You bolt for the door, intimidated beyond belief, when one of the women comes over to you and says, “If you aren’t ready for this, follow me.” With a spring in her step, she leads you through a hallway into a room filled with-other yous. Okay, you can handle this! How on earth did you luck out?

Fantasy? Perhaps. It certainly was for Shelley Bond of Belmont, Calif. Fate plays funny tricks on all of us, and Bond was no exception.

Initially, Bond hated the idea of working out. The mere thought of going to a gym was enough to cause her to break out in a cold sweat. Then she went to a program called Size with Style, which forever changed the way Bond looked at a structured exercise program.

Dana Schuster and Lisa Tealer were at the same program, sharing their new venture, Women of Substance, a spa and health club geared especially for the plus-size woman. They needed a “guinea pig” for a routine they were demonstrating. Before she could say “Richard Simmons,” Bond was sitting in a chair doing the routine, spouting with no qualms that “I don’t do this.” Undaunted, Schuster told her to “Be quiet and try it.” She did, surprising herself.

The Size with Style coordinator, a friend of Bond’s and a member of Women of Substance, “dragged me to the club, kicking and screaming,” Shelley recalls.

“I was so comfortable there within a few minutes that I came back the second time, then the third, and I was hooked,” Bond enthuses. “The women were all so great. We might be fat, but we’re fun, too!”

Bond says the best part of the exercise experience is the great support system spa members feel for one another. “It is not just praise when we have done good, but they give us a good kick when we need it, too.”

The final test for Bond came when the other women kept bugging her to try water aerobics. “I was scared to death of water,” she says, “and I couldn’t imagine getting into a swim suit. I hadn’t had one on for years.” But, the treadmill was getting boring, so with a great deal of coaxing, she finally ordered a swimsuit. She put it on and managed to get into the pool-very slowly. “Now,” she exclaims excitedly, “I just love it. I’m swimming three times a week.”

“I’m serious when I say (movement) changed my life,” Bond says with conviction. “I feel so much better, so much stronger, and so much more positive about everything.” Her husband, Mel Kiyama, adds, “I’m really glad she is doing it. She is so much healthier and happier.”

Dana Schuster and Lisa Tealer, who opened the Redwood City, Calif. spa in 1997, talk about their own spa with almost as much vitality as Bond.

The basic premise of Women of Substance, Schuster says, is to help women return to the fun they had when they were children, back when they didn’t even know the meaning of the word “inhibition.” “As kids, we had fun with exercise; we can do it again. It takes a change of our thinking, as much as a change of our lifestyle. We try to keep the goals for each of our clients functional and obtainable.”

New York City’s In Fitness and in Health is another facility that caters to the plus-size crowd. Owner Rochelle Rice says that she “saw that the fitness industry was not accommodating the needs of these people, either physically or emotionally.” So, she decided to try to fill in the gap.

“We emphasize the anatomical part of the body in our sessions,” she explains. “We concentrate on a different part of the body each month. This month it is the inner thighs.” The staff does not weigh or measure anyone; the main goal is to get people into an active lifestyle, both physically and mentally. “Too many people separate the head from the body,” Rice asserts.

While some of In Fitness’ 200 members get private sessions, most of the women prefer the group workouts. “It’s like any other group – the support system is probably the most important aspect of the program,” says Rice. “Nobody judges anybody; not for the speed they work at, the clothing they wear – nothing.”

Cinder Ernst, a San Francisco-based personal trainer, has also heeded the call to help people of all shapes and sizes become physically fit. She describes herself as a “size 12-14. Not really big, but in the fitness biz, that is really big.” She laughs as she adds, “I’d never make it on the cover of Fitness.”

Ernst began offering her services to plus-sizers after finding that many women, even if they started a program, soon dropped out because they couldn’t keep up with other class members and because the instructor was yelling at them.

According to Ernst, the best way to get yourself in shape is to do whatever you can at whatever pace is comfortable for you. “If your body says you can’t do it,” she advises, “don’t do it. If your body says, ‘Stop!’ it’s time to stop.”

When she’s not serving her clients, Ernst lends a hand at an embryonic website, bestself.com, which will soon be up and running. She describes it as “sort of like guerilla warfare.” One of the features on the site will be “How to train your trainer.”

Ernst says that while her clients are working towards a goal of better health and physical control of their bodies, they are not obsessed with such issues as weight loss. “They have their priorities straight; they are worried about the really important things in their lives.”

