turtlewoman

WOW! Let me just make that a little more clear---WOWIE!
You guys and gals are so great. I love each of your posts. I do worry about people's reactions to me on a bike but I think with a little encouragement from you guys and my real world friends I'll be ok. Today I'm going to PT (had a meniscus tear repaired a few weeks ago) on my bike but I'm going to leave home 30 minutes early so I can get in some extra riding. I don't have any cycling shorts yet but you can bet if I had them I'd wear them. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so great and welcoming.

Tom Stormcrowe

No problem, turtlewoman! Hey, my wife is doing th PT thing for her shoulder. She traumatized her rotator cuff, and may have a tear. The problem is that they can't image it due to a procedure she had done called embolization to reduce bleeding when she had a tumor removed from the temporal region of her brain and ear canal, so all the platinum they used to block the blood vessels create a big white patch in the images.

bautieri

I wish I could remember who the poster was who had a quote in his signature that said something along the lines of (paraphrasing here): "The general populace's tolerance for bicycle shorts decreases proportionately with increased distance from ones bike". Or something like that.

squirtdad

+1..... and if it helps to start with, mountain bike shorts may be a "training wheel" option

Tom Stormcrowe

Diesel Dan

Mr. Beanz

A jersey over a low cut sports bra, zipper in the low position. Nobody will even think about guessing your weight!

Ride yer bike!....I see wimmins of all sizes riding. Yes there are creeps, but it's everywhere. Then there are some that share my thoughts. If I see a gal riding, especially alone (thick or thin), my thoughts are, "wow! She has the guts to get out there and ride". Then I go into wondering what compels them? Usually ends with a note of admiration.

I've always thought wimmins with a sporty spirit is an attractive thang! Wimmins with a wuss attitude are a turnoff. So maybe you don't figure it, but there may be people out there that find you very attractive simply by the fact that you are riding. One tends to overlook those peeps and concentrate on the one or two creeps that may say something stupid!

willmw

Yes, this is definitely an option. My wife was a little squeamish about the bike shorts in the beginning so we got her some baggys. I think she wore them twice and now wears the regular ones she got shortly thereafter.

turtlewoman

I don't know about the low cut bra and zipper down----the girls don't ride as high as they used to!!LOL

Pinyon

As usual, Thom is a wise man. Listen to him. Lots of good advice from others here as well.

Later on, people that have given me grief over my bursting-sausage-leg-look when I'm wearing lycra shorts, are usually amazed at how fast I can get to other places in town on my bike, how I'm not as out-of-breath as they are when climbing stairs together, etc. And after a few weeks, if they ever ride with you...you will blow their socks off.

Besides, there is usually a reason that such people feel the need to pick on you. Usually, it is something akin to feeling like a slacker for not doing something similar, and not having the gumption to take the plunge and get started themselves.

Lycra cycling shorts cover a lot more than similar-looking clothing items like dancing tights. Cycling shorts are made out of much thicker fabric, usually have a matte finish (shiny leg-sausages are not a good look on me, anyway), are tight enough to "contour", and the padding covers...details. The type of shorts that you get also makes a difference. Especially for women. They make more styles for women, some with very short inseams (mid-upper thigh height), that many women prefer to avoid.

Just ride, and have fun.

Tex_Arcana

You know who it is that usually says anything?

It's the loser riding in the passenger seat. This person usually comes from the shallow end of the gene pool. You will do well to develop a healthy disdain for this person and his/her opinions. After years of riding I've come to the conclusion that this persons opinions are ill informed and usually stem from their own insecurities. After all if they were really secure with themselves they wouldn't feel the need to belittle someone else.

In other words, as long as you aren't hurting anything, just do your thing. What ever anyone else says or thinks doesn't matter.

CliftonGK1

I've never worried about it too much. With my shiny bald head, lumberjack beard and grocery basket fat-tire cruiser bike, I'm sure people could find something else to make fun of before having to pick on me for dressing funny, too.

Missbumble 

OK Miss Turtle - It's the Bee - I was 246 at my highest...feel better? Ok I did not ride then - i started riding at about...216... 40 pounds lost or so since then....So I was no small biker. I bought Men’s 2XL shorts.... Mortifying to buy them and then AeroTech Men’s 2XL shirts..(Not shown int he photo below...the Areotech shirts are loose and nice...go see on the web www.aerotechdesigns.com)

And yes - all those skinny sexy bikers and me. I asked one guy take a picture of me - cause I was excited to be biking and wanted a before shot... - I won an award for the biggest geek in that outfit. right here on the Forum...OK Here goes...Feel better?

Humiliating Shot.jpg.


Miss T- No one is out riding a bike or whatever to look at you. If they say something 1) they are jerks and 2) they don't know how it hurts... So you go out and ride girlfriend... you are doing the right thing. Have fun...and ya know you will get skinnier!!- if you eat the same and pedal more...it will happen. If you eat less and pedal more than it will really happen. Go Girl!!

And the shots below are meant to inspire.. I have a ways to go..need to work on my food intake...but a few rides and you will definitley get smaller..... Go ride...don't let nothing and no one stop you. And if you get upset - you justpop in here - read the Before and After thread....and get uplifted. Most everyone on this section of the Forum know where you are at!!

