Twinges- freda cycling inferiority

[shootingstar]

Comments like here: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...t=22674&page=2 that some of you might feel differently in non-roadie cycling gear on a non-roadie bike vs. roadie cycling gear on a roadie bike...

Does remind me occasionally, twinges of my freda cycling inferiority. You know freda, is the female version of the "fred", male version of nerdy cyclist. Unroadie. I have always had hybrid bikes..under $800.00. And am happy to have the bikes I have and have accepted the fact I'm not comfortable with drop handles when I have a slight neck problem. (that is alleviated with some stretching exercises). I love looking a sleek bikes but in the end, it doesn't seem to meet my type of cycling lifestyle / way of cycling.

I have no intention to race nor randonneur...Don't know about doing a super-duper trans-continental ride..but given my geo-spatial weaknesses, can't see this doing it solo.

There are cycling days where I don't feel as fit...and will dress "less" cycling oriented. ie. a less-flashy cycling jacket, more muted-coloured jersey, you know. Just allow me to feel less fit, don't notice my performance but let me cycle-to-feel-better..kind of an inferiority complex.

Am I the only one here with occasional twinges of freda cycling hang-ups? I really ought to get over this ...after cycling regularily for past 17 yrs... but strangely..am only human.

[Geonz]

Yes.

You are the only person who has ever felt insecure about her cycling in the whole wide world.

:P :P :P

Hangups just keep on doin' that... things go smoothly for a while... then they hang us up for a bit

There must be something not right with you if you don't want to go out and ride 600 km .... or p'raps something right

You mean EVERY DAY isn't your flashy fashion statement?
Gosh, must be something' right there, too. Embrace our hangups

Snork. All hybrid here... but that's what works for me.

[bounceswoosh]

Does it count that I feel inferior to my bike?

Cuz I sure do. I haven't made as much progress as I'd like in technical mountain biking, but I ended up getting a ridiculously sweet ride*, and -- this is the really over the top part -- it's gold anodized. I feel pretty self conscious doing what are considered lightweight local rides (still pretty hard, I suspect, compared to most terrain in the US) on this beast of a bike.

A friend of a friend talks about how his bike must be so bummed to be stuck with him as a rider. Sometimes I think my bike feels the same way.

Also, I got a free jersey from the bike shop from which I got my ridiculously sweet ride, and I am nervous about wearing it. Because it's a high end bike shop ...

It doesn't help that there are so many competitive riders in the area. It's entirely possible that the guy or gal who just passed you is a pro-level rider. Drop that to sport level, and it's almost certain =P

Ah well. I've ordered the Hill Slug jersey to avoid any accusation of false advertising.

Yeah. Really need to get over it. What matters is that I'm out there, right?

*Ellsworth Truth with hand-picked components

[Zen]

I have only one cycling hangup.
I'd like to be faster (which is why some people call me Mo. First name Slo)
I ride because I enjoy the experience. I doubt I would enjoy a double century.

I have a hybrid and i have a road bike and will admit to dressing down a bit for the hybrid.
You wouldn't wear a black leather bustier to a picnic, would you?

Dress and ride for yourself and no one else


.

[shootingstar]

I have a hybrid and i have a road bike and will admit to dressing down a bit for the hybrid.
You wouldn't wear a black leather bustier to a picnic, would you?

Dress and ride for yourself and no one else


.

Well, it does feel like wearing high heels at a picnic if I wear a flashier jacket on a hybrid. But then on the other hand, it feels right at night for visibility.

YOu know I admantly did not wear any cycling jerseys until the last 5 years, simply because I didn't want to look like a weekend wannabe poseur cyclist. Seriously. For the first 12 years..I wore t-shirts or rolled up men's shirts (to protect my arms from fierce heat) in warm/hot temperatures. And I was piling way more mileage then annually compared to now... then during T-shirt period was 6,000 kms. annually. Now I'm lucky if I can edge up to 50-60% of that this year.

Go figure. But then I realize..it really is more comfortable to wear wicking material tops..and to have a back pocket..

[Crankin]

I definitely am not worthy of my bike (Kuota Kredo), but, hey, if I was stupid enough to pay for it, I guess I deserve it! And, I do get acknowledged by snooty racer guys as they pass me. I find this strange, because I had a Trek 5200 before, not exactly a Freda bike.
But, I do find myself dressing differently when I ride my hybrid. In fact, I have found it liberating to discover a new type of cycling apparel. I wear wool when it's cold and I have some new wicking tops that are not jerseys, but are kind of cool. I tend to wear a skort, knickers, board shorts, or mtb shorts when I ride this bike.
I always feel slightly inferior on my bike until I talk to my "regular" friends who think riding 5 miles is crazy.

