[disclaimer - the things I wrote here are things I am currently thinking about and I do not necessarily have a strong opinion either way - you don't need to tell the merits of bike commuting - I know what they are and have been commuting several years. I think commuting by bicycle is awesome for a variety of reasons, so if you respond try to stay on point because I am genuinely curious about folks' reactions if they can challenge themselves to consider what I wrote below]

I am a bike commuter and I love it and feel like it is part of my personal identity at this point, but I thought about this the other day and wonder what perspectives people in this forum might bring to this thought...

For some reason I thought back to a comment or an alternative 'zine at a punk show where the argument was made that going camping was offensive because it was essentially people who have shelter and live a comfortable life going out into the woods and intentionally "playing poor" or imagining that they lived a life of less privilege as a sort of exciting game to play or "roughing it", and how that might seem to be mockery to a person actually doesn't have shelter or comfort on a regular basis.

I don't really know why or how I started making the connection to bike commuting. Do you think there are any similarities here? I know that we all, in this forum, enjoy riding our bikes from place to place - but how do we look, collectively, to folks who riding a bicycle is their only option. While we brag online about how cold it was when we rode to work or how we rode in the rain and so on and so forth, or how much money we saved on car expenses, what about folks who do that because they have to? Not because it's a 'challenge,' or fun, or whatever?

Part of the reason I thought about it was because I don't know that I generally categorize bicycle hobbyist/enthusiast commuters and people who can not afford a car or who have a DUI or whatever in the same category - and I felt a little guilty separating them. I ride through some fairly impoverished areas and occasionally see people on cheapo, old bicycles, kids' bikes, bmxes, etc. who are under-dressed for the weather, and I wonder how ******-y I look to them with my "fancy" lights, helmet, cycling jacket, and panniers.

Thoughts?