Originally Posted by
The Historian
Perhaps it's best to suspend doubt until the gentleman explains what he means by "bike culture?" I certainly don't mean to flame Ian, who is both a friend of mine and a thoughtful young man.
I agree with you that the phrase "bike culture", when used by a cyclist, often translates to "the sort of cycling I like." My favorite example of this mindset came up in an argument with a roadie friend of mine. I stated that the Tour de France was essentially meaningless to the majority of cyclists. He countered that the Tour and professional racing have tremendous importance to all cyclists because of the major advancements that they brought to cycling. His example of an advancement was carbon fiber. I don't think he understands that many, if not most, cyclists don't need or use a carbon fiber bike.
Likewise I've gotten into weird conversations with people who are solely transportational cyclists. I have no interest in driving (though it's easy to be without a car as a college student) but cycling is both my primary means of transportation and pretty much my favorite pastime. So I often find myself bridging the somewhat awkward gap between those two groups. I'd build myself a fixie, but that would only complicate matters
Now, I just can't really let it bother me. I like wandering over to the bike shop and oggling the multi thousand dollar machines I can in no way afford, and I very much enjoyed the time I spent at the local co op yesterday stripping donated bikes.
What we need is tolerance, of course. Not that I'm the best at it myself, but at the end of the day we're all just dorks riding around on bicycles, right?