Cycling subculture
01-29-11 | 12:49 AM
#26
Born Again Pagan
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,241
Likes: 2
From: Southwestern Ontario
Bikes: Schwinn hybrid, Raleigh MTB
01-29-11 | 02:11 AM
#27
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 111
Likes: 0
Bikes: Novear Buzz V. I also have a 'B' cycle city borrow a bike, only I own it. It's 3 speed, slow, heavy and rugged.
01-29-11 | 03:15 AM
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,775
Likes: 9
From: Los Altos, CA
https://www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com does a great job of describing/ridiculing bike subcultures.
It can be a fun read.
It can be a fun read.
01-29-11 | 09:09 AM
#29
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 3,119
Likes: 159
From: Kalamazoo, Mi.
Bikes: Sam, The Hunq and that Old Guy, Soma Buena Vista, Giant Talon 2, Brompton
.
I guess I view myself as a human being who happens to use a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation at the time. And that is really how I would like other people on the road and in the community to look at me, not as one of "those cyclists," but just as a regular guy who happens to ride a bike.
!
I guess I view myself as a human being who happens to use a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation at the time. And that is really how I would like other people on the road and in the community to look at me, not as one of "those cyclists," but just as a regular guy who happens to ride a bike.
!
Marc
01-29-11 | 09:20 AM
#30
Riding like its 1990
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,785
Likes: 11
From: IE, SoCal
A few years back when I used to smoke I came across a guy just pulling out of his house and I followed way back just for kicks. I got tired of his slow pace especially since he was stuffed in full Lance Armstrong outfit and on the latest overly priced race bike. I pulled up beside him, took a drag on my smoke, a sip of my coffee, and said' What a great day for a ride' then pulled away from him.
So you didn't stick around to hear what he had to say? Maybe he would have agreed that it was a great day and that you were both the lucky few to be out enjoying some two-wheeled freedom. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf, recovering from an accident, starting an 80 mile training ride, or working out some kinks from a hard crit race.
I think it's funny you write about how he's a "wannabe" with full TdF kit and modern bike while you care enough to list your own "full kit" and bike, conventional or not. Maybe you're the one taking "culture" too seriously?
Not just blasting on you, but nowadays "anti-culture" seems to be just as scripted and cynical as the "culture" they feel they have to attack.
I road ride, cyclocross race, mountain bike, commute daily, build bikes, buy and sell bikes, and watch bike racing. Whatever, I like bikes and cycling of all sorts. I wave and nod to lots of different people and encourage those who look like they are beginning. Everyone I ever speak with on a bike seems to be having fun and glad to meet another happy cyclist. Heck, just yesterday I told a chubby kid I'd "race him" on his BMX, he got up to 11mph and had a huge smile on his face.
Can't we all just get along? If we choose acceptance first we may realize we actually have something in common with "the others"... even the fixie kids...
01-29-11 | 10:31 AM
#31
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,977
Likes: 191
From: Washington, DC
All right, I had to look at Wikipedia, and I'm glad to see I'm not part of a cycling subculture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture
01-29-11 | 10:33 AM
#32
Senior Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,381
Likes: 219
When I think of cycling subculture that's what comes to mind for me too, - the hipsters, the messengers, and the wannabes. Bikes are an integral part of the group lifestyle and part of their fashion sense.
...being a subculture means combining socializing and the activity. It's more than that. It becomes a "subculture" when it's a lifestyle that you share with others. So while commuting is a lifestyle choice for me, I don't consider myself part of a "subculture" because for me commuting is a solo activity. I could quit commuting tomorrow and it would have very little impact on the rest of my life assuming I replaced it with another physical activity.
...being a subculture means combining socializing and the activity. It's more than that. It becomes a "subculture" when it's a lifestyle that you share with others. So while commuting is a lifestyle choice for me, I don't consider myself part of a "subculture" because for me commuting is a solo activity. I could quit commuting tomorrow and it would have very little impact on the rest of my life assuming I replaced it with another physical activity.
01-29-11 | 05:00 PM
#33
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 111
Likes: 0
Bikes: Novear Buzz V. I also have a 'B' cycle city borrow a bike, only I own it. It's 3 speed, slow, heavy and rugged.
OooooKaaaaay?
