Roody
10-20-08, 11:23 AM
Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on bike culture.
Living Car Free - What is meant by Bike Culture?
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Hobartlemagne
10-20-08, 11:48 AM
There's lots of different types of bike culture depending on the style of the riding and
the lack of style of the rider (particularly if they tell you the bike culture isn't for sale)
the lack of style of the rider (particularly if they tell you the bike culture isn't for sale)
Roody
10-20-08, 11:49 AM
There's lots of different types of bike culture depending on the style of the riding and
the lack of style of the rider (particularly if they tell you the bike culture isn't for sale)
So what would be some definitions or examples of different bike cultures?
the lack of style of the rider (particularly if they tell you the bike culture isn't for sale)
So what would be some definitions or examples of different bike cultures?
Artkansas
10-20-08, 12:08 PM
So what would be some definitions or examples of different bike cultures?
I'd just look at the different forums for a start. The gentle folks in alt-bikes who just want to stretch the artistic boundaries of what would be considered a bike and enjoy a bike just for expressing themselves. For my money they may be the closest thing bicyclists have to actual culture. Then the roadies, obsessed with performance, ego, and metering themselves like lab-rats. The utility bikers looking for new ways to be using a bike as a truck. The safety advocates, perhaps the quarreling philosophers of the bunch. The car-free, worried about the implications of cars and the implcations of biking. The vintage bikes, into restoring. Of course, there's crossover between these groups.
For me, the most culture I've had lately is that I tried straight fat-free yogurt this weekend and actually enjoyed it. Though I confess that I added some raisins. Everything is better with raisins. :D
I'd just look at the different forums for a start. The gentle folks in alt-bikes who just want to stretch the artistic boundaries of what would be considered a bike and enjoy a bike just for expressing themselves. For my money they may be the closest thing bicyclists have to actual culture. Then the roadies, obsessed with performance, ego, and metering themselves like lab-rats. The utility bikers looking for new ways to be using a bike as a truck. The safety advocates, perhaps the quarreling philosophers of the bunch. The car-free, worried about the implications of cars and the implcations of biking. The vintage bikes, into restoring. Of course, there's crossover between these groups.
For me, the most culture I've had lately is that I tried straight fat-free yogurt this weekend and actually enjoyed it. Though I confess that I added some raisins. Everything is better with raisins. :D
gwd
10-20-08, 04:07 PM
Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on bike culture.
I don't know what your talking about. People can be enthusiastic about different aspects of the bicycle. I saw a Jackie Chan movie, I think it was called "Project A", where he did a humorous scene on a bike. Someone said he had learned bike performance in the circus so he carried his circus skills into his early movies. People who ride bicycles probably laughed louder at his antics, in accordance with the second definition below. Cyclists have a common understanding of a few things. For example, Saturday as I struggled with a load up a hill a guy walking with his arm in a sling asked about my bike. The way he asked I knew he was a biker and I could guess the reason for the sling- broken clavicle. We could talk bikes on a different level of understanding from when a car driver asks. I received some of my transportational cycling knowledge from watching my father cycle to work but for most Americans that cross generational tradition doesn't exist, so by some of the definitions below we can't really have a bike culture.
From:
http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html
SOME DEFINITIONS
* Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
* Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.
* Culture is communication, communication is culture.
* Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning.
* A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.
* Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
* Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action.
* Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation.
* Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.
I don't know what your talking about. People can be enthusiastic about different aspects of the bicycle. I saw a Jackie Chan movie, I think it was called "Project A", where he did a humorous scene on a bike. Someone said he had learned bike performance in the circus so he carried his circus skills into his early movies. People who ride bicycles probably laughed louder at his antics, in accordance with the second definition below. Cyclists have a common understanding of a few things. For example, Saturday as I struggled with a load up a hill a guy walking with his arm in a sling asked about my bike. The way he asked I knew he was a biker and I could guess the reason for the sling- broken clavicle. We could talk bikes on a different level of understanding from when a car driver asks. I received some of my transportational cycling knowledge from watching my father cycle to work but for most Americans that cross generational tradition doesn't exist, so by some of the definitions below we can't really have a bike culture.
From:
http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html
SOME DEFINITIONS
* Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
* Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.
* Culture is communication, communication is culture.
* Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning.
* A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.
* Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
* Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action.
* Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation.
* Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.
DogsBody
10-20-08, 05:12 PM
I have Bikes that I love.
And some cultures in my fridge.:D
(Semi serious now).
For a finger on the "Culture" pulse: I like to read Momentum; it provides a good cross-section of what's going in the urban cycling scene...
And some cultures in my fridge.:D
(Semi serious now).
