Is it my imagination?

[LushGoddess]

I am a road rider, and have been loving it for over 10 years now. I am also a plus sized woman, carrying 190 on my 5'6" frame. I am strong, tackle hills with abandon, have the strength and stamina to ride centuries (not setting any records, but who cares?). I have been nosing about to join a riding club, but once they see me I get the cold shoulder. One gal came right out and said that they don't like having 'large' women ride with them, that it ruins their image! If I am doomed to ride by myself or with just my hubby and our riding buddy so be it...but why is there such size discrimination going on out there? I could understand it if I was sloppy and unable to keep up....but that is not the case. Am I alone in this?

[Trixiee]

Man, that women ought to be tarred and feathered! How narrow-minded. I too, am a larger woman, 5' 3", and 155 lbs. I'm going to try my first duathlon this year! As with you, I'm not out to set any records, basically, will be very happy just to finish! I say, join the club anyhow!

[han-grrl]

Hello Ladies

i can't believe that someone in a riding club would make that kind of comment. I have several "larger" women friends, and you know what...they are in amazing shape. They can kick the butts of many skinny bony types.

Han

[TriGirl]

Sometimes it seems like we can get hurt so easily. Just let it roll off your shoulders, your a good person not to have punched her out, she was nasty. I am new to riding a 2nd year, and found it hard to find anyone to ride with in my first year. I hope this spring will be different. It can be difficult finding the right group to ride with. Be happy you have at least some partners.....and stay positive and up and they will all be calling you to hit the rode with them, once they know you!!!

[marys]

:rolleyes: I just want to encourage you to keep looking. That woman with the bad attitude does NOT represent most bike clubs. I was at my local shop last week, discussing my own return after a layoff of 9 years. The extremely fit male who happened to be working at the time invited me to ride with the group. When I pointed out how out of shape I was, he kept on, saying that there are certain points along the usual routes where the fast riders wait for the slower (slowest, in my case) ones.

So, for every idiot out there, I think there are probably 10 times as many supportive cyclists willing to share their expertise and fellowship. Keep looking for another group, and good luck.

[Sammy]

I'm appaulled at the way you were treated by fellow riders. I too am new to Club rides. I have seen plenty of plus size women in our club. Cyclists are cyclists, forget about that one in particular. There's no accounting for taste. I'm sorry to say that not all like minded people have class. Join a club and ride like the wind.:cool:

[roadie gal]

I'm appalled at that woman. You don't have to be emaciated looking to be fit. Please ignore her and continue to look for a club. Most people are not that ignorant.

[LushGoddess]

I appreciate your thoughts!

[dana]

Some people are so shallow, press on and do your own thing. You go girl!;)

[Roxy]

Skinny does not equal fit!

And we're here to prove it, girlfriend!! :p

[MountainGirl]

Sorry this is a little late but some good support is NEVER too late!! I agree with all of you that skinny does not equal fit. I am also a bigger rider, I'm over 5'9 and at about 190, I carry a lot of muscle weight. But, that's what powers me up those hills. I ride with a group of guys (and usually riding right up front.) Sometimes they bring their girlfriends to join us - thinking because they look thin and fit they can keep up. HA

I do have some advice...maybe that particular club with that narrowed-minded woman (which you know most of us would kick her a...) isn't the right one for you. Pick a club where you feel good about yourself, comfortable and accepted. If you don't find a club, start your own!!

I would be happy to ride with you anyday.

Cheers and happy riding!! :D

____________________________________________

"Ride hard or stay in the car." SK

[LushGoddess]

I found a group that favors those of us who tend to get passed over by some of the elitist groups in my area. They welcome with open arms newbies, seniors, families...and plus sized men and women. We do casual, friendly rides a few evenings a week, and I still ride with my hubby and our buddy on weekends. Yea, it is good to live life to it's fullest in the grand skin I was given by my Goddess. Life is too short to fixate on looks and elitism.

[debict]

I hope you don't mind this late posting. I'm 5'5" and 187 (I've lost 30 lbs in the last 6 months that I've been riding) so I'm right in there too. I too have joined a club with many seniors and all sizes. There are some younger folks as well and they have all types of rides. My husband and I joined together and we have a wonderful time. I love my bike and I love doing something healthy. I'm not dieting, but eating healthy and riding as often as I can. My body will decide what my final weight will be.

