Years from now, I'll be able to say I saw the Bike Forums Culture War.

You said, Many homeless work or want to, and that's what I was musing about --e.g., about how you would or could groom and dress on a daily basis as a homeless person on a bike if you were actually concerned about looking like someone who was, employable? Who, for example, is going to employ a bum on a bike?

Some on this thread make it sound like it makes no difference what someone looks like when looking for a employee. They probably are people who have spent their entire lives doing everything possible to avoid working in the free enterprise sector of the economy.

Whether people bother to wash their clothes or shampoo their hair matters. My thought is, people who actually want work at least look employable.

Even if they're on a 10-day tour, a bicycle tourist will continue to maintain certain standards (even tho they already have a job and aren't looking for another one a thousand miles away from home). Bicycle tourists wash their cycling shorts and hang'm off the back of the bike to dry because they can: they have a second pair. Tourists may not have blow dryers but they still maintain standards and don't grudge spending the time it takes to wash off the grime of a 70 mile bike ride.

People care about how others dress? I usually judge a person by their character. Everything else is just fluff.

Thanks for the read, guys. Lot of different perspectives and color commentary...

I don't concern myself much with strangers' appearances or employability.

Also- that bikepacking rig is FAR from what I imagine the OP was addressing. And the rider doesn't look terribly unkempt. A different population that doesn't look like that at all is what's being addressed here.

Also- though I know nothing of the OP, from this thread, they sound like a miserable person, obsessed with employability- and even conformity, blending in, as if society is the bees knees or the best answer for everybody. "Just suit up and get a job!" Doesn't work for every brain out there.

Also don't understand the sexual picture, but I guess this thread is just a free for all...

I don't mind bums on bikes riding through the apocalypse. Might join the smelly rascals soon.

Whoever made this post has no good ideas to contribute. What a ****ing pathetic post. Yes, there are people who ride their bikes across the coast of the us sir. Yes, go ahead and realize that you are riding your bike across vast distances, you're going to encounter some people. What is wrong with you? "Touring cyclists?" You need some hair on those balls. I'm a "touring cyclist" because of the people I've seen and appreciated and accepted and who have nourished my soul along the way, those who have given me honesty. I've met good and bad people. How could anyone emerge from a bike tour with even a hint of discrimination toward other people who travel on their bikes. Again, **** off please.

The histrionics on display are sort of funny and sort of pitiful too -- more a celebration of hypocrisy than life in the real world.

Did you ever think the OP was just a troll?

Hey at least I learned a new word...

...still can't tell if OP is more or less 'pitiful' than the people he's putting down here. At least, from what I gather, Uncle Festus was a nice person.

...oh, I get it....

You got a problem with people that ride (tour) without a mileage goal.

I've had a couple tours in jeans without a helmet and no "goal". It's awesome!.....you should try it.

Oh, I don't know if the OP views conforming within society is the bee's knees, but I would confidently say the OP views it as at least being the cat's pajamas.

In all seriousness, I agree and already know one of my daughters will life her adult years as you mentioned- 'just suit up' doesn't work for every brain out there. Wicked smart, way smarter and observant than I was at her age, but operates to the beat of a different drummer in a different band. Its both frustrating and enlightening to be part of how she sees issues both big and small. Perspective is fascinating.

Keep on feeding him why don't you? Nom nom nom

Nope, I don't have a problem. I'm not even talking about homelessness as an economic problem that has resulted in a loss of housing. However, you may be onto something when you talk about, goals. Having or not having a goal is perhaps something I am talking about without even realizing it.

The "bike" element comes into the discussion primarily because I am looking at those with a bike and no home and my observation that there seems to be more bums these days in the Cal-coastal cities that are popular among tourists and inarguably would be a nice place to live albeit expensive (ever seen the prices for a small old house in Carmel?).

