Crazy Cyclist

I have been wondering about this the past few days. How do you tell a real cyclist? Is it by what they wear? Maybe what they ride? I am looking for opinions.

RocketsRedglare

If what they are riding is human-powered and has two wheels. Case closed.

Crazy Cyclist

I have seen people riding in wife-beaters and jeans, with no helmet and listening to headphones. I don't think they are real cyclists. I think they are riding becuase they really have to go somewhere, otherwise they would never normally ride. JMO

C Law

The man said

AJRoberts

So if they were riding aimlessly about would they would be cyclists?

RocketsRedglare

We call that outfit the "arkansas wetsuit" out here. Very popular with tourists from flyover country during the winter months

Crazy Cyclist

Possibly.

lala

What is a real cyclist?

Crazy Cyclist

Lala, that is a good question. I think it is someone who enjoys riding. Everyone has a different opinion of what a real cyclist is, so I would like to hear some of them.

jbonus

I don't know if we can be called "real cyclists" on the basis of this criteria alone, but whenever it's raining or cold outside and I see others riding we seem to have a kinship as we acknowledge each other more than if it were otherwise "soccer mom" weather.

Sasquatchula

Jump in front of one. If it hits you, and it hurts, it's real.

PaulH

Apperently, it is someone who regards bikes as toys and not transportation. They may wear something called "wife beaters" (what are those?), but only if they ride around aimlessly. Seeing as I do not fit either possible description, I assume I am a non-cyclist who travels about 4,000 year-round, all-weather virtual km annually on a $1,200 non-bike.

Paul

(who will google "wife beaters" in order to understand his non-place in the world)

Portis

Someone who rides their bike constantly and hasn't lost their driver's license.

C Law

and has enough money to afford a car

BenyBen

From the dictionary:
"One who rides or races a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle"

Whatever other conceived social status needed to be a cyclist is purely in your mind, and has no basis outside of it. You may believe otherwise, but you do not know it.

Crazy Cyclist

I guess whoever rides a bike is a cyclist.

Paul, a wifebeater is another name for a cotton undershirt.

Machka 

You're not real until you:
-- ride at least 10,000 kms a year
-- ride all year round, especially in a place like Canada where it is snowy and cold for half the year
-- ride or have ridden, and/or own, at least 5 different types of bicycles (i.e. road bicycle, mountain bicycle, tandem, trike, recumbent)
-- have tried at least 5 different aspects of cycling (i.e. racing, touring, randonneuring/centuries, commuting, mountain biking)
-- have ridden your bicycle in at least 5 different countries ... because you went there to tour or for a cycling-related event
-- own at least one team jersey, or a jersey for an event you successfully participated in
-- own at least 5 T-shirts for events you have successfully participated in
-- can change your own tires, oil your own chain, and make at least a few minor repairs to your bicycle
-- be able to take your bicycle apart to pack it in a box to transport it to a different state/province/country ... and put it back together again when you arrive at your destination without the help of a bicycle shop
-- know how many calories per hour you need to consume to keep you going on longer rides (hint: 250-300) and how much liquid you need to consume to prevent dehydration without going overboard with it (hint: 0ne 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours)
-- know what electrolytes are (hint: sodium and potassium)
-- ride with a Brooks saddle, and can explain why it is better than a gel saddle
-- know exactly how your bicycle should be set up for optimum comfort for the type of cycling you currently participate in


OK ... so ... is that the type of definition you are looking for???


Really though ... a cyclist is a person who rides a human powered machine regularly because they want to.

CastIron

I don't give a damn. I ride, therefore I am (a "real" cyclist).

PaulH

OK -- you mean someone who dresses like Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire." He was certainly a cyclist in "The Wild One", although not a bicyclist.

Seriously, I think a real cyclist is someone who really enjoys riding a bike, whatever the purpose. Examples of real cyclists include Lance Armstrong, a kid heading to the beach on a warm summer day, a commuter returning home over a snowy road glowing in the moonlight, and a cycle tourist in an fascinating, exotic place. Whenever we have one of those "wow -- this is such an amazingly great ride!" moments we are real cyclists. Sometimes, just a friendly wave can turn somene on a bike into a real cyclist.

Paul

woodcycl

+1

jag89

this is not true because when im riding i listenin to my mp3 player because it makes me ride faster also i dont ride with a helmet when i am doin XC.

Nicodemus

What about someone who drives a car because they have to, and they don't like it? Do we not still call them a driver?

Ok, good question. What's a driver? Someone driving a motor vehicle. We don't play around with social definitions with that, so why cycling?

I guess because this sort of thread isn't really about the technical definition of a cyclist, it's more for discussion of who we regard as the "beatniks" of cycling. Damn beatniks.

Keith99

I was going to say there are real cyclists and guys who worry about who is a real cyclist.

chipcom 

I think the two-wheeled thingamagig they are riding on might be a dead giveaway. One sure sign is that a real cyclist doesn't ask how to identify a real cyclist. We just know these things, like telepathy, ya know.

I also wouldn't judge by what they ride or what they wear, I've seen plenty of folks on expensive bikes dressed like Lance his self that, after watching them in action, looked to still need training wheels.

chipcom 

Cotton tank-top style undershirt. We don't want to mis-label the poor slobs who happen to be wearing the regular kind. I don't wear underwear, wonder if that makes me a 'real' cyclist?