Cycling: For the middle class and rich only?
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cabhauler at 12.21.07 - 2:55 pm
Interesting story about a study on just who rides a bike (for transportation). It was done in Britain but I don't think the situation is that different here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2500754.ece
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Sorry if this is old news, I just saw the link.
cabhauler12.21.07 - 2:59 pm
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I know it's unverified research, but in LA it's pretty easy to see who cycles for transportation, just go sit on a streetcorner sometime. Watch who cycles by. If you opnly count those riding on the road, sure it's going to look much more middle class, but if you count those on the sidewalks, i bet the demographic changes.
FuzzBeast12.21.07 - 3:04 pm
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Plenty of DUI ridazz as well. And as we know Drunks represent all demographics and levels od social strata.
trickmilla12.21.07 - 4:04 pm
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The article will probably apply to the US too. The cycling community is pretty big and has been mostly middle class even before this current 'trend'.
sc_nomad12.21.07 - 4:33 pm
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i don't know about the u.s. in general, but in the los angeles area, most bikes i observe are definitely not being ridden by the rich and middle class.
when i see a bike on the road, the majority of the time, it is a service industry dude, a public transit user, hispanic immigrants, etc.
i don't doubt that cycling as a hobby or sport probably has a more middle to upper class demographic, but like fuzz says, just look at the all the dudes on the sidewalk.
trekkie12.21.07 - 4:40 pm
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You can read about what sorts of cyclists exist in L.A. County in this:
MTA Bicyclist Survey from 2004
I read that shit about middle class people riding their bikes to work, in England. That is NOT the case in L.A. If I see a cyclists in L.A., they are typically working class, a student, or homeless. Rarely are they social-ride cyclists (which I would assume is a much richer, and better educated, group than the majority of cyclists in L.A.). Every couple of months, I see roadies.
This is just while riding around North East L.A. - but that british study does not seem to apply to the streets of L.A.
ubrayj0212.21.07 - 4:44 pm
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Usage may be different, but the attitudes are similar here.
It's not whether people ride or not, it's how they view cycling. Are they doing it because they want to and prefer it over a car, or doing it because they can't afford a car and would ditch the bike the moment they got a car?
Having a car is still a sign of coming up for the have-nots everywhere, sadly.
I think we'd be better bike advocates if we recognize this.
cabhauler12.21.07 - 5:00 pm
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Maybe the study does not apply to LA city proper. Also one has to consider what the article defines as cycling. I don't think it was just about commuters. Even the MTA poll, only polled commuters.
I am in a road cycling club with around 200 members, less than 5 commute on bikes. In another mountain bike club I ride with around 40 members, maybe 2 use a bike to commute and over half don't even ride on the road. And that trend goes on. The only group where I know more people that commute are the people that I meet from MR. And the people I know from MR are a small portion of the cyclists I know.
sc_nomad12.21.07 - 5:07 pm
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"200 members, less than 5 commute on bikes. In another mountain bike club I ride with around 40 members, maybe 2 use a bike to commute."
damn that's pathetic. roadies need to grow a pair and start commuting too. lets get all these people on board this is ridiculous.
Roadblock12.21.07 - 5:49 pm
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I see solo commuters all over town - some of em rollin slick rides
after midnight, I see countless busboy types rolling sidewalks - after the buses have all stopped
in ritzy hoods, I seen swarms >12 yuppy types (cept they're generally +/- 50 yrs old)
the truth is where you find it...
Atilla The Hunk12.21.07 - 6:56 pm
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-cabhauler says,
"It's not whether people ride or not, it's how they view cycling. Are they doing it because they want to and prefer it over a car, or doing it because they can't afford a car and would ditch the bike the moment they got a car?"
I feel like one of those fortunate few who went from bike-car-bike.
I at first thought it would be a climb of the "social ladder", until I began to really factor in all the added burdens of owning one.
