Originally Posted by
banjo_mole
Kids aren't lazy. I'm sick of that excuse. They've been put into a place where there is nothing else to do- I know, I'm young. It's only gotten worse. We've torn down the rope swings, fenced off the frog creeks, and told children that it's too dangerous. We have been so concerned with "safety" that the traditional adventures no longer exist. Your childhood, along with most of those of older people here, is gone, replaced with a constantly fearful group of parents - when you went out for a day as a kid, was your mom constantly worried about a boogeymanchildmolester coming and getting you? No. People weren't whipped into fear then. They were free from that. Kids today live in a world of boogeymen and slow bicycles, and parks, no creek or tunnels or rivers or fields, just public parks and movie theaters.
I love adventure, and spend my time hiking and usually hopping some fences. Climbing some trees. Exploring old tunnels and bridges and buildings. And I love the old things. I let people try it with me, people my age that sit and play video games- guess what? They fall in love with it, once they swallow their fear and tell their parents they won't get *****. And life is good.
So let's not blame it on lazy young people. I'm tired of that.
Let's look for alternatives, such as young people being forced into boredom for their own good.
It's a discussion that will probably never have a good answer because of the societal changes we have gone through.
I think a lot depends on where you live. We're in a small college town and there are cyclists everywhere. Doesn't hurt that the college cycling team opens up their Saturday group ride for the local folks.
When I lived in Seattle - one of the cycling mecca's in the U.S. according to a lot of people - I wouldn't ride unless I was on an urban trail. I was used to open back country roads where you were lucky to see four autos in 30 miles. The traffic freaked me out in the metro area and I didn't trust the drivers.
Parents are freaked out about psycopaths running loose on the streets and don't let their kids out as much. Heck, a parent back east was arrested for letting their 10 yo walk to practice after school. The police said they were endangering their child because there was the "potential" for the child to be kidnapped. What the heck has happened to us? My brother and I used to take that beat up, old yellow Schwinn 10 speed and ride the back gravel roads exploring old abandoned farm houses. We'd be gone for hours on end and my mom never worried - and we didn't have a cell phone to call and let her know where we were. It was awesome fun for my brother and I, but I don't think my kids would get it.
Bottom line there are way too many distractions today combined with paranoia about perceived safety. Our society has to have everything in an instant and cycling doesn't fit that model. It's not being lazy per se - just too many options. 25 yrs ago when I was in college our basketball games were standing room only. That's all we had to look forward to - there was no internet, cell phone, texting, etc. (and Pong was just too boring). Now, when I take my kids to the same college basketball games you're lucky to see 50-60% of the stands full.
Cycling has now become just another option vs. one of the main sources of having fun. It's up to us to instill the excitement and passion for the sport in those around us.