“Have you ever seen a biker bar completely surrounded by bicycles? Bikers ride motorcycles, cyclists ride road bicycles, and mountain bikers ride mountain bikes,” said Instagram user @sdotdrisc.Hm. So he used the word "bikers" for mountain bikers, but seems to insist that the word "mountain" stay attached to it. No shortening.
“Bikers are more rad, cyclists are more fast,” replied Instagram user @b._.stutts....The topic came up in the context of my post about Chris Cuomo railing about his encounter with a "jackass, loser, fat tire biker." The comma after "loser" was in the New York Post's transcription, and it's confusing, making it seem as though Chris Cuomo's sins included fat shaming. A better transcription would be: "jackass, loser fat-tire biker." There's a lot of discussion about fat-tire bikes over there, and I assume Cuomo was irked by the fat-tiredness because the "jackass" in question was biking on the sand of the beach where he was rich enough to own a house.
“A cyclist is what anyone who rides a bike calls themselves and someone else. A biker is what anyone who doesn’t bike calls someone who does bike,” said pro cyclist Ellen Noble, who goes by the handle @ellenlikesbikes.
At the end of the day, Rich Sieck (@rsieck44) might’ve said it best: “A cyclist logs many miles mostly on pavement. A biker flies up and down mountains in the dirt. Either way you do it, you’re awesome!”
And as long as we are talking about bikes — and I mean bicycles — here's "The Politics of Riding a Bike":
Bicyclists get portrayed by some (very vocal) opponents as "elitist." People who advocate for bicycle infrastructure get dismissed as starry-eyed, immature hippies. Arguing for more bicycle commuting accommodations will quickly get a person labeled as some kind of Socialist. Meanwhile, flag-waving American "patriots" can profess their love for a scary totalitarian Russian president who poses shirtless on horseback, while they ridicule a bicycle-riding (and helmet-wearing) moderate Democrat president and his secretary of state. And when you can demonstrate that a conservative president also enjoyed his bike and always wore a helmet, the point would almost certainly be met with dumbfounded silence. "What's your point," would likely be the response....Best thing at that link though is this fantastic picture of Reagan:
The pipe is priceless. Face plant in that and get stabbed in the brain.
Interestingly, Reagan and friend are riding "beach cruisers" (the inspiration for mountain bikes).
Posts
98 comments:
Reagan's "friend" in the picture is his wife, Jane Wyman.
I have never been to a cyclist bar.
THEOLDMAN
Hmmm. I was assuming Fredo meant the sort of biker who rides a chopper like this one.
IMO - To avoid confusion, use the word "Cyclist" to refer to anyone on a bicycle, of any type.
"Biker" = we all know what that means. Motorbike. Sturgis. Harley Davidson. Kawasaki.
When the word "biker" is used to refer to someone on a bicycle, there is immediate confusion and a need to clarify. You can avoid this with one weird trick.
Certainly a "biker" is also a cyclist, yes indeed. But a Cyclist is not on a motorbike.
I've been a motorcycle rider for going on 25 years.
I have no problem with 'biker'. What I have a problem with is actual cyclists pretending the street is somehow a pedestrian thoroughfare without regard for gasoline-powered equipment and asking the state to recognize them as such.
I've seen what cyclists look like after an unfortunate run-in with a vehicle. Facts don't care about your feelings. Get. Off. The Road.
@EB,first wife.
Our first craft brewery here was a cyclist bar. Because of course it was.
It’s like the whole “caver” vs “spelunker” thing, or ‘birder” vs “bird watcher.”
People who advocate for bicycle infrastructure get dismissed as starry-eyed, immature hippies. Arguing for more bicycle commuting accommodations will quickly get a person labeled as some kind of Socialist.
Because too many of them are such things. There is a large subset of the adult cyclist population, from my experience, who are interested in riding not because they enjoy it, but because they want to be seen as the kind of enlightened people who ride bicycles.
Meanwhile, flag-waving American "patriots" can profess their love for a scary totalitarian Russian president who poses shirtless on horseback, while they ridicule a bicycle-riding (and helmet-wearing) moderate Democrat president and his secretary of state. And when you can demonstrate that a conservative president also enjoyed his bike and always wore a helmet, the point would almost certainly be met with dumbfounded silence. "What's your point," would likely be the response.
