In Madison, and probably in most other places, the claim that bikers are "elitist" come from prejudice, not reality. Most bikers you see on the street are riding pretty ordinary bikes and wearing ordinary clothes. You see a lot more rust than titanium on the bikes parked outside the place where I work, or most other bike racks in town.
I suppose it's possible that elitist, snobby riders gather together somewhere for exclusive rides, and it's possible that I'd be snubbed if I tried to ride with them. (I'm not saying such a subculture exists, and I don't know of one -- most lycra-wearing bikers that I've met have been reasonably friendly to me -- but it's possible) But for people like me, who use our bikes mostly for transportation, it doesn't really matter what these hypothetical elitists think. Actually, I don't think the bike culture in Madison is radically different from the culture in places like Copenhagen. It's socially acceptable to ride a bike in Madison, and all kinds of people do it -- old people, young people, students, office workers, bartenders, musicians, dishwashers and janitors and totally nondescript people. So we do have all types; the question we're dealing with is how to increase our numbers. Eric Westhagen wrote: > Dear Group, > [...] > One of the problems with bicycles today is their appearance to > "non-bikers" as elitist, costing big money with special gear. Few > reading these words in this go-around are riding a fifty dollar > "Huffy?" But in Europe, the bicycle tradition is classless. > > Such a municipal bike rental could be tied to the Madison Bus lines with > some clever political action--something this GROUP seems well versed in? > > Eric Westhagen > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies > > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
