I struggle a lot with the term “cyclist.” It feels dishonest to use it when referring to myself, but lord knows “biker” is all wrong, too. Although I’ve dedicated myself to riding my bike, I don’t feel like I am really a part of the bike community. This isn’t some sort of high school drama feeling–it’s more that I feel too new to identify myself that way. Like most people, I rode my bike as a kid. My memories generally involve being towed on wire baskets, falling off said baskets, and being deathly afraid of storm drains. My bike got stolen in eighth grade and I honestly don’t think I got back on a bike at all until after the birth of my second daughter, when I began training for my first triathlon. I had a craptastic big box store bike that I’d been moving around with me since college, but had yet to ride. I ventured out on the trail and found something I hadn’t experienced in years–quiet. I wasn’t fast, but I found that I could ride for hours. As someone that had never been particularly athletic, I was proud of my ability and set out to push harder. I bought a road bike and spent most of my training time on two wheels. Pretty soon my husband was joining me for rides, which led to him commuting by bike to work, which led to the first grocery shop by bike, and ultimately here.
This all started only about two years ago. During that time, I rode while training for two triathlons and that was about it. My husband began commuting by bike with the kids full-time last May, after we officially became a one-car family. I watched and thought it was wonderful how much he rode but, apart from joining sometimes on weekend rides, I didn’t see that riding as being a part of my life. I found myself complaining about how I wished Orlando was more bike friendly one time too many and realized that if I wanted things to change, I had to be a part of that movement. Unfortunately, I’m of the severe bleeding heart persuasion, so this is where I find myself–struggling with a 30-mile commute, but loving every second of the journey.
For me, riding is as much an act of advocacy as it is of pleasure. I do enjoy riding my bike, but it’s not part of my history. Maybe I’m a late bloomer, but I guess I’m forging that love affair only now. I ride because I sincerely believe my riding can make a difference, no matter how small. I ride because not only do I want my community to be healthier and greener, but also because I tend to think that having a progressive bike culture will lead to all kinds of other cultural progress. Somehow I think that tolerance is woven in with a general sense of community goodness–whatever that means.
So, finding this article headlining my local newspaper the other day really peeved me. And I have absolutely no idea why, but I made the rookie mistake of reading the comments. They are, of course, absolutely horrid and depressing. The Sentinel decided the article wasn’t enough to fuel the fire, so they’ve included all kinds of stupid polls to keep the hate flowing. Now today, I saw this article and I can’t decide which article peeves me most. I’m sorry that you used to love [insert any outdoor activity here] in Florida, but then the developers took over – welcome to Florida! Sadly, that’s kind of the MO around here–you find some lovely way to take advantage of the year-long sunshine and then developers swoop in and build a bunch of paper-thin, Chinese drywall condos around it. Of course it sucks, but it isn’t a reason to break the law. These “cyclists” are doing nothing more than brewing anger and aggression for the rest of us out there and let me assure you–it’s in no short supply to begin with.
If that’s what a cyclist is, or how it’s perceived by the “masses,” I’m not sure it’s what I want to be. Bike lady is kind of nice. I suppose I could just be a person on a bike, but that’s no fun. Any other nom de deux suggestions?
I like “bicyclist”; it’s perfectly clear without conjuring up images of packs of lycra-clad mad-men/women running red lights…
Alan@EcoVelo
PS – Nice blog!
Let’s remember that the people riding in racing groups are riding for speed, and they are participating in a sport. I’m driving to work–I just happen to be doing so on my bicycle. So it really sucks when people think they have license to speak for cyclists when they’re out there essentially playing a game. And if they’re running stop signs, they’re playing a dangerous game. But hearing about them makes me feel better about the already comforting statistics on bicycle fatalities–it means I’m even LESS likely to, you know…
So, really, I’m NOT represented by people that go out in groups and ride–anybody else out there have the same experience? I’m not hating on them–really, I swear, some of my best friends are fluorescent. But we need to make sure we distinguish ourselves from them, and that we (as law-abiding, leather/denim/plaid wearing cyclists) are more present here in Orlando. This morning, rather than doing any of those cool balancing stops I’ve been practicing all fall, I took my foot and put it on the ground at each stop. I read that one of the things that annoys drivers of cars is when drivers of bikes don’t stop at stop signs. I am not kowtowing, here. But it used to annoy me too. And if one simple act like that makes the sharing of a road more pleasant for everyone, then I consider NOT doing it as an act of petulance. I LOVE when drivers wave and smile. This is a “share the road” state. Sorry, I’m a teacher, so I get like this: let’s start sharing like big boys and girls, being nice to one another–and let’s remember that two wrongs don’t make a right when somebody else is mean to us.
