That’s right. So cyclists ride bikes and bikers ride motorcycles. I expect Spock might struggle with that, but it works for me.

I guess your instructor never looked up the word “motor” in a dictionary. It clearly applies to both electric and combustion power.

I always thought that "biker" referred to the end of the motorcycle spectrum closer to Easy Rider than MotoGP. The sporting end frequently uses "rider"

As of a few minutes ago, I'm now referring to myself as a Scorcher.

Thanks john m flores!

We don’t tend to make that distinction over here, but I know what you mean.

SCORCHERS assemble!

I've always preferred the term, "Biker", but I guess that one is taken.

So cyclist it is

I have been calling motorcycles "Mikes" and referring to motorcycle enthusiasts as "Mikers".
Unfortunately, nobody thinks I'm funny, and it's not really catching-on.

When I started riding motorcycles around 1975 I would have said exactly what you just said. Over the years I've morphed. My taste has always been lightweight sport type motorcycles. I am not a cruiser/Harley guy. As a result I rode one of the original '80's BMW R100S bikes for 16 years and then Ducati sport bikes for 26 yrs. Now on my 3rd yr of a Triumph Speed Triple. These days I ignore most labels and just describe myself as "en moto."

"Cycler" ? That's simply inane.


If you spelled it " M'ikes" I'm certain your success with it would improve

I was a Squid

Since I'm a scorcher and a rider, my personal motto is "Two Wheels Good"* but as a writer/editor I have to be aware of the different terms.

Confession - I sometimes rode like one, but I did wear all the safety gear to avoid becoming one!

Back in the time of yore (prior to motorized transport), cyclists called themselves ‘wheelmen’. Not to be confused with ‘real men’, which any Lycra hater will tell you.

Always thought was a cute, antiquated term. There is a local cycling club that still goes by that name, but am guessing their numbers will be dying off.

We used to call them "posers". (Former biker, now a cyclist.) That's me on the left.

Oh, that reminds me that quite a few bike clubs here use the term “wheelers” in their club names.

A store popped up over here called "Cycle Gear". I was disappointed and a little incensed once I learned that they only sell motorcycle gear.

And engineers design motorcycles which have engines. Except for electric motorcycles, which have motors.

I discovered the Guardian archive a while back, it has quite a lot of cycling reports from around 1900
eg. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...-cyclists-1896

From that I discovered "wheelman" meant cyclist back in the 19th century.

For motorcycle riders, I use the term "scoot jockey" from the first Mad Max movie. My family took vacations in the early 70's through New Mexico and Colorado. We got to see firsthand the damage that biker gangs left in their wake. As a result, I harbor a resentment towards leather clad Harley riders. As for 2 wheeled pedal pushers, it depends on how serious they are.

Too bad her name wasn't Molly and the motorbike wasn't a 52 Vincent Black Lightning. That would have made for a great song.

That certainly begs the question of what determines ‘serious’? Pro tour, Cat 1-3, fast recreational riders, bike packers riding long distance, posers in Lycra? All of the above, some of the above, none of the above if you take yourself to seriously?

One of my favorites

He still does, sort of. Riv's whole in-house line of bags, ("Sackville"... was originally "Baggins,") has the tag line "Sacks for Cyclers." I haven't seen him use it often in other contexts, but he may have done. Wouldn't surprise me.

I've always considered it not so much a "tribal membership" thing as a "Grant is kinda weird" thing. Because even though I've been picking up what he's been laying down since the days of the brown Bridgestone catalogs, was a Riv member back in the days of the Rivendell Reader, and will want one of his bikes until I have one, and will likely want another one after I do, Ima be honest...

Grant Petersen is a weird dude. If we want to be dignified about it, we'll call him eccentric. "Eccentric" is a dignified way to say "weird." (I suspect that Grant would prefer "weird," because he's weird like that.)

--Shannon

Been riding for the past 17 years now and I don't really care what anybody calls me....Cyclist, bike rider, bicyclist it's all the same thing.

Biker?