【推荐1】If you cannot afford to travel in any class above economy, flying generally sucks (恶心), either a little or a lot, depending on your tolerance level. But it especially sucks if you are too wide for the airlines design.

Just getting to your seat can be a challenge, as your hips (臀部) bounce from seat to seat on each side of the aisle(过道). If someone is standing up to put things in the overhead locker, there is a decision to be made about whether it’s worth trying to squeeze past. Everything is just slightly too small: the seats, the overhead lockers, even the bathrooms—and those, it seems, are getting even smaller.

The Washington Post recently reported that, on some newer planes flown by American, Delta and United airlines, the bathrooms in economy class are just 61 cm wide: about 25 cm narrower than the average portable toilet, and roughly the width of the average dishwasher. Your face might be the only thing you can poke in there comfortably—which makes it a poor design, considering what a passenger is likely to need the bathroom for.

According to the manufacturer, these “Advanced Spacewell” bathrooms make space for six additional passengers, which is great for the airlines’ financial bottom line. But what about the other bottom line? Concerning, well, bottoms(臀部) that can’t fit into their planes’ bathrooms?

As bodies get bigger and aeroplane spaces get smaller, fat people among us have come up with solutions. Armrests that turn us into sausages (香肠) can be pulled up, or slowly encased (围住; 包起) into the soft flesh of our sides until we go numb(麻木的). We can ask the flight attendant to get us a seat-belt extender, if security has confiscated the one we brought with us, as can sometimes happen. But squeezing into a tiny toilet and closing the door behind us? Not workable.

Unlike the impossible task of squeezing down the aisle to your seat, or the side-to-side dance necessary to get big hips past the armrests, fitting into a space just 61 cm wide is not just a challenge—it is almost impossible. It is not like missing out on an option for the in-flight meal—a bathroom is as essential as a safety-compliant seat belt, or the air that is pumped into the cabin(飞机舱). If airlines are not willing to make space for us，bigger passengers may have no option but to reconsider booking a flight at all.

【推荐2】Whenever I moved to a new city, the first thing I did was to hire a bicycle. Why?     1     You travel much faster than on foot and you notice so much more of your surroundings than when in a bus or a car. It's more appealing to wander down small streets if they seem interesting, as you can quickly get back to the main road. Besides, I soon discovered more benefits of cycling.

A bicycle means that fewer places, especially in a small city like the one where I live now, feel far away. For example, cycling to work takes me half the time that it would to walk,     2    

Of course, there are obvious health benefits of cycling — a bit of extra movement as part of your daily routine can help you keep fit and healthy. Cycling on my way to work also makes me feel more energetic in the mornings.

    3     While cars pollute the environment，bicycles are carbon neutral (碳平衡的). Furthermore, thanks to being petrol-free, bicycles are cheaper to run, buy and fix than cars. Even if you don't own a car，a bicycle can pay for itself when compared to the price of bus tickets.

    4     Always wear a helmet, pay attention to other traffic and don't forget your lights at night. Make sure you know the road rules, especially in a new place. Some cities are more bicycle-friendly than others.     5     Luckily, where I live now is quite easy to ride a bicycle around, thanks to having lots of cycle lanes and not too many hills!