“…The Sentinel decided the article wasn’t enough to fuel the fire, so they’ve included all kinds of stupid polls to keep the hate flowing…”
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
– Arthur Schopenhauer
[...] Network member blog 4onaQuarter, who writes from the Orlando area, talked about the "cyclist" conundrum in a post [...]
[...] Network member blog 4onaQuarter, who writes from the Orlando area, talked about the "cyclist" conundrum in a post [...]
[...] Network member blog 4onaQuarter, who writes from the Orlando area, talked about the "cyclist" conundrum in a post [...]
The problem with all of this (both the hatred and the cyclist retaliation), is that it paints people who ride bicycles as some weird group of people that are somehow different than the rest of the population, much like people believe that people of different skin color or people of different religion are somehow fundamentally different.
I agree with you that riding is advocacy, and probably the best advocacy for cycling as a legitimate means of transportation. For a 30 mile ride, certainly specialized clothes can be helpful, but in the city, simply riding in what you normally wear, riding calmly and predictably and simply acting like a normal person, not self-entitled, not above the law, etc.
In Portland, I think it’s wonderful starting to see many different types of people riding on different types of bicycles around the city, because it makes it harder and harder to paint people who ride bicycles as some “different” group when they look just like you (whoever you are), and just happen to be on a bicycle.
I’m convinced almost nobody will ever be persuaded to accept or become someone who rides a bicycle for transportation by moral argument or a “green” agenda, or even for health reasons. Which is why I think it’s so important to simply ride, and enjoy it. People seeing others doing something that looks normal, enjoyable and that proves to be convenient is what will get them thinking about changing their behavior.
I don’t want to be a “cyclist”. I am and want to be seen as a person. The more people who simply treat the bicycle as a (granted, beautiful and elegantly practical) tool to get them where they are going, rather than a moral or environmental or egotistical symbol, the more likely that is to happen.
[...] Network member blog 4onaQuarter, who writes from the Orlando area, talked about the "cyclist" conundrum in a post [...]
I’ve been using the term “bike-rider” to describe myself. “Cyclist” slips in because it’s in my brain, but “bike-rider” sounds friendly and pretty harmless to me, and covers well enough my personal relationship to the mode, which is: get up, dress for the office, stick my helmet on, get on my upright-style bike, and get my reasonably well-dressed, yet 54-year-old, ass to work downtown.
Nice blog, by the way. Found you via Streetsblog Connection via Portlandize.
I agree that riding/cycling/pedaling (& WITH our kids) is an act of advocacy. I, however, didn’t get into family bike commuting to become an alternative transportation advocate— I just wanted to stay a one-car family and to get to my work/boys’ school without taking the car b/c hey, it was only two miles away… MamaVee (http://suburbanbikemama.blogspot.com/) and I have discussed feeling like ‘frauds’ in the bike community because neither of us can talk really bike-techy things, nor, because of our parenting/life schedules, can we really join in our local bike advocacy meetings or rides (that meet at times we are trying to get little ones fed & in bed, for instance), etc. However, we were reassured by an expert (thanks, Julian from Totcycle!!!) that just the mere act of getting on our bikes and riding our kids to school, the park, the farmer’s market, where e\ver, DOES make us bike advocates. I read a lot of bike blogs but have started to stop reading some bike-related news articles (or really more the readers’ comments on newspaper websites) because they often totally bum me out.
I think I may refer to myself as a “bike commuter” but that doesn’t totally encompass it. Yes, I ride my bike to and from work, but I also ride my bike to run errands, go out to dinner, bring my kids to our city’s playgrounds, etc. I think Dottie & Trisha at http://letsgorideabike.com/blog/ call themselves as “city cyclists” to distinguish themselves from the sporty cyclists. Mostly, however, my local friends refer to us as “those crazy bike people” and I am totally OK with that, but I do like Anne’s “bike-rider” tag.
hey. What Sara said for sure! I def think that getting on a bike is a huge act. Esp with kids and Esp up here in the north east on days that are not “perfect” bike days. In fact one mom recently on a sunny cold snowy day asked me if I was still biking and agreed that it was still doable ( it was good winter stroller weather and she was actually walking the half mile home with her 3 year old) and in a way I feel that b/c of my bike ( box bike with cover on top) it opened up the possibility that biking with the kids was not just a summer spring activity. I think that is a rad perception shift that happened b/c she saw that I was not just a fair weather “sport cyclist”.
But mostly I feel like such a poser and newbie. Especially when I go around coveting $2000 bikes. Like who am I to demand such high quality biking.
I also think of myself as a “bike-rider”.
I don’t mean to imply that I’m some kind of flag-waving activist or anything. It’s just that I’m well aware that a woman riding sensibly and safely with her children is an act of advocacy.