Okay, sounds great, right? But what if you don’t live in San Francisco or New York City – if instead, your town or city has no facilities for plus-size women? Take heart; there are still ways to meet your plus-size fitness needs.

If you can afford it, you can hire a personal trainer (see sidebar). If you can’t, you can begin incorporating more movement into your life on your own. Ernst encourages her clients to hone their instincts in order to listen to their bodies and their spirits. “There are two goals that I teach people,” Ernst says. “One is to show up and the second is to enjoy the ride.” In order to “show up,” she says, you have to know yourself – what kinds of things you like to do and when you like to do them. Are you a morning or an evening person? Do you like solitary or group activities? Do you like to swim or do you hate the water? To Ernst, “enjoying the ride” means that you have to stay in the present, so that you’ll know when an activity feels good to your body. “If it’s not fun, if it doesn’t feel good, change it,” she advises. In any event, she adds, “Err on the side of caution. Do less than you think you can do, and add onto it in increments.”

Another option to a personal trainer is to contact a physical therapist from your local hospital. See if she would like to earn a little extra money (and who doesn’t these days?) by helping you set up a suitable exercise routine. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Start out slowly, then build on it.

If you find that your own newfound strength and enthusiasm animate you, start talking to your friends. Before you know it, you will have formed your own group. There might be only two or three of you to start with, but it is surprising how fast a good thing grows. If you all enjoy the water, you might want to consider contacting the local YWCA to set up a water aerobics class for plus-size women. Or if you have access to a private pool, hire a water aerobics instructor for your group.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to sweat to the oldies to get health benefits from movement. Yoga, bellydancing, or even a walk around the block will help to improve your flexibility and stamina.

There is nothing more frustrating for a plus-size woman than someone whispering behind her back, assuming that she is incapable of climbing a flight of stairs or swimming ten laps just because of her size. A recent discussion on plus sizes resulted in this comment: What is the opposite of a plus size? Simple. It’s a minus size! A negative! So go on, be your positive self. Be the best that you can be-in a size 16, 26 or 46!

Delve Deeper

Finding a Trainer

Personal Trainer Cinder Ernst gives a money back guarantee to her clients that they will feel better when they’re done than when they began. Ernst says that the key to creating an active lifestyle is “building on little victories” and taking fitness goals one small step at a time. If you’d like to find a personal trainer in your area who can help you achieve your goals, Ernst gives this advice:

• Check on the trainer’s certification
• Be certain that the trainer is insured
• Find someone with whom you have a rapport, and whom you like
• Always remember that they are working for you, and clearly communicate your goals to them
• A good trainer teaches you how to be your own best expert. If an exercise scares you or hurts, a trainer should respect and honor that, rather than saying, “Come on, you can do it!” It’s you who has to live with any injuries that result from exercises that aren’t appropriate for your body.
• “99% of the fitness industry wants you to focus on weight loss and body shaping.” Find a trainer who will support you in exercising for the health benefits, rather than for weight loss.

Exercise = Health

Personal Trainer Cinder Ernst says that while weight loss can be a byproduct of a fitness routine, you’ll get all the health benefits of exercise even if you never lose an ounce. “You’ll want to move more, and you’ll be more active, so you’ll have more fun,” she says. “You’ll be able to play with your kids more, walk your dog more, and even shop more!” According to Ernst, a fitness routine can help you:

• sleep better
• reduce stress
• increase flexibility, strength and endurance
• stabilize your blood sugar
• lower your blood pressure
• prevent osteoporosis
• alleviate depression
• improve your sex life

This article originally appeared in the print magazine.

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Now a Certified Dive Master and Dive Instructor, Dixon says she has never felt that her size has affected her sports ability. “The only time I think of myself as large-sized is when I see myself in a photograph.” When she was training for her Dive Master certification, an advanced program designed to gain in-depth knowledge of underwater navigation and deep diving, Dixon was in a class with six men. “Even being large-sized,” she recalls, “I was still in better shape than them! I could out swim all of them.”

Scuba diving is fairly straightforward, but training and certification are required. There are two parts to a scuba diving certification course, the “theory,” which is taught by an instructor in a classroom (or even via computer), and the “Open Dive” classes, which are usually held in a swimming pool. Typically, five Open Dive classes are required to become a Certified Diver. You can usually locate a training course through your local community college, an adult education program or through a dive shop.