For a finger on the "Culture" pulse: I like to read Momentum; it provides a good cross-section of what's going in the urban cycling scene...
Bike-a-Boo
10-20-08, 06:14 PM
To me, bike culture is the attitude that the general population of a society has towards bicycling. In other words, is it embraced as a form of transportation by most citizens, businesses, and institutions of that society? This is specific to utilitarian cycling, but of course, but it can also be applied to cycling for sport or recreation.
I-Like-To-Bike
10-20-08, 08:17 PM
For me, the most culture I've had lately is that I tried straight fat-free yogurt this weekend and actually enjoyed it. Though I confess that I added some raisins. Everything is better with raisins. :D
Plain yogurt is even better with bananas and wheat germ. Best yet with fresh papaya and wheat germ, healthy too; unfortunately I haven't had that fresh papaya since living in Hawaii in 1969-1970.
Plain yogurt is even better with bananas and wheat germ. Best yet with fresh papaya and wheat germ, healthy too; unfortunately I haven't had that fresh papaya since living in Hawaii in 1969-1970.
Roody
10-21-08, 12:17 PM
Plain yogurt is even better with bananas and wheat germ. Best yet with fresh papaya and wheat germ, healthy too; unfortunately I haven't had that fresh papaya since living in Hawaii in 1969-1970.
Um, it isn't plain yogurt if you put a bunch of crap in it.
Do you have any thoughts on the topic I proposed (bike culture)?
Um, it isn't plain yogurt if you put a bunch of crap in it.
Do you have any thoughts on the topic I proposed (bike culture)?
Roody
10-21-08, 12:18 PM
They say Portland has a bike culture, but Amsterdam does not--even though a lot more people ride bikes in Amsterdam than in Portland.
cyclokitty
10-21-08, 12:46 PM
I'm thinking if Toronto has a bike culture. If there is one here I feel pretty much outside of it since I generally ride alone. The handful of times I've communicated or shared any bikeism has been to non-cyclists in my family. Maybe when I nod hello to friendly looking people on bikes on my rides. This weekend I spent riding different bike trails, MUPs, and routes east and west from the downtown area and I think I said more to the barista than I did to anyone on a bicycle.
Even reading bike magazines like Bicycling, Momentum, or the newest Toronto cycling magazine Dandyhorse I feel outside of much of the culture like fashion, races, travelling, and advocacy. For me cycling is more of a personal challenge and adventure. I ride slowly, I don't ride terribly far from home, I like to stop and look at interesting things, I like to do errands on my own on my bike instead of on my own on the bus, and it's all about me and what I want to do or have at that moment.
If I was going to talk about bike culture I guess I'd point out our forums: I can share, read, comment, post photos, and in Foo have silly stupid fun.
Even reading bike magazines like Bicycling, Momentum, or the newest Toronto cycling magazine Dandyhorse I feel outside of much of the culture like fashion, races, travelling, and advocacy. For me cycling is more of a personal challenge and adventure. I ride slowly, I don't ride terribly far from home, I like to stop and look at interesting things, I like to do errands on my own on my bike instead of on my own on the bus, and it's all about me and what I want to do or have at that moment.
If I was going to talk about bike culture I guess I'd point out our forums: I can share, read, comment, post photos, and in Foo have silly stupid fun.
zeppinger
10-21-08, 03:02 PM
Portland has "bike culture" because it stand in contrast and in opposition to its surroundings. Amsterdam has no "bike culture" they are just from the place where people use bikes to get around. Its integrated into Amsterdam. Bike's as a method of transportation have their own cultural follow, just like the pet rock. I could try and make an argument that roadies do not have bike culture and actually are more closely linked to Jocks, machoism, consumerism, instant gratification, ect... all the things that society in general (American) holds true and dear. Sports are part of our culture and roadies play a sport. I dont mean to pick on them but its a good as an example as any. Transpirational cyclists, commuters, car-free, and art bikes represent alternative culture. I guess you could also say that bike artists are really just creating art but in America we dont like art unless its in the form of a 15 second TV commercial. A lot of art bikes end up at Burning Man and comprise some of the best art bikes in the world, defiantly alternative out there! A "culture" can not exist if it is not in opposition to some other system of symbols. Some might say that im really talking about sub-culture but there is really no difference.
Jim from Boston
10-21-08, 04:07 PM
Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on bike culture.