There difference is that Putin and Bush (who IIRC participated in long-distance charity rides) were engaged in a much more masculine type of activity and came across as such. Obama never came across as manly at all. Kerry tried and failed, which made it worse since he now looked like a poseur.
Our first craft brewery here was a cyclist bar. Because of course it was.
It was predestined to be.
There are places that are de-facto cyclist bars (mostly coffee) on Saturday and Sunday during prime riding season.
My favorite cafe in Redwood Shores, CA, was always chock-a-block with $K road bikes on a nice Saturday from 10am-2pm.
Lotsa spandex, including people who should know better.
-XC
Bikers typically have tats. Cyclists typically don't.
Cuomo was irked by the fat-tiredness because the "jackass" in question was biking on the sand of the beach where he was rich enough to own a house.
OH...the guy was on a fat tire bike on the beach which is something that is very popular and useful for off road biking or casual biking around a beachy town. Not a Fat Tire Motorcycle, a Chopper, which is a thing that Harley puts out. My SIL and BIL both own those.
Fat tire bikes (cycles) are more upscale and hipster thing.
Two different types of vehicles and two COMPLETELY different types of riders.
Nevertheless...Fredo is a jerk and his life is meaningless. Sounds like he is just realizing that 🙄
@BleachBit, also Ducati.
Get. Off. The Road.
Get off the trails and sidewalks. Ride in the street but follow the rules of the road.
Anybody who can’t tell from context is probably not a native speaker of English.
In Vermont, they are always trying to turn Burlington, “harsh winters, built on the side of a hill” into Amsterdam, which is flat as their famous pancakes and has mild winters. Only the young and very fit can get around on a bicycle in Burlington, just about anybody could in Amsterdam.
Get off the trails and sidewalks. Ride in the street but follow the rules of the road.
I don't mind cyclists there, as long as they "drive according to conditions" like cars are expected to. In other words, slow down around pedestrians, rather than maintaining breakneck speed the swearing at or hitting pedestrians.
Hmmm. I was assuming Fredo meant the sort of biker who rides a chopper like this one.
That'd be next to useless on sand; here's one with a tractor tire on the rear.
Just no fat tire bikers allowed.
I've seen what motorcyclists look like after an unfortunate run-in with a vehicle. Facts don't care about your feelings. Get. Off. The Road.
Most riding motorcycles are motorcyclists, some pretend to be bikers. Bikers are hardcore motorcyclists who live a lifestyle, usually members of sometimes criminal motorcycle clubs. Those are referred to as the 1%ers. I refer to them as fuck holes or road pirates. They are bad ass in groups, but usually are vaginas when alone. They have fragile egos, they can be offended by different motorcycle brands.
I own four motorcycles, I'm a motorcyclist. Although when I'm all leathered up in colder weather I am sometimes mistaken for a road pirate. Chics dig it, OK sixteen year old girls with tats dig it. I don't give rides.
People who ride bicycles are called cyclist or bicyclist. They are mostly, but all clueless because they are working too hard to pay attention and they don't believe traffic laws apply to them.
Keep the shiny side up.
Dog-whistle fat shaming. Like Biden, "Listen, Fat ..." to a questioner in the audience. Or Michelle Wolf, who told an unfunny joke about Sarah Sanders 'burning fats and using the ash to make a perfect smokey eye.' She meant to say "facts," but it came out "fats" for most of the audience. It wouldn't have been funny either way.
“A cyclist is what anyone who rides a bike calls themselves and someone else. A biker is what anyone who doesn’t bike calls someone who does bike,” said pro cyclist Ellen Noble, who goes by the handle @ellenlikesbikes.
I would have imagined that it was the other way around. Non-riders using the dweeb word "cyclist" and riders appropriating the cool word "biker." At least the cyclists are honest about their dweebdom, but my experience is that very few non-bicyclists call bicyclists "bikers." They know that term is reserved for motorcyclists. Also, "someone who does bike." You mean like "doing car," "doing boat," or "doing horse"? The last one may still be illegal in some states.
@Matt - LOL. I have a 250 KLR dual sport and when I am ATGATT the chicks don't dig it. Not even my wife.
-XC
Cyclist Jef is an ongoing character in Pearls Before Swine. He's not.. humble.
