WHY DO BICYCLISTS DRESS LIKE SUPER-HEROES FOR EVERY RIDE? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???

I'm from the cycling side of the fence.

Just a few things.

First of all, cycling and running created totally differnt stresses on the body.

A marathon run is completed in 3 to 4 hours. Cycling, on the other hand has events where the time on the bike is over twice that amount. A really fast rider will complete a century (100 mile) ride in just under 5 hours. A "Double Century" is 200 miles in one day. That's pretty much all day on the bike.

You all brag about running 10 hours in a week. How about running 10 hours in a day?

"Randoneurring" is a cycling event where riders go all day and all night to complete distances of 600 or 1200 kilometers.

Can anyone go out and run for 90 hours strait, stopping only to eat and sleep for a few hours?

The reason a lot of cyclists have "pot bellies" is that cycling is non-weight bearing, and thus your body doesn't react to the stresses the same way as running. It's easier to lose weight from running than it is from cycling.

A lot of athletes are in very good shape, without being rail thin. A lot of open water swimmers are rather chunky. English channel swimmers are downright fat. But I would never think of minimalizing the the significance of what they do.

In cycling there's a big difference between spinning at 13 mph, and blasting down the road at 22 mph. The former, anyone can do all day, the latter requires top physical conditioning to do for any length of time. But running is running, to some degree. A lot of people could not run more than a few hundred yards. But anyone can ride a bike for 10 miles. The bicycle is a mode of transportation that does not need top physical condition to operate.

Yeah, there are a lot of "poseurres" in cycling. For ten grand, you can have an exact replica of Lance Armstrong's bike. Drop another grand or so, and you can probably dress just like him. But that does not make you as fast. But if spending wads of cash on equipment means that a person will get of their arse and go out and ride, then more power to them. Good bikes are beautiful pieces of machinery.

Cycling is an interesting sport. It's truely were the geek and the jock become one. Cycling is a sport that not only involves the body. It's about engineering, physics, weather, and biology.

Cyclists talk a lot about "bonking." That's when your body's energy stores have been depleted and you start to slow down physically. My guess is that runners don't "bonk" as much. Why? Because before that happens, your legs and feet have probably reached their limits of endurance.

If I had to venture to guess, my thought is that you are latently homosexual. You're angry that us cylcists wear such tantalizing outfits and your conservative upbringing causes you angish at the fact that you secretly are aroused by the site of cyclists in tight outfits. Instead of dealing with your latent homosexuality, you choose...subconsciously mind you...to redirect your fears into an attempt to blame the cyclist for your perverted desires. Say it out loud..."it's OK that I'm a gay runner."

Maybe, but that doesn’t mean that the people doing the buying are good AT the sport. They are mostly just poseurs.

Hey, Dumbass, HOW many times do I have to write: A) some of the bizarre super-man outfits these cyclists wear are not even bright. And B) THERE ARE PLENTY OF BRIGHT, PLAIN, CHEAP VESTS THAT ONE CAN WEAR AND STILL BE SEEN. And the orange and yellow reflective "crossing-guard" type vest I talk of does the trick (lets one be seen) better than a $150 cycling jersey.

Yes, many times. It wasn’t that hard. I wore no shirt, or a tank top, or a form fitting, long-sleeve $20 synthetic shirt. None of these gave me any trouble at all.

God, you are stupid

A) I wrote SEVERAL times that I was talking about recreational cyclists on NEARLY EVERY RIDE. You are talking about VERY LONG rides. I am talking about 60 minute rides that lots of cyclists do but yet they still need to wear the comic-book get up. SEE THE DIFFERENCE??? GET IT YET???

B) Do you even know what type of reflective "crossing-guard" vest I am talking about??? It is MESH, weighs an ounce or two, and can be adjusted to be completely form-fitting. Over another shirt (even a tank-top), it does NOT chafe at all. It does NOT block wind, and it does NOT make one hot. A couple things that it DOES DO though are these: it makes one not look "cool," and it makes one not drop $150 for a super-hero shirt, and it makes one not be able to belong to the "cool yuppie cyclists" club. OTHER THAN THAT, I see no problem with it.

Amen to that. And remember: YOU said it, not me.

Nice try, but methinks that the guys riding around and WALKING around too (so many cyclists just love to prance around in their spandex before and after a ride) in their bulge-defining shorts are the ones who are gay. After all they are mostly doing around other guys.

And if they aren’t gay, they are at least clearly burgeoning flashers.

