my bent and I'm still well over 50 lbs over the official normal-weight line. Does that mean I'm a couch potato? What matters is being healthy, not the shape of one's belly.

Thirdly, there's good reasons why you don't see overweight riders on DF: one is the belly gets in the way for pedalling while bending over the handlebar, which is uncomfortable. Another is that more weight on a narrow saddle means more pain to the rider. But mostly, heavy riders would break the bike purely and simply! And I should know, I've just broken my fifth frame, the last one being a downhill mountain bike frame. Bike manufacturers just don't make sturdy road bikes, and there's very little choice in the mountain bike and touring bike range, and you can't race with a touring bike. On the other hand, even sturdy heavy bents have the aerodynamic advantage to compensate.

People choose what they're comfortable riding with. If overweight people find pleasure riding bents, more power to them, and if you like DF and managed to get back to a light enough weight, good for you too. But I respectfully suggest you become a little more open-minded and tolerant of other people. It's your kind of attitude that locks the image of cycling into a universal Tour de France stereotype of athletic paper-thin Lance Armstrong types suffering on expensive carbon race bikes, and prevents overweight people from getting a bike they like and discovering the pleasure of riding. It's also the same narrow-minded attitude that cosntantly puts bent riders on the receiving end of stupid comments and disparaging remarks.

Cycling is pushing pedals on a bike to go forward on a road or on a trail and enjoying it. Nothing more. Some like to do it fast on expensive equipment, some train to do it, some prefer touring, some prefer going on rough terrain, some like pain when riding, some don't, some prefer riding on a saddle, some prefer being on a seat etc... But at the end of the day, everybody should be able to enjoy the activity and recognize they're all doing essentially the same thing with a different approach to it. There's no point in dissing people who have more weight than you, they probably enjoy what they do just as much as you do.

bikerski

1. 265 down to 220 6'3" lost fat and gained weight redistribution to more muscle.
2. I look gooooood and am at least 20 pounds over the "old" weight chart.
I'm just saying, I know your spending a lot of time on your bent, putting in a lot of miles. Stay away from the high calorie, high fat food for awhile and see what happens. I know, been there. Riding 5-6000 miles per year. Favorite Sun ride with buddy was to hit an all you can eat breakfast buffet at about 30 miles. Suffered another 30-40 miles and couldn't figure out why the weight wasn't coming off with all those miles. I now eat very little on rides, bananas, apples etc. Very rarely eat ice cream, donuts or anything else deep fried. Again, I see the same people year after year, putting the miles on and not getting in "better shape". Quit pigging out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ChiliDog

Bikerski-
You know you set yourself up to be the target of criticism when you started this thread. Tsk, tsk!

My advice to you is "Quit pre-judging others and assuming that every heavy person is 'pigging out'"

There are many reasons that people are overweight. Some are behavioral, some metabolic, etc. This is not the place for delving into all of that. The point is, these folks are out there riding and enjoying life and trying to improve themselves or have fun. It doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks. You have no idea what their situations are and it is not your place to judge. For all you know those folks could have come a long way in achieving their personal goals and/or weight loss (or whatever) as well. It just pays to keep your mouth shut and your mind open, else you look like a "fool".

bikerski

your reading comprehension scores must be low. as I said in original post, I have been seeing these same people year after year, no weight improvement. Yes, a very, very small percentage of people suffer from inherent weight loss problems, thyroid etc.... most of us suffer from stuffing too much food too often. Many don't know the calories they consume versus the calories they burn or how many calories add or subtract a pound. I'm just saying, quit pigging out!!!!!!!! A few, even a lot, of recumbent miles will not make up for the thousands of extra calories that come from too much and the wrong kind of food.

ppc

Once again, you talk like I'm trying to lose weight. I'M NOT!! I'm 265 lbs for 6 feet and I feel good that way thank you very much. I may not look as great as you think you do, I'll freely admit that a lot of my weight isn't muscle, but that's okay because you see, one of my great passions in life is dining at nice restaurants and trying exotic foodstuffs from different countries. Cycling for me is just a way of commuting and touring on the cheap, but it's not the all-consuming passion it is for you. Therefore the bike has to fit me and not the other way round.

