JoeyBike

I'm in the USA. You watch the news lately? Seemingly accosting women is acceptable here, all the way to the top.

Where I live we have lots of poor people of all skin tones on bikes. Many of the bikes have been re-stolen a hundred times. Going price for ANY stolen bike in New Orleans is $30 for the crackhead who stole it. Might be a WalMart bike, might be a Titanium Moots. The crackhead don't care, they just need a couple of rocks. By far most bikes get stolen because they are poorly secured. Women are far more likely to be ambushed while riding than men. 100% of these aggressive thefts are male assailants. Men from all walks of life ride bikes here. Most of the women "cyclists" are service industry people who work for tips and can't afford to own/park a car in the city. They are forced onto bikes as an economic tool and forced off of them by thieves. Often sustaining injuries. Any women of means will generally not ride a bike for commuting. Maybe they haul their bikes to the country to ride for pleasure, I don't know.

noimagination

Well, he kinda referred to it by parenthetically listing delivery people as bike lane users. Of course, those people don't use Citibikes and thus are not counted in the "sample" from which he seems (from my reading of the article) to generate his "statistics".

The article also ignores the possibility that bike-lane users are not diverse precisely because there are too few protected bike lanes. The only people using bikes to get around are those addicted to risk (the white boy racer types) and those who (parenthetically) have no choice but to take the risk (the delivery guys). Perhaps, if there were more protected lanes, you might get a more diverse group of users.

salcedo

I was living int eh USA for many years until recently, and neither my wife nor any of my female friends were afraid to go out to the street. Maybe I just lived in nice parts of the US.

Also, I don't get what is your point regarding affordability. First, you said that white people are more likely to afford a bike, the young come up with this

Maelochs

When a guy starts the thread saying there is no difference between cycling the streets of New Orleans and being point man on a search-and-destroy mission in the jungles of Vietnam in the late 60s .... anything else he comes up with is going to be wrong even if it sounds right because the source is wrong.

JoeyBike

I NEVER SAID THIS^^

Find it and show me. Or apologize. Or just shut up and leave my posts alone. Thanks.

JoeyBike

My city is 60% African American. 40% "0ther". A large percentage of our African American population are living well below poverty levels. A smaller percent of our "other" population are in poverty.

As per our earlier conversation here, this may interest you.

1. I almost never see a black woman riding a bicycle. I believe this is because they are sitting ducks for getting knocked off of their bikes and injured as well as losing the bike. Many (most) grew up in tough neighborhoods and know the drill. They take no risks. Kinda like me.

2. I see a fair number of white women cycling for utility. Almost ZERO for recreation. They are getting somewhere they need to be i.e., work, doctor, grocery, visiting friends/relatives, etc. Most of these white women DID NOT grow up in tough neighborhoods. They are the cliche: "Fat, Happy, and Stupid", or simply in denial. The get preyed upon mercilessly.

3. Black males for the most part ride junkers. They use them for utility purposes. No sense owning something nice if the risk is high of losing it, and you have already had 20 bikes stolen in your lifetime. Also, black men very often ride against traffic. Why? Because they grew up, or still live in, a neighborhood where a car can come up behind them and the passenger smack them in the head from behind with a baseball bat and steal their bike/wallet/phone etc. Contraflow is a SURVIVAL skill for them. I don't judge them.

4. White boys/men - pretty much like the article in the OP.

5. NONE of the above people think of themselves as "cyclists" or wear anything resembling a race kit. Few wear helmets. They are just going about their lives.

Maelochs

You have a few problems. sir. First, people can read. You compared riding your bike to combat. You did that. No one else did.

Then you defended that comparison. Again, you made that choice. own it, deny it ... unless you edit all your posts in that thread, people can read what you've said.

Third ... you chose to post in a public forum. If you don't like what people say about your posts, don't post here. I can post here so long as I stay withing the guidelines. If that bothers you, I suggest a different and less public forum.

From https://www.bikeforums.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=20515179

(Emphasis added.)

JoeyBike

I most certainly did NOT. "Going to war" and engaging in "combat" are two entirely different activities. "Combat" insinuates strongly that I am an aggressor. I am actively seeking out an enemy in order to try to kill them. This could not be farther from the truth.

Combat:

Maelochs

Dude ... you either need serious medication or you are exaggerating wildly and no amount of trying to twist each word is going to change all the posts you have made, and the clear intent of those posts. Give it up and move on.

lostarchitect 

You're the one who literally put words in his mouth. Maybe you should "give it up and move on."

salcedo

I would think this is true about most cyclists. You have a weird idea of what a cyclist is if you imagine all cyclists wearing race kits helmets and thinking of themselves as cyclists. A cyclist is simply a person that uses a bicycle, either for recreation or utility.

Maelochs

Nope. You lose. he said riding his bike is like going into combat. I then elaborated on it --- I named a Specific combat situation---which is absolutely valid since he cited 'combat" which includes all combat situations.

Maybe you could actually read the threads being mentioned and then .. if you must comment ... up your understanding a little bit first.

It cannot possibly hurt that much. Try it.

cb400bill

Jeez, winter hasn't even started yet.

Thread closed.