So you didn't stick around to hear what he had to say? Maybe he would have agreed that it was a great day and that you were both the lucky few to be out enjoying some two-wheeled freedom. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf, recovering from an accident, starting an 80 mile training ride, or working out some kinks from a hard crit race.
I think it's funny you write about how he's a "wannabe" with full TdF kit and modern bike while you care enough to list your own "full kit" and bike, conventional or not. Maybe you're the one taking "culture" too seriously?
Not just blasting on you, but nowadays "anti-culture" seems to be just as scripted and cynical as the "culture" they feel they have to attack.
I road ride, cyclocross race, mountain bike, commute daily, build bikes, buy and sell bikes, and watch bike racing. Whatever, I like bikes and cycling of all sorts. I wave and nod to lots of different people and encourage those who look like they are beginning. Everyone I ever speak with on a bike seems to be having fun and glad to meet another happy cyclist. Heck, just yesterday I told a chubby kid I'd "race him" on his BMX, he got up to 11mph and had a huge smile on his face.
Can't we all just get along? If we choose acceptance first we may realize we actually have something in common with "the others"... even the fixie kids...
So you didn't stick around to hear what he had to say? Maybe he would have agreed that it was a great day and that you were both the lucky few to be out enjoying some two-wheeled freedom. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf, recovering from an accident, starting an 80 mile training ride, or working out some kinks from a hard crit race.
I think it's funny you write about how he's a "wannabe" with full TdF kit and modern bike while you care enough to list your own "full kit" and bike, conventional or not. Maybe you're the one taking "culture" too seriously?
Not just blasting on you, but nowadays "anti-culture" seems to be just as scripted and cynical as the "culture" they feel they have to attack.
I road ride, cyclocross race, mountain bike, commute daily, build bikes, buy and sell bikes, and watch bike racing. Whatever, I like bikes and cycling of all sorts. I wave and nod to lots of different people and encourage those who look like they are beginning. Everyone I ever speak with on a bike seems to be having fun and glad to meet another happy cyclist. Heck, just yesterday I told a chubby kid I'd "race him" on his BMX, he got up to 11mph and had a huge smile on his face.
Can't we all just get along? If we choose acceptance first we may realize we actually have something in common with "the others"... even the fixie kids...
01-29-11 | 09:38 PM
#36
Banned
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,787
Likes: 3
I'm a middle-aged guy...
...who discovered the exhilarating freedom of two-wheeled obsession at age 15, and tried for 25 years to re-capture it after stupidly turning from it at age 17. (Damned driver's license and its 'rite of passage' aura!)
...who has pedaling in his DNA after finally re-capturing the passion a decade or so ago.
...who didn't bother to replace the last car (despite family obligations) six years ago, because the bike serves it all so much better; the car was driven ONCE the month before it died.
...who swells with pride when my 13-y-o daughter resists the idea of getting a car for her 16th, 17th, etc. ("Bikes good, cars bad!" she chants as she pedals, every now and again.)
...who will resist the idea of another car for as many years as possible.
...who intends to ride 90 minutes on his 90th birthday.
...who doesn't care about belonging to a subculture; as long as I can ride, nobody else's opinions really matter (nothing personal).
... who gives a bike rider a little benefit of the doubt ( as I do veterans, since I also served). But stupid is stupid, so be right.
...who discovered the exhilarating freedom of two-wheeled obsession at age 15, and tried for 25 years to re-capture it after stupidly turning from it at age 17. (Damned driver's license and its 'rite of passage' aura!)
...who has pedaling in his DNA after finally re-capturing the passion a decade or so ago.
...who didn't bother to replace the last car (despite family obligations) six years ago, because the bike serves it all so much better; the car was driven ONCE the month before it died.
...who swells with pride when my 13-y-o daughter resists the idea of getting a car for her 16th, 17th, etc. ("Bikes good, cars bad!" she chants as she pedals, every now and again.)
...who will resist the idea of another car for as many years as possible.
...who intends to ride 90 minutes on his 90th birthday.
...who doesn't care about belonging to a subculture; as long as I can ride, nobody else's opinions really matter (nothing personal).
... who gives a bike rider a little benefit of the doubt ( as I do veterans, since I also served). But stupid is stupid, so be right.
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