In my case fancy cycling attire would add nothing to my commuting experience. I could dress up, dash to work as fast as possible, get there in need of a shower and a change of clothes, or I could do what I actually do, pedal a little slower in normal business attire, get there a little later, walk in the door and go right to work. Lycra would save me little, if any, time when you consider the clothes changes and showers. Changing in and out of sensible shoes on the other hand is something many commuters already do. It takes almost no time or effort and it makes walking or pedaling so much easier. Lycra/Spandex/etc really does nothing for me, I don't even own any to use during off hours. I have nothing at all against those who do choose to use it though.

The article isn't lame and I doubt it does a disservice to its intended audience. It shows that an ordinary businesswoman can successfully commute to work on a bike. A lot of wannabe bike commuters will read it and think a) I'd at least be smart enough to wear sensible shoes, and b) I bet I can do better than she did, I could make it up that hill! One of the most critical factors in getting someone to bike to work is to show them that people just like them are biking to work. A reporter is reasonably close to being an everywoman and her experience is more inspiring than an article by, say, Lance Armstrong because no one doubts that he could make it to work. No one doubts that any randomly chosen, Lycra clad, amateur super-cyclist can do it either. People need to see someone who is a reasonable facsimile of themselves biking to work to get inspired, and this article gives a broad variety of people just that.

Think about it. You are evidently a Lycra clad, amateur super-cyclist and back before you started bike commuting you undoubtedly saw examples of people just like you biking during rush hour and probably heading for work every day. There was your inspirational example. If you had been a recent immigrant struggling to get yourself established in a new country and perhaps unable to afford the half dozen automobiles that any proper American household needs at the moment you would likewise see plenty of inspirational examples on the streets during rush hour and you might choose that option so that your family members could have the use of your car. But if you are somewhere in the middle of those extremes you have far fewer examples and this reporter supplies one. Once people start commuting on a bike they can quickly figure out on their own if Lycra would be an asset or not in their own circumstances. Before they start commuting Lycra is a barrier that just makes the notion seem like something only a cycling extremist would consider. They need to see people like this reporter, and me, before they would seriously consider becoming like you. I'd love to see them start biking and it would not bother me at all if they joined Team Spandex. It should not bother you if they choose to stay business casual instead.

Ken