dhale50

I know I love to ride my bike. Everyday in fact, but do you call yourself a cyclist. It sounds kind of pro to me. Like, if I say I'm a "cyclist", it sounds like that is my job. What do you guys think?

merlinextraligh

If you played golf regularly, would you consider yourself a golfer?

If you ran regularly, would you consider yourself a runner?

If you played tennis regularly would you consider yourself a tennis player?

It would seem that if you ride your bike on a recurrent basis, cyclist would be an apt description, regardless of whether you were paid for it.

botto 

it's not how i introduce myself.

blonduathlongrl

absolutly not! when I get on my bike, I consider myself a ping pong champion!

spearce

well there are cyclists and there are bike riders. I do think cycling is a different form of bike riding then other types. as such it deserves it's own designation.

crash13

yes

grahny

When people who haven't seen me in a long time say wow, you got skinny.. I just say, yeah, I ride my bike a lot. Technically though, yes, I would consider myself a cyclist.... 'cause I ride my bike a lot

unbelievably

I do, therefore I am...

https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cyclist

palesaint

On the rare occasion that someone asks what I do in my free time, the response is typically:

"I ride bikes"

as opposed to:

"I'm a cyclist"

Perhaps if I WAS pro and lived on the road bike, I might deem myself a "cyclist", but I enjoy mountain biking as much as road. And I'm pretty pathetic at both. But it's all about the passion isn't it?

foomonkey

I like to tell myself I am a cyclist even though I am inexperienced. I am certainly not a biker!

bruce19

Maybe you're a "pathetique."

cooker

There was a thread a bit like this last year. The suffix "-ist" implies some type of expertise, dedication or advocacy: eg "therapist", "existentialist", "soloist", etc. So by that standard, a "cyclist" is someone who claims special skill or knowledge or sees herself as somehow commited to or representative of a lifestyle centred on bikes, ie. more than just a bike rider.

I bet many people here do have that self-image. But in a William Blake sort of way, some of the most involved and experienced riders have probably transcended that stage of identification, and just think of themselves as someone who rides a bike.

CyLowe97

Exactly.

Bikers ride motorcycles.

Cyclists ride bicycles.

Az B

Just reading some messages while I wait for my porn to download. I guess that makes me a pornist.

Az

Go_Fast

bruce19

What is he?
- A man, of course.

Yes, but what does he do?
- He lives and is a man.

Oh quite! but he must work. He must have a job of some kind
- Why?

Because obviously he's not one of the leisured classes.
- I don't know. He has a lot of leisure. And he makes quite beautiful chairs.

There you are then! He's a cabinetmaker.
- No, no!

Anyhow a carpenter and joiner.
- Not at all.

But you said so.
- What did I say?

That he made chairs, and was a joiner and carpenter.
- I said he made chairs, but I did not say he was a carpenter.

All right then, he's an amateur.
- Perhaps! Would you say that a thrush was a professional flautist, or just an amateur?

I'd say it was just a bird.
- And I say he is just a man.

All right! You always did quibble.

(D.H. Lawrence, 'What is he?')

timmyquest

*pulls out $1200 camera & $300 lens*

"Are you a photographer?"

Portis

I prefer the term cyclist because it opposes the term "biker." Are you a biker? I hate that question when people ask it. I think you are a cyclist if you have reached the "enthusiast" level. If you ride regularly and spend a great bit of time and attention to bicycles, then you are a cyclist. Otherwise you are just some idiot on a bike.

Yoshi

You mean like these guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAOHhV1EFe4 ?

OneArmedScissor

im a cyclist in the same way as a person who drives a car is a motorist.

my bike gets me to work 9 days out of 10...and I prefer to ride my road bike to do my errands rather than walk because I live in the countryside and it's far and it's a lot more fun to tear past grannies and kids on their mama bikes.

Bantam

Sure, but when people ask what I do, I tell them I ride a bicycle.

shabbasuraj

I am a biker.

banerjek

I call myself a "cycling nut." The term doesn't imply any particular level of expertise, dedication, or advocacy yet it paints an accurate picture.

spearce

but would someone with that much camera equipment be into photography or just taking some pictures?

sweetnsourbkr

Owning equipment and using said equipment are two different things.