Insurance, reliability, parts-cost, difficulty in diagnosing breakdown, all of these pretty much just told me to say, "fuck this, I'm getting back on the bike."
What's even sadder up here in the desert is when even the poor folks desperately try to claw the "social ladder".
They'll say, "fuck no, I ain't riding a bike!", yet take their chances on an $800-$1200 POS that could leave them, "high and dry" at any time.
Their added response to my commentary on mode of transport, "Hey, at least I fit in with my fellow motorist."
As far as roadies go, it's a gamble when trying to get one of them off the regular routine.
Very few of them I could actually converse with, the rest of them are so into their zone, they respond to any form of outside contact with a finger, or that "don't make me pop a cap in yo' ass" look.
bentstrider12.21.07 - 7:20 pm
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I posted this once before but it's particularly relevant to this thread and to us ridazz in Los Angeles.
INVISIBLE RIDERS
Some cyclists don't ride for fun, fitness or camaraderie. They ride to stay alive, earn money, and support their families.
By Dan Koeppel
Francisco Orellano wakes before sunrise. His mornings, sometimes for weeks on end, are nearly always the same. He carries his bike from his apartment to the street. Then he pedals into the dawn. He passes among other riders, who sit upright and silent, moving almost nothing but their legs, which revolve not in spinning cadences but in slow-motion circles. The riders roll forward, determined, toward some unseen destination.
Francisco looks elegant on his bike. His grey hair and moustache are neat; his striped, button-down shirt is pressed. He is proud of his appearance.
He travels the wide boulevards that lead to the shipping terminals at Long Beach, California. He passes unopened supermarkets, unilluminated car lots. Occasionally he pedals through the glow from an all-night filling station. Sometimes, as he rides, he thinks about El Salvador, where he walked to his jobs. But mostly, as he rides, he wonders whether he'll work today.
full article
ephemerae12.21.07 - 10:59 pm
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@ephemerae
Sadly, people like this guy do work that usually relates to building tract homes for the millions of motorheads, FlowMaster-fetishists, and the like.
Seems like when you earn low-money, others look at it as understandable.
But, then you're pulling a 5-6 figure income, and if you still ride a bike, people want to start referring you to a Shrink!!!
When I was driving rigs not too long ago, I was always pounded with, "when you gonna get a car/truck/motorcycle/-insert motor vehicle here-?"
I told the other truckers, "When you lose 2-3feet of that beergut and quit watching nAssCAR."
If I ever get into law enforcement, that would be a cool sight.
Myself, riding either a road or recumbent bike to/from job.
Cycling clothes on with my duty weapon in a paddle-holster.
bentstrider12.21.07 - 11:28 pm
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i agree. more racers need to get off there six thousand dollar bikes with three thousand dollar power meters and commute.
I was racing strong in pro races last season, just by doing hard two a day workouts on my morning / evening commute. 45 min each way on a cheap bike. Working full time, I'd just go as hard as possible, then ride easy when tired, or ride longer if I had time and felt fresh.
A lot of the top pro cyclocrossers up in Portland train like this. Erik Tonkin, Shannon Skerrit, etc. They just ride as hard as possible whenever theres time. Even UCI Super Pro Magnus Backstedt trains with no meters, just riding hard as possible.
brandt-sorenson12.21.07 - 11:46 pm
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I think its uncomfortable for people to show up around coworkers sweaty from bike riding.... like, man that guy cant afford a car.
A lot of cyclist don't know the trick of riding in lycra (not cotton!) with a backpack stuffed with work clothes, changing in the bathroom with a washcloth shower, hang drying the bike clothes. Reverse this on the way home, shower in the bike clothes, ring, hang to dry and repeat in the morning. Its super easy, hygenic and prevents saddle sores.