When I first met an apparently stuffy new secretary at work, I mischievously told her I lived an alternative lifestyle to tease her. To redeem myself I told her I commute by bicycle to work. In a sense, I think Bikeforums is an establishment of the bike culture. I am bemused by how many peculiar discussion threads grab my attention and interest me enough to write because the cycling lifestyle is so integrated into my daily life. For just one illustrative example, I had a definite opinion on pretzels as a food to eat while riding (I prefer hard, nonfat ones and they should be eaten in combination with protein ;-)
When I first met an apparently stuffy new secretary at work, I mischievously told her I lived an alternative lifestyle to tease her. To redeem myself I told her I commute by bicycle to work. In a sense, I think Bikeforums is an establishment of the bike culture. I am bemused by how many peculiar discussion threads grab my attention and interest me enough to write because the cycling lifestyle is so integrated into my daily life. For just one illustrative example, I had a definite opinion on pretzels as a food to eat while riding (I prefer hard, nonfat ones and they should be eaten in combination with protein ;-)
gerv
10-21-08, 05:35 PM
They say Portland has a bike culture, but Amsterdam does not--even though a lot more people ride bikes in Amsterdam than in Portland.
You may also define culture as a limiting factor of the technology. For example, people who rides bicycles are mostly unable to carry massive amounts of stuff around. Therefore they tend to favor simple lifestyles and respect simplicity as a virtue. An SUV owner, by contrast, can drag enormous amount of crap and any notion of simplicity in lifestyle would be over her head.
I've seen other aspects of lifestyle that support culture. For example, backpackers tend to have an extreme view of the impact of modern life on the environment. You often hear backpackers (and cycling tourists, sometimes....) talk about "leaving no trace" when they camp and some of this line of thinking impacts on how they lead their "normal" lives.
Bike culture, likewise, sees the automobile as wasted energy. This view of the world is shaped by how cyclists lead their lives.
You may also define culture as a limiting factor of the technology. For example, people who rides bicycles are mostly unable to carry massive amounts of stuff around. Therefore they tend to favor simple lifestyles and respect simplicity as a virtue. An SUV owner, by contrast, can drag enormous amount of crap and any notion of simplicity in lifestyle would be over her head.
I've seen other aspects of lifestyle that support culture. For example, backpackers tend to have an extreme view of the impact of modern life on the environment. You often hear backpackers (and cycling tourists, sometimes....) talk about "leaving no trace" when they camp and some of this line of thinking impacts on how they lead their "normal" lives.
Bike culture, likewise, sees the automobile as wasted energy. This view of the world is shaped by how cyclists lead their lives.
mattm
10-21-08, 06:14 PM
in seattle i can identify a few (sub) cultures: (probably similar in many cities)
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
i didn't include commuters since they don't seem to do anything as a "community" - same goes for the "weekend worrier" types (that only ride on sunny days).
i think in order for there to be a "culture" there have to be more than shared values. so you could say there is a "bicycle culture," but that's as general as talking about "human culture" - we need to break it down further.
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
i didn't include commuters since they don't seem to do anything as a "community" - same goes for the "weekend worrier" types (that only ride on sunny days).
i think in order for there to be a "culture" there have to be more than shared values. so you could say there is a "bicycle culture," but that's as general as talking about "human culture" - we need to break it down further.
Roody
10-22-08, 12:11 PM
I was thinking about alt bikes also, and not only messngers but those who ride urban fixies in imitation of the messengers. Those two subcultures--alt bike and urban fixies--seem to have some overlap.
The city I live in is backwards compared to Portland or Seattle, but there is one part of town where you see some evidence of bike culture. It's often hard to find a lace to park your bike there. The bookstore carries just about all of the books that are listed in our Winter Reading List thread, and the coffeeshop invites you to bring your bike in with you. So food and literature are two cornerstones of culture, right? We also have Critical Mass, a bike co-op, and a very active bike-to-work movement.
Another small culture I thought of was the one in the movie Breaking Away (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Away). The boys there adopted Italian culture because they were so infatuated with Italian bicycle racers. That was a great sports movie, and also a great movie about questions of cultural identity.
The city I live in is backwards compared to Portland or Seattle, but there is one part of town where you see some evidence of bike culture. It's often hard to find a lace to park your bike there. The bookstore carries just about all of the books that are listed in our Winter Reading List thread, and the coffeeshop invites you to bring your bike in with you. So food and literature are two cornerstones of culture, right? We also have Critical Mass, a bike co-op, and a very active bike-to-work movement.
Another small culture I thought of was the one in the movie Breaking Away (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Away). The boys there adopted Italian culture because they were so infatuated with Italian bicycle racers. That was a great sports movie, and also a great movie about questions of cultural identity.
bikinpolitico
10-22-08, 12:30 PM
If you have to ask, your not a part of it. ;)
gwd
10-23-08, 06:59 AM
They say Portland has a bike culture, but Amsterdam does not--even though a lot more people ride bikes in Amsterdam than in Portland.
