Originally Posted by
FBinNY
…There's a belief among some active cyclists that it's somehow morally superior, and/or the belief that we live in a bike vs. car world. I view either as a choice, which we make based on personal considerations. I'm an active daily cyclist, but not anti-car in any way. Get around whatever way makes the most sense for you.
Recently there was this discussion on the thread,
“More reasons to commute”:
Originally Posted by
bluegoatwoods
I just finished a terrific snow commute. I don't even need to explain why that's likeable; anyone reading this already knows.
But a few people at work, who should know better…looked at me like they just couldn't believe it. …
I think they actually believed that the ride was going to be just awful, but that I couldn't bring myself to admit it to them.
Originally Posted by
Walter S
Isn't it odd? I get these looks too, like they don't believe that I actually enjoy it…They're not about to fall for my line of bull about how I'm having fun.
Originally Posted by
OrionXavier
Well the difference between a person that makes that assumption (masochism), and yourself (and me), is that presumably you enjoy physical challenges. And they do not.
I replied:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
At least about 20 years ago or so in
Boston Magazine, was a cover featuring a runner or maybe it was a cyclist in spandex, with the headline something like
“They Exercise and Work Out, and They Think They're Better Than You." I did not read the article, but that cover stuck in my mind. More recently, here in Boston I've heard occasional talk shows on the radio decrying the behavior of cyclists…
I think that here in
21st Century America we cyclists are still a very small and little-understood minority, and disparaging the majority is not a very fruitful approach to spreading the message.