I'm so glad that you found a good club. Good luck and good riding. :D

[love2bike2]

I can't believe some people can be so shallow. I am 5'4", 187 lbs., and I ride with friends. We are all different shapes and sizes and we average 30-50 mile bike rides 3 x's per week. We are able to keep an average of 18-20 miles per hour. I am by far the "biggest" woman in the group, but have never received any negative comments about my size. When it comes to riding, you should be with people that appreciate the ride, and mostly appreciate you. It is not about looks or size, but about having fun. Shame to that woman that gave you a hard time!

[pennys]

I had an experince riding the other day that made me wonder why some women are such B*****S. I showed up for a group/club mb ride, I was the only new person. There were three women and a bunch of guys. Two of the women were so unfriendly that I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me... avoiding eye contact, not talking to me, truning thier backs to me and so on. The third gal was the group leader for the group I was riding in, and she was great, but I was in her group for only the second half of the ride. I'm a strong person and I don't take these things personally, but you gotta wonder.

The only thing I could figure out is that maybe as a new person, I was seen as potential competition for the men????? My ring was under my glove.

:rolleyes:

penny

[liketobike]

I hope I am not looking forward to the same thing you've been through. I'm 5'4", 200 plus a bit more pounds, and am riding to lose weight and get ready for an 80-mile, 3 day ride with 4 friends in September. I wrote a local bike club and they said all were welcome. I did write back to ask if my speed is fast enough to keep up with them. (about 10 mph) I can still outride all of the other women who are taking the trip with me, because I'm actually out biking three times a week.

[ayermail2]

liketobike - WOOHOO! for you! Hope you have a lot of fun on your ride. Riding your bike 3 days a week will definitely help prepare you for your event! Coelura & I just got back from Cycle South Carolina (www.cyclesouthcarolina.com) and had a blast! Some of our training included commuting to / from work, as well as a longer weekend ride. How many miles is your longest day? You'll want to work up to riding about 80% of that distance before the event, and riding consecutive days a couple of times before the ride. Then, you can take it really easy the week before so you're rested, and REALLY ENJOY the ride! Have fun!

[tammy]

For all of you lovely ladies out there biking, remember this - for every angry and bitter woman you might encounter, there are at least 100 friendly, helpful, positive women who welcome you with open arms to the wonderful world of cycling, myself among them:D

Don't let someone else's hangups keep you from enjoying this fabulous sport - you just keep riding!

[angel]

Hi,
I recommend you place (win) in the clydesdale category in a local race or tour and then see if they warm up. It's a shame that people judge others on their body types but I think biking clubs are somewhat snobbish no matter what the issue. My boyfriends bike club is nice to me although I think only because he's a good rider!
Good Luck

[Trek420]

There seems to be a misconception that if you are overweight you
cannot be physically fit or able to do any exercise. Here's a site that
dispells that myth.

http://www.virago-productions.com/wellrounded/

TREK420

[ayermail2]

Hey - Trek - great website!!!! Thanks for the tip!

[LushGoddess]

I have just been lurking of late...but wanted to thank all who responded to this old post of mine. I am still riding, and even a bit heavier than I was before. Oddly enough, at 200 pounds or so (my current weight) I am still kicking some butt out on the road. I finally sucked up and bought myself some beautiful shorts and a great jersey, and I am looking at perhaps picking up a 2003 Lemond Zurich later this season.

You ladies are a wonderful bunch, and I do thank you for such kind words and support. Cycling, to me, is a sport of passion and pleasure. And size should never be a limiting factor for any of us.

[Terry]

I guess I'm late on this issue, too...as you all know the forum was down for a while, so, I'm in a catch up mode.

ALL of my friends are bigger than myself and I thank god they accept me...and I'm not talking overweight...
All my life I've been "the runt" and never been taken seriously at almost anything I do. So, even though I'm an opposite to this issue of large women riding, I'm stero-typed to no end.
(And I can't find clothes either...I have to wear youth-size shin gaurds because the adult size are too long)

There is no doubt in my mind that I would have been "snubbed by the other women" under similar circumstances too. Why size matters so damn much is a painful mystery to me. We all bring great stuff to the table and any woman that cannot see that in another is just taking up room on the planet IMHO. I cannot imagine being snubbed by other women because you show up for a ride--no matter your size, shape, age, color, ect.
Geez, La-weez!

