Well put. I ride for general transportation. I have a custom ti road bike that I ride for sport. I also do loaded touring, which these days is probably my favorite from of riding. I don't see the author's view at all. In particular, my strictly roadie friends don't look down on me. In fact, it's just the opposite. While at this point in my life I don't have the opportunity to take off for extended periods of time (between '99 and '01 I took two years off from the working world and did three extended trips including one of nearly 4 months), many of my roadie friends congratulate me on my week+ tours when I post trip reports to my club's listserve. Some say they wish they could do similar things.

Maybe the author should join Adventure Cycling Association so he can get their magazine. There are people out there doing the things he seems to think people seldom do any more.