For the casual diver who just wants to check out the underwater scene while on vacation or at a resort, the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) has joined with Scuba Schools International (SSI) to develop two officially recognized programs called “Try Scuba” and “Passport.” These two short courses allow the novice diver to enjoy actual scuba diving and gain experience while under the supervision of a Dive Leader. The two programs are being widely marketed to adventurous non-divers whose schedules may not allow time for a full certification course. “Try Scuba” and “Passport” get you into the water, and into the action – fast! Both certifications are transferable to other dive sites and resorts. The “Passport” can even be registered on the NAUI or SSI websites.

Dixon feels that plus size women will find diving especially enjoyable. “When you are scuba diving, you learn how to become neutrally buoyant so you are really weightless in the water – you are one with the water. It is the most incredible feeling. There is no pressure on your body anywhere and you’re seeing all of these incredible sea creatures underneath the water.”

Dixon’s most memorable dive was when she and Julie, her best friend and fellow instructor, led a seven-day scuba trip for Dixon’s mother and three of her mother’s best friends to the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Mexico. “The water in the Sea of Cortez is very warm, with a mix of tropical fish and Pacific Ocean marine life. The scuba trip was all women – we had a blast! One day while diving, we ended up in the water with a whole bunch of sea lions, mostly mothers and their babies. The young ones were very playful and were swimming around us and in and out and through our legs. It was awesome.”

While touring the Sea of Cortez, Dixon’s group got a chance to try another exciting water adventure – sea kayaking – a sport that has now exceeded canoeing in popularity. Sea kayaks are bonded plastic, one-piece units shaped like canoes, with seating “on top” rather than “inside.” Especially suited to the larger woman, sea kayaks are very wide and stable and can be used on both ocean and lake. Most sea kayaks contain watertight compartments with enough room to stow gear for either a day trip or full overnight camping. “They are very comfortable, even on long journeys” comments Dixon. ” The design is so sleek and you feel like you are going so fast that you can just feel the water part before you.”

While certification isn’t required for sea kayaking, a little instruction ensures a happier, safer journey. Most resorts and paddle sport rental companies will give instruction on how to handle a kayak. The Trade Association of Paddle Sports (TAPS) recommends that beginners take a basic course which covers paddling skills, signaling methods, entering and exiting your kayak, how to carry and transport a kayak, basic safety and rescue skills, managing waves and basic navigation. TAPS also maintains a website and phone number where the sports enthusiast can access paddle sport products, businesses, services and events in their local area as well as recent developments in the sport of paddling in North America.

The beauty of kayaking is that you don’t have to be in great shape to get right out on the water and begin enjoying yourself, but the sport is a great way to build upper body strength. Sea kayaks can be either rented or purchased and, depending on the area, you may be required to wear a life jacket while on the water. Adds Dixon, “I encourage everyone to try sea kayaking. I remember one trip when I got up at six in the morning and the water was calm and glassy smooth. I kayaked out into the water and ended up right in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of migrating dolphins. I just sat there, surrounded by dolphins, watching the sun come up. It was beautiful.”

How about a water sport where you just show up? No equipment to worry with, no lessons required, just fun and excitement. Whitewater rafting may be just the sport for you. Whitewater rafters generally join an organized group for either a day trip or overnight trip led by a certified guide. Rafts vary in size, most seating 8-12 thrill seekers. Even completely outfitted, they remain very stable. Begin your adventure by contacting a commercial rafting company via the Web, phone book or guidebook. When you find a tour that interests you and matches your experience, book your trip. You will be told where to meet the group and what to bring. After that, all you have to do is get ready for a good time! You may want to time your trip to the seasons to get the kind of ride you want. Spring may have colder water, but great rapids. Summer waters tend to be warmer, but may have less whitewater, depending on the location. Remember that part of the fun is getting bounced into the water!

American Whitewater is a national non-profit organization with a membership of 8,000 whitewater enthusiasts, organized to help people enjoy whitewater resources safely. AW [VGC1]organizes sporting events, such as Whitewater Rodeos and maintains a complete national inventory of whitewater rivers. AW was one of the first to establish a uniform national ranking system to measure whitewater levels of difficulty. This kind of safety information keeps eager rafters correctly matched to their experience and comfort level.

