Are you a MAMIL or whatever the lady version is?

[Ming the Merciless]

I think it is that the term is more often applied to those that are out of shape

Body shaming in effect thst could be applied to anyone of any age.

 

[tyred]

No option for tweeds and flat cap?

 

[Alex321]

More OMIL than MAMIL at 66, but yes, I wear lycra. It is what I find most comfortable to ride in, and I have never been particularly concerned about looks.

 

[Webbo2]

What does one call one self when is way beyond middle age and at the old life expectancy of 3 score and 10. Plus slightly over weight, wears Lycra but I would like think extremely fit for my age.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'm over 60, quite skinny ... but I've got boobs
I don't wear cycle specific clothing, just general sports wear, apart from cycling jackets for their water repellent properties.
Padded shorts give me the heebie jeebies, it's like having central heating down below, horrible feeling!
I don't like cycling jerseys either, they smell and they cling to one's skin, not for me.
But I wouldn't cycle in jeans or anything with a seam, that is sore on the nether regions

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I'm over 60, quite skinny ... but I've got boobs
I don't wear cycle specific clothing, just general sports wear, apart from cycling jackets for their water repellent properties.
Padded shorts give me the heebie jeebies, it's like having central heating down below, horrible feeling!
I don't like cycling jerseys either, they smell and they cling to one's skin, not for me.
But I wouldn't cycle in jeans or anything with a seam, that is sore on the nether regions

I'm under sixty, definitely not quite skinny.. but I've got moobs.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

What does one call one self when is way beyond middle age and at the old life expectancy of 3 score and 10. Plus slightly over weight, wears Lycra but I would like think extremely fit for my age.

FOG



Fat Old Git.

 

[Webbo2]

FOG



Fat Old Git.

But I’m not fat just a bit over weight. However I’m more than a bit of git.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Still a MAMIL most of the time, even though I look more like Jabba The Hutt at an overweight ~94Kg these days, rather than a reasonably athletic looking 73-80Kg from summer '17 to '22.

Even though I've lost a bit of belly/weight since January, I still have days when I can't be bothered to put my cycling kit on and I'll just wear the lightweight baggy shorts I've been wearing around the house all day...

Aero gains don't often make up for +15Kg and ~50% of my old FTP these days!

 

[HLaB]

I wear lycra, I'm middle aged but I don't let all hang out, there's nothing to hang out. I was never big at school 73kg and wearing 32 or 34 inch waist trousers but role on 33 years and I'm 61kg and 28inch trousers slip.

 

[Milzy]

There’s guys who look like they eat space hoppers who still have a tight race fit Le Col jersey on for example. Why? Maybe it’s still aero enough to knock 0.1 kph from their average.

 

[Jenkins]

Endura baggy shorts/trousers or Ronhill Bikesters generally teamed with loose fitting jersey (generally Foska light hearted ones) or jacket no matter whether I'm on the road bike, flat bar or ebike.
Chucked out all the bib shorts and tights (with the exception of a couple of pairs of PlanetX padless bib tights) a couple of years ago as I just wasn't using them and have never owned a tight jersey.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I think the term MAMIL was first coined to describe those who got into cycling in middle age as a fashion thing more than anything else, and bought all the racing kit to look the part.

 

[katiewlx]

well they tried to just make it MAWIL, but that seemed a bit low effort.

I always preferred WILMA (woman in lycra middle aged), or OWL (older woman in lycra) there are others like WOCAIL (women of certain age in lycra) but none have ever quite captured the same attention as MAMIL has done.

 

[katiewlx]

I think the term MAMIL was first coined to describe those who got into cycling in middle age as a fashion thing more than anything else, and bought all the racing kit to look the part.

well it was a marketing term originally I think, some market research firm found there was this group of middle age men, in the top social grades, with a decent income, who were spending alot of their spare money on expensive bikes & cycling stuff (as opposed to buying Italian sportscars, motorbikes or golfing) the lycra bit wasnt even really that big a part of it though inevitably they were kitting themselves out in early years Rapha I guess, back to the got a decent income and spending money on expensive things.

but then we had the London Olympics, the boom in cycling, and the tabloids sort of twisted it into this term to what they called "the weekend warriors" to begin with, as the rise of sport cycling (as opposed to purely utility cycling) took off at the weekends especially, and then just anyone on a bike in anything that remotely looked like sporty cycling kit. thesedays it gets used as a perjorative often to body shame people, often just to out group them as different.

really as long as the people riding the bikes are happy wearing whatever they choose, then really it doesnt matter what anyone else thinks of them.