For some, however, their home is much like a bike being the temporary home of a bicycle tourist. With a love of cycling and some experience touring over the years, my curiosity goes to the point of wondering if adding the element of a bike, just might in some way change the dynamic of homelessness... for the better -- e.g., change the way a homeless person (presumably someone in need) thinks -- which, obviously is not just about a lack of housing.

Wouldn't you like to think that simply giving a homeless person a bike would change their lives for the better? Unfortunately, that's probably all it is: a nice thought.

I've met some people, the kind you describe, living on their bike as a temporary measure. They are usually young, full of life, but homeless none the less. You are making a BIG presumption that the people you see are in need.

Look at it this way.....the country is full of public lands (Parks, National Forests, etc...) that has been paid for with tax money.
Why not make use of it? That's what I would be doing if I was homeless around Carmel, CA.

That sounds like a new category altogether – mountainmen on bikes – instead of, bums on bikes... but, the days of the 50¢/night hiker/biker camping is gone so I think society may have to foot the bill for that, in addition to camp stoves and food or were you thinking these homeless outdoor bikers would become hunters?

I lived on a bike for a year. I made my money writing freelance from a small cheap laptop in coffeeshops and libraries. I traveled thousands of miles in all weather with just the stuff I had on my back, self-supported, while paying back my college loans.

Lots of people my age work odd jobs in cities and then move on to rock climb, alpine climb, mountain bike, etc. Lots of people my age work 6 months and travel 6 months alternately. Lots of people older than me do it too.

You are not wrong about a bum living off of society being an unfortunate thing, but you are wrong to think you can identify that situation from simply looking at someone passing you by on a bike.

Good points and words of caution but how about the grunge factor? A person's 'identity' encompasses an overall aura that a passerby on a bike gives off, no? In the situation you describe, use of a laptop, stopping at coffee shops -- I'm thinking you'd fit comfortably within the description of bicycle touring and would not likely be classified as a bum on a bike --e.g., you were probably taking advantage of daily access to showers and assorted utilities and wearing clean clothes that were well-suited to cycling. In other words, you probably looked employable even when you were not actually looking for work.

I showered less than once per week, had a beard, was wearing an old wool T-shirt and cycling shorts, and at one point I was actually bleeding with shredded clothes from a crash. In the corner of an empty Dunkin Donuts, nobody cared.

You were probably right about simply looking like someone easily misidentified as a bum when just passing by is an issue, although the laptop certainly would confuse things and, how about the bike? Piece of crap? Is that you in the picture with the Surly at Boreas Pass? If so, we already have third party testimony above as to your aura --e.g., too big a smile to be a bum...

Not a picture of me above. Even my bike looks dirtbag-chic.



I know I'm being trolled, but it's kind of funny watching you back further and further into the corner...

I am definitely of the bum on bike class. Did some group rides for awhile at local LBS and one day overheard somebody reference me as "the dude who wears ratty t-shirts"! (everyone else looks like a polyester sheenster). I ride my bikes so much that when people see me driving a car I can see the "you mean you did not lose your license" look in their eyes.

Who bathes every day on tours anyway?

I conceded the easy possibility of a misclassification but the bike and accoutrements are all a part of the aura and in your case the disk brake on the front wheel does not fit the leitmotif of a bum on a bike... maybe could tramp it up a bit with a tinfoil hat instead of a $200 Mojito -- I've got a $50 Ghisallo.

Those little bars of soap from hotel rooms are handy -- just break them in half and leave what you don't use behind for the next guy or gal, and having just the right towel is a science --i.e., not too knappy or too big and preferably brown (definitely not white), and... you don't care. Got it.

Most people don't know a bike disc brake from Phil Wood hub, and most people don't really care.

It's never something I take for granted and perhaps I sell myself short too often but you've convinced me that I'm just a helluva lot smarter than you. Or not! My Phil Wood hubs actually did last a lifetime on the bike I had them on... good stuff!

As a touring friend of mine always says, "Showers are sooo over rated"

of which I agree, that is as long as I'm riding out front and up wind.