Cycle wear brand Fat Lad At The Back says we all need to ‘just chill the f out’ in its new ‘campaign for chill cycling’. The brand adds that it is on a mission to break down the barriers in to cycling. In a release, it stated…
‘It’s a well-known fact that the cycling industry can be very serious and somewhat cliquey. For a long time it’s all been about climbing the biggest hill or smashing personal bests or showing off on Strava. But don’t you think we all just need to chill out a bit?
‘When you first learned to ride a bike, think about the fun and freedom you felt. Playing, expressing yourself – when the concept of competition or growth wasn’t relevant. Cycling as an adult has become much more serious and, for some, much less fun. A lot of that is down to the pressure of performance-based goals.
‘For novice cyclists and those that ride a little slower, it can be an intimidating space to be. Yet the cycling industry and the planet would benefit largely from having much more cyclists on the road. So really, this attitude doesn’t make sense.
‘We all live exceptionally busy lives in this modern era and cycling can be a really great way for many people to decompress. This is why Fat Lad At The Back have launched the Campaign for Chill Cycling.’
Fat Lad At The Back claims to have transformed the manufacture of cycling clothing to make it more comfortable, form-fitting and flattering for every body. The company adds that it has done a lot to empower novice and larger cyclists.
Richard Bye, Co-founder and ‘Original Fat Lad’, said “I had an epiphany a few years ago. I’d done a string of events culminating in the Majorca 312, and I’d been training so hard that for a time I fell out of love with cycling and didn’t even want to get on my bike.
“Then I realised it doesn’t have to be about chasing your PB or Strava segment. Some of my best days cycling have been those spent with good mates, at a steady pace, chatting all the way. It’s what cycling used to be like when I was a kid and it’s what reignited my passion to get back into the saddle.”
The brand has launched a media campaign, showing images of a big billboard poster saying ‘Just chill the F out’. The campaign also has advice around being more mindful on the bike, challenges for the community to chill out more, the health benefits of this kind of riding, things to wear and sharing chilled out rides from the brand’s community.
Fat Lad At The Back hopes to empower novice cyclists and those that want to ride but don’t want to ride fast and furiously.
A company release adds… ‘From a wider perspective, getting some exposure for this side of cycling could massively impact the culture of how cyclists and motor drivers relate to each other on the roads and could break down the many barriers for people getting into cycling in the first place.’
