1. Thats what friends are for.

2. You’ll go through drivetrain / brake pads etc quicker. Frames, forks & wheels are pretty strong as long as your realistic with what you buy. Dont skimp on tyres.

I read the story of the 39 stone cyclist and he proves that anyone can do it if they have the motivation and support.

Chris, stop fretting and just post pics of the shiny bike already! That’s all anyone is going to care about when you’re out anyway 😉

Good luck!

go for a few rides by yourself to get to know the bike, and crucially, over the first few rides you’ll get up to speed a lot. if you can, go for a short ride the day after a bigger one, only needs to be 30 mins or an hour with a couple of hills in, just to get your body used to the demands you’re putting on it, and help it adapt quicker.
then go for a ride with some other guys. put up a post on here and outline what you think you’re capable of, and see if someone wants to come out. you may find you’re ‘tail end charlie’ for a while, but it will push you, whereas on your own you may be inclined just to spin along at your own pace, which won’t help you nearly as much.
it never stops hurting, you just go quicker ( i’m told! ).
anyone who moans about waiting for people on a ride better get used to riding on their own IMO.
the banter and mates is a lot of what makes riding worthwhile for me.
good luck and have fun!

The more you ride, the lighter you’ll get, and the more confident you’ll get. The hardest few yards will be the first ones out of the door.

If you’re self-conscious, don’t ride trail centres for a while. Just head out and do some natural stuff.

If you’re in North Yorks, then I’d be happy to ride out with you, and you can mop away my tears of shame as I mince down something easy.

Check out Team Jellybabies – two oversized guys from Liverpool (I think) who do DH racing across the UK. They’re both shit at it, and they know it, but still come back race after race.

If you live near Wyre Forest, I got a van and deffo up for a ride – I can pick up and drop off too if it’s any use.

Usually just me or me and or me and a mate.

@GaryLake

😯 nice!

Good lord I want that bike. That’s too nice not to ride.

Nice. As they said, too nice not to ride. Anywhere near West Yorkshire?

located north of the border, bout an hour from Glentress

chris…………former 23 stoner here mate and bigger than the average bear too.
just ride mate…..cos one day you wont be able to.
good mates dont care how big you are, or how slow/fast you are.
and you are more than welcome to come for a ride with me…..but it will be slow… 8)

Come riding with us, everyone gets the piss ripped out of them.!

Fat bloke, on a five? Get yourself to a trail centre, you will think you have been cloned 😉

Seriously, all power to you, get out there and have a blast. I doubt anyone will look twice (after they have checked out the bike!)

I want that bike. Gimme yuh bike or else….. I’ll cry!

(mmmm, that is a nice looking bike)

You’re right, give up, people will only take the piss

I’ll give you 500 quid* for the bike though, as I’m a nice bloke

*that’s posted, mind – I’m not a bleedin charity

Scaredypants is right.

£750.

confidence comes with practice. Just ride. Modern bikes are pretty tough. Especially at £4k! Enjoy!

Stunner of a bike mate! The five will be no issue I’m about your weight and mine is great.

Enjoy the bike the trials and getting fit, if you lose a bit of weight then great! But get out and enjoy fella welcome back!

Is the STW parents & kids ride still on, for Derbyshire in March ?
Might be a good way to meet a few folk off here. I’ll be there, & I’m no slim Jim.

Nice build! Seriously, get riding! Your biggest worry will be all the younguns wanting a go on your sweet Five 😉

Chris,if you want a spin round glentress anytime I’d be up for it..I’ve been off the bike for over 3months now due to some medical things..so will be blowing outta my arse!
Theyres some great advice here though..
Mail in profile.

Well that looks very similar to one my of bikes, and now I have serious tyre envy 😀

Chris,

I’m a fellow fatty that’s trying to come good. I got back into cycling through some friends about 8 months ago.

I also felt self conscious the first time I was out round Dalby but have to say that everyone I came across were massively supportive. People could see I was finding it tough going uphill but every single group of people who passed me had a positive or encouraging comments which were a real boost. I’m getting quicker by a little every time and loving it. I still feel self conscious when going out with friends who are much fitter than me because I hate holding them up but they are great blokes and very patient so I’m lucky to have them.

I also can’t get out on my mtb as often as I’d like but miss the cycling so have bought a road bike and now go out on it every Sunday morning and have a set 22 mile route around East Yorkshire. I was really self conscious starting out on that as with my size I look a bit like one of the incredibles riding a toy bike coupled with the fact that this area is a Mecca for Lycra clad groups going like the clappers. I really was worried about what they would think.

I needn’t have bothered… Most of the people that have passed me when going uphill always offer encouragement and it is a real uplift. Only a few groups haven’t said a passing hello or acknowledged me but they were all quite busy and focusing on their own stuff – they are very much the minority though.

