Still wearing workout shorts over my spandex biking shorts. I'm a little shy about showing off the boute'. How does one overcome this? And, is the spandex supposed to fit really tight to help with circulation issues?

Get in with a crowd of 50+ riders and you will realise that you should be proud of what you display and not worried about it----Unless the the lycra is so tight that it is stretched too far and going thin. Lycra should hold you firm but not too tight but if you are worried- then wear shorts over the top but make certain they are of the right cut that does not have any seams in the wrong place.

If you think it is comfortable now,take those extra shorts off and just try it out you will get use to it quick.

Start going to club rides and organized rides where there are dozens/hundreds of people wearing lycra shorts. People really aren't paying that much attention to what you wear. You'll see that the people trying to cover up with baggy shorts or whatever are the ones who call more attention to themselves. The shorts can't work as they are designed to work if they are constricted within a modesty coverup.

I feel odd wearing anything other than lycra shorts on a strenuous ride. A casual ride to the store or to hangout downtown is a different matter. Wear whatever works for what you are doing.

Peek around the corner for cop cars then jump out naked and run the streets yelling your head off.

That takes care of the bashfulness.

I think anytime you wear something new and different from your normal attire you can be self-conscious. The way around it is to just keep wearing it until it becomes normal... the process of habituation.

Cycling shorts are the wear intended for riding a bicycle, so unless your doing something else that requires different dress, then just wear the shorts and don't worry about it. I sometimes will combine a ride with something else, like shopping, so I want my wallet and keys handy and will wear other shorts over for the pockets. Riding when it's less then 15℃ and wind off the bay is closer to 5℃ means wearing long pants, so I will wear rain pants over my shorts, to make that work.

If someone has a problem with my lycra cycling shorts, it's their problem, not mine, and if they comment on my Lycra covered boute' then if it's a woman, I think thanks for noticing, but tell them I'm happily married. If it's a guy, then I usually tell them I'm not interested in guys. In either case that shuts most of them up pretty quick.

Lycra should be form fitting, but not tight, you want it to keep everything in place, but not compress everything.

"I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of cycling shorts!" At least that is what I thought when I first started riding until my daughter gave me a pair for father's day about a year-and-a-half ago. I tried them on for the first time and said "No Way in Hell!" Then I changed my saddle on my hybrid from that thick, useless one that came on it to a road bike saddle and found out I needed more padding. So, I put on the shorts and rode with them in the neighborhood where nobody would see me. Then I started doing club rides and everyone wore them, including riders older than me. That kind of took the edge off of being seen in public with them on.

I now wear them on every ride and have no problems with what people say about wearing tight spandex shorts, especially since my legs have built up some pretty good muscle mass since I have been cycling. I used to get teased at work when I first mentioned it to my male co-workers that I ride in cycling shorts. But then I asked them, "If men riding in spandex cycling shorts is sissy like, then what do you call football players that wear spandex knee-knockers?" No one has teased me about the shorts since then.

I think this has to do with getting comfortable with yourself and not caring what others think. I have a saying that "If they don't eat at my table or sleep in my bed, I really don't care what their opinion of me happens to be." I like my cycling shorts, my wife likes them and that is all that matters.

Wear whatever works for you.

A good compromise is mountain bike shorts -- they have a liner like bike shorts, but an outer layer like regular shorts. I often wear mountain bike shorts for commuting; somedays I wear regular spandex bike shorts, some day mountain bike shorts.

I weat them - bibs and a jersey - everywhere - grocery store, restaurant, etc. We are in a bicycling community, and so do a lot of other folks. I also wear a Speedo training swimsuit as I can't stand the feel of those long canvas things, especially when getting out of the water. But, wear what you like. No one much cares - not nearly as much as you think they do.

Frankly, I like them because it embarrasses my sons.

I am a bit sketchy about wearing them as well, particularly with the extra weight I am still working to lose (and the biking has helped - 12# this month!). I usually wear a long enough shirt to cover up a bit, but in the end its the comfort of the end that counts. And, I really like the bibs - I bought two pair last month and my shorts are retired.

Have your riding partner wear these and nobody will notice you.

I wore MTB shorts for the first 6-8 years when I began riding again. As I got more into the sport I morphed from solo rides to club rides and needed to up my game to keep in the pack. One night while struggling at the rear of the field a women behind me said "you know, if you didn't have those parachutes grabbing all that air it would be easier". That was my gentle nudge to join the crowd and I haven't looked back since.

You're 50+. Supposedly you've gained enough wisdom not to worry about what others might think.

That's really tough on the eyes

I thought it was weird at first, too. I also though knickers were weird and now I wear those too.

Teachme,
Went thru the same transition with it! If there ever was a piece of "equipment" suited for the job, spandex shorts are absolutely the thing for bike riding. Just yesterday took the next step & bought a zippered jersey. It is amazing how much cooler I was wearing it on last nights ride.

...and really, I'm pretty sure no one really cares a WHOLE lot about what I wear while biking!

Go for it! It really does make a + difference for me...YMMV! Good luck & keep us posted.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I thinks I will be more at ease in a group ride.

Ahhh... I remember my first time.

I finally caved and ordered a pair of Blue/Black Cannondale shorts. I thought. Somehow, I ended up with Red/Black
I tried 'em on and wore 'em around the house a bit. Mrs S said they looked OK. "OK" fineIsn't that a code word of some kind?

So, I wore them out the next I hit the road. As luck would have it, Mrs S was heading home and our paths crossed.
She rolled down the window and she said I looked fine. I asked if my big a** was hanging over the seat and she said no.
I finished the ride and, not only did no one laugh at me, no one gave me a second look. Nobody cared but me.

There's was no looking back after that. Then, a couple years later, I made the leap to bibs.

Spend two days at a hot springs or other nudist resort naked.
Look at some of the extraordinarily fat homely people who go there.
After that bike shorts will feel modest.

Personally I don't want my junk to show, those spandex or lycra shorts leave nothing to the imagination, if I wanted that look I might as well ride naked! So I use MTB shorts instead and I can walk into a store and not have women staring...in horror? By the way I'm in my late 50's stand 6' tall and weigh 163 so I'm not one of those pudgy old guys, so I'm not worried about showing my flat abs, but I don't do that either since I prefer loose fitting jerseys and shorts.

You've actually seen this happen?

I'm fairly new to cycling myself. I bought a pair of riding shorts a month ago or so. I felt self-conscience at first. But as stated by many folks above, once on a few groups rides where everyone wears them, I started to feel more at ease about wearing them. If i am riding to somewhere that folks are not used to seeing riding shorts, then I still wear my running shorts over top. I suppose it takes a while to get used to wearing shorts that are so form-fitting.

I realize that lycra is just a brand name of spandex, but I don't think I have ever seen bike shorts marketed with the name "spandex". It is always "lycra".

You'll look less conspicuous wearing a SKIRT over your riding shorts?!
Nobody is interested in what shows . . . not even the ladies!