Sorry, that should read,
They are mostly, but NOT all ARE clueless because they are working too hard to pay attention and they don't believe traffic laws apply to them.
Always amusing how every person has their own definition, which every one of them insists is THE definition.
Meanwhile, Democrats are to this day so wedded to their Russia! narrative that they can't imagine a world where every conservative doesn't love Putin like the press that got all misty-eyed over Hillary Clinton.
Ducati - wow I want one!
In the case of "Retrogrouch," the blogger behind "The Politics of Riding a Bike," "bikesexual" might be a better label. I get it. Dude likes to ride his bike. I did too - when I was 7 - but I don't talk about it everyday.
"Facts don't care about your feelings. Get. Off. The Road."
In most, if not all places, it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk. You are supposed to ride in the road, in the same lane/direction as motor vehicles. Yes, cyclists should obey the rules, as should pedestrians and motorists.
If the issue is linguistic precision, are we ignoring the possibility that a "jackass, loser, fat tire biker" refers to a biker of any stripe with the the proverbial "spare tire" of fat surrounding his midsection?
A figurative "tire" of literal fat.
Slightly off topic, but from today's San Francisco Chronicle - California plots a coronavirus reopening. Trump insists it’s up to him
Money quote: "California will put forward a strategy Tuesday for gradually releasing residents from stay-at-home orders and allowing public life to resume amid the coronavirus pandemic."
Have a nice day!
Get on your bikes and ride!
It's necessary for a writer to write clearly. "Biker" has many connotations that might not align consistently with meaning. Similarly with "cyclist".
I would use the word 'biker' to refer to a bicyclist only in the context of being on a bike path. Otherwise: Bicyclist. 'Biker' to refer to a motorcyclist will only come from my pen with the adjective 'leather-clad' or 'Harley' there to clarify. Otherwise: Motorcyclist.
@dbp
"Yes, cyclists should obey the rules, as should pedestrians and motorists"
I have never seen this. Granted, they'd get significantly more respect from me if they did, but they don't.
If you're going to be in a powered equipment vehicle category part of the thoroughfare, you should obey the rules of the road just like they have to. Like I said, I've never seen it. And yes, I feel it is done on purpose.
I don't have to love Putin and hate Obama to see that Putin looked a lot cooler on the horse than Obama did on the bicycle. Obama always looked awkward to me, like the bike didn't fit him properly.
Are we sure Cuomo owns that house? People with large incomes rent in the Hamptons, but it takes serious money to own one of those things, unless you inherited it.
Putin wasn't wearing a styrofoam helmet. Neither was the horse he rode in on.
"People who advocate for bicycle infrastructure get dismissed as starry-eyed, immature hippies. Arguing for more bicycle commuting accommodations will quickly get a person labeled as some kind of Socialist."
More like seen as snobby Progressives and social engineers. They wish to carve off a good chunk of roadway for relatively few individuals who routinely do not follow rules of the road or obey traffic laws. But they're seen as Green because "bicycle".
It's also driven by the obnoxious elitist control freak politicians who say "We need to get people out of their cars to Save The Planet" when the vast majority of people did not elect them to do so.
If it was more about fat bottomed girls rather than Lance Armstrong attired, Green Lifestyle douche bags, there'd be widespread support.
The weirdos who wear European candy bar suits and are out blocking the roadway are cyclist. The assholes who try to run you over on trails are mountain bikers. Not bikers, mountain bikers.
A fat tire biker is a flatlander yuppie dilettante weekend Harley Rider who drinks the popular skunky Belgium style beer.
"Meanwhile, flag-waving American "patriots" can profess their love for a scary totalitarian Russian president who poses shirtless on horseback, while they ridicule a bicycle-riding (and helmet-wearing) moderate Democrat president and his secretary of state."
Prog douche bags tell themselves this lie so they can feel good about themselves.
putin cares about his own nation's interests, Obama had an allegiance to some fictional nation that doesn't exist, and an attachment to other nations that are our adversaries,
You may be cool, but you'll never be John Kerry on a pink girly bike cool.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hm3O-rcu0BQ/U-OIvoCKeFI/AAAAAAABnFg/fXMHzOXH-f0/s1600/John+Kerry+on+pink+bike+060814.jpg
That dog has no chance of catching him. None.
motorcyclist, bicyclist. Such parsing. Ocams razor would inform us, context in this article, we are reading about bicyclist.
