mac

And all of my co-workers and I laughed at him. As we looked out of our office building down on the busy street below, we saw this guy in overalls riding a modified bike (rear-wheel extended w/ platform) and hauling a ladder and painting supplies. Isn't that taking the whole bicycling thing a bit too far? In a couple of decades after all the cheap oil runs out then this could be a practical alternative. But until then it looks unprofessional. Who would want to hire someone to paint their house / office that doesn't even own a vehicle to haul all of his gear in? It gives the impression that he's immature, unprofessional, and non-trustworthy by riding a bicycle instead of driving a utility truck. i.e. Look at the 40-Year Old Virgin movie and the stereotype about bicycle commuters in general.

womble

As a troll, this is a pretty pathetic attempt. It's just too obvious that you're trying to rile people up. Look at the thread cursing dog owners if you want some inspiration.

Or if you really can't come up with anything better than this, just use the tried and true Guns & Bikes argument.

Seggybop

If he's doing it and it works, it's practical. Especially considering all the costs that are being cut by not using a motorized vehicle.
I would. It would probably be cheaper because the transport costs wouldn't be part of what you're paying, and if they have the discipline to operate like that I'm confident they'd be capable of something relatively simple like a painting job.
Sounds efficient and creative to me.
Such a depressing attitude.

wahoonc

If his quality of work was acceptable I would hire him in a heart beat. At one point I had a entire crew that cycled to work. 2 of the 5 had to, 1 did it to save money and they only had one car which his pregnant wife needed and the other did it to stay healthy. All of that crew were good workers and quite often transported their tools by bike.

Aaron

Alrocket

Poor attempt at a troll. Go practise on Slashdot or something.

womble

On the other hand, I would never hire a knight who didn't have his own horse. Imagine a joust where one participant was on a bike. Steering one handed while holding a lance would be well nigh impossible.

mac

Dude, I'm a paid member for over a year. This isn't trolling. I should have snapped a quick pic with my phone. It really was amusing. At times it seems like we bicyclists live in our own little world. i.e. there's even a "living car-free" forum on here; there are topics such as "what can we do to improve bicycling's images", "why does my kid think we're freaks wearing spandex to a party", "my co-workers think I'm crazy", etc. The average person, even your average bicyclist, doesn't see utilitarian cycling as practical nor professional. In fact, it even brings a negative impression to other bicyclists implying we are poor.

Falkon 

I guess I'm poor for biking to work. Oh well. Utilitarian cycling is the most useful form. It does the most good. Hell, I bike to work with work pants over biking shorts. It works for me. Why would I pay so much just to only ride on the weekends? Now that's crazy.

Alrocket

Poor? You seen the price of a groupset and half-decent finishing kit lately? Nevermind decent wheels! Damn right I'm poor!

I guess I found it strange that someone would find a utilitarian cyclist strange. Every couple of weeks on my commute I pass a guy with a ladder strapped onto his top tope. On the really fantastic summers days I always felt jealous of him!

Jerseysbest

Obviously this belongs in the Car Free forum

Falkon 

funny how you can be a cyclist yet not advocate cycling.

PaulH

I agree. Nothing instills a feeling of confidence like a worker in a clapped-out pickup truck. Also when a painter parks in my neighborhood and occupies one of the available parking spots, it really makes me want to hire him myself. Taking away a parking spot and possibly even blocking the street is sound marketing.

Around here, a painter being able to ride a bike to the job site would be a sign of affluence. None of the ones here can afford to live any closer than Culpepper, which is an hour's drive away.

Paul

divineAndbright 

you know it rules.

shakeNbake

Your troll-fu is weak.

Cromulent

Except the 40-Year-Old Virgin ended up with Catherine Keener.

The guy is out there working, making a living, and being a productive member of society. And he's doing it on a bike. And the problem with that is what?

Re-Cycle

Good for the painter! I carried a garden hose, a rake and a bag of sprinkler repair parts on this bike once but thats no match for a lader carrier.

EnigManiac

I just finished doing a story on hauler bikes that are specifically designed to carry ladders, paint supplies and almost anything else. There are a number of them here and several businesses use them, including handymen, gardeners and a coffee company. They are very popular in Europe and gaining momentum here in North America as well. There are some that are designed to carry up to seven kids with seat belts that are used by day-cares.

Why would you dump all over the guy? You should have been applauding him. He could have been a fat, lazy jerk and driven a truck, but instead he found an alternative way of getting to and from the work site. Would you approve of him if you discovered his estimate was lower than everyone elses because he didn't have gas, insurance, maintenance costs to cover?

I'm always amazed when cyclists don't support one another, regardless of what they ride.

mac

Honestly, it would be hard to trust someone to work on my house who doesn't drive. First, there are political overtones why he doesn't drive:

Is he one of those weird anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, liberal types of people?

