I started myself riding in Germany. Following the stay I was hooked and could not stop. As to the sport type riders, they come out Sunday morning, so if you are not out there yourself you may miss them. There are obviously many race type shops but they their merchandise has nearly no overlap with the commuter shops and they are fewer, maybe one in four.

Regarding obesity, when I am at an airport looking for the gate where my flight takes off for the US, the unfortunate sure sign that I found the right one is the sudden abundance of people who cannot fit into a chair.