Reminds me of the whole lunch/dinner debate.
From yesterdays post on German response to COVID, does culture matter? I grew up in a German community(German church services until WWII). Dinner is the noon meal, lunch was served at 9am and 3pm. Supper is the evening meal.
But in the end context informs the definition
So on top of everything else, Fredo is a skinny-tire snob. What a schmuck.
Only Italian sew-ups on his machine, and you know they're pumped up to 120 psi.
Get on your bikes and ride!
Oh they did.. [NSFW]
Gotta love the 70s..
How funny. Fat tires originated in Alaska where they can be essential for winter riding. My husband commuted for one year in Anchorage on spiked tires, another (cheaper) option. He had lights front and back (every winter commute is in the dark) and pogies on the handle bars. He rode extremely defensively. Every intersection guaranteed one driver who turned without checking the road.
We couldn't afford snow car tires the first year we lived there. We're both glad he survived.
That thought always runs through my mind when I start to refer to bicycle riders as 'bikers' and automatically try to change to 'cyclists'. Admittedly, I usually end up just referring to the object they are riding as signifying both, i.e., 'bike' and 'motorcycle'.
E.g., "Godd*** BIKE just cut me off!"
I lived in Seattle before moving down to AZ. They weren't all asshats up there, but enough were to make for good generalizations (and I rode mine some, but not much on streets). Down here, they've nearly all been pleasant and respectful. I've been hiking during the shutdown, mostly on trails made by/for trail bikes (bicycles), and have encountered no difficulties. I stand off to the side when they're coming, mainly because it's far easier for me than them, and they always say Thank You and let me know if there are more coming.
Hence, it is possible for bikers, errm, cyclists, errrrm bikes and other people to Just Get Along.
Back when I was riding, I referred to myself and the others in the club as "cyclists".
I was scrupulous about obeying the rules of the road--just out of self-defense--it's bad enough without popping up in places where motorists are not looking for you.
Getting the other people in a ride to do that is a different story, however. It always seemed strange that they'd drive to the starting point, get on their bikes, and immediately start doing the things that would annoy them if they were in their car.
The one time I crashed was when I reached down to grab a shifter on the down tube (ancient times) and simultaneously hit a little bowl-shaped depression in the pavement. Broke 5 ribs, but lived to tell the tale because I had a comical styrofoam hat on. Ruined my favorite jersey too.
Too old for that stuff now.
"Biking" is used to define bicycle riding. More confusion. Oh well.
motorcyclist, bicyclist. Such parsing.
It's quite lawyerly, that narrow little realm wherein words define your reality.
What little French I knew I got from reading French motorcycle magazines, and always liked their term "motard" for a motocyclist.
It is unfortunate that bike riding became so politicized. The snarky answer would be that Reagan was secure enough in his masculinity to be photographed on a bike, and the current generation has to make more of a show of being macho by spurning less strenuous activities. You can also find pictures of JFK on a bike (as well pictures of his more effete son and grandson on bicycles). Also a picture of the Nixons, biking by the Jefferson Memorial.
Appearances are everything, though. Obama's bike was too small, so he does look a little ridiculous. What might have been a happy family picture turned into an occasion for derision. And nothing could be more ridiculous than a seventy-year old "statesman" in Spandex, John Kerry. It wasn't something his ferocious Winthrop ancestors would have approved of. Bush barreling down the trails at top speed isn't that positive an image either, given how things turned out for him.
And then there was the "Tour de Trump" sponsored by the incumbent president in 1989 and 1990. Will it be revived someday? LBJ has a bike race named after him and while LBJ wanted money for trails, nobody ever accused him of being a cyclist.
Phidippus- 9:32
You touch on a great point. You obey the rules of the road as a cyclist out of self-preservation. Cyclists never win in a car/bicycle meet-up scenario.
People like to give cyclists a hard time but often forgotten are all the distracted drivers who swerve into a shoulder or bike lane and - bam - dead or injured cyclist. No contest.
A woman who attends the church I attend stood up to tell us how she had a dream about being a widow. She woke the next day, and flew to Oregon to be with of her daughters. She left behind her husband and a younger daughter who were to hold down the fort until her return.