Hating on Orlando because it’s not like NYC/Portland/Timbuktu is like a competitive sport around here and it gets old. People are always complaining, but they never do anything–they wait for someone else to fix the problem (though I know this problem is universal). I found I was guilty of the same thing–complaining about Orlando not being bike-friendly, but waiting for someone else to fix it before I started riding. I believe in the whole tipping point thing and I want to be part of the change.
Thanks for all the great comments on names! For me, I think the larger point is that I am a normal person riding a bike and want to be recognized as such. I don’t want my gear or title to separate me out as some sort of athlete using my sport to travel. I believe riding is a viable mode of transportation and I’d like a way to refer to myself without making myself “other.” I believe in the power of language, so I suppose that’s why I’m all caught up on it.
@Vanessa That’s awesome! You’re really changing the way people think about bikes–that’s all I think any of us can do. Like Dave said, I don’t think we’ll get anywhere selling a green agenda. People have to see normal people (and especially safe parents) making these choices. And I *so* feel you on the bikes. Not only do I covet something awful, I own three bikes. Three! And I don’t even ride everyday!! Oh, the shame!
One thing I didn’t express (in my very long comment above) was that while I didn’t start bike commuting to become this ‘big advocate,’ now that I use a bike regularly I can’t help but find myself moving into the advocacy role, craving more bike-friendly streets, policies, car drivers, etc. The truth is that it is completely IN my nature to become a flag-waving activist
, I just didn’t start riding and riding with my kids for this reason. I just wanted to get somewhere without using a seemingly-unnecessary car.
Mike Thomas is kind of stirring a pot from which he is not REALLY eating, right? He made a comment saying that “biking apologists” are angry that he told drivers to kiss “his skinny Lycra butt,” that these apologists were like Neville Chamberlain. But what will continue to be a weekly sport, a recreation for him, will be the way I drive to and from work with my children. To me, that’s more like Neville Chamberlain, or any wartime politician–declaring a war that someone else will fight (except when he’s out getting his kicks).
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_columnist_mikethomas/
By the way, the other faculty member working with me on my school bike club is a semi-pro “roadie.” He’s been my friend for years. I have no hate at all for club riders. Now, if there’s going to be a dialog between drivers and cyclists, we need to be united.
This comes up all the time for Anne and me.
We spent some time in our past as the go-fast, lycra-clad “cyclists.” But these days all our hours on the bike (for some reason I now think of hours instead of miles… maybe it has something to do with my lack of speed?) tends to come in the form of family errands and adventures.
For me “cyclist” also brings to mind “sport” and “sporting goods” — two ideas we really need to get away from if we want wider adoption of our bike-as-viable-transportation ways.
I also don’t like use term “bike commuters” because, 1) I do a lot more than commute (and commuting is a “chore”) and 2) at least around here, most bike-commuters sport that geared-up, lycra-and-reflectors, road-warrior look.
So we’re just “riders,” “bikers,” or “family bike riders.” (I guess technically we’re “family bike riding advocates” but I probably wouldn’t say that out loud to someone I didn’t want to alienate).
Our favorite term (but a mouthful) is “every day cyclists.” This one came up a few times when we posted on a similar “what do we call what we do” post a while ago (Radfahren was the most bad-ass name from the comments but there were lots of good suggestions). We’ve been hoping everyday cycling would catch on, but right now when you say it most people don’t know what to make of it.
Ultimately, the folks at the kids’ school probably just think of us (like Sara mentioned) as the “crazy bike people.” And that’s OK with us.
Because if they think of us crazy bike people at all, then maybe they’ll take a moment to think they can ride, too.
I’m gonna try using the term Urban Cyclist” to better describe my style of riding.
Found this in the Transportation section of http://www.lighterfootstep.com
….”What is an urban bike, anyway?
You can commute, get some fresh air, or fetch groceries on pretty much any bike that rolls. But urban bicycles are a developing class of bike which falls between skinny tired, racing-style bicycles and their burly offroad cousins, the mountain bike. They’re know by a lot of trade names: city bikes, commuters, town bicycles, and hybrids. Generally speaking, urban bikes are optimized for reliable city travel.
Features vary from bike to bike and manufacturer to manufacturer. Most urban bikes are built with a comfortable, upright riding position for better visibility in traffic. They may be equipped with one or more of the following: cargo racks; fenders and mudflaps; a light set; chain guard; wider, puncture-resistant tires; and a kickstand. Almost all urban bikes are multispeed, and many feature low-maintenance internal gearing…..”
I’ve been using the word bicyclist instead of cyclist and bicycle over bike from the very start of my blog…http://ridingpretty.blogspot.com
And thats been going on now for a couple of years. It was just a natural choice in words for me….