Thanks for your collective thoughts! Much appreciated, and it gives me further insight beyond my corner of the world. When I ride, I think. I rode yesterday and thought for a bit...
One thing became immediately clear to me when I toured The Netherlands, Belgium, and western France: Bicycles were integrated in those places in ways they have not been here in the US, and are unlikely to be. We here in the States are orders of magnitude more car-centric, partly due to greater distances between towns, the lack of a village-development model, and a general lack of infrastructure to support non-motorized transport. All of this has fostered great primary dependence on cars; my neighbor uses his truck to get beer from the convenience store barely a km away, rather than walking or cycling to get it. As noted in another post, our mass transit options (where available) take place within towns, not between them. Our rail system is shot, and Greyhound and Trailways are essentially dead as mass providers of long-distance bus service. As a result, bikes are not viewed as a vital piece of the societal transport infrastructure. Instead, they are generally seen as toys for children or (expensive) toys (and sporting goods) for adults. In the last 30 years or so, bicycling here has taken much the same course as skiing or tennis; becoming more equipment-oriented than human-centered. Part and parcel of that is an increasing perception that one can buy expertise through better equipment rather than earning it through training. As one rider told me recently, "I don't have time to get in shape, and I don't want to work any harder than I have to. If I can exercise with less work than fine by me". We also have a national problem with obesity. Things have changed since the mid-'70s Bikecentennial era, when we were in the midst of a national fuel crisis and cycle-touring cross-country had some degree of mass appeal and social acceptance.
I toured Europe from late August to nearly October, and one of the most astonishing sights to me came when passing the local high schools when the final bell rang. Students fled the buildings as at home, but they did so on bicycles, rather than in cars. Girlfriends rode on the racks of their boyfriends and sometimes the opposite. Practically everyone rode, and in stylish street clothes. Here, cycle-dependent students are social pariahs. Having read so much about cycling in The Netherlands, it was still a shock to see it so fully realized in practice. In the States' car-centric society, getting a car at 16 or so is a rite of passage that seems nearly universal, and it is related to status. There is a perception you
are what you drive, and I believe that extends on down the transport food chain and does so in spades in a society that (still and increasingly, though there are signs of backlash in some manifestations of the Occupy movement) values conspicuous consumption and public displays of wealth. Bigger equates with Better, and More is preferred to Less. By this reasoning, 10-speeds (or eleven!) are better than 9-, 8-, or 7-sp drivetrains. Is the USD$18,000 Specialized's S-Works/McLaren Venge really "better" than a USD$5,000 Trek Madone? They are certainly out there (see:
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/10000-bikes-whats-the-point-32350 for an interesting treatise on the real value of a halo bike) and may well better suit an individual's needs or preferences than another sort of bike, but universally better? We get back to horses for courses, methinks, and choice rather than social prescription. I run more steerer spacers than anyone locally, so nyah-nyah. Unfortunately, an overlooked category. I purchased Sherpa over domestic and locally-produced brands because it best met my needs, not to display the name; no one here seems to know it (yes, a Good Thing in all).
At the top of the food chain here are automobiles and SUVs; that's where it's at, and within that world there is vast social stratification. A late-'80s Honda Civic just does not have the same cache' as a current model, and orbits a different planet in a remote universe from a prestige Japanese or European marque such as Lexus or BMW. I have heard water-cooler conversation where people of either sex used the vehicle driven as an indicator of social standing, wealth, and -- yes -- desirability. The perception extends to non-motorized transport -- if one isn't driving, then something is wrong unless you are "training" for something. The perception is one takes public transport, cycles, or walks -- except for Sport -- only if a) you've lost your license, b) are financially insecure, or c) are homeless and without possessions as the result of some character flaw or financial reversal (the two are sometimes equated). I don't think it is an issue of class standing alone so much as it is status and perhaps using that as a proxy for social standing and position. As stated in the article linked to above,
...many buyers don't make their bicycle purchases based on how well it suits their abilities. Truth be told, we often buy based on what we want to be and the image we want to project.
And maybe that's okay. It surely helps the economy, and advances the technology through real-world testing and eventually makes the advances seen in halo bikes available to the mass-market consumer. True, yes, but that is different from making it a means for social approbation, condemnation or judgement.
Within the local cycling world, many of the local bike shop sales are to people who want to be seen "profiling" on a nice ride, kitted out in full faux-team gear. Nothing wrong with that, but it seems a little less authentic to me than simply going out for a ride of whatever distance just because you want to. People here don't ride so much as they "train" -- even if they are not shooting for participation in an organized event. The full kit seems to be a justification for leaving one's car, rather than in service to the pursuit. The wife of an acquaintance recently opined she might get into cycling "because the clothes are cute" and her husband later echoed that statement in similar words, saying "I'd ride if I could look like I meant business". Female friends with gym memberships tell me status stratification has hit their spinning classes as well, with people spending enormous sums to parade the latest cycling fashions, upgrading seasonally rather than as needs be.
An interesting world, and worlds apart!
All the best,
Dan.
