Living Car Free - Becoming one of those "bicycle people"

this is similar to the marijuana sub-culture. the typical pot-head is actually sorta a falsity. there does exist these types of people but its a small percentage. cannabis users actually spread across the broad spectrum of people in the US. not just 13 year old teens who play xbox all day long in the basement smoking their bongs.

Another thread raised a good question:

Does your attitude towards transport affect your attitudes towards other things in life?
Does it affect your choice of friends or people you hang out with?

I love how bikes are such a good expression of many of my values. With a bike I have a form of transportation that is _so simple_, pollution and greenhouse-gas free, lightweight and great exercise whenever I need to go somewhere locally (not to mention a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors).
I guess that makes me a big fan of them. (I just bought a "comfort bike" a few weeks ago after moving to Phili, so the bike thing is somewhat new to me (other than childhood).)

I love how bikes are such a good expression of many of my values. With a bike I have a form of transportation that is _so simple_, pollution and greenhouse-gas free, lightweight and great exercise whenever I need to go somewhere locally (not to mention a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors).
I guess that makes me a big fan of them. (I just bought a "comfort bike" a few weeks ago after moving to Phili, so the bike thing is somewhat new to me (other than childhood).)

Many good points.. :) I also like the fact that you can actually 'engage' with people in your neighbourhood. Being on my bike allows me to say 'good morning' and to stop and talk to people, I really surprised how many nice & interesting people are out there once you start talking with them, just a smile and a "hello" from people really cheers me up which I guess is good for you physical & mental health too, especially here in North America..

As "bicycle people" exists, there are "car people", whose lives are based on car: car as a status mark, car as sexist mark, and other besides transportation... There are "car talking, car lives... PEople whose ride bicycles are likely to share common attitudes and thoughs: bike people are enviroment friendly, physically fit, healthy, and so on. And, as there are car snobism, there are bike snobism.

Beautifully put. I've often said that the people who call themselves cycling "advocates" frequently do more harm than good to their cause by trying to politicise the simple act of riding a bike.

I agree, why can't it be as simple as I enjoy bike riding and I look for every opportunity to ride one of my bikes?

I don't ride a bike (or refuse to own a car) because it's a political act. Nevertheless, it is a political act, regardless of my intentions. In fact, in the US at least, it's a pretty radical political act.

If the primary reason for riding a bike is anything other than the joy of riding, something is wrong.

There are a lot of benefits from cycling — health and fitness benefits, cost savings, moving towards a simpler lifestyle, reducing dependence on oil, reducing one's carbon footprint and more — but those should be secondary. It has to be primarily about the love of the bike.

Someone who takes up cycling as a political act or to make a statement will not endure as a cyclist unless the motivation changes. The same is true of someone who gets rid of the car and takes up cycling only in order to make ends meet. Unless a love of cycling develops, he or she will get a car once again as soon as the finances allow it.

For those who enjoy cycling, it's a pleasure to get on a bike; for those who do not, a cycling lifestyle would be a drudgery.

Those of us who are exuberant about cycling are doing more to promote bicycles and bicycling than those who ride because they think it's the right thing to do.

If the primary reason for riding a bike is anything other than the joy of riding, something is wrong.

There are a lot of benefits from cycling — health and fitness benefits, cost savings, moving towards a simpler lifestyle, reducing dependence on oil, reducing one's carbon footprint and more — but those should be secondary. It has to be primarily about the love of the bike.

Someone who takes up cycling as a political act or to make a statement will not endure as a cyclist unless the motivation changes. The same is true of someone who gets rid of the car and takes up cycling only in order to make ends meet. Unless a love of cycling develops, he or she will get a car once again as soon as the finances allow it.

For those who enjoy cycling, it's a pleasure to get on a bike; for those who do not, a cycling lifestyle would be a drudgery.

Those of us who are exuberant about cycling are doing more to promote bicycles and bicycling than those who ride because they think it's the right thing to do.


I agree, but I think most adults have no idea whether they'd enjoy riding because they've never tried it long enough to really know. I ask non-riders who wonder about it, "Did you love riding your bike when you were a little kid? Well, you might like it just as much if you tried it now."

A lot of people start riding for fitness reasons, or to augment their carfree life. After a time, they discover that they enjoy the hell out of it. I know this because that's my story.

:)

If the primary reason for riding a bike is anything other than the joy of riding, something is wrong.

...

For those who enjoy cycling, it's a pleasure to get on a bike; for those who do not, a cycling lifestyle would be a drudgery.

Those of us who are exuberant about cycling are doing more to promote bicycles and bicycling than those who ride because they think it's the right thing to do.

+1 Exactly.....and to add my thoughts to this , what better way to advocate for something, than to have a love for it at the same time. By being a cycling person and being able to make a political statement about something that you feel deeply about is probably something that 90% of most political stooges can't do.

Live your beliefs.
Scott

As "bicycle people" exists, there are "car people", whose lives are based on car: car as a status mark, car as sexist mark, and other besides transportation... There are "car talking, car lives... PEople whose ride bicycles are likely to share common attitudes and thoughs: bike people are enviroment friendly, physically fit, healthy, and so on. And, as there are car snobism, there are bike snobism.

A bike is also fast enough to let you see a lot of the city in a matter of say an hour, but slow enough to be able to take in the architecture and the interesting and often beautiful city blocks.

Yes. I'm one of those bikey people/urban cyclist...:D