I don't think my coworkers are ready to see my lycra. They'll make fun of just about anything (ex. if you sneeze funny, or something as insignificant as that). I suppose they'ed get used to it after a while though. They got used to the shaved legs.
Also I shouldn't really care what they think but for now I shamefully pull the baggies on over top the lycra.
I know alot of you probably don't give it a second thought.
And I know many of you are like me and wish they could pull off the lycra but can't.
The next place I work I'm going to start with the lycra early and get it out of the way.

I don't think my coworkers are ready to see my lycra. They'll make fun of just about anything (ex. if you sneeze funny, or something as insignificant as that). I suppose they'ed get used to it after a while though. They got used to the shaved legs.
Also I shouldn't really care what they think but for now I shamefully pull the baggies on over top the lycra.
I know alot of you probably don't give it a second thought.
And I know many of you are like me and wish they could pull off the lycra but can't.
The next place I work I'm going to start with the lycra early and get it out of the way.


I wear lycra when I commute (it is snowing as I write this... so my commute is seasonal). My commute is 20 miles each way- on a fixed gear- and most people find that to be extreme and think I'm rather insane, which may be why nobody gives me a hard time- except a coworker who never gets tired of pretend-singing Italian opera when I walk through the door (he's a marathon runner, so he can get away with it). We have a shower room here, my bike rests in the nap room during the day, and some anonymous coworker wrote about my commuting in the newsletter as an inspirational wellness anecdote (which isn't really why I even do it). Frankly, I'd find it insane to commute that far with anything other than lycra.

My status in the company may make me immune to any teasing... I don't know. I'd like to think my coworkers actually respect what I do. I don't preach, I don't commute to make any political or environmental statement- it just saves me 2 hours of either sitting in traffic or riding my bike.

Finally, I have a rather self-deprecating sense of humor- so it wouldn't do much good to give me a hard time. One coworker (actually a peer in the management pyramid) called me "spandex man" a few times. He is, shall we say, very "politically incorrect" in general. One day I went into his office, acted like I had a very serious question, mentioned that it was about 40 degrees outside and asked him for his opion- whether it was leg warmer or tights weather. I pestered him asking what he would wear. When he looked very uncomfortable I just burst out laughing and left- telling him it was definitely tights weather, as the temp could drop a few more degrees and it was against the wind. He never made any more comments after that.

I didn't shave my legs until I had two years of riding and commuting under my belt. In the two years of lycra and hairy legs, I had only one comment (actually a stream of comments). The comments came from a client who actually never saw me in lycra, but asked me if I wore it to work when he heard that I commuted. For several months, when he would telephone, he would begin the conversation by asking if he was talking to "lycra boy" or somewhere during the conversation he would make some comment about men in tights. Now, when I appeared three years ago with shaved legs, that was a different story. The first day I arrived with hairless legs, all conversation stopped when I walked into the office. Since then, I have received endless comments about shaving, including a colleague's making a joke about it at a bar association dinner at which several prominent judges were present. If you can pull off shaved legs, you can pull off lycra -- just make sure you wear black shorts. Remember this thread? http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=20187&highlight=caption

Yes. I commute in lycra, which may explain why I've been offered early retirement.

In the fall I do not wear lycra unless its under other clothes and come warmer weather I may. I started out that way and decided with my students seeing me all the time that khaki shorts were fine. You never know what an interurban High School student will do, let alone the co-workers. LOL

I have a very "in your face" approach the lycra wardrobe. My co-workers have always seen me in bike gear, and my bikes sit in the hall outside my office. We've got showers at work so I am in gear for the first half hour of most days, but some times have to attend early morning meetings in bike gear. Not a biggie - I'm down to 175 lbs and looking fit so I am definately not worried about looking stupid in them. On the contrary- it shows off all of my hard work.
I get comments all of the time, and I dish them out as well as receive them. (my favorite is when one of my engineers just couldn't get past the fact that my package was somewhat visible... I kept asking if it was reason enough to leave his wife since he seemed so interested, but that I couldn't help him out since my girlfriend is very territorial ... he quickly changed his tune.) The women in the office don't seem to mind, either. They'll make a comment or two, but I've caught more than one sneaking a second look. Good times.

However, as a leader in my group (I am project manager) I am expected to have thick skin and to be out front - so I'm pretty comfortable strolling around when I get in to work with spandex, dried road schmutz / sweat salt stock to me, and red-faced and panting. Because of this three of my more chubby peers have enrolled in weight loss programs and people frequently drop by just to talk bike / running / fitness questions. They've even changed my title on my office door to "The Bike Guy". Cool stuff.

We wear spandex because it works, not because it looks good or cool. If we wanted to make sure that we appeared "acceptable" to our peers then I guess we'd switch our sport to "Runway Modeling" or "Designer suit sprinting". Wear your BLACK spandex with pride, and grin a little when you realize that the only reason people make comments is because they wish that they had the courage to do so themselves.