Saddlebags (ugly leg type) from cycling?

[kbbnyc11]

Has anyone found that bc of cycling, they have developed "saddlebags?" I had a tiny friend who did lots of distance work and I couldn't figure out why she had these big outer thighs. Since I've started road biking (as opposed to mtn biking, which had no effect) I am getting the same thing. Ick! I love the cycling but like nice legs too!

[redrhodie]

I wouldn't call a developed muscle a saddle bag. If you're getting bulky, I wonder if you need to put it in an easier gear and up your cadence?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

saddlebags are fat deposits on the sides of the lower hips and upper thighs.
Muscular thighs have nothing to do with that.

[Grog]

Muscular thighs are great, and indeed have nothing to do with saddlebags which are either, well, under your saddle, or fat deposits. Definitely not caused by cycling (unless you like a bit too much alfredo sauce on your pasta).

[Eden]

I think that the upper thigh area is a particularly hard fat deposit to get rid of.... As you cycle and slim down the rest of your body, that bit waits for absolute last so it looks bigger...

[Biciclista]

the best way to get rid of that fat is nurse a baby. Has nothing to do with cycling.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

the best way to get rid of that fat is nurse a baby. Has nothing to do with cycling.

True, it just melts right off! Unfortunately, the effects don't last for 30 years.

[polly4711]

+1 to eden

[wnyrider]

Came across this photo last night in a joke forum... reminded me of this thread!

[IMG][/IMG]

[sundial]

Lol!!

[Smilie]

Ack! That pic is hilarious!

[Miranda]

I think that the upper thigh area is a particularly hard fat deposit to get rid of.... As you cycle and slim down the rest of your body, that bit waits for absolute last so it looks bigger...

+1 to eden

Yep, I agree with this. That is where my last bit of fat is. You can see my rib bones, but the bags are still hanging out.

I think some of it has to do with your body type and where you normally carry weight. For me, it's always been south, like a "pear". One of my best GFs is an "apple"... carries it in the middle.

I just keep this in mind...

Bike shorts are lycra and help hold the bags in. Black is slimming. For bathing suits, I've found a boy short works well for bags as a bikini bottom. Versus a traditional brief style. Something about the square shaped helps to make it look like curves, vs bags.

[lph]

This doesn't really have much to do with anything, but... I haven't biked as much as I used to for the past 2-3 months due to injury, lots of snow and different priorities, and yesterday I discovered that I've "non-biked" myself right into a pair of jeans that I thought I had "biked myself out of"... They're no longer uncomfortably tight over the thighs.

I'm not quite sure if I'm happy that I have the jeans back, or annoyed that I've lost all that leg muscle. It also neatly explains why I've apparently lost a little weight while getting nowhere nearer my lifelong goal of having a waist

[Grog]

This doesn't really have much to do with anything, but... I haven't biked as much as I used to for the past 2-3 months due to injury, lots of snow and different priorities, and yesterday I discovered that I've "non-biked" myself right into a pair of jeans that I thought I had "biked myself out of"... They're no longer uncomfortably tight over the thighs.

I was having the exact same thought yesterday.

Thankfully I'm turning my dissertation in tomorrow and will be cycling my head out until I get the revisions back from my committee!!

[CyclChyk]

What is so ironic for me is that for 35 years I couldn't lose my saddlebags to save my life. One of my nicknames growing up was "Thunderthighs" (I have a weird family) but when I started riding, they disappeared. For the first time in my life I have no saddlebags. Life is good!