Marianne MacFarlane, a plus-size whitewater rafting enthusiast from Maine, got her start in the sport when she joined a group of women from work who had planned a trip. She loved the experience so much that she’s been back 25 times! When asked what she did to get in shape, MacFarlane says she didn’t worry about it. “All you have to be able to do is handle the paddle, which the average person can do,” she reports. “Large-sized women have good buoyancy – we take to water naturally.” Nonetheless, MacFarlane confesses, “When I first started, I was nervous about falling out of the raft. How were they going to get me back in? Then we hit some rough rapids and I accidentally flipped out of the boat. As I popped up out of the water, I grabbed the side of the raft. While I pushed down on the raft to get in, the guides grabbed the back of my life jacket and just yanked me in like it was nothing. It was so easy! After that, I relaxed.”

Melanie Rochat’s experience with whitewater rafting echoes MacFarlane’s. Rochat, who has years of experience as a Whitewater Rafting Guide, finds herself gravitating lately towards calmer, more peaceful sports such as canoeing. Says Rochat, “All you need in the way of supplies is your canoe, your paddle, and an outfit of Quick-dry nylon shorts and a tank top.” Rochat explains that there are basically two kinds of canoes: lake canoes and river canoes. Lake canoes have a ridge (keel) down the middle of the boat to provide stability and keep the canoe traveling straight. River canoes have a more rounded bottom to help with turning and maneuverability. Rochat claims that the plus-size woman can easily enjoy canoeing even if she isn’t in great physical shape. She does, however, have to get a canoe that handles not only her weight, but also the weight of her gear. Canoes come in different sizes and capacities designed for short day trips on up through long distance camping trips. Rochat especially enjoys flatwater canoeing in slow-moving rivers throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. “I like the solitude. You can still be close to the city, but when you are out on the river it’s like you’ve gone 200 years back in time, it is so peaceful.”

One of Rochat’s most memorable canoe trips was an autumn trip down the Black River. “The trees dropped their leaves into the river, coloring the water black with their tannins. The water was clean and flowing, but was literally black, like brewed tea. I saw turtles sunning themselves on logs and flocks of white egrets swooping low towards the water at sunset. I even saw alligators!” Reflects Rochat, “While I am canoeing, the world stops going by at 50 miles per hour.”

All of the women profiled in this article love the water and excel at a variety of water sports. Not surprisingly, Ashley Dixon is also an avid sailor. She enjoys sailing so much that she is currently in preparation to embark on a two-year sailing cruise with her family, her best friend Julie and Julie’s family. “The experience will be great for everyone,” says Dixon, “especially the children. It will be good for them to see how the rest of the world lives so that when they come home they will really appreciate what they have.” The group plans to travel from San Carlos, Mexico through the Panama Canal and on towards the Caribbean. They plan on waiting out the storm season in the San Blas Islands along the Panamanian coast, then traveling along the Venezuelan coast to Barbados and St. Thomas, where Dixon grew up.

Dixon became interested in sailing while working as part of the crew on charter sailboats during her scuba instructor years. Having purchased a 48′ sailboat, which they christened “Echelon,” the family spent a month practice sailing under the guidance of an experienced captain and certified sailing instructor. They then spent three more years “learning the ropes” in preparation for the time when they would set sail on their two-year cruise.

If you long to hear the snap of a sail, lessons are available through several venues, including the American Sailing Association (ASA). ASA offers referrals to certified instructors and local training courses.

Dixon sums up her love of the water by saying, “It’s a great place for a large woman. The feeling of weightlessness is a feeling we don’t get on land very often. My mission is to help bring awareness of the importance of the oceans and the meaninglessness of size when it comes to life, adventure and happiness!” Melanie Rochat concurs, “We all feel, ‘I can’t do it, I’m overweight.’ But in water sports, size just doesn’t matter. In many ways larger women do better in the water, where we are more buoyant and better insulated against changes in water temperature.”

Scuba diving, sea kayaking, rafting, canoeing and sailing – so many different ways to enjoy the oceans, rivers and lakes. Water sports can be fast and thrilling or gentle and peaceful – it’s our choice. Perhaps in the water, we can feel more truly at home. Buoyant and graceful, we are particularly well suited to this exotic environment.

Well, make room for a more unconventional picture – one with fewer rippling muscles and a little more jiggle – because plus-size women are training for strenuous athletic events in record numbers.