As for breaking kit, nah….. You’ll be changing stuff long before you wear it out. The only thing I notice is you have to pump tyres up harder to avoid punctures and you might ding the wheels quicker.

Only thing I would say is get a bryton or garmin etc and log your rides. It really is encouraging when you beat your previous time round and you don’t feel as buggered as you did last time.

Good luck!

Luffy

I can absolutely guarantee that the fear of people laughing at you will massively outweigh the actual reality. Certainly in relation to mountain biking out on the trails anyway- honestly, people don’t give a shit about stuff like that.

Just get yourself out for the first ride- I bet you any money once you’ve gone past the barrier of getting out for the first ride and got back again, your apprehension will just disappear after that.

Also have you heard the phrase ‘confirmation bias’? This is for example if you buy a new pair of jeans or something like that and are really self-conscious about wearing them cause you suspect they look shit- you head out anyway and hear somebody laughing across the road and automatically assume they’re laughing at your shit jeans. They’re not, but it’s just the way your brain works.

Stupid example I know but I always keep this in mind if I feel really self-conscious about something and it honestly helps.

My bag of botheredness is well & truly empty about what folk think of me…

Newtonmore 2012 019 by jimmyg352, on Flickr

I’m an overweight shortarse! (seen here on the Ben Alder loop)

Don’t worry what anyone thinks Chris, you’ll get fit again soon enough & the weight loss might follow, although it doesn’t for me cos I eat & drink too much. 😛

chriswhite1807 – Member

1. I dont want to be laughed at and judged on the trails for the old saying “All the gear and No idea”,

Even if you did have all the gear and no idea, that would just put you into the single largest mountain biking demographic. If people dedicated themselves to laughing at folks for it, they’d never get anything else done.

“It’s none of your business what other people think about you” just get on that cracking bike…

All of the above posts have got it covered really. I’m a touch over 20 stone at the moment and have ridden mountain bikes at all weights between 15 stone and 25. I’m trying to lose weight again after an extended spell of greed and laziness. I also ride an Orange 5 and it has no problems coping with my bulk. Check out my blog (http://bulimicbiker.blogspot.co.uk) – it’s going to be covering my attempts to get fit again through mountain biking and hopefully will show you that, as many others have said, you’re not alone. There’s no better way to lose weight than by doing something you love – **** the haters because a) who cares what they think, they’re idiots; and b) they mostly only exist in your head!

Forgot to join the offers from people to ride with. I’m in West Yorkshire if you’re in the area and fancy a spin (i.e. slow winch + walk) over some hills.

As everyone else says, just go for it. One of the many reasons that I ride on my own (other than very practical ones) is a not dissimilar one to you, coupled to a ridiculous lack of riding talent (and that I have had random abuse for).

Good luck. Maybe update us on here in a couple of months’ time and tell us how brilliant you feel about yourself / riding then?

Good man.

Thanks for all the support guys. Am planning a ride for this weekend.

Just go ride where there are XC whippets. They never speak to you let alone look at you. They pass you on the UH, and get in the way on the DH.

I’m a fat biker, currently trying to head towards being a not so fat biker.

I rebuilt my old orange MsIsle last year and have just swapped everything on to an on-one c456, having loads of fun out on it. Forget anyone who comments they’re not worth it, at least you know in your mind that you’re doing the right thing being out in the fresh air and getting a bit of exercise!

I’ve always found mountain bikers are not judgemental. Lay off the pies, have 2 or 3 rides a week for 6 months and you’ll be 2 stone lighter anyway. Little tip is get some wide braces for your bike shorts, more comfortable and keep them out of the way of your saddle as they do tend to drop a bit with a bigger fella.

they do tend to drop a bit with a bigger fella

I find tucking it down one trouser leg helps.

I used to spot, usually on a sunday morning, a very tubby bloke fully lycra’d up. He was always in the middle of a pack of slim roadies as they went through the village.

I always thought ‘good on ya’ as they passed – I haven’t noticed him for a while, perhaps he is skinny now?

Really comical sight though, and I say that as a fatty myself 🙂

Seriously, no one gives a toss what you look like, even if they are ripping the p

I think you just need to get over your perception of what people are thinking and concentrate on your goals.

How about getting the gags in first sort of thing by getting a custom t-shirt or something made to wear when riding.
Some sort of a big L-Plate on the back maybe
Perhaps a funny slogan saying something like ‘does this bike look big on me’

It helps break the ice with other riders and gets people talking to each other.

Been to Glentress a couple of times but as im so unfit I cheated a bit and got the wife to uplift me to the buzzards nest car park and rode the trails down to the peel centre. Big smile on my face all afternoon!!! Might try some uphill next time!!!