tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post7953647246901278144..comments2024-03-18T08:41:35.438-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: Cycling Up an Appetite: Women and FoodVelouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-12122969075015196012012-07-10T08:42:38.540-04:002012-07-10T08:42:38.540-04:00On the whole this has been a great discussion. Th...On the whole this has been a great discussion. The post was a real eye opener for me. Keep on cycling and thanks so much to everyone who participated.Leslie Murraynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-53423205229117443252012-07-09T15:58:47.880-04:002012-07-09T15:58:47.880-04:00That's interesting. I would have thought cycli...That's interesting. I would have thought cycling would have exacerbated the disconnect (by forcing the focus onto calorie intake vs. usage), but I'm glad to learn it does the opposite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-57849125805042187042012-07-04T15:06:34.443-04:002012-07-04T15:06:34.443-04:00This description fits me too well. Although someti...This description fits me too well. Although sometimes I worry myself a bit and wonder if I have an undiagnosed eating disorder or if I'm just watching what I eat, then other times i think, "oh no this can't be normal, i can't be this precise about food forever, no one can" and other times i think, "if i'm not at least a bit strict on my intake i'll end up like the obese percentage of America when I'm older!" I'm on a quest for a balance between the two sides.Stephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02301974713287887546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-63123518268551285572012-07-02T16:39:11.254-04:002012-07-02T16:39:11.254-04:00Waves hand!! I qualify for normal. I grew up on ...Waves hand!! I qualify for normal. I grew up on a farm, am just shy of 40. I ate what we had available, which was mostly what was grown in the garden. I grew up without a TV. This might explain why I've ended up friends with men more than women. I could never relate to what they would talk about for hours on end, clothes, style, food. I eat what I want, when I want. I might be 5 or 10 pounds over the "ideal" for my height, but I also am fairly active gardening, hauling stuff, biking. I always listened and tried to be supportive but the responses were "well you never have a problem so you don't understand"c.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-28407825387596580432012-07-02T00:51:59.989-04:002012-07-02T00:51:59.989-04:00No doubt it is the exception rather than the rule,...No doubt it is the exception rather than the rule, but it must have been enough of a trend for her to make that comment.Vickinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-61425324768484088332012-07-01T23:52:49.384-04:002012-07-01T23:52:49.384-04:00I really like the "Riot, not Diet" thing...I really like the "Riot, not Diet" thing.<br /><br /> Whenever I hear my daughters talking about how their bodies are imperfect I wish I could inocculate them from this pervasive, destructive way that the takers try to control them. They're only 14 and 11 and have the energy and power of a couple of freakin Border Collies. They ride horses, race Mountainbikes, run like wolves and would rather read a book than eat a snickers. What the hell is wrong with that? But somehow the idiots that think they should aspire to be swimsuit models have managed to poisen the well already.<br /><br /> Bastards. <br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-23926207371235792782012-07-01T23:25:52.279-04:002012-07-01T23:25:52.279-04:00Possibly the most interesting frame to put that Ro...Possibly the most interesting frame to put that Rohloff hub in would be a Raliegh DL1 with a new rear triangle with a disc mount to eliminate the rod brake on the rear. I know how one can modify the existing roller lever to actuate the disc, please forward the hub to me and I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks in advance.<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-62826057874598821312012-07-01T17:37:20.025-04:002012-07-01T17:37:20.025-04:00Why is it that every time you post about something...Why is it that every time you post about something that IS gender-related (by and large, men's body issues are different from women's, and no it's not as pervasive, sorry guys), dudes have to come busting in and offer up a "me too!!!" God forbid women talk about something woman-related amongst themselves.<br /><br />I grew up with a mom with an eating disorder, so in some ways I have kind of a reversal of this. I've always been super, SUPER aggressive about not caring what I eat or weigh to the point of being neurotic in the other direction, and instinctively distrusting any situation where I might have to care about these things. I gave up running when I realized how obsessed most runners are about their weight/food intake. I doubt I could deal with an organized cycling club. Partially this attempt to divorce myself from diet culture is political but also, I don't want to fall into the same trap my mom does. To some extent I've always thought of food as fuel but when I was more sedentary it was hard to make the connection. Now I link it much more strongly, it's good to actually feel hungry when it's time to eat.