Too Fat to Cycle

[zennmotion]

This guys gets it, and it should be linked on every bike club website. This is a reality check against all the marketing messages, all the Rapha-type synthetic "epicness" about overcoming adversity through cycling (of course limited to attractive, happy, fit-looking people). This pushes back against the not-so-subtle messages that direct everyone outside the bicycle industry's targeted narrow bell curve that at best, they should just go to REI and get a bad fitting hybrid with a marshmallow seat to ride around the neighborhood 3X yearly, or worse, skip cycling altogether and just limit themselves to the treadmill/spin bike because... FAT. Eff that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQNuVPeevo

I like this guy. A lot.

[sw3759]

thanks for the link.agreed i like him too.it would be hard not to like the guy and his message.

[MattTuck]

yeah, climbing sucks when you're fat.

The guy gets it though.

[bob heinatz]

I like him too. Keep on pedaling!

[stev0]

jolly good!

[chiasticon]

This is a reality check against all the marketing messages, all the Rapha-type synthetic "epicness" about overcoming adversity through cycling (of course limited to attractive, happy, fit-looking people).to their credit though, Rapha try to encourage people to get in better shape by cycling, and offer 50% off a new jersey if you then need a smaller size because of it.

but I do get your point. and such marketing is nothing new, and nowhere near being exclusive to cycling.

[bicycletricycle]

I like him as well. I agree that cyclists are mostly just happy to see each other out there on the road/trail and don't care too much about the shape and size of each other.

Marketing can be a bit ridiculous, pretending everyone out there is about to do a race or an epic 1000 mile solo or something. On the other hand, a lot of that functions aspirationally so maybe it isn't that bad.

This guys gets it, and it should be linked on every bike club website. This is a reality check against all the marketing messages, all the Rapha-type synthetic "epicness" about overcoming adversity through cycling (of course limited to attractive, happy, fit-looking people). This pushes back against the not-so-subtle messages that direct everyone outside the bicycle industry's targeted narrow bell curve that at best, they should just go to REI and get a bad fitting hybrid with a marshmallow seat to ride around the neighborhood 3X yearly, or worse, skip cycling altogether and just limit themselves to the treadmill/spin bike because... FAT. Eff that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQNuVPeevo

I like this guy. A lot.

[zennmotion]

to their credit though, Rapha try to encourage people to get in better shape by cycling, and offer 50% off a new jersey if you then need a smaller size because of it.

but I do get your point. and such marketing is nothing new, and nowhere near being exclusive to cycling.

Yes but, an important part of his message goes beyond the typical "it's good to lose weight and cycling is a way to do it". He makes an important point in making a distinction between weight/size and fitness/health. He doesn't dispute their obvious connection, but he makes a reasoned nuanced approach to wellness that doesn't focus on the size of his "custard filled" jersey or the number on the scale. Rapha's jersey trade-in thing is well intentioned (and good marketing of course) but it's message is still based on size and weight as the success indicator to focus on (by the way, could that guy even find a Rapha jersey that fit him? I dunno). There's so much before/after 'transformation' weight loss garbage on youtube and elsewhere that selectively skips over the hard parts like repeatedly trying and failing, emotional baggage of appearing heavy, the market-driven messages from the fitness industry to buy their supplements, exercise plans, equipment/clothing etc and youtube itself (get paid for clicks so make your story amazing and successful-not to mention the magic of selected lighting and photoshop). I like that this guy is clearly a rider who's calling BS on all this, has his goals and a plan to get there, with a long-view sustainable approach with wellness as the objective. And I gotta say, even as an older gentleman living in a larger package than mine, that rear cluster size is much tighter than what I ride these days:banana:

[Climb01742]

A big thumbs up for this guy and his perspective.

[fourflys]

just watched the video, kudos to this dude! not gonna get into the brand debate as that's not what the intent of the video was IMHO...

[R3awak3n]

Why is rapha being mentioned on this? You guys just cant stop.

What about commenting on castelli or most of the brands that the biggest chest size is 40

[makoti]

Why is rapha being mentioned on this? You guys just cant stop.

What about commenting on castelli or most of the brands that the biggest chest size is 40

Seriously. I watched & kept expecting him to make a comment about Rapha and/or cycling ads in general, but....no. Not a word. Someone has some serious Rapha-envy going on.

