Have We Failed?
May 23rd, 2008 | Written by The Rev | Topic: SermonsToday while I was at work and should have been working , The Wolfe forwarded me a post from the site of the great Maynard Hershon regarding his decision to stop writing for cycling mags (BTW thanks Gewilli for the plug). Here is an excerpt:
Scarcely anyone waves back today. Last month a hipster on a fixie waved; I nearly hit the chain-link fence next to the bike path. Club riders don’t point out holes and aren’t aware that cycling etiquette exists. Guys buy Sevens and Madones and put hi-rise stems and three-speed bars on them. Many Colnago riders can’t fix a flat. No one rides to rides.
All Brother Hershon says is true, but who is to blame? For a variety of reasons cycling is booming. Here in the 801 we have herds of hipsters on fixies, 200 riders at our weekly crit, 5 (maybe more) week day races to chose from, I am sure it is the same in other cities. Back when I got into riding it was a pretty small community. There were a few local hotshots, and grumpy old racers that pretty much ruled the group rides and the race scene with an iron fist. You learned pretty quick about pointing out holes in the road. Attacking a feed zone was a death sentence. On solo rides when you saw another rider you waved, probably because you knew them, but even if you didn’t you always got a return wave. As a Cat4 I showed up once with a pie plate spoke guard on my new rear wheel. I endured more abuse than a 14 y/o FLDS girl on that ride, I have never had a spoke guard since. The point is I had mentors. Heartless grouchy bastards but mentors none the less. Now we have reached a critical mass so to speak. There are not enough of us grumpy old racers to tell the hipster that colored anodized rims are dumb (they are too young to remember the purple anodizing horrors of the early 90’s) or mercilessly mock the cardiologist on the Seven with platform pedals.
We need to mobilize and take the word to the street. Shame that fixie guy into putting a brake on that thing. Keep waving, it will catch on again. Go on a group ride and scream like Ike Turner whenever a hole goes unpointed. Teach a kid how to glue a tubular. Remember, it takes a peleton to raise a cyclist.
Sermons |
Comment by Tri-geek on the May 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
And it was a few not so old, sometimes grumpy racers who took me under their stewardship and taught me the way of the true cyclists. Even Brother Hershon would be proud. I have lived and loved the big ring ever since.
Comment by MM on the May 24th, 2008 at 4:13 am
Truer words have never been spoken…
We have folks here who get yelled at by the group only to argue that their noob way is proper…grinds my gears…
Comment by kg on the May 24th, 2008 at 8:53 am
If you ride a bike you are my brother, and as my brother it is my job to teach you the way. But roadies not waving goes way back, and if the fixie guy waved, then it’s a good sign.
Noobs will learn or they will go onto something else.
This too shall pass.
Comment by utahsoul on the May 24th, 2008 at 11:06 am
The wave from other brothers in the the 801 will only come if you are wearing a bright colored jersey full of sponsors and riding a 6K steed. Riding a non-tailored mount in baggy shorts, beard, and a 1990 Lemond style helmet will be met with only a shrug and then eyes looking the opposite direction.
Comment by zed on the May 24th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Some of us don’t care for the fixed culture or the racing culture and just want the bike community culture. The idea of riding a bicycle as part of a community, where the objective isn’t who is quickest, or the hippest, but the idea is to be among friends and gain new friends. how keen.
Comment by Chelsea on the May 24th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Riding bikes is fuN! Either fixed, road, bmx, whatever. We can all have fun together, no? You know, nobody’s complaining about the guys down on their luck riding pink bikes that look stolen. Lay off the young hipster and snotty spandex guy. Just jump on the band wagon - cycling is fun. That’s why we do it right? (aside from the whole gas prices thing and responsibility thing..)
What are we complaining about again? I forget…
Comment by Bob on the May 24th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I am old, only sometimes grumpy and roll over holes on my road bike, cause, well, I just do. I do point them out though, and I wave and say hello to everyone I see, even when SUV takes me out I wave and smile.
People really take themselves wayyyyyy toooooooo seriously, just today, some one mentioned how they blame to promoter for not telling them a mtb race course may be muddy, on a pre-ride, 1 day after it rained, and last week someone complained cause they were too scared to pass some one slower on the DH in the weeds, saying the slow person should just stop. Oh hell I’m ranting about people unwilling to take responsibility for their life again.
We ride bikes, sometimes for joy, commuting, racing, fitness, but we get to, that is the point, millions over others don’t even have the luxury, we should all just chill the fuck out and enjoy, for a change.
Comment by El Hammermeister on the May 26th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/_images/galleries/zambia/large/9091_Taxistand.jpg
(Copy this link up into your address bar.)
Not a spoke protector in sight, and platform pedals, how unhip. I wonder if the spoilers on the back are legal. I’d mentor the second guy in that break: close it up a little bit.
So, bike snobs, take a look at this: http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/ There are quite a few grades of gruppos below Ultegra.
Comment by The Rev on the May 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Thank you Brother. It is easy to get caught up in the elitist nature of our sport. Here in the good old USA riding is something we get to do. In other parts of the world a bike is a tool. Something you have to do.
Comment by Brewer on the May 28th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Who’s “grouchy?”
Comment by The Seldom Killer on the June 19th, 2008 at 12:32 am
You should come to Europe. I was on a touring holiday in the South of France with TBL and every time a club run passed us in either direction almost everyone would wave at us, even the 20 man double pace line trying to break terminal velocity on a descent.
Mind you, if you can’t respect a rider pushing a double bagged rig up a 20%, then who can you respect.