Sick Sad World
Stumbled across this article, Do-It-Yourself Bike Touring, which was mentioned on a recent bikeforums thread. The article is great. The thread is depressing.
When companies figured out a way to market cycling as a middle class form of recreation, which happened around 30-40 years ago, everyone who doesn't fit the normal, prepackaged images of the cyclist became pariahs. Marketing and consumerism have taken the fun out of biking. And perversely, sport cyclists in their ugly spandex accuse non-comformists of giving cycling "a bad name" because they choose not to purchase the gear, because they improvise as they go.
That's the paradox of modern American consumerism: you are given the illusion of freedom to make choices about your purchases, but the culture actually enforces strict norms about the identity you're buying into.
For this reason, I rarely go on rides with the major bike club here in Seattle. On one occasion, I actually heard someone brag about the $300 cycling glasses he purchased. Fucking unbelievable. For that poor soul, spending money on gear is how he assures himself he is a "real" cyclist, one of the crowd. It's truly sad, not just because of his obvious desperation to belong, but because he's been so brainwashed that he actually can't enjoy cycling without his expensive glasses.
I like to ride my bike. I ride to school, I ride to get places, and I ride for fun. I refuse to wear tights. I take the lane when it's safer than the tiny bike lane. I ignore the mid-life crisis men and women who peddle furiously while glaring at their speedometers. I like to look at all the cool stuff around me when I bike somewhere new. I stop when I want to.
If you're not one of the crowd but you like to ride your bike, drop me an email. Maybe we can ride sometime.
When companies figured out a way to market cycling as a middle class form of recreation, which happened around 30-40 years ago, everyone who doesn't fit the normal, prepackaged images of the cyclist became pariahs. Marketing and consumerism have taken the fun out of biking. And perversely, sport cyclists in their ugly spandex accuse non-comformists of giving cycling "a bad name" because they choose not to purchase the gear, because they improvise as they go.
That's the paradox of modern American consumerism: you are given the illusion of freedom to make choices about your purchases, but the culture actually enforces strict norms about the identity you're buying into.
For this reason, I rarely go on rides with the major bike club here in Seattle. On one occasion, I actually heard someone brag about the $300 cycling glasses he purchased. Fucking unbelievable. For that poor soul, spending money on gear is how he assures himself he is a "real" cyclist, one of the crowd. It's truly sad, not just because of his obvious desperation to belong, but because he's been so brainwashed that he actually can't enjoy cycling without his expensive glasses.
I like to ride my bike. I ride to school, I ride to get places, and I ride for fun. I refuse to wear tights. I take the lane when it's safer than the tiny bike lane. I ignore the mid-life crisis men and women who peddle furiously while glaring at their speedometers. I like to look at all the cool stuff around me when I bike somewhere new. I stop when I want to.
If you're not one of the crowd but you like to ride your bike, drop me an email. Maybe we can ride sometime.
posted by Hacky Biker at 2:30 PM
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