The bicycling world, like almost all human endeavors, is rife with its own slang and jargon that can sound like a foreign language to outsiders. For example, to “bonk” is to run out of energy on a bike ride. “Chainring tattoo” is an oily mark left on the bicyclist, usually the calf, when skin accidentally touches the chainring and chain. A “Fred” is a bicycling newbie.
I’m not a racer, so I rarely partake in speaking bicyclingese. However, there is one term that I do feel applies to me: Clydesdale. A “Clydesdale” is a large person, usually a man, who bicycles. Unofficially, a Clydesdale is a rider who weighs 200 pounds or more.
A dedicated bicyclist is usually built, like most endurance athletes, very skinny with little muscle mass or body fat. Sometimes described as “wiry”. Basically, a typical ectomorph body type.
A Clydesdale is usually an endomorphic body type and is thus leans toward to muscle and fat. Even if I were near my goal weight, which I’m not, I would never be mistaken for a typical bicyclist. I have a large frame, and under all that blubber, a lot of muscle and thick bones. (I’m just big boned!).
Bicycling is best for me
Even though I am classified as a Clydesdale, I have found bicycling is the best for me. Always has been. As a kid, I practically lived on my bike. With a bicycle, a young boy can go as far as his short little legs will let him.
Truthfully, I am not a big fan of other forms of cardio exercise. Walking is alright. Hiking can be fun, right until the sweat starts streaming off my forehead like the Upper Yellowstone falls. Running sucks, and I hate it! Not dislike it; I despise it. You try running with a 30″ inseam. You don’t go very fast.
Bicycling is easier on my joints and ligaments, especially my arthritic knee. I don’t suffer as much from the heat as I do from other forms of exercise. I’m able to recover faster from a bicycle ride than I am from more weight bearing exercises.
As an added bonus, when I am riding, I am outside soaking up sun and nature. A real win-win for me!
Tips on how to make riding more comfortable for fellow Clydesdales.
All that being said, there are downsides to being a Clydesdale. Heavier riders tend to be hard on bikes (confession: I once broke a couple of spokes on a wheel after hitting a tiny pothole). Bicycle saddles can make your “sit-bones” hurt. Ischial tuberosities, commonly called sit bones, are the two little loops that protrude from the bottom of your pelvis. When bicycling, a great deal of your weight rests on these two bones. The more weight you carry, the more pressure on the sit bones. A cushier saddle is not always the right solution to the problem. Imagine you’re sitting on the corner of a coffee table. It’s uncomfortable, so you wedge a pillow under your crotch to make it softer. What happens to all that padding? That’s right, it pushes up even more into your tenders.
Fat is an insulator, as any polar bear will tell you. Heavier, or fatter, riders will be prone to overheating. Plus, lugging around more weight on a bike results in more exertion, which can also lead to overheating. Care must be taken to properly hydrate before and during a ride, and be cognizant of the signs of heat stress.
So, I have made several modification to my bicycle to make riding easier as a big man.
I upgraded my wheels from 32 spokes to 36 spokes.
After the broken spoke incident, I immediately replaced my stock 32 spoke wheels with upgraded (read: sturdier) 36 spoke wheels. More spokes mean more structural support for the wheel rim. More support means less chance for broken spokes and deformed wheels. I have not suffered a broken spoke since I swapped the wheels out.
I installed a wider and flatter saddle.
A saddle that is properly fitted to one’s anatomy makes riding so much more comfortable. Because I have wide site bones, I have installed a wider and flatter saddle. This saddle spreads the weight out and takes pressure off my sit bones and ass better than the saddle that was installed on the bike when I purchased it. Some of the nicer bicycle stores actually have a device that can measure the width of your sit bones. It is worth the effort to find such a store.
Avoiding overheating and profuse sweating.
I avoid using super tight bicycling jerseys, choosing instead to wear loose fitting dri-wick shirts. Tight shirts cause the shirt fabric to lay right next to the skin. When the sun beats down on the shirt, the heat is immediately transferred to the skin. Presto, the dermis gets hot and tries to cool off by sweating. Professional racers wear tight jerseys for their aerodynamics qualities. I am not a racer, thus not worried about my wind resistance. Loose fitting clothes allow air to circulate, allowing heat to bleed off. There’s a reason people who live in hot climates wear baggy clothes.
I have installed a second water bottle holder on my primary bike, so as I can carry more water. If I go on a ride for more than an hour, I attach my bike bag and throw in a 3rd water bottle, and maybe a sports drink and a snack. I also leave an insulated lunch bag in the truck for when the ride is over. I keep more waters and sports drinks in there, along with some cooling towels. Having A/C in the truck is a true Godsend.
I wear bicycling shorts that are designed specifically for big guys like me.
Unfortunately, most bicycle clothing manufacturers don’t take into account large riders. An XXL bicycling jersey is like a medium in regular clothes. After all, the hard-core bicyclist is likely to be built like a bean pole. Clothing manufacturers are obviously going to make clothes that will sell to the most people possible. Bike store owners are going to stock clothes that are more likely to sell. Them’s the facts of life for us Clydesdales.
Fortunately, I found an online retailer that specializes in bicycle clothes for big and tall men and plus-size women: Cycling Apparel, Bike Shorts, Bike Jerseys by Aero Tech Designs. The shorts I purchased from them has a gel insert that is wider and thicker than an insert normally used in bike shorts. Thicker insert means more padding for the sit bones. Clydesdale riding shorts also usually come with bigger leg holes to accommodate bigger legs.
Inflate them tires!
I inflate my tires right up to the highest psi suggested on the tire. All tires come with a range of recommended tire pressure. Usually, the larger the tire the lower recommended PSI range. One of my bikes have tires with a range of 50-65 psi, the other has a range from 85 to 110 psi.
The reason I put so much air into the tires is that softer tires compress more when the rider is on the bike. More compression means more surface area of the tire touches the ground. The more surface area that touches means more resistance when in motion. I’m already carrying enough weight around to get a good workout on any ride as it is. I don’t need to add more resistance to make it any harder than necessary.
Plus, less resistance means I can go a little faster!
Of course, as in all things in life, there is a tradeoff from having harder tires. The tire is what provides cushioning from all the bumps and cracks in the path. Softer tires compress more, which means more cushioning. Riding on fully inflated (harder) tires means that I feel more of the jolts and vibrations as I ride.
Enjoying “exercise”
As I said earlier, I thought for the longest time that I hated cardio exercise. Turns out I just hated running. I have short and thick legs, which made jogging an absolute chore. I used to hear all the time about how some runners got a “runners high”. Not me. Running was a sweaty, painful misery. As far as I was concerned, the only enjoyable part of running is when it came to an end. But running was supposed to be the most effective exercise to achieve one’s fitness goals. Or so I believed.
Them about ten years ago, I decided to dig my old bicycle out and go for a ride. I was immediately transported back to my childhood, when I would gleefully spend hours on my bicycle. What blissfulness! What joy! Instead of looking forward to my exercise coming to an end, I found I could ride for as long as I wanted. The only thing that slowed me down was when my ass would get sore from sitting on the saddle. That I didn’t remember from my youthful days!
Now that I have adapted my riding to my age and size, I finally understand what a “runners high” feels like. Riding helps ease my anxiety and reduces stress. I actually look forward to riding my bike. To me it’s not exercise, it’s enjoying the sensation of flying. And that has made all the difference.
If you are a Clydesdale like me, I hope these suggestions help.
Happy trails y’all!
