today i came across an interesting blog post titled “Four Annoying Cycling Trends.” annoyingly, i find that there is a common trend amongst cyclists to put each other down and the fact that divisions within the cycling community exist is just harmful to it’s growth. regardless of complaints, arguments, and divisions within the cycling community, there is nothing more vulnerable than making a daily choice to ride your bike, the danger one places themselves between lanes on a daily basis is not a trend i see people complaining about. if we want to build our cities into bicycle friendly communities we need to shut out the sense of entitlement because of the type of clothes or bike one rides and start writing letters to our state government about fixing annoying pot holes or annoying dangerous intersections or how annoying it is that there aren’t enough bikes lanes to make cycling safe for the community. i dare the author of the blog post above to do a statistical research about four annoying cycling safety issues, perhaps do a little background educational check up on these “annoying cycling trends” and state how and why they started. complaining just to complain does nothing for the cycling community, everyone of us rides to each their own.
i know i have to agree that i think that there is a separation in the bike community. there are TONS of people who are really really nice but i have noticed and i don't want to come off judgmental but as we like to call them "the spandex" are never really friendly to us while on the road. a small handful will return the smile or waive but for the most part they are very focused…but maybe it is just a misunderstanding…
many cycler's i personally know are always so friendly and sweet to me. we share that same passion so i guess once you get to know a person who cycles, the type of bike they ride doesn't matter because all you end up talking about is your experiences on bike. it's sad it exists but i know for sure when exciting things happen within the community, amazing connections are made.