Like any other athlete, the plus-size marathon bike rider, runner, or power walker probably began her athletic journey innocently enough, by deciding to hop on a bike or take a stroll for pleasure and fitness. But strolls soon turned into hikes and short spins to the neighborhood park became trans-city excursions. At some point along the way she began to self-identify as an athlete, and eventually her inspiration and motivation combined to galvanize her to sign up for an endurance event.

Anita Mower, 39, wasn’t much of a bike enthusiast when she was a kid. But this spunky redhead has more than made up for lost time, having racked up a 150-mile bike ride as well as numerous other distance events in the four years she’s been cycling.

Mower’s initial motivation for climbing on her mountain bike was to get into shape. She says that she was looking for something that “wasn’t too hard,” and that wouldn’t put a strain on her surgically reconstructed ankle. She initially rode alone, using “a heart rate monitor to gauge my performance and my level of fitness, with my goal being to do better than the ride before.”

Before long, Mower joined the Sacramento Bike Hikers and began participating in longer-distance group rides, where she found that she could ride at her own pace, and where there wasn’t pressure to perform. “Plus,” she says, “it’s fun to be outside, to be with a group of people who are supportive. It’s just a blast!”

Mower’s shift in self-concept from an “exerciser” to a “athlete” was subtle. “My self-image started changing when I bought a good road bike. I put a lot of thought into my choice and made sure I got a bike that fit me. At the time, I thought, ‘I must be getting serious about this!'”

Mower always had a goal in mind before starting a ride, noting, “Unless I had goals, I wouldn’t keep riding.” In early 1997, her earnestness led her to choose a 150-mile, two-day ride benefiting the Multiple Sclerosis Society as her long-term cycling goal. Mower, a massage therapist, says, “I have a client with MS, so it was easy to sign up for the ride and raise money for a cause that affected me personally.” In addition, she says, “Even though it was 150 miles, it was a pretty flat ride, so I didn’t have to worry a lot about altitude gain.”

Mower devised a training regime for the MS150 after seeking out recommendations for century (100-mile) training in cycling magazines. Her workouts consisted of one sprint day, where she would ride at top speed for a certain number of minutes, followed by a rest day, followed by a day where she would complete a long ride. Over time, Mower increased both her minutes and her distance, and as the date drew nearer, rode one 65-mile course and did several long rides back-to-back, mimicking the conditions of the two-day event.

Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement and laughter as Mower describes her tour de force. “On Saturday, when I finished the 75 miles, it was great, like ‘Yeah! I did it!'” The following day, with temperatures hovering at 104° and having to ride the last seven miles into the wind, she was tempted to give up – but didn’t. Mower flashes a thumbs-up when she recounts, “It was something that in my head I knew I could do, but that in my heart I wasn’t sure that I could do. It was such an accomplishment. It was so exhilarating. I felt so alive.”

Through countless rounds of patching tires and reseating her bike chain, Mower’s fitness goal became secondary to the sense of accomplishment she feels every time she finds herself exceeding her last ride. Now, she says, “I love to go out and ride. I’m always looking for the days it’s nice enough to ride. I’m not peeling myself off the couch to do it.”

While some plus-size athletes, such as Mower, train on their own, others – such as this writer – work out at their local gym. While my gym attracts women of all sizes, I noticed that the big girls were not participating in some of the more popular classes such as cardio-boxing and spinning (group indoor cycling). Instead, I saw trim – even skinny – folks participating in these new exercise fads.

So it was with great trepidation that I approached an indoor cycling instructor and simply asked, “Can big girls spin?” After being assured that I could participate and work at my own level, I began the class routine of pre- and post-stretching, and covering between ten and 15 miles on a stationary bike.

Then a most curious thing happened. Other large women at the gym began to approach me and ask about spinning. They all confided the same thing to me: They had never seen any big folks spinning. I encouraged all of them to join one of the classes. After several months of spinning, other aerobic exercises (EFX machine, treadmill) and lifting weights, I saw an advertisement for the California AIDS Ride, a 560 mile, seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The thought occurred to me that, if big girls can spin, then they (we) can certainly train to ride a bicycle 560 miles.

