sometimes cyclists don’t do our collective image any favors…
#76
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Ergo, any person who has ever ridden a bike, even once, is a cyclist. The defense rests your Honor.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
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Ergo, any person who has ever ridden a bike, even once, is a cyclist. The defense rests your Honor.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
#82
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#83
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Ergo, any person who has ever ridden a bike, even once, is a cyclist. The defense rests your Honor.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
People who ride 5000 miles or even 10,000 miles a year are no more entitled to the term cyclist than little Timmy on his two wheeled Strider. Can I get an amen?
This thread has more than run its course. Time to close it down.
Personally, I think anyone who rides with some regularity is a "cyclist", the term really doesn't by itself convey any level of commitment or identity. If you want to make distinctions, there's these useful words called "adjectives" and you can attach them in whatever combination you care to to the noun "cyclist".
There's nothing oxymoronic or contradictory about the term "infrequent cyclist" or "low mileage cyclist" or "3 times a year cyclist".
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#84
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arguing over whether or not someone on a bike is a cyclist or not is incredibly obnoxious. Some homeless people ride around all the time and spend more time in the saddle than your average roadie. Ive gotten bike fit advice from a homeless guy on how to deal with a knee injury, took his advice too. Some people dont have any special equipment and ride their bikes to and from work 20 miles a day. Heck i don't look like a "cyclist" and have garnered the respect of the local road racers, saying someone isn't a cyclist is just nuts.
wut?!?!?!?!
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Rather, I'd say that a "cyclist" is someone who's developing some understanding, skills and capabilities to use a bike well.
Vs a "person on a bike" who could literally have just checked it out of bikeshare or bought it at the big box for their first ride in decades, has the seat six inches too low, and is about to proceed to salmon the sidewalk "because that's safer"
Everyone has to start somewhere, but some may forever remain "a person on a bike" with no real awareness of (or interest in discovering) any of the things that are key to having a good and safe experience.
And note I said "developing" not "has developed" - if that kid on a stride-a-bike has good role models, they're probably a cyclist. If they're going to be raised in a context where bikes are only toys for kids to ride around the driveway, they may grow up as a person on a bike. I didn't become a cyclist until college.
Last edited by UniChris; 06-17-22 at 09:45 AM.
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"Real cyclist" trying to ride 25mph on a crowded bike path on a Sat morning dont make too many friends.
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I don't think that's how it's used.
Rather, I'd say that a "cyclist" is someone who's developing some understanding, skills and capabilities to use a bike well.
Vs a "person on a bike" who could literally have just checked it out of bikeshare or bought it at the big box for their first ride in decades, has the seat six inches too low, and is about to proceed to salmon the sidewalk "because that's safer"
Everyone has to start somewhere, but some may forever remain "a person on a bike" with no real awareness of (or interest in discovering) any of the things that are key to having a good and safe experience.
And note I said "developing" not "has developed" - if that kid on a stride-a-bike has good role models, they're probably a cyclist. If they're going to be raised in a context where bikes are only toys for kids to ride around the driveway, they may grow up as a person on a bike. I didn't become a cyclist until college.
Rather, I'd say that a "cyclist" is someone who's developing some understanding, skills and capabilities to use a bike well.
Vs a "person on a bike" who could literally have just checked it out of bikeshare or bought it at the big box for their first ride in decades, has the seat six inches too low, and is about to proceed to salmon the sidewalk "because that's safer"
Everyone has to start somewhere, but some may forever remain "a person on a bike" with no real awareness of (or interest in discovering) any of the things that are key to having a good and safe experience.
And note I said "developing" not "has developed" - if that kid on a stride-a-bike has good role models, they're probably a cyclist. If they're going to be raised in a context where bikes are only toys for kids to ride around the driveway, they may grow up as a person on a bike. I didn't become a cyclist until college.
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i'd say anyone actually riding a bike is a cyclist, the same way someone driving is a motorist. you continue to be a cyclist after dismounting when you pursue it enthusiastically on and off the bike, whether for exercise, pleasure, practical purposes, etc. i don't think someone who hops on a bike-share bike to go a few miles considers themselves a cyclist, but if they're on a bicycle on a road, yes, they're a cyclist. the people here continue to be cyclists throughout their life because they're working on bikes, talking about bikes, arguing about bikes, shopping for bikes, buying bikes, arguing about bikes, looking at pictures of bikes, arguing about bikes, thinking about bikes, and sometimes arguing about bikes.
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Is it really a revelation to you that a large percentage of the population doesn’t consider how their actions affect those around them or do but make their convenience paramount? No different from someone who, say, parks in the street in front of a huge parking space because they are too lazy to park in the space for their quick errand.
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I’m glad for those things. My car just topped 16,000 miles on Thursday after a long (for me) drive to and from the start of a bike tour. Its 6th birthday is early next month.
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My car topped 450,000 miles recently and it's 40 years old. It's got a five-speed stick shift and no power steering or traction control. And it's air-conditioned.