[echappist]

This guys gets it, and it should be linked on every bike club website. This is a reality check against all the marketing messages, all the Rapha-type synthetic "epicness" about overcoming adversity through cycling (of course limited to attractive, happy, fit-looking people). This pushes back against the not-so-subtle messages that direct everyone outside the bicycle industry's targeted narrow bell curve that at best, they should just go to REI and get a bad fitting hybrid with a marshmallow seat to ride around the neighborhood 3X yearly, or worse, skip cycling altogether and just limit themselves to the treadmill/spin bike because... FAT. Eff that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQNuVPeevo

I like this guy. A lot.

that was great; thanks for sharing

people may slag Rapha, Assos, and Castelli, but even these companies are better compared to the cycling companies geared toward the social media set (looking at you, peloton and soul cycles).

[Seramount]

guy seems pretty dialed in, I'd ride with him...

[zennmotion]

Why is rapha being mentioned on this? You guys just cant stop.

What about commenting on castelli or most of the brands that the biggest chest size is 40

Not a "brand debate", the available sizes not the issue, it's the messaging by the industry- way beyond cycling even. Rapha's just a particularly easy target because of their high profile and unique approach to their marketing- I don't need to point out who shows up in their media and ads and who doesn't. I like their stuff- more than I'd like to pay but I even have a couple pieces from sales/classifieds. I even enjoy their videos for what they are, with some eye-rolling (selling a bike escape fantasy to somewhere that seems much "cooler" than where I am, with people who are "cooler" than those I encounter from my bike seat, essentially). My point is an easy example of where I think they miss the mark in terms of expanding their potential customer base through their marketing visual messaging to invite and include people like the guy in the video in the OP. Sorry to trigger your Rapha Reflex :rolleyes: . They're just one easy mark in their contribution and complicity. Not evil, just clueless. But the point of my OP isn't Rapha, it's how the industry designs and markets their messages that aren't particularly inclusive, with resultant lost opportunities to extend a positive invitation to join the tribe and put more people on bikes.

[Volksbike]

Great video and nice guy with lots of humility and a clear love of cycling !


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[daker13]

What about commenting on castelli or most of the brands that the biggest chest size is 40

word.

[93KgBike]

I like this guy. A lot.

Ditto.

Thanks for the link.

[dieonthishill]

Great video. That guy has an amazing perspective on life.

The Rapha comments though? LOL... all that we need now is the "Chris Froome is ugly on a bike" comments. :help:

[R3awak3n]

Not a "brand debate", the available sizes not the issue, it's the messaging by the industry- way beyond cycling even. Rapha's just a particularly easy target because of their high profile and unique approach to their marketing- I don't need to point out who shows up in their media and ads and who doesn't. I like their stuff- more than I'd like to pay but I even have a couple pieces from sales/classifieds. I even enjoy their videos for what they are, with some eye-rolling (selling a bike escape fantasy to somewhere that seems much "cooler" than where I am, with people who are "cooler" than those I encounter from my bike seat, essentially). My point is an easy example of where I think they miss the mark in terms of expanding their potential customer base through their marketing visual messaging to invite and include people like the guy in the video in the OP. Sorry to trigger your Rapha Reflex :rolleyes: . They're just one easy mark in their contribution and complicity. Not evil, just clueless. But the point of my OP isn't Rapha, it's how the industry designs and markets their messages that aren't particularly inclusive, with resultant lost opportunities to extend a positive invitation to join the tribe and put more people on bikes.

I just disagree to bring rapha into this discussion. Do you think people are not getting on bikes because rapha only shows skinny dudes on their ads?

I will day this, they should offer a few sizes up and definitely expand their client base. I wear xxl rapha and its a hit or miss, some fit, some are crazy tight. There is not a lot of good cycling clothes for big dudes

[zennmotion]

I just disagree to bring rapha into this discussion. Do you think people are not getting on bikes because rapha only shows skinny dudes on their ads?

I will day this, they should offer a few sizes up and definitely expand their client base. I wear xxl rapha and its a hit or miss, some fit, some are crazy tight. There is not a lot of good cycling clothes for big dudes

OK I'm sorry I brought Rapha as an example into my original post as it's clearly a distraction from my original point of posting the link to a cool guy's video who articulated an important (IMO) non-confrontational message that challenges a commonly held belief that large people and cycling don't belong together. My personal opinion, that he did not directly reference, is to point out that the belief is largely created to serve the many players in the industry rather than inclusion. So yes, in a simplistic way, I do believe that people are not getting on bikes because they are nowhere to be found in the media, they don't belong, further reinforcing the negative message about being "fat" that they've gotten all their lives as a result of constant media/advertising exposure from birth. Rapha (apologies again as it's an apparent flashpoint example- but so clear from where I sit- they are very open about the idea that they are marketing style based on a fantasy-cycling's "hard men" of the past). They, along with everyone else, respond to their targeted markets- if they're smart and listening. It's business and we're the damn market, so the change begins with us as consumers, the "industry" is certainly not going to lead until there's a clear profit incentive. Mr. Jolly gave us a very effective piece, I hope he gets a lot of views and I hope more than a few people think about how great it would be if we were a little more pro-active and creative about encouraging more people to get on a bike, or maybe a little more courageous about getting out more often ourselves. Even wearing overstretched Rapha kit...