Sometimes, I want to blame someone for this and punch them in the nose, but, alas, prejudice seems to have no face...but, it's that "look" that lets you know you don't fit an image. It hurts every time. Makes me sad to hear these stories.

On another note, we got "snubbed" this past weekend by a young couple who kept speeding up when we were behind them and wouldn't let us pass on a double track...we just waited for a hill and smoked'em.

We were back at the car loading up, grey hair in the wind, when they finally rolled up, whooped, all hunched over and panting. They looked rather shocked when they saw us "old geezers" who passed them on the hill...and we weren't being loaded into an ambulance.
Live'n learn!
Terry

[coolbeansbikes]

neat story Terry!

[goddess1222]

hey terry, i am 33 and you could probably smoke me!!!

[IronHorse213]

thanks for everyone being supportive and honest - I'm also a "virago" woman (thanks Trek for that site - I love it!!) - 5 feet (barely) and just a slice above 200. I've been working out with weights all winter and trying to ride a lot (the weather is not cooperating) to loose, but it's not going any where.

Reading all your posts helped me realize that I'm avoiding the club rides and socials becuase I'm uncomfortable with my size. That's something to think about. Thanks!

'calla

[peepsmack]

How freaking rude! Man, those women who have the ideal body type just don't get that some of us will always be shaped differently. I'm 5'2" and 180...definitely overweight and much of it is flab from 7 years of being the babymaker and sit-on-my-butt-at-home mommy. HOWEVER, pre-kids I was FIT and athletic. I was the endurance chick LOL Once I found my groove I could go all day, in biking, swimming, and hiking. Never been fast, I never won a race, but it takes fitness to have endurance, ya know? But even in the best shape of my life, I had a tummy pooch, thighs that rubbed together, and this huge annoying rack. I definitely didn't LOOK like an athelete, at least not the typical tall skinny perfectly toned kind :rolleyes: And, if it wasn't the flabby parts of me, it was the muscles. The tall scrawny types don't seem to get the big muscles like I seem to. Not that I'm a bulging mass of muscle, but they always seem to get bigger than I expect without me trying to develop them. Isnt' there a word for that? Something-morph? Anyway...

Right now I've got a way to go before I get back to, or anywhere NEAR, that level of fitness, but I've lost about 25 pounds already, and while I still could stand to drop about 40 more, I'm already much more well-proportioned (with the exeption of the aforementioned huge annoying rack!), I'm seeing my muscles toning up and getting bigger, and after just a few months back in the saddle, I feel like the endurance chick again. It's not as easy to find my groove as it once was, but once I find it, I can ride (or swim, or hike) all day and feel great about it. Do I look like I'm in shape? NO WAY! But even if I get there, I'll never look like a skinny bikin' chick. If that gets me the cold shoulder if I try to join a club, so be it. I have other superfit biking and triathlete friends who will gladly ride with me, who know how far I can go, big butt and all.

I guess the point of that whole rant, is don't let that woman get you down. There are plenty of us in the non-scrawny athletic category to support you.

Oh, I saw someone say something about the bike clothes. ARGH! Don't EVEN get me started!! I just gave up and started sewing my own because there isn't a ready made jersey out there that'll fit me right. If it fits my torso, it's way too tight around the boobs. If it fits the boobs, it flaps in the breeze around the rest of me. Shorts? Well that's a tad easier, but I'm short, so they're always a little longer than ideal. Still, I make my own now. I do have to buy kid sizes in some things. Socks, my swim goggles, I imagine if I ever buy arm warmers I'll have to find some stubby size. I'm not even going to bother trying on anyone else's tights...it's pretty much a given that they'll be too long. sigh...

Oh the woes of not being the perfect woman. ;)

Jessie

[elevenpointfive]

This thread has me tearing up with joy. You're all so supportive and wonderful. You all rule. :cool:

-eleven, of the tummy bulge and thigh-rubbing sisterhood

[Irulan]

Originally posted by peepsmack
I just gave up and started sewing my own because there isn't a ready made jersey out there that'll fit me right.

Jessie

There's another thread around here somewhere (apparel?) a few of us sew our own bike gear!! I've made 4 jerseys since Jan, and other stuff too.

Irulan

[VenusdeVelo]

I think making your own clothes is a great idea (I always think of designs but I can't sew to save my life). Terry Bikes site (www.terrybicycles.com) does offer a very wide range of sizes on jerseys and shorts...if you haven't tried them, that's an option...