Well, calling me Dumbass certainly lends credibility to your well thought-out cognitive ramblings. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he doesn't WANT to wear a vest? Also, did it ever occur to you that he doesn't need either your approval or permission to wear whatever the heck he feels like and if you don't like that's just too damn bad? Heck, I think you have an extremely dull, derivative, and sophomoric screen name but I don't demand that you change it.

My my. "bulge-defining shorts." You really do have issues don't you?

Yo has a point. A lot of these guys aren't sponsored, they're just amature bikers like many of us are amature runners. If you are a badass and you wear that shit, good for you, I give you my props. If you're not- maybe you hope that by wearing all that flashy stuff and eurotrash painter hat you can someday convince someone that you're good enough to be sponsored.

I have two good friends who acutally are good bikers, and neither one of them wears painter hats. Wonder why.

I can't believe what an infieriority complex you silly runners have. Most of you are spewing such complete nonsense coming from such ignorance that it's hard to know where to begin setting you straight. So I won't try. I'll just say that I'm better than you because I swim, bike, and run. And just so you know, I wear the appropriate, functional clothing for each sport--thankfully, I find jammer cut swimsuits more functional than banana hammocks.

Since most runners are basically sissy prima donnas that couldn't cut in any other sports, I'd seriously doubt that any of you would even give a triathlete like me a challenge on the bike, let alone a real cyclist.

The thing to remember is that a bicycle is a mode of transportation, as well as a sport, a hobby, and a form of exercise. The same cannot be said for running.

A lot of people bike to work. How many people jog to work? If you see a person on a bike, they could be training for the TDF, or they could be on their way to work or heading to the store to buy groceries.

But if you see a person running, it's a pretty safe bet that the only reason they're out is to get exercise.

120 miles a week......That's 480 miles per month. It is reccomended that you replace your shoes every 500 miles max. So you must be buying at least 8 pairs of shoes a year? Give or take? At 100 dollars a pop, thats $800. More than I spent on my road bike. And how much was your watch?

Pam Reed just ran 301 miles in 82 hrs, with no sleep.

Why do runners think they're God's gift in their old varsity track outfits and sweatbands?

Look out on the track!

It's a bird! It's a plane!

No it's some sissy runner in a "superhero" costume

Good for the goose good for the gander.

Koniciwa Birches!

I mean seriously look at this guy

an 800 dollar road bike must be the equivalent of very cheap running shoes so I'm not sure that is valid. A chain is 20-50 dollars and needs to be replaced every 5-6k, a casette is 30-150 dollars and needs to be replaced every 6 months for someone who cycles all the time. Handlebar tape everys so often. Cables once a year minimum. Inner tubes and tires. Tires need to be replaced every few months minimum and that costs 10-50 dollars a tire. Than you need the pump and tools. If you dont buy the tools you need to take your bike into a mechanic every so often which costs money. A floor pump and an on the bike and/or C02 pump. The chain rings (40-80 dollars) need to be replaced once a year. The wheels will eventually need to be replaced, if your lucky they may last two years (150-800 dollars). PLus, and this is not an isigniifcant costs. If you are equivalent to a runner running 120 miles a week you need probably cycle 20-32 hours a week and need to spend a lot on food for on the bike and after. 6000 calories a day isnt cheap. I dont eat any clif bars of gus or any of that expensive stuff but it still adds up. And of course the dorky clothing that is the subject of this thread.

I am sure that there are cyclists that spend less than runners but I don't think you can argue that cycling is cheaper than running.

I think many cyclists care more about the fashion and equipment than the actual activity that is true. Keep in mind that Many cyclists are fans of the sport. How many people wear foot ball jerseys or Nascar leather jackets or baseball caps? A cyclist can spend 70 dollars on an understated jersey or 70 dollars on a jersey represents their favorite rider.

Oh and one more thing about the crossing guard vest, A good cycling jersey is thicker in the front than in the back and they have pockets. Pockets are absolutely necessary. I cannot imagine doing a six hour ride without pockets and a race without pockets is impossible. I would get kicked of my team! A good cycling jersey will also have a zipper that goes all the way down although the crossing guard vest probably has that too.

Although when I first started cycling the guys at the shop told me to get a nice pair of bike shorts and just use your running tops. That worked until longer rides when I started to need the pockets for carrying food etc. Now I cant do without them.