Its really bad form to ride more than 15 minutes then work in the same clothes... gross.
brandt-sorenson12.21.07 - 11:48 pm
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Meh, if you come across as a bike nut to your co-workers the definitely don't care, every job i've had where I showed up sweaty from riding they never did, but then again, I don't think of sweat as something that is a negative, hell it's a bodily function... and if you're healthy and bathe, sweat won't smell badly, as sweat deosnt have much smell aside from the salts and things.
FuzzBeast12.22.07 - 12:03 am
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Luckily, I'm the only person on my jobsite, so I actually wear the monkeysuit while riding to work.
Then I just wipe my face a few times in the trailer's restroom.
And if I get back into truck-driving, there's that stereotype about truckers, so I'm cleared there.
bentstrider12.22.07 - 12:55 am
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I'm a computer programmer, so I can generally get away with wearing my "bike clothes" at the office. I wear mostly wool, so I don't stink anyway.
cabhauler12.22.07 - 1:30 am
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When I lived in Hollywood and worked in Pasadena I would commute by bike several times a week (and take the train the rest of the time). What worked out well for me was bringing a change of clothes in a pannier bag, and stopping off at a cheap gym near the end of the ride in to work to have a quick rinse and change, then an easy pedal over to work.
I changed that when I realised, well, I can achieve much the same effect by wiping down with a damp hand towel once I get to work, leaving work shoes at work etc.
One dude I know brings a week's supply of work clothes with him on Mondays, takes them home on Friday does a 40 mile roundtrip commute on bike every day. This means he just needs to cart a pannier on Monday morning and Friday night.
These days I find that the messenger bag pretty much holds anything I'll need to lug around. I now commute by bike every day and don't own a car, but then again i work and live on the westside now, and love moving faster than the traffic.
ephemerae12.22.07 - 8:23 am
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I have a relative who is approaching middle age and doesn't have a licence. He lives with his folks and is dependant on them for transportation that or the bus. He is trying to get back in to construction which will often have him showing up at like 5am which creates a pretty serious transportation issue.
I braoched the subject of using a bike to have some indepandance and mobility and he and his father were totally against the idea. I think we was a former post-dui cyclist and looks down on those people now as he is trying to get his act together. Plus I think he was harrased by the cops a few times (probally for riding drunk).
Basically he feels people look down on cyclists and he does too and is more comfortable depending on others to get around until he can get the car/licence thing all worked out.
It was interesting to see it through that lens. Here is a perfectly excellent mode of tranportation that is reviled by so mant people for purely cultural/ perceptual reasons.
trickmilla12.22.07 - 9:51 am
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On that note I was pretty fucking annoyed how the lead character in
40 year Old Virgin is being shown all the ways he has'nt grown up: Single, Virgin, Nerdy, Childlike, Collects Action fugures obsessivly ... and oh yeah he rides a bike.
Later in the movie when he is about to get laid he goes crazy on his bike and drives super recklessly in traffic.
trickmilla
12.22.07 - 10:06 am
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Wonder what the next negative portrayal will be in a film.
Post-Apoc movie where the antagonists chastise and bemoan embattled, SUV-less, Joe-Sixpacks from their bikes?
And hero shows up in Humvee?
bentstrider12.22.07 - 10:14 am
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can we make one that is the opposite? I nominate Joe Borfo to be the stalwart hero embattled by the crazy gas guzzling hordes!
FuzzBeast12.22.07 - 4:27 pm
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When I used to work for an (undisclosed) retail establishment, hint: ***Mart... I used to ride to work everyday.. I usually changed in the employee restroom which happend to be inside the break room (gross!) Yeah I got the reputation of being a little kooky for riding though the ghetto at 1 in the morning after work, but i got some mad respect as well... Sweat or no sweat you got to do what you got to do when you don't have the privilage of owning a gas-guzzler... I miss those days, I put in some serious leg work on the daily.
BikeMonkie12.22.07 - 8:12 pm
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My bike = My car
I'd write more, but I have to go get a burrito, as I am starving.
R
NEWB31012.22.07 - 8:24 pm
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