Cycling culture takes a stand, warns against stereotyping
Memo Sanchez
I am writing this week’s column in response to last week’s anti-cyclist article by Emily Katseanes.
I’m a nice person – I just have one teensy problem.
I get irritated when people make hasty generalizations about groups of people and subsequently feel the need to spread their message of disdain.
Also, those Canadian geese are crapping everywhere and it’s ruining my shoes. More on that later, though.
I was once a person who became annoyed when I saw a cyclist on the road too. I used to think it was because my dad beat me with a bike pump when I was little, but then I realized that it was only certain bike riders that made me mad: those that flagrantly put themselves and others on the road in danger.
Declaring that all cyclists are dangerous is like claiming for the rest of your emotionally-compromised life that because your neighbor ran over your pet gerbil when you were 4, everyone who drives a car is a homicidal maniac out to claim as many gerbil lives as possible.
This is erroneous.
As far as her assertion that all cyclists ride bikes to save the planet, that’s just silly. Just because some of us like to ride naked or with a cape on from time to time (mine has little panda bears on it) doesn’t mean we all embody this grandiloquent message of saving Mother Earth. Think back to the squashed gerbil, Emily. We’re not all the same cookie cutter-cyclists.
This bike thing isn’t just a trend, either. Reno has its roots deep in cycling culture and this whole motorist-cycling rivalry is far from new. More than a century ago, roughly one in 10 residents in our town was a member of the Reno Wheelmen, a cycling club that continues to host charity events, group rides and races to this day. For more on this group, go to www.renowheelmen.org.
And despite what Ms. Katseanses thinks she knows about cyclist culture (or subcultures), the majority of their members are clean-cut professionals with college degrees.
This is college. Many of us ride bikes because it saves us gas money, it gets us to class quicker (allowing us to sleep in an extra fifteen minutes) and, quite simply, because it’s fun as hell.
Cyclists have the right to be on our roads as much as cars do. This isn’t an opinion. This is the law.
And if they break the law, they ought to be given a citation, certainly. However, this by no means gives a motorist the right to take justice into their own hands and endanger someone else’s life.
After all, it’s the few bad geese out of the cycling bunch that don’t yield to cars when they ought to, ignore traffic signals and fail to signal to motorists.
To them I say, stop crapping on the sidewalk. You’re making the whole flock look bad.
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November 29th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Thanks to your reply Mr. Sanchez, we can now pointedly observe that people who ride bicycles are more literate, grammatically competent and have the ability to string together a coherent strand of thought than those who pursue a life filled with Twinkies and cheap beer.
At least, as far as Ms. Katsenas’ “thought” processes operate.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
FYI, a link to your reply is posted on bikejournal.com under the thread, “More anti-bicycle babbling” where Emily’s article has been linked.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
What’s curious is that to operate a motor vehicle on public roadways ,a license is required. But operating a non motorized vehicle on the very same public roadways,no license is required but the operator is subject to the same laws. This all but exonerates operators of non motorized vehicles of virtually all responsibility.
A good corollary to this are the California laws regarding pedestrians. Pedestrians are always in the ‘right’, no matter what. The result is Los Angeles and San Francisco have consistantly the highest rates of pedestrian fatalities in the country, far higher than New York or Chicago.
November 30th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/23/community-shop-recycles-bikes-and-helps-bring-lifestyle-to-reno/
http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2007/10/23/unr-student-immerses-himself-in-world-of-cycling/
Interesting…apparently something happened to Emily between October of last year and now. I don’t know how else to explain the back to back positive stories relating to cycle culture and her recent ramble.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Memo,
Well done. I applaud your keen sense of humor, and serious tone when it’s needed. It’s the mark of a future columnist. Good luck and keep writing.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I agree and then some…
I ride but my wife does not. You see my wife is in a wheel chair due to cancer. I try to walk/push her along the sidewalk but find it hard because of thoes who ride on the sidewalk. It is suposed to be against the law here. in Laramie WY, but the police do nothing about it. As they pass I politly tell them to get on the street where they belong. In response I get cursed out.