That's the difference between you and me. You have a different lifestyle, but somehow you seem to assume yours matches that of anybody who choose to ride. This is why I'm telling you that you should learn to respect others for what they are, and not try to transpose your priorities unto them.

megaman

I'm overweight. I'm 208 currently. Was 220 this past winter. My doctor says I should be 185. Heck, I haven't been that light in 25 years. Yes I do pig out sometimes. But I don't care. I only care about being able to be fit enough to ride as far as I'd like and not feel like I'm gonna die afterwards.
I love cycling. I love to eat.
I figure if you want to cycle just do it. Ignore everyone else, this is for you.

pcrx

Sometimes maybe more, depending on the attitude. I have knows several "thin types" who were so obsessed with their health quest that their lives seemed miseable oterwise. Same goes the other way.

It's all about balance... (no bike pun intended)

kwhord

get a job

5port

bikerski:

This is what I interpret from your original post..."I dont want to be part of any group that looks like that". The answer is obvious.

Inthe10ring

I would rather be seen with a large number of overweight people who enjoy the same sport as I do, rather than be the ******* who says things like that. Yes, I too am a "fat" rider... I have always been large. I have an inordianatly slow matabolism, and am combating a compulsive eating disorder which has plagued me my entire life. (Addiction works the same for coke heads and drunks, but I can't just STOP eating) I have been cycling for more than 15 years, and am the lightest iv'e been in years at 320 (down from 410 at one point in time) I currently am essentialy car-free, and cycle between 300-400 miles a month. I'm sorry that you are ashamed of me for participating in your sport, and next time you see me by the lockers at lunch in junior high school, you don't have to say hi... GROW UP!

d2create

I saw your response above about respecting your lifestyle. That's cool, but this quote makes it sound like you could be losing weight by cycling but you are not because of genetics or something. If you don't WANT to lose weight that's fine and I totally respect that. But exercise and nutrition go hand in hand. You won't drop weight and keep it off by only doing one and not the other. Everyone DOES have a choice. Change your eating habits and the weight will drop.

VeganRider

Dude.. don't let them get you down. Fat IS ugly; it helps to protray the personality of people that have complusions that are soothed by the taste and texture of certin greasy, sweet, foods. Some people smoke instead. Let's eat some cheese, pork, baked goods, ice cream and ham, oh yeah baby. Got Milk? Got Fat? yumm,, beer? lots of beer. And were not even hungry, forgot what that feels like. Did I say cheese? ewww, soft drinks? no, let's have a milk shake! Mc Donalds... now were talkin'! Supersize that please, and one diet Coke. sorry..........lol

vik 

Ride your bike and quit worrying about what other people are doing. If that doesn't work maybe you need a hobby to keep yourself busy enough not to get worked up over what other people are doing. I hear knitting can be a lot of fun...

The really funny thing is there is a sknny biker out there that sees you on the road and thinks..."...buddy quit pigging out..."....lol...

Doug5150

Fatter people are attracted to recumbents, precisely because upright bikes are disproportionately more uncomfortable for heavier people.

Even so, more and more evidence is pointing to the conclusion that different people are genetically inclined to maintain different amounts of fat:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6547891.stm

I am another who is too fat (by my own opinion); the last few years I didn't have much time to ride. Also I never paid much attention to the numbers on the scale, I didn't have a trainer for riding indoors in the winter or bad weather, and I didn't have a heart rate monitor to see how I was actually riding. I got a trainer a couple weeks ago and the HRM is on order, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes.

Previously (ironically enough) I was probably riding way too hard to lose fat. 25-35 miles@15-18 mph was normal and 50-60 miles for a weekend ride wasn't unusual for me.

And I'm not real sure the alternative is any better.
Most of the people I know who are slim are people who smoke a lot, and who haven't exercised in years.
~

aikigreg

Ok, while I am wondering why this thread got resurrected in the first place, Doug, I gotta call you out on something. You don't stop losing fat over a certain speed or distance. You may shift and become catabolic as well, but you'll still lose fat.

STEEKER

is that not called an areo belly in Bent circles??

megaman

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. The farther I ride, the more weight I lose. Unfortunately, I don't change my diet, so when I stop riding I gain all my weight back.

GreenGrasshoppr

you assume you are fit, but there are people who are fitter than you.

how would you react if those fitter people came in here and told you that you're not fit enough and that you should work out harder?

"you only ride X miles a day? pansy!"

/this comment is for educational purposes only