Never judge people on their appearance...

[ZenSojourner]

Woah there. Trek sighs, now here this thread goes on another tangent.

Since when did good looks equal thin?

Since when does not being "presentable" mean fat?

Since my entire life, anyway. Not saying it SHOULD be that way or that it's in anyway OK, it just IS.

I've been thin, or at least a lot thinner than I am now, and I've definitely been younger.

And I can promise you, I was treated with more respect and KINDNESS when I was young and thin than I am now that I'm old and fat.

As for bike culture being exclusive, I've always been on the outside of that. Every bike club I've ever joined but one made me feel like an outsider. For instance, routinely getting dropped on "no-drop" rides, and having bike club SAG members repeatedly trying to pick me up and drive me to the ride end because they're assuming I can't make the ride. After all, I'm fat. So I MUST be ready to drop dead at any instant. I'm not talking at the tail end of the ride either, there was only one time I was that far back in the pack and that was because the woman I was riding with was so slow. Well, the semi-custom bike some local (male) mechanic had made for her was too big for her, she could hardly help it.

Going to a bike shop is a real crap shoot too. Since 1996 I've found exactly TWO bike shops that didn't immediately dismiss me because I was a woman. Neither of these were in Portland OR, a supposedly highly bike-friendly city (but apparently not bike-RIDER-friendly, LOL!)

I walked into one bike shop a while back, there were no customers, the guy in the shop glanced up and immediately dismissed me and went back to reading whatever it was he was reading. He continued to ignore me even after I walked up to the counter right in front of him. Middle aged fat women held no interest for him. When I finally managed to get his attention, he sent me home with the wrong part - all I wanted was a set of plugs for my bar ends because I'd lost one. The ones he gave me were too small, besides being crappy.

The other bike shop in town treated me with respect, so guess which one I give my business to now?

I've seen people snub other people because their bikes weren't good enough, because they weren't wearing an expensive jersey or were otherwise "dressed funny"; because they were too old, too weird looking, too female, too fat.

The one bike club I've ever belonged to where they didn't behave this way (in the main, you're always going to find the odd snob) was very instrumental in the fact that I rode more often - more group rides, more incentive to ride. I prefer to ride "alone" but it's nice to ride "alone" in a sponsored ride, it's something somebody else planned and I'm just more likely to actually ride then. And for REALLY long rides, SAG is pretty much required since I don't have anybody to call in an emergency, LOL! I've only ever had to do that once but I was glad I had the option because I was 30 miles out of town when I had a mechanical problem I couldn't handle on my own.

Same sort of things went on in the one Ski club I belonged to, and I wasn't even old and fat then, LOL!

There are 2 bike clubs near where I live now, and one of them doesn't even HAVE any "no-drop" rides (guess which bike shop they're associated with?) Their "slow" ride averages 14-16 mph over a 20 to 25 mile course. I'm serious, they consider that the entry level, slow ride.

I can see where someone new to the sport could feel very intimidated and unwelcome. I'm not sure what I can do about it personally other than refrain from participating.

[cylegoddess]

That made me cry!( Im feeling sentimental)
I had two experiences with looks.

I was riding, in all my hip black gear and saw two older folk, whom I caught up with. I said( and they were normal, windcheater ,slightly large white haired ) as they looked nice, can I ride with you>They said, well you may not want to, as youll most likely go faster than we will. So I said, I only LOOK fast! I just need to pace someone as I am getting killed in this wind. The lady, who was a good deal larger than I, beat me like gong - she FLEW! Her hubby chatted with me.

ON my commute last week, I passed a lady , a large lady riding at a good clip , on the hill. She caught up to me and I said, oh good, someone to ride with, oh maybe not as she shot past me, saying, its only hills Im bad at!
She was GORGEOUS!!
I am passed everyday by well, big people FLY BY me on bikes and wow! Its beautiful. I love to see people so fit and graceful on their cycles. I can think of nothing Id like more than being able to be strong and beautiful, in motion. Like they are.

[Fredwina]

This op-ed appeared in my local paper:
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2569

[andtckrtoo]

This op-ed appeared in my local paper:
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2569

I like that article. Thanks for sharing.

Even after hearing all of the stories and such, Susan's voice still makes me cry. And her lack of "perfection" appearance-wise makes me smile. While I agree that we should not judge a book by it's cover, I love seeing a plain cover come out with an incredible story.

[BikeDutchess]

Ana, I thought that NY Times Article "Yes, Looks Do Matter" that you posted was interesting too.

many social scientists and others who study the science of stereotyping say there are reasons we quickly size people up based on how they look. Snap judgments about people are crucial to the way we function, they say — even when those judgments are very wrong.

MODERN society, with its awareness of the prejudices of history and its unprecedented ability to introduce so many different types of people to one another, may dilute or even neutralize some preconceived notions. But others will persist and new ones will form, experts say.

I think the key is that we develop the awareness to recognize that (and when) our snap judgments may be wrong.

[OakLeaf]

I think this is one of the really positive things about online communities. We get to know each other, sometimes very well, without having a clue what each other looks like.