Originally Posted by
khutch
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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
I'll just assume this is do to regional differences. I'd say maybe 20 - 25% of the people I see that look like they're commuting wear any lycra. Probably less but it's sometimes hard to tell who's commuting and who's just out for a ride.
Anyway, the majority of people commuting round here don't wear lycra. When I first started commuting over 20 years ago, I wore a tie. It actually never occurred to me to wear my bike shorts until I decided to turn my commute into training.
So in my mind there are all sorts of inspirational examples already out there, except for perhaps the older and highly affluent, and I see a number of people in that category too.