Lazyass

Oh, sorry, I meant to post this spandex. Gwyneth Paltrow on a Serotta

Dunbar

I don't walk around in it either but properly fitting (very tight, no bunching/wrinkling) lycra can look good on a bike if you're lean but not too skinny. Some people pull it off, most can't or don't for whatever reason.

rbloem

Cold/hot/wet/dry it doesn't matter. Like a frightened turtle.

CliffordK

I was out for a ride today.

At some point, I saw a bicycle jersey with advertisements all over it in front of me. Perhaps he pulled out from a side street.

Anyway, it was like a big target on his back that screamed PASS ME!!!

Which I did, of course.

kbarch

Only if examined from some point of view opposed to or unaware of its purpose and development.

I think it's perfectly natural for people to be, at first (and perhaps for a while) very self-conscious about wearing cycling gear, because it definitively marks one as a cyclist; it's not about the wearer, it's about the activity. Anyone who isn't completely confident as a cyclist is bound to feel self-conscious marked as one, and I think that as a person becomes more confident as a cyclist generally, self-consciousness about what the gear reveals about ones physiology is eventually outweighed by the extent to which it conforms to ones identity as a cyclist.

Fly2High

IF you are watching sports, amateur or otherwise, and they are wearing athletic apparel, what do you think of them? What I mean is do you think they are serious and committed to the sport?

To me, whether it is children's sports leagues, high school, amateur or pro sports, those wearing the clothes are more committed to the activity. Those wearing something else could be taken as more casually involved. Heck, even attendees of sporting events, including bike races, wear sports related clothing and they are not even involved.

I say you should continue to show your commitment to cycling and training on a bike or whatever the reason is you enjoy riding. Wear your devotion proudly.

Frank

SpeshulEd 

Just try to avoid the white spandex.

Florida Running Back ****s Pants

rumrunn6

everyone needs to feel comfortable in their clothing. do what you gotta do so you can move on and have fun

rumrunn6

we should bring back the speedo

Hypno Toad

As long as you're not concerned about all the sasquatch reports that will be rolling in.

Dave Cutter

+1 And that is the true reason we wear the "cycling outfits". The other "reasons" would be more rationalizations than anything else.

Shuffleman

We had a bad enough season without you pointing that out. Talk about kicking a team when they are down.

Shuffleman

No. We really should not. I get why competitive swimmers wear them but if you are not swimming competitively than they should stay in the drawer.
We all wear the kit because it makes the biking experience much more pleasurable and ideal. I doubt that too many of us wear them because we find them to be great social statements. I am a huge fan of MMA as well but I would never wear Muay Thai shorts around to be cool. They should be worn in the ring, not when walking about. Wrestlers do not walk around in their kits either. Just because you can does not mean that you should.

caloso

I am so glad there was no such thing as camera phones and Instagram when I was doing triathlons.

scplus5

No, I'm not embarrassed. Could be because I look pretty damn good in it...my wife agrees...

icyclist 

"As soon as I get home, I do not walk the dog in the kit."

I do walk my dogs after rides while wearing my bike clothes. Enough neighbors have seen me on my bike not to notice me and those who dont't know me, whether they actually see me or not as they walk or drive by me, I don't care about.

caloso

I try to get out of my kit as soon as possible after the ride. Not because of insecurity or modesty, but because walking around in a wet chamois is a sure-fire recipe for crotch rot.

thump55

I'm not saying you don't, but sometimes, the people in our lives that love us...

well, they lie to us so we don't feel bad.

mtalinm

Yeah, as an uberclyde I feel like a dork. So I slip a pair of thin baggy shorts over the Lycra and it works for me. Every now and then the loose shorts will get caught on the nose of the saddle, but it's not too bad. Better than getting laughed at (and I have been laughed at)...

StanSeven

I do the same. I also have a boat and walk down the marina dock in my cycling clothes to my bike. I'm not sure who snickers the most - fisherman drinking beer or the people just sitting and smoking

goenrdoug

Bah. You're lapping everyone on the couch.

I used to wear the baggy shorts with padded underwear type things built in due to modesty. I got over it after catching the saddle node too many times (a couple of times in fairly high-speed situations.)

Dress for the body you want.

mtalinm

I also found that the shorts with padded underwear did not work. But I kept the shorts and just throw them on over bibs. Otherwise it would be Bad News ... you are probably too thin to understand.

zonatandem

At ages 82 and80 we don't give a hoot what other folks think we look like in spandex!

kelsodeez

wearing my team kit gives me more pride than insecurity.

if you feel sexy, you are sexy. simple

daihard 

Wearing lycra actually makes me feel pretty good. I now wear my bike cloths whenever I ride, except to run some quick errands around the block.