<br /><br />What's really sad is, I feel like my extreme "riot not diet" attitude sometimes distances me from other women. Why can't a group of women get together and talk without the conversation inevitably turning to food/weight? Full disclosure: I have an "average" figure (I loathe that term but it's important here), and I STILL get looks when I bring fast food, cookies, etc into the office, and women saying "oh, I could never eat that, I'd blow up like a balloon!" And there's just no socially appropriate response to that which doesn't betray my feminist principles. Which is why I usually eat alone. I don't think men react to someone eating something "bad" for them with a five-minute conversation about their diet and fitness "plan." And I've never had a man comment on anything I eat, ever (although I probably would have if I were heavy, this is thin/average size privilege).<br /><br />Man, sorry for going on forever! This is just a topic that really grinds my gears.Erica L. Satifkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134032079725071000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-65648252206287101902012-07-01T11:43:52.466-04:002012-07-01T11:43:52.466-04:00i'm the same, but i think it's part of liv...i'm the same, but i think it's part of living unnatural lives (eight hours behind a desk, a further six behind a tv, six sleeping, of course the average first world citizen begins to resemble a grizly unless they artificially starve..). i also find that i comfort eat, one doesn't have to read Houlebecq to know we live atomised lives and many of us are more alone than is good for us. sorry if i sound as if know what to do, i really don't a more or less crave a lot too, or cheat myself with low calory stuff.derfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15596980838764306792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-24114702834970809902012-07-01T11:34:39.780-04:002012-07-01T11:34:39.780-04:00thank you both (bikeforums turned out to be an une...thank you both (bikeforums turned out to be an unexpected haven of delights and, yet, as anonymous suggests, I'm looking for frame geometry that would allow semi relaxed hops to the local cafe with the option of sudden, impulsive, hundred mile a day weekend randonneurs to Paris) - i seriously don't want to hijack this thread any further since i sincerely appreciate the existential angle of this blog on cycling and life (but if velouria, of course, decides to do a further entry on ideal hybrids, or however one chooses to name an ideal jack of all trades frame geometry i would not complain, at all).derfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15596980838764306792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-55110767802871648852012-06-30T16:31:00.024-04:002012-06-30T16:31:00.024-04:00there is a difference between "claiming to be...there is a difference between "claiming to be a victim" and sharing ones experience of being alive. I get bored by people who reject others for being open about feelings they haven't had the courage to deal with in themselves.derfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15596980838764306792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-27498790602928178102012-06-30T12:50:21.733-04:002012-06-30T12:50:21.733-04:00This very much mirrors my own experience -- and th...This very much mirrors my own experience -- and the other thing that's really disturbing is that as a young woman, I've learned how I'm "supposed" to eat to maintain my weight, but I have far less of an idea of how to eat to support more intense physical activity. Instinct seems like a good place to start, but it worries me that it's easier to find information on how to eat like a girl than how to eat like an athlete.Katianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-48305062015862488292012-06-30T03:53:49.337-04:002012-06-30T03:53:49.337-04:00I agree. Outstanding post.
For years I was a gymn...I agree. Outstanding post. <br />For years I was a gymnast, which is more than exacting in both physical requirement and standards of appearance. That impossible diffcultity of feeling normal growth betray you, I could never leave that feeling of being too big, too tall; simply wrong physically. <br />I love so much that I know almost nothing of how I look cycling, just me and my muscles, the bike and the air around. That I feel free and functional, and that feels perfect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-83981980681672895762012-06-29T21:28:29.967-04:002012-06-29T21:28:29.967-04:00This is spot-on with my experience growing up. The...This is spot-on with my experience growing up. The dismissive comments from a few sadden me and I appreciate those who responded diplomatically. Anonymous, you rock.<br /><br />If having something occur frequently makes it "boring" then we should get bored by drivers hitting people on bikes because there are more drivers than bikers. Someone who rides bikes might appreciate the enormous illogic of saying that a lot of people doing something makes it "right". Instead we can see this as a norm that could be shifted, and stories like this one can help that shift.<br /><br />One of the incredibly freeing things about riding a bike is the way it can increase body confidence and a sense of one's own strength and capability regardless of whether one fits a particular air-brushed "norm" (which has been created for us through the artificial means that Annalisa captured so well).