The "Who the Frak Cares?" Bicycle Movement
I'm so darn sick of road bikes, Dutch bikes, track bikes, cruiser bikes. Ride fast, ride slow, hammer, coast, pedal hard, take it easy---who the frak cares?
Therefore, I hereby initiate the "Who the Frak Cares?" Bicycle Movement. Who cares how fast you're going? Who cares how slow you're going? Who cares which you prefer? Who cares how much fun you're having going one speed instead of another? You do, of course. But you know what, nobody else does.
(As long as you're not on the sidewalk.)
There's no cool logo associated with this movement, because seriously, who the frak cares whether or not we have a logo?
[Inspired by Freewheeling Spirit.]
posted by Jennifer @ 8:33 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Completely agree Jennifer. Well said.
I think we should and can get along without the silly tribalism that seems to divide many of us, but I think there's something to be said for encouraging people who want to ride slowly without fast bikes and fast kit. Can this be done without an "us vs them" attitude?
I had thought so, until I ran into another Jennifer in Chicago:
"My partner always notes that the people who seem most happy and pleased whilst cycling here are the ones who are riding cruisers and thus are not speeding in and out of cars and past other cyclists at a breakneck pace."
Which I interpret as, "We're better than you because we're slower and therefore happier. We're the ones who do this just for fun."
I'm all for encouraging people that bikes aren't just for racing, but I feel like it's turning into a silly popularity contest: which group and convert the most newbies?
I saw that comment and thought it was you at first (I didn't hover over the link to her blog). I get annoyed at that smarminess too.
Well, of course the slower riders look happier -- the faster riders can't smile because they don't want bugs in their teeth!
And then Obama had to make front-page news riding that hybrid, which I've heard through the grapevine isn't even his (which would the things that everyone was quick to point out). I feel kinda bad for him, first because there are hybrids and semi-hybrids galore around here, but nobody really thought about it until fixies and old cruisers became the Next Big Thing. Second, riding on the Lakefront Path with one's kids in a trailer is a completely normal thing to do around here, and I'm quite certain that's not the first time the Obama family ever has.
But everyone's all, "Oh, that's a dork bike and it's way too small for him, and he's wearing jeans and riding on the sidewalk, so this was clearly just a media stunt, he doesn't know what he's doing."
I guess this was unrelated, but I've been needing to vent. I keep yelling at my computer, "You don't understand! This is normal!" But it's abnormal relative to the rest of the country, so it would all be in vain. "Normal" is the current President and his mountain bike. But that doesn't represent me. And then I wonder if getting all googly-eyed over a handsome geek who does represent me really is, as some claim, blinding me to the "issues" or whatever, and what that means for the country, and then I remember that I'm probably just wasting too much time thinking too hard, but then again, isn't that exactly what we should be doing with the next person in charge of the country, instead of just picking the dude we'd rather have a beer with?
Arg.
Make that, "which would explain the things that everyone was so quick to point out."
Speaking of beer, everybody knows that McCain has pretty much an endless supply of it, right? Given his family connection and all....
Fritz, I agree 100% with you. Zealots of any stripe are frustrating, and lead to "Who the Frak Cares?" and at the same time newbies need inspiration to see cycling as accessible and desirable.
I have tried to just keep a very open sense of wonder and think, in most cases, "isn't this awesome?" whether for a remarkable handmade carbon-titanium IndyFab or for a girl going 5mph on a Dutch bike. There's room for all of us. Can't we all get along? (no logo needed)
This post is so good, I don't even care...
true that. my husband has a motorcycle - a bmw, to be precise. frequently, harley davidson riders do not respond to the motorcycle wave because he's on a bmw. it's silly. this morning, i said hi to a guy on a mountain bike at a light, and he just stared at me. literally met my eyes and said nothing. was it my bicycle? i have no idea. but i just removed that "slow" badge from my blog.
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