Another thing about not wearing a helmet and the gay little painter's cap thing. I race in Europe(high level but not pro) and am one of the few riders to wear a helmet. In fact I am the only guy on the team. However I can understand why they dont wear one. When you ride as much as we do you get the helmet and helmet straps tan line which looks completeley ridiculous. To have these big marks on your face all year long. Just something to consider. Of course I choose the marks. But that makes three years that I look completely ridiculous and not once have I ever crashed on my head. The gay painter's casp prevents sweat from running into the eyes and keeps the sun off the head which can be important when you are cooking in the sun for six hours at a time (although I dont wear one) I am not sure what you want them to wear but a baseball cap would obviously be much heavier and would soak up the sweat without quickly drying. The painter's cap is also thin enough to be worn under a helmet which is what many rider's do just to show that it is not a fashion item. I mean rider's wear it even when it cant be seen. They also are obviously useful when its cold for keeping the body heat in.

In reference to the long sleeve shirt working fine. A cyclist that is cycling for long amounts of time needs to be able to take off and put on clothes during the ride without stopping. When I am on a group ride and we start going uphill and the team car comes to collect the long sleeve jerseys it is much safer to unzip a long sleeve jersey and throw it to them than to pull a long sleeve shirt over my head (and again the long sleeve shirt has no pockets which is a huge disadvantage) Also when I am alone the long sleeve jersey will fold up better than the long sleeve shirt to be put in the back pockets of the short sleeve jersey.

Finally, It is a well known fact of cycling that bike paths are more dangerous than roads. While there are certainly more fatal accidents on roads, bike paths are an anarchy of baby strollers that are two wide, runners veering from left to right and women walking three across, throw the emergence of the ipod and everyones need to have music everywhere they go now and you have an accident waiting to happen. People are just not prepared to avoid a cyclist going 40 km/h.

I avoid most bike paths the same way I avoid busy roads.

Anyway, I do miss the simplicity of running that you value and think that it is one of the strengths of the sport. However I also enjoyed the ride I did yesterday where I rode through over 25 villages and up and down several mountain passes (in 2 countries) and back. Cant do that in running and I couldnt do that comfortably without a bike jersey.

Ok I read your other posts and can forsee your comeback that I am talking about very long rides and you are talking about short rides. But hey most of the guys who only typically ride 60 minutes will occasionally go on longer rides. When they are say on vacation. Why not just buy one jersey that serves well in all circumstances and that has pockets that can come in handy eventhough they are not necessary for a longer ride. I always put my cell phone in my pocket even when I am riding just an hour.

That jerseys are ideal for longer rides and still useful for shorter rides. It would be ridiculous if a cyclist that owned a jersey consciously didnt wear it just because it was a short ride so he didnt appear a poseur. I also think you are wrong. Most cyclists will eventually find time to do some very long rides even those who usually and typically do much shorter rides.

I would say a good 80-90% of cyclists have good reason to have at least one jersey and once you have a jersey, why not wear it on shorter rides as well.

Im a junior triathlete. why am i on lets run? cos u guys crack me up and i do a bit of running.

I have a 3k of 8:35, 5k 14:40, have finished 10th on gc in UCI 2.5 tour. So obviously i have a bit to do with both specialist runners and cyclists.

from my point of view and what ive seen cycling is much more demanding, and running generally more friendly. The nature of cycling means that basically everyone has enemies and people they really hate. after big races cyclists dont get together and get smashed like us runners or triathletes - they all just drive home.

another observation of runners are that they are pretty cheap. big generalization but on the whole runners drive the shittiest cars possible, take pride in their hole ridden poo stained shorts and always complain about having to pay for things like entering races, airfares etc.

so on the whole sorry guys but there are some really hard bastards in cycling, and all the hard runners have turned to tris.

Obzerver wrote:

Commuters are my idols, they bike for the what the bike was invented for, just a vehicle.

Running is the purest sport.

Yeah. And legs were basically "invented" for the purpose of running, say, 12.5 laps around a track of an arbitary shize and shape.

" I always put my cell phone in my pocket even when I am riding just an hour."

Can I ask you cyclists what you did before cell phones? I ask this on two levels: the first being semi-facetious, to indicate you must be able to go on a ride without one, because they haven't been around forever. The second, is to find out what you would do if you didn't have it, and broke down a far distance from home.

This has happened to me, but I wear running shoes on the bike and can ditch the bike and jog to my ultimate destination. I imagine you cannot do that in those clip-shoe thingies. Can you even walk a few miles to a pay phone in them? What would you do?