Anyway, that afternoon her husband was killed on his bicycle. by a motorist. The very next day after her dream. This happened in rural Iowa.
"I have never seen this. Granted, they'd get significantly more respect from me if they did, but they don't."
I own a bicycle but hardly ever ride it, I do run 3-4 days a week and at least one motor vehicle disobeys the law every, single, time. Literally, every time I want to cross, at a clearly marked crosswalk, in the middle of our village, it usually takes stepping into the road to get cars to stop. I have been hit once and would have been hit hundreds of times (had I not stopped short) by cars at a stop sign, not looking to the right when making a right turn. Most roads have no sidewalk and most cars will give plenty of room, if there is no on-coming traffic. They are supposed to stop if they cannot pass at a safe distance. I estimate that one in 20 cars do this. I frequently pass bicyclists on runs and without exception for adult riders, they get into single file when there is more than one and never fail to give ample room. The only exception to this is that young children on bikes often ride on the wrong side of the road and on sidewalks.
It is unfortunate that bike riding became so politicized.
Here let me complete that sentence for you:
It is unfortunate that bike riding became so politicized by the liberal/left.
There. Fixed.
Ah, the bicycle haters are out in force today worried that their precious autos are made to slow down for, what, half a block. And this happens how often? Once a week? Twice a day?
I quit riding on the roads because of assholes who find it within their rights to brush cyclists with their mirrors, They think thats OK. Like it would be OK to open your car door in traffic when a motorcyclist is speeding between idling cars?
And while I have quit riding on the roads I will still tell cyclists that I will get behind them and protect them for as long as they want. Honk at me jackoff. I will go 12 to 20 as long as I fucking please because I am in a goddamn car.
So the Hell's Angels are "Bikers" and so is some 120 lbs dweeb in spandex who rides his mountain bike to sewing class.
Okey-dokey.
Michael @ 9:56 - thank you.
Those balloon bikes were great, when you had nothing to compare them to. I got a hand me down when I was eight, and then I got a hand me down 10 speed when I was 11. What a difference! It was like riding on air.
As for cyclists, they should stay off the streets or obey the laws. Too many of them blow through stop signs or make right turns without stopping. Even worse. Yesterday, One guy was going 20 MPH -THE WRONG WAY- in the bike lane, and I almost killed him when I made a right turn.
Some of them are also insufferable SJW's. Last year one of them rode up and nagged me about not having a bike helmet while riding though a quiet city street - designated for bikes. I mean sorry dude, but I already have a mother.
There are also dirt bikes which are off-road motorcycles. Rickie Fowler well known in motocross before he became famous as a golfer.
I should have told him, I survived childhood without a bike helmet or a child-car seat, while being enveloped in 2nd hand smoke, and didn't need a bike helmet.
PGA Golfers shouldn't ride motorcycles. If you're making $millions off your body, its absurd to risk it for some cheap thrills.
BTW, the studio photographer was afraid that Reagan would look childish with a bike, hence the Pipe.
I live in runners / cycling / training for something mecca. People move here for it. Same with mountain climbers and rock climbers.
Most of the time, the "share the road" works. Once is a while, you might find an a-hole cyclist. No denying that. Generally, we have it all worked out. But the worst offenders are motorists. Mostly it's the "yes I do own the road" drivers who do not want to share anything-ever, and make it unnecessarily dangerous.
The worst offenders are out-of-towners who don't understand the bike path etiquette, or the road etiquette. oh and F- all the newbies and students from out of state who text and drive.
They also walk 3-4 abreast on pedestrian pathways, hogging the entire width of the path.
Same with the pot smoking hipster doofuses, who zombie in groups and have no clue there are actually other people on the planet.
"and mountain bikers ride mountain bikes"
No we don't. We shred the gnar on our klunker. Unless we're ripping on our rigid. Or flying on our full sus. Hauling on our hardtail.
But we might be floating on our fattie.
Rickie raced competitively as a teenager and quit at 15 after breaking his foot. He was very successful (about 100ish wins). I believe motocross was his first love.
But we try never ever ever to endo on our enduro.
