Originally Posted by stegosaupus
...So why did it ruin my day when I ran into an old classmate from high school at the grocery store while locking up the foldy bike, and she asked "so, did you get caught DUI or just smash up your car?"
I guess I'm kind of a snob - I don't like having people look down on me... but why would a person on a bike create such contempt - and why would anyone believe that DUI or a lack of a car could be the only reason to bike?
hey stegosaupus,
i can relate to your situation a little...
first of all i think a fair amount depends on where you live.
i encountered this type of thing ALL the time when i was in Texas - at first as a student it was true that i was poor - but after i had a "real" job people always asked my how long my car was in the shop and if i needed financial help, etc. etc... in Texas (ok, outside Austin) it is just inconceivable for most people that someone who CAN afford a car and is not legally restricted from doing so (i.e. DUI) would choose not to...
although I think Toronto should be much better in this regard (Portland was great as is Germany for the most part outside of the BMW/Mercedes snobs)
anyhow, basically you just deal with it - i.e. you have to enjoy cycling enough and be self-confident enough to not need to boost your self-esteem by impressing others with what a cool car you drive (sounds really bogus when i write it, but honestly for 95% of North Americans their car is really a TRUE symbol of status)
IF it really bothers you, you can do some things to help decrease the "negative/poor" image if you want: like riding an expensive bike or wearing flashy "cycling clothes" or racing or whatever -- i say this because i do those things b/c i like to race (track, road and mountain) and am a mountain bike guide so i have some expensvie stuff - and most of the time if it's evident to people that it's an "expensive" hobby then most people see that you must be "rich" to afford to spend lots of time doing something "worthless" that costs a lot of money (i.e. golf or sailing or horsebackriding or motorcycling or downhill mountain bike racing or whatever)... i have to admit that i used to use my "racing" justification (i.e. training for racing) to people at my office job in Texas all the time just so they would leave me alone and stop asking if i needed money or whatever b/c they couldn't understand why i was always on a bicycle instead of in a car...
so anyway, the point is, if it bothers you, you could spend a modest amount of money and kind of "spruce-up" your bike and attire or maybe even take up racing (not a bad idea in that racing is actually fun!) to make it look like an expensive hobby... or you can just deal with it and ride and enjoy cycling for what it is.
