How do I look from behind?

Has anyone else ever wondered this? Or am I just super self conscious and paranoid?

I'm not exactly thin and I can't believe I actually wear spandex. I've always wondered just how scary I look from behind when I'm on my road bike. I mean, when I'm out riding and I come up behind someone, I can't help but notice their behind (especially if it's a nice tight male one). So it makes me wonder how mine looks. Well, I figured out a way to find out! I have a full length mirror leaned up against the wall behind my bedroom door, so I moved it directly behind my trainer. Then I got a hand mirror, got on the trainer, and checked out my...ahem...arse in the mirror. I must say, it was much less horrifying than I expected! Certainly not a magnificent sight to behold, but I feel better now knowing that my rump looks much better than I expected!

I can't believe I just admitted to this :o

and I thought we were talking about what kind of mirrors to wear on our helmets!

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...aui/girdle.jpg
I just saw a commercial selling those body girdles by Kymaro, makes you look 2 to 4 sizes smaller! I was laughing my butt off because it just redistributes the lumps somewhere else (usually pushes it up to your bust). Just think, if you were to buy one and lured someone to go home with you, what happens when they actually touch you or you take off the girdle!?!?!

Anyhow I do know where you are coming from because I have a voluptuous figure too. I have high hopes of trimming down from riding my bike and now I just got a heart rate monitor so I can really kick up my workouts.

I read that wearing a bib helps reduce rolls around the waist, but it looks like a pain to take off if you have to pee.

RolliePollie, you sure made me chuckle. I have a hunch there are a number of gals out here who wonder the same thing but probably just haven't voiced it. It has occurred to me, but I don't want to know how I look.

That's great!

I had the opposite. Kinda thought I wouldn't look too bad. But, after our first bike trip, when my BF took about 200 pictures of my bottom, I realized that I don't look nearly as cute as I thought I did.:o

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

I had the opposite. Kinda thought I wouldn't look too bad. But, after our first bike trip, when my BF took about 200 pictures of my bottom, I realized that I don't look nearly as cute as I thought I did.:o

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Oh, you're not alone. I was forced to participate in this photo shoot for work to get some "fall colors" stock photos. I was crying the night before and the morning of because I did not want to do it. So as it turns out there are shots of me from behind and insult to injury I'm next to my super skinny coworker. Yeah, what looks great in jeans does not carry over to bent over in spandex.
*sigh* Hot racer boys don't make passes at slow pedaling girls with fat a**es.

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Originally Posted by kjay

RolliePollie, you sure made me chuckle. I have a hunch there are a number of gals out here who wonder the same thing but probably just haven't voiced it. It has occurred to me, but I don't want to know how I look.

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You never know...it might not be as bad as you think! I was expecting sheer horror, but my first reaction was more like "huh...well, that's a relief" because my imagination had pictured something much, much, MUCH worse.

I told a male cycling friend about my mirror experiment and he fell on the floor laughing. I suggested he try it...the last time I rode with him, his shorts were so worn out I could see his bare bottom right through them!

Ah now Smurf, there is someone for everyone! I have a cycling friend with very generous hips and her devoted husband is a skinny little guy. My how do I look from behind moment came when I got a narrower saddle. I had to ask my DH - does this saddle make my butt look bigger? He just laughed. Of course, when I bought my silver cycling shoes, I also asked the guy at the store if they made my feet look bigger (since they weren't black) he just laughed too. I don't think men think of these things! And some men just love big (fill in the blank) on women! We are supposed to have the womanly curves, after all! Don't tell yourself that you are going to be overlooked - just be your loveable self. You never know what your true love may look like either! Tokie

beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I'd be willing to bet that my DH would love being behind any of you gals on your bikes. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Tokie

Ah now Smurf, there is someone for everyone! I have a cycling friend with very generous hips and her devoted husband is a skinny little guy.

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Oh, I've never had a problem reeling in the tall skinny boys I adore so much I just feel pudgy right now. I started losing a heap of weight this summer and then decided to give up nicotine so I ate everything in sight for a while. So I'm less likely to develop cancer, but if I'm going to build a harem of skinny climber boys like my boss jokes about, well I need to stop slacking.

And in my defense the pics were more of a 3/4 shot and since black offers little in the way of definition it made me look like I was all butt.

Okay, in looking back at those pics, not so awful. It says "Custom Bike Love" above my hips so perhaps that serves as a distraction. Coworker is crazy skinny and also not of sauerkraut heritage therefore she does not have potato pickin', birthin' hips.

My friends used to have a little "game" we'd play when we got down on ourselves. We called it the gene pool game. The idea was, if you could have a new body but you had 50/50 odds of being smoking hot or butt ugly would you take it, or keep the one you have? That usually puts it back in perspective.

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I'd be willing to bet that my DH would love being behind any of you gals on your bikes. :cool:

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My DH once suggested a women's cycling jersey.

On the back it would say:
"Stuck behind me?
Enjoy the view."

:p

JUST FYI, on a tshirt ride last summer I was behind a woman whose shorts had seen maybe a season too much of riding. They were a little threadbare and you could see through them. SEE THROUGH SPANDEX. I could see her crack clear as day.

SO danger. and yes, look at yourself in a mirror from behind in bright light every once in a while.

I COULD SEE HER CRACK! AAAAAHHH

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Originally Posted by fidlfreek

I COULD SEE HER CRACK! AAAAAHHH

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I can no longer resist:

http://crappyoldbike.blogspot.com/20...in-bleach.html

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Originally Posted by smurfalicious

I can no longer resist:

http://crappyoldbike.blogspot.com/20...in-bleach.html

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That was quite a funny read!


There a couple brands of expensive styled "muscle compression" shorts that I have put on NEW in a well lit area and been able to slightly see through them:eek:. My first thought was... omg, I don't care HOW much they are suppose to help my muscles, I'm not riding looking like a porn star:rolleyes:.. no thx, no sale.

As far as how we look from behind in general... I've always been happy bike shorts were black... dark colors being slimming:o;).

EDIT: OP... oh, btw... on the embarrassment factor thing, gheez... look at ME... I've been in public store dressing rooms bent over in a yoga pose checking out shorts in mirrors... wonder if it puzzles the shop boys as to what I'm doing in there?:rolleyes:

On the ah, threadbare shorts. Two years ago, my husband and I were leading a ride that my friend had lead for years. We split the group into 2 groups; I was sweeping the faster group and she was leading the slower group. In front of me was one of her friends, a guy we had met twice. His shorts were sooooo worn out I could see everything. No one, including my friend's husband who has known this guy for many years, would tell him to get new shorts.
Last summer, I went on a ride with same friend. Her husband had bought her a very expensive Exte Ondo outfit; shorts and a matching sleeveless top. Well, usually I am riding in front, but at one point she was in front of me. Her new shorts had that mesh material on the top rear of the shorts, but, it went down really low and the top was riding up a bit. I had to tell her not to wear that outfit on a group ride!