But Roody, several of the definitions of culture include cross generational transmittance of knowledge and skills. I've seen photos and read books about life in Amsterdam generations ago and people were biking back then. In the photos I've seen of Portland bikers, they have the outfits, shoes and helmets and junk that says to me the bikers got their bike knowledge from bike shop salesmen not from riding around with grandparents. It looks like Portland has a bike fad not a bike culture. In a few generations, when a significant part of Portland population can say something like "Yeah granpa used to carry me home from school on the back of a dorky Trek with HUUUGE child seat- people were SOOO paranoid back then what with all the stupid cars.", then you'd say Portland has a bike culture.
But Roody, several of the definitions of culture include cross generational transmittance of knowledge and skills. I've seen photos and read books about life in Amsterdam generations ago and people were biking back then. In the photos I've seen of Portland bikers, they have the outfits, shoes and helmets and junk that says to me the bikers got their bike knowledge from bike shop salesmen not from riding around with grandparents. It looks like Portland has a bike fad not a bike culture. In a few generations, when a significant part of Portland population can say something like "Yeah granpa used to carry me home from school on the back of a dorky Trek with HUUUGE child seat- people were SOOO paranoid back then what with all the stupid cars.", then you'd say Portland has a bike culture.
I-Like-To-Bike
10-23-08, 11:28 AM
Um, it isn't plain yogurt if you put a bunch of crap in it.
Do you have any thoughts on the topic I proposed (bike culture)?
I think you are grasping at straws trying to find comrades who share your outlook on life.
Do you have any thoughts on the topic I proposed (bike culture)?
I think you are grasping at straws trying to find comrades who share your outlook on life.
Dahon.Steve
10-23-08, 08:37 PM
in seattle i can identify a few (sub) cultures: (probably similar in many cities)
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
I want to add several more.
* The Mexican/Hispanic Scene --- These are hispanic utility cyclist too poor to afford motor transport and cannot apply for the written test due to language difficulities.
* The homeless Scene --- These are basically people living on the street, many are mentally ill.
* Asian Delivery Scene -- These are basically asian workers who are working for a living delivery food on a bicycle. Most can barely speak english and many while they work for food and below minimum wage.
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
I want to add several more.
* The Mexican/Hispanic Scene --- These are hispanic utility cyclist too poor to afford motor transport and cannot apply for the written test due to language difficulities.
* The homeless Scene --- These are basically people living on the street, many are mentally ill.
* Asian Delivery Scene -- These are basically asian workers who are working for a living delivery food on a bicycle. Most can barely speak english and many while they work for food and below minimum wage.
Jude
10-23-08, 10:28 PM
The only sign of bike culture I really see is the hippies and such that do critical mass, which always seems like a really dickish thing to me. Let's clog up traffic and increase the hatred that motorists have for us. Great!
Saving Hawaii
10-23-08, 10:49 PM
The only sign of bike culture I really see is the hippies and such that do critical mass, which always seems like a really dickish thing to me. Let's clog up traffic and increase the hatred that motorists have for us. Great!
Seeing a critical mass when I first moved to California was perhaps the first time I ever had such nonsensical notions as "getting around on a bike" or even respecting cyclists on the road (never tried to harm any... but I didn't look). Motorists around here seem to have a very healthy respect for cyclists, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is very visible and is something they expect to see on a drive anywhere.
Seeing a critical mass when I first moved to California was perhaps the first time I ever had such nonsensical notions as "getting around on a bike" or even respecting cyclists on the road (never tried to harm any... but I didn't look). Motorists around here seem to have a very healthy respect for cyclists, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is very visible and is something they expect to see on a drive anywhere.
bragi
10-24-08, 12:11 AM
in seattle i can identify a few (sub) cultures: (probably similar in many cities)
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
i didn't include commuters since they don't seem to do anything as a "community" - same goes for the "weekend worrier" types (that only ride on sunny days).
i think in order for there to be a "culture" there have to be more than shared values. so you could say there is a "bicycle culture," but that's as general as talking about "human culture" - we need to break it down further.
I'm not sure I'd include racing scene/roadies as part of bike culture per se . Don't get me wrong: I respect, even admire many roadies, some of whom are good friends, for their riding skill and athleticism, and I faithfully follow the Tour de France most years. But I think bike culture, at least in the US, is strictly a subculture, part of a response to the massive, sometimes excessive, car-centered consumerism that dominates much of American life. People who see themselves as part of bike culture are, in part, attempting to distance themselves from all that excess by using bikes as their primary means of local transport. They're trying to lead simpler lives, and bikes are a reflection of that. Racers and wanna-be roadies are not part of that reaction to the larger culture; rather, they are a part of it. Putting on lycra, hopping on a $5000 Felt or Cervelo, and riding around in a peloton every Sunday morning is totally cool in my book, but it's not bike culture; it's a two-wheeled expression of the same impulse that drives some people to buy Ferraris just because they can.