Don't even get me started on cyclocross
Biker - assless chaps, harleys and lots of beer
Motorcyclist - all other bikes, no drinking until through riding for the day
Bicyclist - other two wheeled conveyance
'Cyclsit - see bicyclist
JMNSHO
When we start out, we stride on our strider.
Stridently stride.
Arlo:
I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
I just want to ride on my motorcy...cle
Sigh... yeah ALL Harley riders.... are closet pirates, only ride to the local bars, don't know how to ride....
I ride, been doing that for over three decades. I also own a Harley. Yep, the last time I rode I wore leather. But it was leather boots and a leather belt. My other gear was textile with armor.
I ride a Harley because there are dealers everywhere and I do long distance (LD) rides. (Look up the Iron Butt Association if you are interested.) Mine is also a really good bike for LD riding.
FWIW I've also owned Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and BMWs.
Oh yeah. I don't drink alcohol ever. The (few) friends I ride with (hate group rides) that ride Harleys do drink but NEVER when we ride.
"jackass, loser, fat tire biker." The comma after "loser" was in the New York Post's transcription, and it's confusing, making it seem as though Chris Cuomo's sins included fat shaming. A better transcription would be: "jackass, loser fat-tire biker."}}}
Better...but best of all would be "jackass, loser, fat-tire biker."
We shred the gnar on our klunker.
lol.
I am fat-tired most of the time. I keep telling my wife I need a bike, and yes I'll wear the bloody helmet if I have to.
No telling how my life might have been different if I'd been wearing a helmet in the summer of '65, when we were dogfighting in the cove and I fell on the Ryan's driveway and Billy Aldinger couldn't avoid me and clipped the top of my skull with his pedal-edge as he went by . . . that was the only laceration to the head I ever had the pleasure to enjoy, other than (twice) having my chin sewn up because my father had been a pilot, and there were no seat belts, and it was fun for the whole family when he gunned the Buick over the grade crossing a few blocks from home, with me in the choice middle of the back seat, leaning forward to enjoy the view.
My friends and I lived on our bikes, and most of us went 10-speed in the 70s when that was all the rage. I commuted to school and jobs on my bike for many years--before helmet laws and the cycling and anticycling cults. My son did much the same under the newer rules.
A couple of my friends had or have hogs but they never tempted me--a guy in my home room nearly lost a leg in a cycle accident, and a cousin's cousin was killed. (But then one of my youngest brother's friends killed himself on a trail bicycle in the woods . . . so you take your chances, or not.)
Narr
Ah yes, the Motards of Paris!
But we might be floating on our fattie.
Now you're being perverse. Keep it clean.
Some bicycle riders are insufferable leftist jerks because they can't help it. As leftists, their cycling life revolves around "The personal is political".
I remember making the mistake of motoring down to Coconut Grove one Sunday morning to have a pleasant breakfast. The roads were swollen with bearded Spandexed bicycle riders riding 8 and 10 abreast who did not take kindly to a suggestion that they legally ride single file so others could use the road too.
I've lived in the South Florida Tri-County area for 30+ years. I've never, yes never, once seen a bicyclist stop at a stop sign or red light if he thought he could shoot through. I've seen a lot of near misses and a couple of takedowns.
A small taste of the action.
Motorcycle Safety Foundation calls us "riders"
Got lotsa yuppies in spandex and little flip-bill beanie hats on $MUCHO_K racers toolin around in groups of 20 or so. Reminds me of the description of long ago, "froggy little native boys in tight leather aprons. Back in the day, I had a friend who had a built Kaw900. Outrageously fast machine. After their first ride on the back, the ladies lined up. He was legend.
Narr said...
"No telling how my life might have been different if I'd been wearing a helmet in the summer of '65..."
I remember it well. We were hungry. Just barely alive.
JAORE - and you and your friends would be the exception, and would fit the motorcyclist definition. We have them out here as well, but a rather large percentage of the harley dudes and dudettes fit the description - you know, the badass wearing their made in China badass harley branded clothing and going bar to bar.
Me, I am a motorcyclist, and ride a pandemonium made in Italy at the moment.
Biker/Biker confusion and no one mentions 'Supertroopers'...sad.
Danny's old lady had really worked him over after the bust. No more pu**y. No more trips together. Danny drank more and more and was at the bar every night. He got into fights and would then disappear for a week. He gained unhealthy weight and developed a spare tire. He didn't talk. His heart valves didn't work.
