Originally Posted by
miyata man
You - I'm too fat for this sport but wait......I am conditioned to the water where carrying weight in the form of fat actually helps. OOOOOh my starfish is all rough and dried out and I'm falling over trying to use my swimmers muscles. WHY do people with sport specific training act and look so different from what I am?
1. Fat doesn't make you a faster swimmer. This might be one of the most absurd claims I've ever heard.
2. I wasn't commenting on the cyclists physique in wonder, awe, or confusion. It was a genuine and succinct analysis of what must be sacrificed (physique) - compared to a multi-sport athlete - to be a professional cyclist.
3. You initially stated that I wasn't flexible enough. Then I was too strong and had developed muscle memory. Then I wasn't flexible enough again. Your sage wisdom and advice is not only confusing, but inconsistent.
Me- You are too fat for this sport.....You are still too fat for this sport but sound like you ride as if you are laying on your stomach flopping back toward something wet (I'm sure you can dig up the bike photo you posted that wholly supports this)...Now then since we finally found out your saddle is not fit for use, get a new one try going for an even more upright position till you heal and then do what SA described and HTFU.
You keep describing a non-issue. I am not having fit issues any longer and have since gotten a new saddle - thanks to a lot of help from these forums, my LBS, and Sheldon Brown's site. I'm not sure what my weight has to do with issues I was having with my fit. I'm sure I can find a dozen other riders 20%+ heavier than me with none of my issues which have been resolved.
Back they come, "How dare the rules that apply to a beginner not apply in the least to a consummate pro? I'm still uncomfortable with all of this and maybe I am jumping into this faster than my skills are improving. Maybe I should slow down and temper my own experiences with the help that is being freely given by some folks who seemingly do little else than this sport."
Aside from your advice - as well-intended it may have been - I've gotten a vast majority of my working knowledge of cycling from these forums - of which I'm grateful for. I appreciate your advice, but it is simply too inconsistent and presumptuous to consider as anything more than unfair criticism.
Yes, I'm too fat to be a professional cyclist. I am not however too fat to comfortably ride on a bicycle.
P.S. - I run far more than I swim. Maybe that that will help add some material to your clever jabs.
