Very frustrated and sad (longish)

[Blueberry]

I have a friend who (in a nice way) pokes fun at me every time he sees me in biking garb. He and his partner ride everywhere. They have one car, and barely use it. He's done lots of long rides, just bought a Rivendell Atlantis (drool), and you know what - I don't think he owns a pair of bike shorts. And I know for sure there are no clipless pedals at his house or bike jerseys. All of his bikes have kickstands too But he RIDES. That's what matters. Get on your bike - in whatever is comfortable for you - and enjoy it! Who cares what others think??? You have the bike, and what you need for safety. The rest is just personal preference

CA

PS - I can virtually guarantee that you won't be the "least technical" one on your big ride. On the MS ride year before last, there was a guy on a bent with no biking garb and crocs. He had a basket (with flowers on it) on the front of his bike, and a little boom box. Guess who everyone wanted to ride near??

[keepclimbing]

Last year I went on a very long cross-country tour with 11 other women. We didn't know each other before we began. Some were novices, some had touring experience, one was a racer. There was one touring bike, three mountain bikes, a couple of very good road bikes and some cheaper ones, and one ancient Schwinn that weighed a ton. Some had bike clothes, some didn't. Some were clipless, some weren't. Gears ranged from 10 to 27. Ages were from 20 to 50. We all came with different experiences, different pieces of knowledge. But the most important thing was learning to depend on one another for the support we all needed. Everyone learned a lot from one another about cycling, safety, health, repairs...but we learned more about what we had inside of us.

Enjoy!

[Zen]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Sheldon

[Karma007]

I showed up for my first group road ride with my Target mtb (chunky tires and all), t-shirt and converse! I'll admit to being a little intimidated, but the group was friendly and pointed out how much harder I was working than they were, to push my bike at the same speed. If you love to ride, ride!

[TxDoc]

First of all... you are training for the Lifecycle, so I totally agree that YOU ROCK!

No worries about gear, and fashion, and terminology... it does not really matter much unless you plan to go pro
You ride and enjoy riding and that is just fine.
Believe me, there's plenty of people that ride $20 used bikes in plain street clothes and they leave the 'fashion police' in the dust every day
Ride and be proud and most of all be happy!

[beccaB]

Momentum magazine has pictures of people riding in all sorts of clothes. I had to get some specific bike clothes after getting so cold I couldn't warm back up for days. I was sweating too much and getting chilled. You shouldn't be made to feel bad about whatever you decide to wear on a ride, it's a personal preference thing. I also get winter hives, so I had to break down and buy windpants. I think I look weird in bike clothes, but they feel good on me. When I got started doing this it was always just sneakers and a t-shirt and regular shorts, until I could slowly afford the other stuff.