Cycling is a great way to exercise if your pants seem to get smaller and smaller. It’s easy on your joints. However, if you want to switch to longer bike rides the discomforts that are experienced by all bikers will be bigger. That doesn’t mean you should give up though. So, if you happen to have some extra cushions around your waist, here are some useful tips on your happier rides.
Hills
After you’ve climbed a few hills you will notice that you seem to climb them with more effort than thinner people, but you descend the hills with greater speed. Try to enjoy the better part! If you find neither of these fun, plan trips with gentle hills. Look at a topographical map before you ride to see how many hills you’ll be crossing.
Winds
Check the weather report for wind before you ride. The truth is if you are biking against the wind you may go about 10 km/h slower than when you have a tailwind. You can ride more effortlessly and have more fun, but you’ll still be getting exercise. One option is to hitch a ride or take public transportation to your destination if the winds aren’t in your favor, and ride back with a tailwind.
Larger Clothing
Cycling is a great way to lose weight, but clothing manufacturers out there aren’t thinking much about overweight people when designing their sport’s wear. Also, many companies think that people over a certain size need only 100% cotton workout clothes, which get filled with sweat, get heavy, make your skin wet and chafed, and don’t cool effectively.
So what if you can’t fit into the same T-shirt you wore in sixth grade? It takes time, but you can still find cool wear. For example Nashbar.com and Performancebike.com shops are considered bigger-rider-friendly. BikeJerseys.com seem to have a selection of cool large jerseys too.
You can also check Fat Lad at the Back, which is a range of cycle clothing designed in Yorkshire and made in Italy on Fatladattheback.com. According to the company owner, MAMILs – Middle-Aged Men in Lycra – can enjoy another helping of pudding, maybe an extra glass of red wine and know that they’ll still look good on their best road bike.
Saddle Sores
Saddle sores in the saddle area can be painful. They come from chafing while pedaling. As if bigger people already haven’t enough body issues, it’s easy to see these as some sort of laughing in the face by Mother Nature. Don’t panic, pro bikers get them too. To prevent them, wear biking shorts and use some kind of anti-chafing product. The other thing is that after a couple of rides your body is going to get used to it.