After one of these benders, Danny was cruising back from a night spent sleeping on a cold, cigarette strewn spit of local teenaged beach on the Island. The light hurt his eyes. His head thrummed and he smelled like charcoal and beer and rot.
There on a manicured estate, swaggering a bit across the lawn, was noted intellectual, T.V. personality and Covid Kid Chris 'Fredo' Cuomo, blatantly mocking social distancing rules. These were the same social distancing rules keeping civil order. Rules that Danny, in order to keep whatever was left in his world steady, had internalized.
It was time for some hard talk.
@JAORE
NO REAL RIDER WILL DRINK WHEN THEY RIDE. That is a 100% confirmed death sentence. You might ride somewhere to drink, but when you're under the influence you do not ride, and you'll call a taxi. The bike will be there when you're sober.
Long time riders know this. Drinking and riding is a death sentence, and the dead figured that out unless you want to join them.
so then what do you call Moped riders?
Good call, Meade! It never occurred to me.
Narr
Like riding motorcycles
In Paris it's always rush hour, and yes the French do drive with verve and passion. The motardistes all but use the four-wheelers as parallel bars for extra speed, especially in tunnels.
Narr
OK, not all the drivers are French, but still
The motardistes all but use the four-wheelers as parallel bars for extra speed, especially in tunnels.
I was too a-scared to ride the bike in Paris, but motard always sounded right for 120mph thru the freeway tunnels, mostly on the A8.
OK, not all the drivers are French, but still
Italians are worse, well, faster, it's the only place I ever had a car pass me in the mountains, and just about every mountain turn is prefaced with skid marks.
Both countries seem to treat speed limits as suggestions rather than laws, which was nice, but it was boring riding in the US after being over there for a few months.
Regarding (Harley-type) bikers and alcohol: Back in the good old days, when the bars were open, we would sometimes be at the friendly local when a number of the fellers would come in. While they generally conformed to the usual visual stereotype, these were not the sort of folks who started fights and dipped each other in the deep-fat fryer and so on. They would generally have one Miller Lite and head out.
The idea is to keep the rubber side down, if you can.
This is how I use the terms:
(1) Ride a bicycle, you are a cyclist.
(2) Ride a motorcycle, you are a biker.
(3) Ride a mountain-bike, you are a mountain-biker.
As for biker bars, the only ones I have ever seen myself are the Starbucks during the early spring days when the first riding parties get going- there you can find all the bikers drinking lattes and frappacinos.
My work requires that I talk about bicycles all day, to all sorts of people. I’ve learned to choose my words carefully.
This is much influenced by time and place. I grew up on the east coast of the US back in the days when racers called themselves “bikies.”
For my purposes, they mean the same thing but I use them in different contexts.
“Biking” sounds folksy, relaxed, informal, not cool. I use the term when talking to people who aren’t worried about the fine points of the various bicycle subcultures, much less their own status vis-a-vis that world.
“Cycling” sounds informed, in-group, vaguely European, perhaps snobbish to some. I use it when talking to people for whom riding a bicycle is part of their self image, or who like to feel associated with some cycling “community.”
When in doubt, I use “biking.” Coming across as snobbish will alienate customers in a way that omitting a buzz word never does. People who work in the industry don’t seem to care either way.
Cyclists ride bicycles. Bikers ride motorcycles. Fat-tire biker? In don't know. Could be a guy with fat tires on his bicycle.
As far as etiquette goes, some cyclists are assholes. Mostly they are the MAMILs (middle age men in Lycra), but then sometimes I'm a MAMIL too. I generally obey the traffic laws, but I don't stop at stop signs if nobody is waiting.
You need to have that distinction between mountain biking and cycling in the same manner you need a distinction between straight sex and gay sex. Sure, you're riding something similar, but the experience is worlds different.
A biker rides a motorcycle. Someone who rides a bicycle is a cyclist.
Drive through any up scale neighborhood and a sunny day when garage doors are up, you will see the majority of Harley Davisons bought in the USA. They are owned by middle and upper class men. They are casual motorcyclist, they are not bikers. They may go on a road trip once a year, they are not hardcore.
They know what I know, occasionally riding a motorcycle clears your mind and is cheaper than a psychiatrist.
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