As an avid cyclist, I absolutely support people enjoying the sport to lose weight and get in shape. However, I must say this: overweight people will get a lot fewer ‘it looks like their ass swallowed the bike seat’ jokes if they didn’t buy $10,000 bikes and wear kits (spandex bibs and jerseys) for teams that are known for climbing or endurance without really knowing the team or the sport. To me, this is roughly equivalent to a clean-shaven dentist buying a souped up Harley and wearing a Hell’s Angels vest while barely knowing how to ride. It just looks ridiculous. For anyone interested in cycling, your local bike shop should be able to help you find the right bike and gear to get you started (so you don’t look like an idiot on an overpriced machine whose capacity you can hardly utilize - yet). But I also have to say this: cycling is always the highlight of my day. I hope it can be for yours, too!
@cactuscake Not gatekeeping, just forewarning. Your key words were ‘serious enough’. From my experience - whether overweight or not - people who tend to ‘overbuy’ when they start cycling often quit before they should. Cyclists can be plain-old mean on the road (as I’m guessing you know) and someone new, especially without road buddies, might feel too embarrassed or ashamed to continue. Plus, it takes a little time to develop the muscles and ‘calloused saddle ass’ to make riding a road bike a semi-enjoyable experience. My suggestion is to buy a cheap, comfortable commuter bike to start until you feel solid then upgrade to a nice road bike once you know you want to commit. But if you have the money to go all in and think you’ll stick with it, then by all means go for it.
Firefairy I have idea if you're sarcastic or not but thanks lol.
Gran, don't worry, we all know you only mean well. What you're saying holds no malice to anyone (I hope). It's just that sharing that opinion on a post all about shutting up and letting people who want to self improve do their thing it comes off as gatekeeping, maybe not to everyone but some of us. I just figured out how sincere you were so I'm sorry if I came off as rude. Cheers mate!
@cactuscake No offense intended and none taken. What I don’t want is for someone who wants to be a cyclist to stop because some asshole made a snide comment. I want people to stay IN our sport, not drop out of it. Good intentions but bad wording, I suppose.
@firefairy1990 Keep at it, lovely person. May the roads before you be smooth as glass and may your water bottle never be empty on your longest rides.
I totally get your sarcasm @scatmandingo but here’s the thing: cyclists ARE sharing the road. Sharing the road usually designed for cars and not for bikes. If it seems like cyclists are taking up ‘your’ space, it’s because we’re oftentimes contesting with cars to use roadways with little to no forethought for anyone not in an automobile. EVERY rider I know has either been hit, grazed, or had a ‘heart in throat’ close call with a car. It’s harrowing. Switching gears (pun intended) here’s a minor piece of advice - try not to honk at cyclists. It might sound like a ‘toot toot’ inside your car but it sounds like an oncoming freight train outside of it. You might scare and tip a cyclist who is ‘in the zone’. Better to try to make eye contact and signal your intended next move instead, if at all possible.
Oh, it our space, I’ll grant you that. You obey stop signs, traffic lights, signal your turns and don’t cause me to drive 7mph in a 45mph zone and you are a good citizen of our space whether you are on a bicycle, motorcycle, car, or truck. That sound like a standard cyclist?
You’re telling me you’ve never been stuck behind a cyclist going a quarter of the speed limit? You haven’t seen a cyclist blow through a stop sign to “maintain momentum”? How about the ones that do the same thing at red lights after they stop and look both ways? I can’t even remember the last time I saw a cyclist signal a turn.
I’ve seen people in cars do all those things at times but never at the frequency of cyclists.
If it makes you feel better, sure.
I'm sure that logic can be applied in some cases, certainly, but it by NO means can turn an incorrect conclusion into a correct one.
So yeah, maybe take a class or something and support your local JC?
If my conclusion was fallible I would expect you would point out the issues with it. If you insult me instead I can assume that you have nothing worth saying in opposition.
Granlobomalo: “as a cyclist. Welcome to the sport but sit your fat ass over there while the ‘real’ cyclists ride. I came out the womb knowing this shit, and I don’t appreciate that you are appropriating my bike culture with your attempts at being part of it”
So I'm 100% on board of the principle of this. The problem is for a lot of obese people I know who work out will go and get 3 cheeseburgers and a 6 pack of beer after the workout. I don't know how to continue encouraging them to better themselves outside of the workout without coming off as a a hole...
This is literally me right now!!! I'm so big and probably look ridiculous on my bike, it makes me so self conscious. But I push through even though I know all the arseholes who see me are laughing their tits off
Gran, don't worry, we all know you only mean well. What you're saying holds no malice to anyone (I hope). It's just that sharing that opinion on a post all about shutting up and letting people who want to self improve do their thing it comes off as gatekeeping, maybe not to everyone but some of us. I just figured out how sincere you were so I'm sorry if I came off as rude. Cheers mate!
@firefairy1990 Keep at it, lovely person. May the roads before you be smooth as glass and may your water bottle never be empty on your longest rides.
I’ve seen people in cars do all those things at times but never at the frequency of cyclists.
I'm sure that logic can be applied in some cases, certainly, but it by NO means can turn an incorrect conclusion into a correct one.
So yeah, maybe take a class or something and support your local JC?