Then this is the issue of trust of why he doesn't drive:

Did he get a DUI and have his license revoked?

Next, comes doubt whether he is really qualified:

If the state can't even trust him to drive, why would I trust him to fix my house?

All of these questions ran through my co-workers mind as they turned to me and from their comments I could tell they were trying to associate me, a fitness bicyclist with this guy. I quickly distanced myself from that guy and explained the difference saying I ride for my health and love to drive my sports car.

EDIT: I just asked my co-workers in the lunchroom if they would hire the guy we saw yesterday. Here's their comments:

• Who cares?
• It depends, did he get his license suspended?
• If he can't even make enough money to afford a car, then he must not be a very good painter.
• No, that's bad. Either way (license revoked or too poor) I wouldn't hire him.

timmhaan

who could possibly care what the average person thinks. the "average" person in the US is borderline obese, stupid, and cares for little else than TV and fast food. eff them.

cheers to this guy for doing something different. i'd hire him in a heartbeat if he did good work. much better than a ******bag pulling up in a dodge dually.

moxfyre

Eh... so what, really? If he's a good painter and an honest worker, he'll get the job done. I try to keep politics out of business transactions.

I mean, how is this so much different from saying you'll only buy your clothes from a Christian/Jew/Muslim/Buddhist/Satanist-owned shop?? Seems as shallow and silly as not hiring a painter because he rides his bike.

Don't you usually try to get references for people who do work on your house??? You know, like, ask someone for actual information that might be RELEVANT to the kind of work you want them to do? As in, "I hear that Jim Jones painted your house, did he do a good job?", rather than, "I hear that Jim Jones painted your house, what kind of car does he drive?"

The kind of vehicle someone uses is a pretty fuzzy, heuristic, and unreliable way to judge their job performance, political beliefs, economic status, etc. There are lots of folks I see in Cadillac Escalades who probably mortgaged their house to buy 'em, and lots of cyclists who could probably afford a Ferrari or two if they wanted

Oh gosh, you're a pretty tough guy, aren't ya? Going out of your way to distance yourself from the "loser" your co-workers are making fun of. Yep, good for you! I'm sure that was a real hard thing to do. Give yourself a big pat of the back.

That's just pathetic! Why should you distance yourself from that guy? You both ride your bikes on the road, so presumably you have common interests such as a desire for safe and reliable road access for cyclists, courteous treatment from drivers, etc. I know you care about such things, because you posted this: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=3002505
.
.
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Oh dear, I've gone and fed the troll

EnigManiac

Wow. That is some kind of prejudice. Unfortunately, this thread has revealed far more about you than it has about the cyclist with the ladder.

Rowan

Ah, mac, mac, mac... you're a fitness cyclist. You, along with thousands upon thousands of other American wannabe riders, don't know any better. You drive your car/truck to the start of your ride, do your fitness bit, then drive home. You regard anyone who doesn't fit your image as being (a) suspect. It's the American corporate way, isn't it? Lashings of trinkets and toys to express your wealth. A sign of success is not in the job you do, but the size of the vehicle you drive. But sadly and least of all, you are unable to see that cycling goes much further than just being a fitness fad -- it is a whole transport industry and indeed, way of life, on its own.

The funny about this is, the guy on the bike has probably lowered his overhead costs to a level where he can beat the pants off most other contractors when quoting. He's not paying out exhorbitant monthly payments on car lease, fuel, insurance, likely parking fines, and that hidden but equally expensive cost, depreciation.

You obviously don't work in business for yourself, or outdoors, or you wouldn't be doing worthless washroom surveys...

moxfyre

+1!!!

Cycling doesn't HAVE to be your way of life, but why not? How is it any different from car culture? We all had toy cars and toy trucks, and all the newstands are plastered with car magazines, and folks at the office sit around and talk about how cool their new cars are. Why can't I make "bike culture" part of my life? It's healthier, cheaper, and more environmentally responsible as far as I see it.

It's kind of amazing to me that someone could ride a bike for fitness without appreciating that a bike might be a good vehicle for doing other things than just exercising. It's as if you were an avid skydiver, and you never realized that planes could be used for, you know, actually getting from place to place.

I'm hoping this is just a joke, and you're sitting at your computer giggling about what a mess your little troll post is causing

moxfyre

Whoa, you're one of those car commuters!?!?

What, did you lose your pilot's license or something? Fall behind on your helicopter payments because you spent time in jail? Oh man, you might be... gasp... MIDDLE-CLASS!!! Plus, you don't reliably use apostrophes in the grammatically prescribed manner. I guess I'd better not hire YOU

moxfyre

Okay, this thread has got to be a troll. The OP has evidently considered bike commuting himself, read this: https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=162778

Mods, what do you think?