<br /><br />A recent guest post on my blog became the most-shared thing ever (which the social sharing counters don't show, unfortunately, because we changed servers after it had been up a while). I think it's the title: Fat Girl on a Bike. http://bikestylespokane.com/2012/05/08/fat-girl-on-a-bike/<br /><br />I still look in my mirror and see what's "wrong" with me. I can sometimes switch the flip and understand that the mirror is distorted in my head but that takes an effort, and I was never bulemic or anorexic so I can only imagine how much harder that switch could be to move. I still categorize foods as "good" or "bad" as if I'm judging myself as moral or immoral--apple or apple pie? Thanks, Seventeen magazine.<br /><br />Outstanding post.Barb Chamberlain, Bike Style Spokanehttp://www.bikestylespokane.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-21108567569610488602012-06-29T20:01:18.897-04:002012-06-29T20:01:18.897-04:00That's funny, because my subjective experience...That's funny, because my subjective experience with that was that many students (men and women alike) actually struggled with weight gain because the demanding schedule and odd hours meant that oftentimes dieting rigor would be sacrificed to maintain the schedule. In other words, grabbing pizza was easier than cooking a healthy dinner. I'm sure the added stress didn't help matters either.MFarringtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-86153365572183305902012-06-29T19:55:40.821-04:002012-06-29T19:55:40.821-04:00a commonly accepted definition of a hybrid is an u...a commonly accepted definition of a hybrid is an upright bike with a mix of road and mtb components. many of the bikes reviewed here are, in fact, hybrids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-13304054265752153902012-06-29T18:52:07.339-04:002012-06-29T18:52:07.339-04:00Just because something is normative for a group of...Just because something is normative for a group of people (women in this case) doesn't mean that it is trivial.<br /><br />If this were a disease with a precise and well-understood origin, such as a virus, no one would try to argue that the causes and symptoms are "boring" because "everyone shows signs."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-36601854286478254442012-06-29T18:11:26.438-04:002012-06-29T18:11:26.438-04:00'Of the young women she'd recruited though...'Of the young women she'd recruited though a randomised process, all but one showed signs of disordered eating'<br /><br />If nearly everyone shows signs of disordered behaviour then surely it can be classified as normal behaviour.<br /><br />I get bored by people claiming to be victims.petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13473100902158671859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-63771675505742232912012-06-29T18:09:01.092-04:002012-06-29T18:09:01.092-04:00When I returned to full time study as a mature age...When I returned to full time study as a mature age student, one of my female professors told me that some young girls break down in their final year of study due to the high level of pressure to maintain high standards of academic performance and to look perfect too. This was in law school where it is highly competitive and I am sure that the pressure of high levels of achievement to succeed contributed to this happening.Vickihttp://bicyclesinnewcastle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-54252916714777128572012-06-29T17:27:50.216-04:002012-06-29T17:27:50.216-04:00this is not the blog where you ask about hybrids m...this is not the blog where you ask about hybrids my friend ;?) Try www.bikeforums.net<br />badmotherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-42012950956347090572012-06-29T17:15:55.248-04:002012-06-29T17:15:55.248-04:00You know, for years my closest friends have been a...You know, for years my closest friends have been about evenly split between women and men, maybe even skewed slightly female, and for all the time we've spent talking about food/cooking/eating/cycling etc. no one ever managed to break this down this well.<br /><br />The only group in my circle who seem to be pretty free of this misery are the Old Order Mennonites and Amish. I don't want to hold that population up as the ultimate example of "How Things Ought To Be Done" for a bunch of reasons, but their intentional disengagement from predatory media/marketing serves them well in this regard. My Amish relatives tend to be more likely to describe their wives as beautiful than my friends who's wives/partners strive to more closely fit the stencil. And while people who farm that way and don't use cars may often weigh less than the rest of us, they still present the same body types, respond to childbirth the same way and want to remain attractive to their mates like the rest of the world.<br /><br /> My wife is such a beautiful woman, really has her brain turned on and is pretty resistant to all sorts of bullshit but she fights this battle everyday. She works hard to stay in shape and is absolutely fitter than I, but the ways in which she gauges her fitness seem a little removed from what might be healthiest. To the degree that the male half of the population is responsible for this weirdness with how we control so much of the way certain expectations are forced on girls and women, than we can't complain if it's starting to devour us as well. It's cool to read all the ways in which the women of the world manage to free themselves from some of this. <br /><br />It's weird, the women I've known throughout my life have led me to the belief that the average woman is a little brighter and a little more emotionally mature than the average man, but they still seem to have to carry this particular burden around. I wish you didn't have to...