OK Here's me now or on Brag. (June 2009 ).so ride on..
Brag Athens 02.jpg

And another In FLA...
Ignore the cake:
Sue with Cake.jpg

nkfrench

Please try to not worry about the bike shorts. Anything that increases your comfort on the bike will help you enjoy your ride so it's more fun and not work. For me, wearing street clothes invites skin problems and overheating especially during the summer.

I hope your experience is like mine and that you get much more encouraging feedback than negative remarks.

Depending on where you ride, bright clothing is not so much a fashion statement as it is trying to be visible for your own safety in traffic.

Go for it!

CACycling

Our teenaged sons gave my wife and I so much greif over our riding clothes before we ever left the house in them for the first time that anything the general public said or did while we were on the road was insignificant.

Two years ago, after 3 decades of riding an average of 10 miles per year, if you would have told me that I'd be looking froward to putting on padded bike shorts, jersey and bike shoes then hopping on a $2k road bike to head out for 30, 40, 50 or more mile ride, I'd have thought you insane. But here I am.

You'll most likely find that once you get dressed and start riding, you will quickly forget what you look like to others and just enjoy the ride.

StephenH

I've ridden on charity rides where they were taking pictures. I went to look at the pictures, and thought, "Wow, I look stupid on a bike." But then again, I remember seeing pictures of me hiking, and I looked stupid then, too. Anyway, I'm going to ride, and if somebody doesn't like the way I look, tough. I'm not going to sit around the house the rest of my life for fear of looking stupid.

loopybunny

Sadly, it doesn't matter what kind of shape your body is in, there will always be people who will drive by and yell mean things just because you're on a bike and they're jerks.

dbikingman

Not to get off topice, but what do they say now?

I would rather be pedaling and look outstanding, then not ride and look wide.

Wogster

The creeps who yell and the jerks who laugh are all people who inside are thinking, I wish I could do that. They feel they can't do it, and that they win if they bring you down to their level.

Most riders who first get bike shorts use them as under shorts with other shorts over them, as you get more confident riding, you tend to get to a point where you don't care anymore. I still use over shorts sometimes, if I am doing a run to the bank or the store, I will use the regular shorts over, as they have pockets for wallet and keys.

Mike Mills

Get some black mountain biking shorts. They have the chamois lining for your comfort and a nylon shell so they don't chafe but look more like normal shorts on the outside.

wjcronin2002

The non cycling crowd thinks we all look goofy no matter what the body type. And I've always found other cyclists appreciate the effort you make and offer encouragement. Consider it a badge of honor if somebody says something - you are part of an elite group!!

timmythology

Stop thinking, and do more riding. The comments may or may not happen. Your riding riding should happen.
Remember to have fun while your riding your bike

djnzlab1

HI,
Iam big fat guy and I love to blow this little skinny guys off the road, when I can ..
Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you want.
Life is very short and even shorter if we don't find things to improve our quality of life,
and as many members have posted, we all have started somewhere and we all hope to end at a better
place but who cares its the getting there thats fun.
Been riding for over a year only lost 10 pound, I seem a lot smaller, but I still look heavy in spandex, but I really feel bad if I can'nt ride my bike every day.. I started at 6 miles and I ride 32 every day I can...

Ps Love your handle.


Doug,,Bike Turtle...

SilverSurfR

Not much to add, I suggest going the lycra with shorts over route, because after a few rides, it's more than likely you will end up wanting to ditch the shorts and just wear the lycra. For me it happened toward the end of my ride one day. I started thinking, this stuff will breathe better if I just ditched the shorts, so I stopped, took them off and stuffed them in a jersey pocket. It felt alot better just riding in my bibs, and that's how I go out now. I think I'm starting to actually look damn good in lycra, even if no one else agree's with me.

aenlaasu

Me, I'm 5'2" and started at 243 pounds. Remember the Weebils toy people? That's pretty close to how I feel I looked like.

Even better, I'm on a recumbent trike, with a husky hitched to the seat frame, ball cap stuffed under the cycle helmet since they don't seem to make helmets with enough of a sun brim. All sorts of laugh factor.

Thankfully, I have a 'lazy' husky and he doesn't pull much past the first 2 miles so I still get plenty of exercise. I'm down to about 218 pounds and regularly do 40+ mile trips. (The husky just did his first 40+ mile trip Saturday and wanted to go again Sunday ) As for shorts, I have the same unwillingness to wear them. Instead, I wear tights with a pair of gym shorts over that since I feel worse than naked with just lycra tights.

And for the record, while I have been laughed at, I've never been laughed at by someone on a bike. From them, I get waves, nods, encouraging yells, smiles, and thumbs up. The non-bikers who do laugh would probably kill themselves trying to do my long trips.

bautieri

Yesterday on my commute home a gentleman (mid to late 40's) in a convertible Mercedes whistled a cat call at me as I pedaled by. I was somewhat confused by his gesture but all in all I guess I'm flattered.

Some people are supportive so take the good with the bad and pedal on!