Originally Posted by
rsbob
Nah. There are cyclists and then there are ‘bike riders’ or ‘Sunday cyclists’. One has a higher degree of commitment and dedication but I just can’t figure out which one. Since the common definition here is so diluted that anyone on wheels is a cyclist and I don’t ride a tri or uni I am a bicycle rider. Let the festivities and fireworks begin!
It is not "diluted" to use "cyclist" to mean anyone on a bicycle/tricycle and whatnot. It's an umbrella-term. Just like "pedestrian" and "motorist". Hell, even "motorcyclist" is an umbrella term. Your level of "dedication" bears no bearing on this, as that it is merely a subset of "cyclists". You say that there is such a thing as "bike riders". Yes, there is indeed. "bike" is short for "bicycle" = "bicycle rider" = cyclists. You can also "ride" on a motorcycle, as a passenger in a plane, or on an inflatable banana behind a speedboat.
Just like "the human race" is an umbrella term, "Americans" being a subset of that while still being an umbrella term that can be futher divided into many, many subsets: rich, poor, politicans/non-politicians, factory workers, office workers, city dwellers, rural people, fat people/underweight people, you name it. It doesn't matter which subset you fit or how many subsets you fit, you're still American, and you're still of the human race.
There is no "dilution" there. It means someone "cycling" - i.e. they're on a unicycle, bicycle, tricycle, or how many wheels you care to add. It's all cycling. They are all cyclists.
Btw, what was that "Danish experiment" you referred to in earlier post?