Despite the fact that in the last 20 years I have not ridden my bicycle more than three miles in an outing, I signed up for the June 1999 ride and began training in earnest in last December. Around that time, I met Mary Buckner, a plus-size woman who attended one of my spinning classes. Mary told me that she planned to participate in the Escape to Alcatraz Triathlon in 2000. Mary said that when she goes to aerobic classes, “they are surprised that I can keep up,” and that sometimes folks “kinda do a double take.” Buckner expressed some familiar sentiments about exercise, in that she thought, “big people only exercised when dieting.” It only recently occurred to her that “exercise is a lifestyle,” and although weight loss might be a byproduct of exercise, the primary goal is fitness.

Although Buckner began to envision exercise as a lifestyle, she also wanted a challenge, something to excite her and push her further. She watched the Ironman competitions on television, found them challenging and decided to enter a triathlon – not to win, but to complete it as a personal challenge. She felt the competition was a motivator to encourage her to get in the best shape she could be in, and wanted to prove to herself that she could do it.

Cinder Ernst of the World Gym in San Francisco has taught a class for plus-size women for several years. “The gay rights movement became successful after people realized that being gay is not a choice. You either are or you aren’t. People think larger people choose to be that way, but genetics plays a part,” said Ernst. People she has known have lost 100 pounds, but they are still heavy: “That’s all they’re going to lose.” One of her clients lost 120 pounds, but still weighing 270, walked a marathon without losing a pound.

“When they come, they’ll eat the fat ones first,” was plastered on a billboard advertising 24 Hour Fitness Center in San Francisco. Many folks – both large and average size – found the ad offensive, and there were protests outside many of the gyms. Frances White of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance said, “The billboard never would have seen the light of day if any other group in this society was targeted. If (24 Hour Fitness was) really interested in our health, in our well being, they would not alienate us. They would try to encourage us to come to that gym.”

The underlying sentiment behind the 24-Hour Nautilus billboard is that fitness and fatness are mutually exclusive. And, while the National Institutes of Health claims that over half of the U.S. adult population is either overweight or obese, exercise physiologist Dr. Glenn Gaesser of the University of Virginia believes, as other experts do, that “Ideal weight is really a statistical myth.” Gaesser, the author of Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health, draws the conclusion that weight isn’t the issue or problem, but that being unfit is. He says that the issue is one of health, regardless of size, and that the key to health and fitness is to improve diet, eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise – regardless of whether these activities result in weight loss.

Ruby Vejkajs, 36, hails from Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, and like many of us, used to exercise only to lose weight. When she didn’t lose weight or when she tired of dieting, she gave up exercising. Saying she “stopped weighing myself on November 11, 1997, in an attempt to get off the diet-deprivation-binge-low self esteem cycle,” she now not only enjoys exercising, but also relishes it. “I think of power walking as my time; a time to enjoy movement, relieve stress and challenge myself.”

Vejkajs decided to train for a 28 km (16.4 mile) walk in 1998 after she finished a 10 km (6 mile) Super Cities Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. Her workout schedule is divided into seasons: winter (walking 30 minutes three to five times a week) and spring/summer/fall (walking 30 minutes to one and one-half hours five times a week and bike riding 30 minutes two to three times a week).

Vejkajs’ advice is sound: “(Finding) movement that you enjoy is a great boost to the self-esteem of plus-size women. Any movement will do – power walking, weight training, dancing or moving you feet to music. Don’t wait until you weigh that magic number to treat yourself well. Treat yourself well now, move and enjoy your body.”

Although plus-size athletes are on the move in triathlons, marathons and long distance bicycle rides, obstacles do crop up in their attempts to achieve their dreams. Upon joining a gym, Vejkajs found that “the staff had a hard time understanding that I was not there to lose weight, but to get stronger and more fit.” She also notes “looks of surprise on people’s faces” when she tells them of her training plans.

Cyclist Anita Mower depends upon a triathlete friend for good advice about training and equipment. “Bike shops assume that I’m not a serious rider, so they won’t give me all the information I need.” That assumption could be detrimental to the health and well being of a plus-size rider, since, as Mower notes, “If you cycle long enough, you’re going to fall down. It’s a matter of having the right equipment so you won’t get seriously hurt.”

And while Mower’s spring plans include participating in the 50 km (30-mile) Party at Pardee, a celebration of the “official” opening of bike season by 1200 riders, she may not have a fresh jersey and bike pants for the new season. A size 2X, Mower says, “It’s a constant challenge to find bike clothes that fit and that are comfortable for me to go on a long ride.” While the Junonia and Nashbar catalogs sometimes carry the special bike pants with a chamois, or pad in the seat, finding bike equipment for plus-size women can be hit-or-miss.