[kmac]

OK I'm sorry I brought Rapha as an example into my original post as it's clearly a distraction from my original point of posting the link to a cool guy's video who articulated an important (IMO) non-confrontational message that challenges a commonly held belief that large people and cycling don't belong together. My personal opinion, that he did not directly reference, is to point out that the belief is largely created to serve the many players in the industry rather than inclusion. So yes, in a simplistic way, I do believe that people are not getting on bikes because they are nowhere to be found in the media, they don't belong, further reinforcing the negative message about being "fat" that they've gotten all their lives as a result of constant media/advertising exposure from birth. Rapha (apologies again as it's an apparent flashpoint example- but so clear from where I sit- they are very open about the idea that they are marketing style based on a fantasy-cycling's "hard men" of the past). They, along with everyone else, respond to their targeted markets- if they're smart and listening. It's business and we're the damn market, so the change begins with us as consumers, the "industry" is certainly not going to lead until there's a clear profit incentive. Mr. Jolly gave us a very effective piece, I hope he gets a lot of views and I hope more than a few people think about how great it would be if we were a little more pro-active and creative about encouraging more people to get on a bike, or maybe a little more courageous about getting out more often ourselves. Even wearing overstretched Rapha kit...

it's funny... i used to be very overweight, and i definitely did not look like the people in cycling magazines/catalogs, what with all the fat. but i guess i saw more similarities with myself than differences: a pair of legs that could turn pedals, arms that could hold the bars steady, eyes that could assist in navigation. for me, the only difference was the physiques. i figured that since everything else was the same, maybe if i worked hard and did this thing they did, that i could someday be a better version of myself. if i'm being honest, i don't know if i would have derived that same motivational value from someone who looked like me at the time. what i wanted was to better myself, not just take my current incarnation and put it on a bicycle.

i love what this guy says, and i think that folks like him are super motivational to those who think that maybe they can't do it. but it's because of what he says, and all the things that just wouldn't come across in still-shots of him in a catalog.

i don't know... i'm sure that many people feel differently. this is just one perspective from a former fat guy who desperately needed to turn his life around.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXWg9KNjeio/

[oldpotatoe]

The object of the ride is the ride..a larger, middle aged guy who likes to ride a bike, geez, what else is there?

..huzzah!!

[Avispa]

When I see videos like these it just reminds me of these self motivation books or other material. And the truth is that being overweight and riding a bike is just one issue we have come to deal with in life ... How do you think the skinny guy that gets dropped on the hills feel? One would think, wow! what's the excuse now?

Time and time again, during my rides, I talk and see all kinds of people on a road race bike that want to tell me their story of why they are not riding like Peter Sagan or Like Chris Froome on the local group ride: "Man, if I just had the ____ (fill in the blank).

In the end, I have realized that not only in cycling, but in just about any endeavor in life, the minute one starts to compare themselves (or tries to do the same) to those at the top, this becomes the main reason for disappointment and failure. Unfortunately, I also think this goes beyond this issue. In a way, this is somewhat relative to this forced/fake inclusiveness we are being fed nowadays: Your are pretty how you are! You skin color doesn't matter... Hey, it doesn't matter if you are old! Companies and their marketing pandering to the latest societal outcry tells us this and other things, but go around your neighborhood and see how much diverse it really is....

Now back on topic, I like the fact that this guy seems to be at peace with himself and IMO for his weigh and such, he is actually a charm to see riding! You have no idea how many a racer body type I've seen that pedal so much worse than this man.

As for the argument with the clothing... It's almost the same thing. Would you expect Rapha or any other cycle clothing company to market their stuff to Sumo Wrestlers? Last I checked, those guys didn't have a category in the The Tour...

I do think Rapha (I do not own any, btw) deserves a lot of credit in the sense that they were one of the first companies to make cycling clothes stylish and a viable option for those that didn't want to look like they were in the Androni-Giocattoli Team! Even before Rapha, the choices that one saw from Assos and Exte Ondo, still had too much of a "pro team" appeal... One only needed to slap a Company logo on them and bam! Same thing... Skinny models, bright colors, and super tight fit...

[RC.]

Any step in the direction of eating well and regular exercise is a step in the right direction...for anyone.