<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-36923102090495464522012-06-29T16:54:34.341-04:002012-06-29T16:54:34.341-04:00Almost never eat processed food, partly because of...Almost never eat processed food, partly because of corn syrup also because so much processed food has processed dead animal ingredients. <br /><br />Probably one of the reasons I am a bit of a scrawn.Matthew Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10408057524387021992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-49446743537779494102012-06-29T16:51:47.575-04:002012-06-29T16:51:47.575-04:00Thanks for saying men think about food 'in dif...Thanks for saying men think about food 'in different ways.' Beginning to worry I was oblivious. Or, could just be because I have always been quite thin and just do not notice it.<br /><br />Couple years back I was dating a woman who is a competitive marathoner (I'm not) but also likes to hike (I do). <br /><br />On a weekend hike she started quizzing me on my vegetarian diet. When I mentioned that I often liked to eat an avocado plain with my dinner and dates or a banana for snacks, she recited the calories of all those fruits off the top of her head in the middle of the woods. <br /><br />I remember wondering at the time where the hell is all this coming from? It wasn't until I read this post I figured it out. Maybe if V had been around back in '05 I could have saved the relationship.Matthew Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10408057524387021992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-58560886937228288582012-06-29T16:33:13.147-04:002012-06-29T16:33:13.147-04:00Yep, I was also "lucky" in the sense tha...Yep, I was also "lucky" in the sense that I was home schooled, so growing up I never dealt with the pressure that a lot of the girls in middle school face over body image issues, etc. My mom was really good about encouraging a balanced diet, so I just focused on my hobbies and interests and ate what I wanted. Consequently, my weight was always within range for what it should have been for my age, and it wasn't until I hit my 20s that was hit with the understanding of how much attention and concern OTHER people paid over my weight! <br /><br />I learned that girls who I hardly knew would comment to others that I really should consider losing 20lbs so I could go from a size 8 to a size 2. I would have men casually comment on whether or not I was "planning on reducing" and would later hear that people would talk behind my back about "How pretty M is, if only she would drop a few pounds." You couldn't go anywhere in a social environment without the subject of appearance, style, body image etc. being raised. So, I guess you could say that all of this planted the seeds of insecurity where they hadn't been before. <br /><br />Given these experiences, I can certainly see why women develop issues with food over these things. It's unnerving to know that people are constantly assessing you, watching what you eat, how you look and commenting if they notice a change. Beauty is now linked to "results" and if you aren't able to point to a number on the scale, you're out of luck. <br /><br />On a more humerous note, I actually had a male colleague tell me that I should cut down on the cycling as it could have the adverse effect of making my posterior LARGER! <br /><br />Say it isn't so! :)MFarringtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-4903605767247563062012-06-29T16:08:42.431-04:002012-06-29T16:08:42.431-04:00Excellent post. Excellent comments.
High fructose...Excellent post. Excellent comments.<br /><br />High fructose corn syrup has not yet been mentioned. All by itself it is a significant portion of American caloric intake. It is not a food at all, but rather an engineered neo-food. It's purpose is to confuse satiety signals and spur further purchases of foodlike product. The stuff is everywhere. Many sports energy bars of the type shown in the picture up top are now loaded with HFCS. Read labels carefully.<br /><br />Men are different but do not escape. We are all bigger, much bigger than we used to be. No one under the age of 40 really knows what skinny young men, plural, look like. Riding in a club pack of halfbacks is a very different experience than riding with lean agile skinny guys. There is no longer a possibility of riding with skinny guys. Even at the start line at TdF you see big shoulders purchased at the gym. <br /><br />Even when good diet can happen, men are pushed to bulk up. Every high school kid who does sports gets strength and weight training. Steroids are only barely kept quiet. 'Roids may not be completely normative, they are pervasive. The ripped look dominates our consciousness and men will swallow poison to get it.<br /><br />My tailor has some years on her, she says I am the only client she has who's shaped as men were shaped when she picked up the needle. And I'm not so thin anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com