Inpd

I did a group ride on the weekend and the leader kept on referring to the Clydesdales as Fat Bastards which got a laugh from a few people including the Clydesdales so he kept on doing it.

I'm no longer a Clydesdale but I took offense but didn't say anything. What would you do in that situation?

DBrown9383

Sounds like a lively group you ride with!

OnyxTiger

Eh... nothing wrong with a little ribbing.

Dave Cutter

Were they wearing their Fat Bastards cycling jerseys?

InTheRain

If he thinks of himself as a serious cyclist, I'd assume he is not fat and comes in at a weight of less than 160. So, if I'm a clyde weighing in at well over 240, I go right up to his face and call him a "little wuss" and give out a hysterical laugh. I keep doing it until he physically assaults me (which I would welcome) or cries like a baby. We'll see who walks away from that encounter feeling embarrassed and intimidated. It's not a good idea to call anyone something inappropriate no matter how well you know them.

FBinNY 

Like they say in the old westerns, "Smile when you say that". It's all in the delivery and circumstances. What may seem offensive can equally be good natured banter among friends. I wouldn't worry about this kind of "insult" unless it was directed at me, then it would depend on who said it an under which circumstances.

chasm54

Everything is contextual. When I'm struggling up a climb and a friend goes past me saying "come on, move, you fat bastard" that is fine. If I didn't know him, however, I'd beat him to death with my frame pump. And of course, if he were a friend of mine he'd know that I'm not sensitive about being too fat for this sport. A stranger would have no such awareness.

People with real weight problems mostly don't need telling that they're fat. Making a joke of it may seem harmless, but it ain't funny to them. People in leadership positions, even positions as informal as that of ride leader, absolutely shouldn't do it.

scrming

I believe the correct response is "GET IN MY BELLY"...

But like other have said, it's going to be very contextual..

indyfabz

And what if he simply ignores you like I am going to do from now on?

NYSteve

Coming from a fat b@stard,

It's really contextual, are you trying to be funny, great I love to laugh. I can laugh at rotund self.

If it's someone trying real hard to be a jerk, then I am not ok with it.

When I go on rides with my brothers and nephews, we wear "team tubby tuba's" shirts.

jaxgtr

I have a tshirt from fat cyclist blog that says team fatty on it, so yea why not.

BadBurrito

well, personally, I think it's ok for a person to refer to themselves as a fat b@st@ard (saying it or wearing - it's you saying it about you), but I don't think referring to someone else that way is ok.

The fact that you even posted the question, indicates to me, that deep down your troubled by the comment, which is to say, it wasn't ok with you either.

just my 2 cents.

indyfabz

The fact that the OP expressly stated he was offended indicates to me that it wasn't ok with him.

Inpd

Im no longer fat, but was offended in that I felt bad for the Clydesdale guys.

I have the uttermost respective for overweight people who take the effort and courage to do something about it.

radiored

Now I'm definitely getting one of these shirts!

(I BEAT ANOREXIA)

indyfabz

I think you missed the point of my comment entirely, which was that, in light of the express statement, there was no need to draw any conclusions from the asking of the question.

bassjones

It depends who's calling who a Fat Bastard. If it's a fellow Clyde who I know and we rib each other frequently, that's one thing. Some skinny weight weenie I've never met, and I might have an entirely different reaction. I'd guess these were long time friends just ribbing each other.

dagray

I was 390 pounds and 6'3" and kept throwing a 28 spoke wheel out of true (the factory rear wheel on the Raleigh Revenio which is an overbuilt wheel). I told the bike shop co-owner/manager that I needed a better wheel with a higher spoke count, and he said that the wheel I had would be okay. I told him that me having to drive 30 minutes to his shop every other week to true the wheel was not going to work, and that it was okay to call me a fat bastard. We had a laugh and he was able to get away from the politically correct trying to not offend and lose a customer and sold me a nice 32 spoke wheel that has given me many miles.

He also made me a heck of a deal on an Orbea Orca in a 60cm frame and was able to discuss how that bike was made to tolerate us larger riders. Heck we rib each other now as I am not too far behind him on a fitness level, and we challenge each other on rides.

I know I am a fat bastard, but I am changing that situation. I didn't get this way overnight (took about 15 years to go from 227 to 400 pounds), and I won't get skinny overnight (but I am down from my March 2014 weight of 400lbs to an average of 360lbs, and while my weight isn't moving much my clothes are fitting much looser). One of my first jerseys is the Cranky Bastard Bicycle Club

ColaJacket

It depends.

Was the leader a Fat Bastard? If so, then it is OK, as he is calling himself one, too.

If not, then he should call them clydes or clydesdales.

On the next ride, tell the leader that you are not comfortable with the profanity and that particular name calling, and that the proper term for larger cyclists is Clyde or Clydesdales. If you want to prove a point, call him a Fred.

GH

Velocivixen

Fat jokes are really just the "low hanging fruit" of jokes.

indyfabz

Yep. Like others have said, it's all about context, just like the use of some other words/terms I don't think I need to mention specifically.

indyfabz

Assuming you are using "jokes" in the "make fun of" or "belittle" sense, you are putting the bunny in the hat. It's entirely possible that they were all friends and understood that no harm was intended. I have a friend who I grew up around the way with and with whom I ride and socialize sometimes. We have both called each other things that I would likely get points for if I were to mention them here.

As the OP noted, the people to whom the term was directed all laughed. That at least suggests they were cool with it. Maybe they had referred to themselves as fat bastards on previous occasions and the leader was simply continuing what they all understood to be good-natured banter.

bnb69

I guess that I would be tempted to respond to him that, " Unlike you, my parents were married. Please don't refer to me as a bastard." Losing my sense of humor as I age.

FBinNY 

As I said earlier, it's context and tone. But there's a bit of another aspect.

Sometimes what's taken as friendly humor stops being so with excessive repetition. So that also plays into the general context.

But if anything said offends or bothers you, you don't have to seethe over it. You have a mouth and can speak up. The solution in situations like this is open dialogue. You can approach it gently enough by saying "it was funny once, but I think you're overworking it and it's not as funny any more" or something similar. A normal person will understand and cut back or tone it down, which should be OK with all parties.

Mvcrash

It is never OK to be cruel to anyone. If you don't know everyone on the ride, and can't be sure, you should not speak that way. Just my 2cents