* the racing scene - they all seem to know each other
* messengers - again, they all seem to know each other
* critical massers - a loose mix of students, hippies, roadies, fixed gears, utility bikes, bents, etc
* dead baby bikes (http://www.deadbabybikes.org/) - they build crazy tall bikes & party
i didn't include commuters since they don't seem to do anything as a "community" - same goes for the "weekend worrier" types (that only ride on sunny days).
i think in order for there to be a "culture" there have to be more than shared values. so you could say there is a "bicycle culture," but that's as general as talking about "human culture" - we need to break it down further.
I'm not sure I'd include racing scene/roadies as part of bike culture per se . Don't get me wrong: I respect, even admire many roadies, some of whom are good friends, for their riding skill and athleticism, and I faithfully follow the Tour de France most years. But I think bike culture, at least in the US, is strictly a subculture, part of a response to the massive, sometimes excessive, car-centered consumerism that dominates much of American life. People who see themselves as part of bike culture are, in part, attempting to distance themselves from all that excess by using bikes as their primary means of local transport. They're trying to lead simpler lives, and bikes are a reflection of that. Racers and wanna-be roadies are not part of that reaction to the larger culture; rather, they are a part of it. Putting on lycra, hopping on a $5000 Felt or Cervelo, and riding around in a peloton every Sunday morning is totally cool in my book, but it's not bike culture; it's a two-wheeled expression of the same impulse that drives some people to buy Ferraris just because they can.
gwd
10-27-08, 09:42 AM
Here's a dedicated link to bike-culture in the mainstream media.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bike-culture
If this keeps up we'll become a whole voting block and politicians will court us. We might become a "wedge" issue or the next Republican "base". I can just hear some sniveling politician carry on - "Obama doesn't really understand bike culture he'll say anything to get elected! I'm the only candidate that truly supports transportational cycling by letting the free market do its job and provide the best cycling infrastructure without government interference !"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bike-culture
If this keeps up we'll become a whole voting block and politicians will court us. We might become a "wedge" issue or the next Republican "base". I can just hear some sniveling politician carry on - "Obama doesn't really understand bike culture he'll say anything to get elected! I'm the only candidate that truly supports transportational cycling by letting the free market do its job and provide the best cycling infrastructure without government interference !"
mickey85
10-27-08, 09:58 AM
Honestly, I think that bike culture is a lot like car or motorcycle culture.
You've got the roadie racer bikers: drag and circle track racing
You've got the alt-bike people: low riders
You've got the LCF/utility cyclists: the whole "vanning" thing
you've got the vintage people: classic car restoration
You've got the gizmo-oriented (think Capt. dashboard): Rice rockets
You've got the Mtn. Bikers: Crazy 4 wheeling offroad stuff
Then, you've got the ones in it to make a statement about how "green" they are: Prius owners.
Again, these are generalizations, and just like a lot of people have the station wagon for the kids and the corvette for mom and dad, so do the utility cyclists also have a road bike and an English 3 speed - you can't lump people together, because it is a very individual thing.
You've got the roadie racer bikers: drag and circle track racing
You've got the alt-bike people: low riders
You've got the LCF/utility cyclists: the whole "vanning" thing
you've got the vintage people: classic car restoration
You've got the gizmo-oriented (think Capt. dashboard): Rice rockets
You've got the Mtn. Bikers: Crazy 4 wheeling offroad stuff
Then, you've got the ones in it to make a statement about how "green" they are: Prius owners.
Again, these are generalizations, and just like a lot of people have the station wagon for the kids and the corvette for mom and dad, so do the utility cyclists also have a road bike and an English 3 speed - you can't lump people together, because it is a very individual thing.
Roody
10-27-08, 01:20 PM
The only sign of bike culture I really see is the hippies and such that do critical mass, which always seems like a really dickish thing to me. Let's clog up traffic and increase the hatred that motorists have for us. Great!
OTOH, I think it's naive to blame cyclists for traffic congestion--even in the case of CM. Clearly it's cars that cause traffic jams, and bikes are one of the best hopes of relieving extreme congestion in cities.
OTOH, I think it's naive to blame cyclists for traffic congestion--even in the case of CM. Clearly it's cars that cause traffic jams, and bikes are one of the best hopes of relieving extreme congestion in cities.