Originally Posted by mlts22
Even with Lance Armstrong's chain of victories, here in Texas, bicycling is still viewed as:
A children's sport [1].
A way to get around for people either too poor to afford a car, some hippy whose Love Bug is in the shop, or someone convicted of DWI [2].
Now the puzzle... how does one convince people that bicycling is actually as good if not better than hopping in a car or Suburban [3] for various distances, and that it is a valid sports activity, and not just for kids.
[1]: Same with soccer... Only a rare few actually bothered to care about the World Cup other than snickering about the Head Butt of Death.
[2]: Texas is doing some serious clamping down on DWI (recently adding a $1000/year fee for convicted drunk drivers to keep their license), but its still too common, as people do drive without licenses. In theory, after DWI #3, the person gets tacked with felony hard charges.
[3]: Its common to see people hop into their vehicle, drive 30-40 feet, repark, then walk into another shop in the same strip mall.
Texas, schmexas! Some of our reputation is deserved, some is not.
Racing to me seems an elite affair with almost no spinoffs for us touring guys, or commuters from what they tell me.
Cycling is, like it or not, associated with left wing anti-auto environmentalist wackos. For a sample, look at the politics and religion threads, as well as sneering about 'cagers' and 'fossil fuel' addicts.
You can make a great statement for cycling and safe driving while you are in your car as well as on a bike, by driving more slowly and courteously, and making it a point to share the raod with riders. Everyone talks about 'how can we control traffic' when in fact, when you are in a car, you are in a great position to control traffic for the benefit of cyclists whom you see.
For myself, I find riding to be great advertisement for cycling as recreation and short commutes.
roughstuff