General Cycling Discussion - Call for advocacy ideas!

This may belong in the "Advocacy" section, but I'm looking for ideas here. One of my bigger hobbies (obsessions?) is photography, and as I haven't managed to get out and shoot for awhile, I'd like to do a project. Since I really like cycling, what better for a project than cycling advocacy (and just a bunch of cycling-related photographic work in general)?

I'm looking for slogans and/or photo ideas; basically, things to do over the next six months or so. Equipment-wise, I can handle just about anything except free-aerial shots (sorry, no helicopter just yet), and I've got a few ideas for things I'll run by you:

1. There are a few "big" cycle rides, and a shot of the riders zooming along the bike trail next to the freeway with its stand-still traffic with the caption, "I don't cycle because it's too slow." (or something similar).

2. Parody of a Calvin Klein ad, with a man and a woman dressed in Lycra standing next to a bike with the overlay: "Velo: For a man, or a woman." Maybe another shot with a baby sitting in front of the bike in diapers with the caption "Not For Newborns Just Yet, Though."

I think that most of the advocacy needs to be focused on people in my age range; people in the 18-25 demographic, who are in college and don't have piles of money. Why? Because they're already looking for ways to conserve costs, and because they're still forming their self-image.

Ideas?

I think you need to expand your age group to include the 12 to 85 age brackets. It's not a question of riding out of necessity to conserve dollars, it should be a necessity to conserve health and well-being.
I think it a wonderful idea. I'm eager to see what the other members will suggest.

Originally posted by ljbike
I think you need to expand your age group to include the 12 to 85 age brackets. It's not a question of riding out of necessity to conserve dollars, it should be a necessity to conserve health and well-being.
I think it a wonderful idea. I'm eager to see what the other members will suggest.

And also to show that not only can you prolong activities such as cycling to "older" ages, notice I didn't say "elderley"!, but such activities make it POSSIBLE to live longer.

There seems to be a shortage of pics of normal (in all their variety) people on bikes.
Plenty of youths doing big air and knarly singletrack, loads of lithe, lycra-clad athlete pounding up a mountain, and some of freaky enviro freaks freakily demonstrating.
What about people in normal clothes cycling to work ,school shops, doing ordinary stuff on bikes. You could even show people in stylish clothes on stylish city bikes, like they ride in Paris.
I think an online library of everyday cycling pics might have a new market.

I remember some suggested adverts to increase motorbike use a few years ago and they appealed to some baser instincts.

e.g On a billboard near a traffic slowspot one could have a sign saying " The guy on the bike which just passed you in traffic will be at the office before you, be more alert and less stressed"

Or: Did you know that regular exercise increases fitness and stamina? Ask a cyclist's partner.

You get the drift.?

Originally posted by chewa
I remember some suggested adverts to increase motorbike use a few years ago and they appealed to some baser instincts.



e.g On a billboard near a traffic slowspot one could have a sign saying " The guy on the bike which just passed you in traffic will be at the office before you, be more alert and less stressed"



Or: Did you know that regular exercise increases fitness and stamina? Ask a cyclist's partner.



You get the drift.?

For number one, I can think of a few things. The caption "Dream: Driving through blissful mountain roads; Reality: Your $60,000 sports car sitting stuck in traffic, getting passed by a $400 bicycle that gets ridden through blissful mountain roads on weekends."

Number two: I like, and will use. :D

Whenever I see a television ad and there are cyclists somewhere in the picture (either the main characters or in the background) they are ALWAYS riding mountain bikes.
I have nothing against them, but not everyone rides a mountain bike -- like me for instance. ;)
You might show road bikes, recumbents :eek:, hybrids, mountain bikes, tandems, young adults, older folks, groups, etc.
Just make sure there are no X-Mart bikes in your photos. :rolleyes:

Just a thought.

Originally posted by Matadon
1. There are a few "big" cycle rides, and a shot of the riders zooming along the bike trail next to the freeway with its stand-still traffic with the caption, "I don't cycle because it's too slow." (or something similar).


Please not that. That sort of thing is only going to make Joe Lard-butt actually believe that off-road cycle paths are useable, which is far from the truth.


Originally posted by MichaelW

What about people in normal clothes cycling to work ,school shops, doing ordinary stuff on bikes. You could even show people in stylish clothes on stylish city bikes, like they ride in Paris.
I think an online library of everyday cycling pics might have a new market.

Now this is a far better idea. Unfortunately, too many people emphasise only the "sport" of cycling, without realising that this is actually a viable transport alternative.

Originally posted by Chris L
Please not that. That sort of thing is only going to make Joe Lard-butt actually believe that off-road cycle paths are useable, which is far from the truth.



Good point; change the image to a cyclist zooming by the side of a road in a traffic jam, and it accomplishes the same thing.

We need pictures of SDCBC president Jim Baross, who commutes by bike in downtown San Diego in street clothes, bypassing a traffic jam.

Originally posted by John E
We need pictures of SDCBC president Jim Baross, who commutes by bike in downtown San Diego in street clothes, bypassing a traffic jam.

Hmmm...I'll be down in SD later this year, visiting a friend (and I'll be on my new road bike). Will have to contact the local bike club.

What about a college age guy looking at his money situation, trying to scrape together some money to buy a used car. A friend had suggested a bike. The guy makes a list:

1 - get a bike for a few hundred, not thousands.
2 - besides purchase price, there's gas, insurance, maintainance, repairs, parking.
3 - bike for a few years and save money, to get a new(er) car.
4 - extras: easy on the environment, good for the body.

Also, I don't think bike paths are a bad idea. (The majority of my daily commute is on one. It's a pleasant ride along a scenic river) Many would-be riders are turned off by traffic.

Originally posted by Generic Rider
What about a college age guy looking at his money situation, trying to scrape together some money to buy a used car.

If the number of people cycling to my university was any indication, that would be a case of preaching to the converted. For some unknown reason, bikes already have the image of "the poor man's car". We need to change that, not reinforce it.

I agree with Chris there are a lot of bikes around the university here.We need to concentrate on the people who think of only jogging when they think of excercise.Maybe a progression of photos from lardbutt to slim trim dude, if you know someone who is about to embark on a serious weightloss program.Changing the style of riding as the lbs just melt off?
It works for all those bogus weightloss programs.

For other ideas, you might check out

http://www.bicyclecolo.org/

which is a pretty effective advocacy organization. One of the current tasks is rumble strips. A bouncy bike taking on a rumble strip might make an effective pic??

Originally posted by MichaelW
There seems to be a shortage of pics of normal (in all their variety) people on bikes.
Plenty of youths doing big air and knarly singletrack, loads of lithe, lycra-clad athlete pounding up a mountain, and some of freaky enviro freaks freakily demonstrating.
What about people in normal clothes cycling to work ,school shops, doing ordinary stuff on bikes. You could even show people in stylish clothes on stylish city bikes, like they ride in Paris.
I think an online library of everyday cycling pics might have a new market.
Just the ticket, I think, Matty. :)

Keep up the powerful ideas...