[OakLeaf]

The only time I wear cycling apparel on my hybrid is when I've just gotten back from a road ride, have errands to run, and don't want to take a shower and put on clean clothes and get them all sweaty again right away. Otherwise it's either regular clothes on the hybrid, or clothes appropriate to the destination (whether it's gym clothes, or a skirt or nice slacks for church or dinner). I will wear a cycling jacket or my Xinglet when the weather or light conditions dictate, but I put those on over whatever I was wearing anyhow.

When I got my new road bike I really felt like I didn't deserve it. After 2500 miles (which is less than that bike deserves in the amount of time I've had it), it's just my bike. Too bad about the mileage and about my slow legs

At the end of last season my Wednesday night group went out to eat. People started talking about how many miles they had for the year. Most of them were in the 5-7000 range. I was embarrassed to even say how few I had! But ya know, cycling isn't my only workout. I was by no means the fastest one in that group, but I kept up with the slower ones. Maybe I should've felt okay about that.

[SlowButSteady]

look like a weekend wannabe poseur cyclist.

This is the way I feel! Like I'm a little girl playing dress-up. I also feel that way in a riding habit, a dress, hiking clothes, etc.

If I go to a cowboy bar in jeans and boots, I feel conspicious.

If I wear a floral-tropical print shirt to a Jimmy Buffett concert, I feel conspicous.

I do have to have my clothes "match" the bike. Baggies on the off-road bike. Roadie shorts and jersey on the road bike. Likewise with shoes, helmets.

I have to remind myself that I am a cyclist. I can ride semi-decent distances and ride (road) on a regular basis, off road less so.

Like Zen, my name reflects my slowness.

[tc1]

Aww, ShootingStar, everybody feels like a dork sometimes. The thing to do is to go out in public and share the love (the dorkiness.) Seriously, don't let anyone, especially yourself, make an exile of you.

Didn't you just have eye surgery? Or was that someone else?

[emily_in_nc]

My favorite "Freda" story was last summer at the local farmer's market, when I was stopped by a couple of roadie guys in full team kit and sparkling carbon bikes, but woefully unprepared for anything since they refuse to even use a seat bag. One of their seatposts started slipping, so seeing me, they pulled into the market to ask if I had a multi-tool they could borrow. But of course!

I was standing next to my Bike Friday Pocket Crusoe with rear rack, rack pack, air horn, Halt holder, and (of all things) KICKSTAND! Wearing my "utility cycling outfit" of a Terry skort and plain red jersey. I felt "unworthy" for half a second until I realized how silly that was. I had the multi-tool and was well prepared for anything. They "looked marvelous" but were essentially helpless out there!



Emily

[singletrackmind]

On occasion I get snorted or laughed at for the camelback or whatever mountain bikey or non bikey thing I might have on. Whatever. I don't ride to be the popular kid in school, dressed for the right clique. I don't care if others are and I don't care if they aren't. If they do that's up to them, hope I've made them feel better egging on their false sense of superiority and all.

Until I pass them, anyways.

[shootingstar]

Didn't you just have eye surgery? Or was that someone else?

It was kelownagirl

I never thought about this type of stuff when I returned to cycling first few years...maybe it's slow acquisition of more flashier cycling wear...that's causing such thoughts..

but I'm happy to proclaim in action ,at any speed..a cyclist.

[kelownagirl]

Chiming in here, (WITH my still-bad eyes). I still feel like a poseur (sp?) even if I'm in my gear, on my road bike.

My issue? I REALLY REALLY want a nice new carbon bike and I can afford one now and I've ridden this one for two years and worked really hard to get better so I think I actually deserve a good bike BUT I am a little self-conscious about buying an expensive bike because of the expectations that I feel goes with it. I'm afraid people will expect me to be better and faster than I am, and then they'll think of me as a Fred.

But it's not enough to stop me from buying a new bike.

[Kano]

Yeah, there I was, 220 pounds, buying the carbon bike with Ultegra components. This was my step up from the comfort beast. Seemed like way too much bike for me, where I was that day, when I was at the LBS to buy an entry level road bike.

My Roubaix Elite was on clearance -- she only cost a few dollars more than if I'd bought the brand new model Allez sitting next to her.

Who am I to pass up a bargain like that, even if she was too fancy for beginner-me?


Karen in Boise

[lph]

I admit to sometimes feeling a little superior to my snobbish bike buddy, when I smoke him on the uphills on my used bike that costs 1/6 of his italian dream machine. But I lucked out on a good deal and had a good buying experience, so in a way my bike is MY own dream machine. I'm already looking at replacing components after having had it less than a year, but it doesn't bother me because the bike didn't cost me much in the first place.

I probably would never drop a lot of money on a bike. But I do think it's better to use a lot of money on a really nice bike than on, say jewelry, or a designer sofa. Not that's it any of my business how people use their money anyway (and you could always argue that one should give it to charity instead) but still it makes more sense to me to buy something really really functional AND beautiful, that helps you get fitter and enjoy your sport all the more, than to buy something that's just decorative.