Comments on: What's in a name?

By: Shelly

Shelly — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:49:43 +0000

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….

By: rodney

rodney — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:53:57 +0000

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…..”

By: Tim K

Tim K — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:08 +0000

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.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:02:54 +0000

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.

By: sara

sara — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:51:53 +0000

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.

By: Angie

Angie — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:45:26 +0000

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!

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:31:17 +0000

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”.

By: sara

sara — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:45:50 +0000

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.

By: Anne Hawley

Anne Hawley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:43:36 +0000

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.

By: Streetsblog Los Angeles » A Cyclist by Any Other Name

Streetsblog Los Angeles » A Cyclist by Any Other Name — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:57:22 +0000

[...] Network member blog 4onaQuarter, who writes from the Orlando area, talked about the "cyclist" conundrum in a post [...]