#93
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Ok, it seems reasonable that bad behavior harms cyclists' "collective image."
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
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Ok, it seems reasonable that bad behavior harms cyclists' "collective image."
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Urban Renaissance Institute, a division of Energy Probe Research Foundation.
Energy Probe is a non-governmental social, economic, and environmental policy organization based in Toronto, Canada known for denying man-made climate change.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
It was founded in 1970 as a sister project of Pollution Probe.[9] In 1980, the two organizations formally separated and the Energy Probe Research Foundation (EPRF) was created, describing itself as "one of Canada's largest independent think tanks, with 17 public policy researchers", focusing "on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the use and production of energy."[10][11][12] After its separation and incorporation, and led from then on by Lawrence Solomon, EPRF began to accept funding from the oil and gas industry, and, in 1983, began a campaign "to educate Canadians to the social, environmental and economic benefits of less regulation in the petroleum field."[13] In the 1980s, the organization was also responsible for a proposal to dismantle the province of Ontario's publicly ownedelectricity utility, Ontario Hydro, in favour of privatization.[14]
It was founded in 1970 as a sister project of Pollution Probe.[9] In 1980, the two organizations formally separated and the Energy Probe Research Foundation (EPRF) was created, describing itself as "one of Canada's largest independent think tanks, with 17 public policy researchers", focusing "on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the use and production of energy."[10][11][12] After its separation and incorporation, and led from then on by Lawrence Solomon, EPRF began to accept funding from the oil and gas industry, and, in 1983, began a campaign "to educate Canadians to the social, environmental and economic benefits of less regulation in the petroleum field."[13] In the 1980s, the organization was also responsible for a proposal to dismantle the province of Ontario's publicly ownedelectricity utility, Ontario Hydro, in favour of privatization.[14]
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Ok, it seems reasonable that bad behavior harms cyclists' "collective image."
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
Does cycling infrastructure also harm cyclists' collective image? Does clogging up cities with under-used bike lanes, reduced parking, and narrower and fewer motor vehicle lanes harm the image of cycling and cyclists? Lawrence Solomon wrote in the Financial Post describing how cycling infrastructure benefits too few at practical and fiscal cost to most people that are harmed by it. "They are often seen as an entitled, smug and affected minority....Almost everywhere they’re seen as discourteous, and as threats to the safety of pedestrians." He also described, "bike backlash — resentment at the privileged position of cyclists, who are notorious for flouting the rules of the road without contributing their fair share."
https://financialpost.com/opinion/la...moting-cycling
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A "cycling infrastructure" would not have been necessary if cities were planned properly around the size and spatial capability of the human form to begin with. Had it not been for the (in many cases legally mandated) urban sprawl, people wouldn't have needed to use fossil-fueled motor vehicles - public or privately owned - as often or for as long as they do, and walking and/or cycling would've been the norm. But too many people want their leased BMWs and Range Rovers and their neatly manicured front lawns out in the suburbs because as far as they're concerned, that's what financial success and upward mobility is all about. I wonder how many members of this forum cycle (or claim that they cycle) for the joy of being on a bicycle and not for image and status - to fit in with a group or to flaunt their Dura-ace/carbon-everything level if affluence.
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A friend on Facebook in the Chester area mentioned there was a big bike competition or challenge today where bicyclists were doing stuff to upset people.
Personally don't think I have had turned off hardly any motorists to biking, though I'm sure there are plenty of motorists who have. Just follow the good principles of biking and there shouldn't be any problems.
I've seen plenty of bikers taking up too much of the road as if they were motorcyclists, same thing with pedestrians especially in the last couple years, or walking, biking on the "wrong" side thinking it is safer that way.
Personally don't think I have had turned off hardly any motorists to biking, though I'm sure there are plenty of motorists who have. Just follow the good principles of biking and there shouldn't be any problems.
I've seen plenty of bikers taking up too much of the road as if they were motorcyclists, same thing with pedestrians especially in the last couple years, or walking, biking on the "wrong" side thinking it is safer that way.
Last edited by TLit; 06-18-22 at 02:53 PM.
#98
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Ok. He doesn't beat around the bush about his agenda with the headline, "ban the bike!" There's no claim here of a lack of bias. But can you refute his claims? Chiefly that cycling infrastructure unduly burdens cities with both capital expense and ongoing interference with motor traffic for the benefit of a small minority of users who take on an attitude of entitlement in spite of the fact they're not significantly contributing to the cost of the infrastructure they're using.
#99
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...too many people want their leased BMWs and Range Rovers and their neatly manicured front lawns out in the suburbs because as far as they're concerned, that's what financial success and upward mobility is all about. I wonder how many members of this forum cycle (or claim that they cycle) for the joy of being on a bicycle and not for image and status - to fit in with a group or to flaunt their Dura-ace/carbon-everything level if affluence.
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If you're so aware of the concept of freedom, then you ought to be aware that it cuts both ways: cyclists are free to use the same roads that motorists do, with the same rights and the same duties.