Mower sees the scarcity of plus-size bike clothes as a chicken-and-egg dilemma. “Not many large people cycle, so I can understand manufacturers not making the clothes. But my question is, how many large folks aren’t riding because they can’t get the equipment?”

The future holds exciting challenges for our marathoners. Ruby Vejkajs is planning for a 42-km (25-mile) walk in the year 2000 and Anita Mower will be biking across the U.S. within the next decade. It will be a self-contained trip (without vehicle support of any kind) with a dozen other riders, including her husband, Tim. Her motivation for such an undertaking? “I’m such an adventurer, and I’m always wanting to do the next most fun thing. But mostly, it’s because I can.”

And that’s the bottom line. As plus-size women, we’re often given the message that we can’t be active or consider ourselves athletes. But by setting our own goals and workout routines, or by joining a gym, we can add a little jiggle to the hardbody image of an athlete. And in the process, we’ll give ourselves the wonderful gift of physical, emotional, and mental well being. Because we can.

Excuse me? Hiking? Bonding? I think he’s got the wrong suffix there. Just three little letters, but what a difference in mindset.

You see, I think the correct word for the hiking experience is “bondage.”

No, no whips or chains in sight, but in my endorphin-challenged mind and aging body, there’s nothing but lots of pain, suffering, sweat and tears. You’re a prisoner of time and space. No matter where you are, you’re always only half-way there because you’ve still got to turn around and go back to wherever you left your car or your house, or in my case, personal emergency medical technician.

To be honest, I can’t even blame my aging body for my feelings – I’ve always hated hiking.

Clear back in Girl Scout camp – when I was young, supple, healthy and reasonably energetic – hiking was hell. At least the camp leaders were smart enough to avoid the havoc of 30 rebellious ten-year-olds by having something worthwhile at the end of the path – a swimming pond, lanyard-making class or dinner.

My little backwater school was too impoverished to have field trips, so we were spared going anywhere for nature walks. Living in the midst of miles and miles of farmland, we had plenty of nature to examine on our way out to the school bus or once we got home.

As I’ve sat meditating on my apparently unnatural anti-nature reaction over the past few days, I began to wonder: Am I so weird? Am I alone in my revulsion to everything big and beautiful that can only be enjoyed by hotfooting it over hill and dale? Everywhere I turn there are these endorphin-crazed people lacing up their hiking boots, hunching into their backpacks and practically yodeling with joy as they begin tramping off into the wilderness.

Perhaps being hiking-averse is for the best, because the other thing I can’t stand on hikes is someone always telling you what a beautiful flower that is or how gorgeous that mountain is or how terrific they feel out here in the great outdoors. Half the time your words are falling on deaf ears. I’m not home. I’ve already seen that glorious flower and have sent my extra-sensory energy over to mingle with it and absorb it and appreciate it.

The other half of the time all those vocal observations have just messed up my zone of silence that I build around me so I can listen selectively to the call of a bird, or the whisper of the wind, or the rustle of a silky leaf against rough bark. God talks in so many wonderful ways and I want to hear it all.

Perhaps I’m not alone. Quite possibly, I’m just not finding the rest of you hike-avoiders, because, like me, you’re in a comfortable chaise lounge somewhere, looking up from a good book now and then to appreciate the beauty of nature around you, even if nature consists of the one scrawny peony left in your backyard.

Are you a quiet, fellow chaise lounger? Let’s do a little bonding of our own. That inviting spot about 100 feet from the parking lot seems tranquil. Same blue sky, same blazing sun, same green trees. Oh sure, those path-trampers will see some vistas we’ll miss, but we’ll be exploring some glorious vistas sprayed across our imaginations from the words on the pages we’re turning. And since there are so many folks who love that walking stuff, it will be pretty isolated in our little zone of contemplation. We’ll welcome the rest of you into our loosely bonded group – if you can find us.

Unless, of course, you brought along your radio. Or worse yet, your cell phone. If that were the case, we’d like to direct you to a cozy little spot across the parking lot – the one between the Dumpster and the PortaPotty. You will serve as a reminder to those passing you on their way to the trailhead of what they’re trying to get away from in their eternal search for the Perfect Path.

Write to me. Tell me your preference. I’ll get back to you. But for now, I have a peony that needs some energy-mingling, and 75 pages remaining in a great novel I left lying on the chair in the backyard are calling me.