B. Carfree

When I'm on the bike, I'm a cyclist. At other times, not so much.

Right now, I'm sitting on my ass; not sure what that makes me.

chewybrian 

This?

Grillparzer

That would stop them from lecturing you on just about anything.

JoeyBike

That's good. Don't think I could combine that with the Hare Krishna line, but the i infectious disease idea offered above would make a nice combo.

xtrajack

Hey you're me!!!!


I haven't cared what others think of me for many, many, years.

Roody

Thinking it over, yes, I would like to be known as a cyclist. Instead of "That guy who rides his bike everywhere."

But we can't all be lance Armstrong.

bjjoondo 

I LOVE being called a "cyclist or bicyclist", but I really get bugged when someone call's me a "BIKER"!! I'm not on a Big V-Twin motorcycle, don't wear leather don't really think of bicyclist's as a "Brotherhood" and as far as I know, we, who ride a bicycle don't have a " Creed or Code" to live by! I rode motorcycles for 30 years and NEVER called myself a "BIKER", I was a "Rider", independent, not belonging to a 1%'er organization or Club so PLEASE don't call me a "BIKER", rant mode off!

RaleighSport

Okay that's brilliant, I shall introduce myself as a cyclist from now on.

Artkansas 

Well, cyclist beats "a-hole" or "moron" which are labels that motorists are more likely to cast out as they pass.

Newspaperguy

Where I live and because of what I do, I'm known as the newspaper guy. That's cool, except I don't want my entire identity wrapped up in my job. If people know me for other things I'm doing, I think it's great. And if one of those things is cycling, it isn't going to bother me at all.

gerv 

I'm not a big fan of being "pigeon holed". I hate it when someone calls me an English major or a Caucasian or even a cyclist.

Sometimes being "defined" is being "confined".

Roody

It would probably take an English major to even write this!

gerv 

harshbarj

I myself hate it. I ride an upright city bike and normal clothes. I don't wear a silly hat or strap a tank of water to my back. I don't see the need to monitor my heart rate or keep an eye on my cadence. I ride because I want or need to go somewhere, that's it.

We really need 2 words like the dutch do. Sporty lance armstrong cyclists and us commuter cyclists share about as much as an Indy 500 racers and your average city driver dose. While both groups use somewhat similar vehicles, they are otherwise not related. I simply claim myself to be a bicycle commuter or utility cyclist till a better word comes along.

merkong

I used to get introduced as a cyclist all the time at parties and weddings etc. That's what happens when you wear your kit everywhere you go...

Machka 

I'm proud to be called a cyclist ... I've worked hard for many years to be one.

howeeee

Not me the guy that rides a bike everywhere is what I am. I always wear street clothes, but I ride different kinda bike all the time. Sometimes I ride a vintage Schwinn paperboy type bike, somtime a mountain bike, sometime a fixie and sometime a road bike.

A guy known as the guy who rides his bike everywhere no matter rain shine or snow is much more intriguing than the guy who spends an hour getting ready Saturday morning wrapped in Lycra to ride a 19 pound roadbike through rich suburbs with 10 other guys.

Roody

While rereading this thread nine months after it first came out, I kept thinking that I'd rather be known as "that guy who rides his bike everywhere." I was surprised that I had said the exact opposite back then. I guess I want it both ways....

I want other bike riders to consider me a "cyclist" because it means they have some respect for my knowledge and skills regarding bicycles. But I want non-riders (car people) to just think of me as the guy who rides everywhere and doesn't even have a car. Or I just don't really care what the car people think about me.

Sixty Fiver

Are you a cyclist ?



No, professional clown.

Blue Belly

I learned long ago that labels are just easy descriptions people slap on you to share their point of view. Getting upset about it is absurd. Brighter fish to fry & what do I care if someone I don't know thinks I'm a cyclist & nothing else. I'm not so self important that I feel I should be concerned with it. Shake the hand & be polite. Every new face may be your best connection.

zvez

this is funny!

