BiketoFeel

Watching the movie last week I couldn't help but draw some parallels between Fight Club and bike commuting. Thoughts?

newenglandbike

Absolutely! Friends and colleagues of mine who commute have alluded to this as well. "The first rule of bike commuting..."

Except when you're here, of course.

xtrajack

I'm operating at a disadvantage here, I have never seen the movie. I am familiar with commuting though.
I am at a loss to understand the parallels to which the OP alludes.

mtnwalker

Well, the first time I commuted I was riding mysel......wait....

coolio

Yes. Minus the paranoid guy with the man boobs.

CliftonGK1

I've read the book and seen the film many times, and I don't get it either.
Fight Club is about an MPD insomniac who reconciles his sociopathic alter-personality through violence.

MNBikeguy

Thank you.
I've seen the movie twice and don't get the parallel. Curious where this thread would go.
Thankfully, I won't have to kick the s*** out of anyone on my ride tomorrow.
Especially since I would lose.

531phile 

I recently learned that paranoid guy with man boobs is the rock singer Meatloaf. I knew he was fat, but not THAT fat, especially in his breast area. Maybe it was just fake???

FunkyStickman

He was wearing a fatsuit for the movie.

I've also read the book and seen the movie.

I'd elaborate on the parallels, but that would be breaking rules #1 and #2.

FunkyStickman

Okay, let me break this down: Tyler's tirade about "Is that what a man is supposed to look like?" and "The things you own end up owning you" kind of mimics the way people worship at the altar of Lance and spend $4000 on "Crabon Fibre" steeds, when in reality, it's just a bike. You ride it from one place to another. We're part of the club that even other cyclists think are crazy.

It's not what kind of bike you have, but what you do with the bike that determines who and what you are. You determine your own level of involvement.

LOL, I could go on for quite a while like this...

tonski 

The part you guys are leaving out is how magnificent that "paranoid fat guy with man boobs"'s music is

CliftonGK1

None of my bikes are "just a bike". Each one is unique and special. They are not the same as every other bike.
Doesn't matter if it's my $3000 randonneur bike or my $100-worth-of-parts-on-a-salvaged-frame singlespeed beater.

electrik

It could be... yes.

Bachman

I don't know about the whole movie but sometimes I feel like Tyler Durden, when "Lou" the bar owner beats the crap out of him. He is obviously going through some physical pain, but he seems to get a kick out of it, and just laughs in his face as if he is inviting Lou to keep beating him up. I love commuting, but I really get excited about commuting on difficult days. I anticipate the challenge, and possibly the pain. It's like a good pain, you know?

Carley P.

I haven't seen Fight Club in a few years.

I'm so fast I'd compare my commute with The Fast and the Furious. "I live my life one commute at a time."

busted knuckles

this reminds me, I need to go make some soap.

ChrisO

Well, nobody else has done it, so I will...
"the first rule of bike commuting is, you don't talk about bike commuting"

FunkyStickman

Ah, that's where you're wrong. They are valuable to you because you assign them sentimental value. A thug would come along, steal your rando bike, paint it black, and turn around and sell it for $100 for a quick hit.

To quote Chuck (edited for the BF crew):


(I hope you guys know I'm just being goofy, not trying to actually start a fight...)

Nice avatar pic, by the way... I think Watterson would approve.

john423

OK, first, try not to spoil the movie for the 2 people on earth who haven't seen it (fantastic film, by the way).

Second, it's a damn fine point about our stuff owning us. But this is just like any hobby, we're always looking for improvements. I commute now with a Schwinn Sierra GS, perfectly fine bike, cost me about $350 or so. My commutes are short compared to a lot of yours. So the Schwinn should be fine and I should be happy for eternity and evermore, but I wanted something lighter, something different.

So I mail-ordered a Jamis Coda Comp. It's gonna become my primary commuting bike, with the Schwinn as a backup. Did I need the Jamis? God no. Did I want it? Yup. I can try to rationalize it all I want by saying "but it's lighter, but it's this and that and the other," but when it came right down to it, I bought a bike to replace a perfectly fine, working bike. My stuff's owning me.

But people get better equipment to improve performance in any hobby, from bowling to golf to darts. You can play golf with the cheapest set of clubs from Walmart, but you will most likely do better with a custom graphite set. How much better vs. the money you spend and whether that's worth it is entirely your call.

When I started, I said the Schwinn would be all I'd ever need. Then I got a road bike. Then I got a hybrid. Having zero desire to mountain bike or cyclocross, I can fairly safely say that this may be it. But I can also definitely say "never say never."

clasher

Heh, folks shouldn't read threads about movies they haven't seen if they don't want to spoil them.

The cycling industry is a consumer's paradise... it's a mature, developed product that gets the hell marketed out of it and back.

tjspiel

The house owns me.
The cars own me.

The bike sets me free.

Andy_K 

Have you ever thought about trying cyclocross?

Andy_K 

There are only two of us? Me and Xtrajack?

CliftonGK1

My rando bike is already black. Shoots that plan down, eh?

FunkyStickman

You know, I did think about that... they'd probably still spray paint it.