Roody

These videos sound like they come from a BF thread! This one is pretty funny, roadie vs. commuter:

https://youtu.be/Z9j6f5eTkFU

AdrianFly

Whether I'm labeled a cyclist.. for worse or better it doesn't matter. I don't give a hoot one way or the other. Perhaps when I was younger..I suspect.

The trend due to political instability here in the United States is to live in a constant state of insecurity, worry and fear. If you are happy and content with the practical things life brings.. you need not go far to find yourself uncomfortable in your own skin with the decisions you've made. This is..how do they say.. The New Normal?

We self-medicate this by spending money on things the Internet/media/TV tells us we need but actually aren't necessary. Often status symbols. The more expensive, the greater the symbol the more powerful the status. The bliss is short lived, only to be soon replaced with boredom and frustration that we need now need another.. a better.. a more improved and more expensive status symbol.

CARS are up near the tippy top of this list of status symbols. A bicycle is the lowest of the low...however a Rolls Royce, Lamborghini or The Batmobile is at the tippy top!

NOT EVEN OWNING A CAR.. and even worse.. utilizing a bicycle as a viable means of transportation well..

That makes you a heathen! A Non-Conformist! BUM!!!!

(NSFW language)


Being labeled ANYTHING or categorized is something accomplished by another human with their own set of principles and life guidelines.

The important thing to be aware of is that these humans doing the labeling are often programmed to think the way they do and have no conscious independant frame of thought. They may believe they do but every decision they make comes from a psychological playbook of sort. It may also be determined that these people suffer from some form of mental disorder and need medication. Perhaps a quiet room with soft walls to bounce around within as well.

Usually that's not the case however. They are out there.. driving vehicles.

So long and thanks for all the fish!


"Education is a wonderful thing. If you couldn't sign
your name you'd have to pay cash."

Blue_Bulldog

I can go either way on this one. Like the folks who said "Im a dermatologist so people show me their sores" and "I'm in IT, so people want free tech support", I have the same dilemma. I'm a sports writer, so when someone asks what I do, they immediately think I want to only talk about sports. Chuck Klosterman once said "I might have a great opinion on the Middle East, but people only want to hear my opinion on middle relievers." It's bothersome. So being introduced as a cyclist is not cool. I am a lot of things, not just one thing... and to be like "This is Michael, he rides a bike" is pretty stupid if you think about it. "This is Jeff, he drives a Mercedes" is begging for a face-punch... so I mean... cmon. Just like someone else might really not want to talk about corporate finance at a tailgate (if thats what they do), I don't really want to talk about writing sports all the time and actually would rather not. Same goes for my mode of transportation. (When is it ever acceptable to converse about that anyway???)

THAT BEING SAID.....
(disclaimer: everything after this is going to come off as arrogant, but whatever... we've earned it)

I have worked really freakin hard to get into this shape. I mean... really hard. And, I'm sorry... but people I've known for a while ask about it. Like "How did you get in such good shape?" Answer? "Im a cyclist." Again, it sounds peacock-y... but people react a heck of a lot better to that than "I ride my bike everywhere." I have spent a lot of man-hours and man-calories (those are a thing, right?) making myself someone no longer afraid of going to the pool. Using "I'm a cyclist" then butters people up so that when you say "I live car free" they move away from "must be poor or have a DUI" to "Michael is totally health conscious and I wish I had that kind of dedication and if this s.o.b. can do this, then I can for sure jog three times a week."

Honestly, you'd be amazed how many of my friends started jogging/working out on the regular within 6-8 months of me going LCF.

So, I guess I don't want to be defined as a "cyclist", however if it's one of the many things I am.... then that's pretty cool. It's preferable to being called "satan worshiper", "pederast" or "red sox fan"

Rowan

This is really what you meant to say.









Sorry, I couldn't help it.