Will I Fit In?….I Hope Not!

I received an e-mail from a reader named Clint this week that got me thinking.  The e-mail asked a very important question:

 I am new to cycling, and I cannot afford a new bike and new wardrobe.  Will I fit in with other cyclists?

-Clint, Portland, OR

Thanks for the question Clint.  Here is my longwinded answer:  Cycling is a harsh sport.  That is one of the reasons that I took a leave of absence from the whole scene for almost 10 years.  Getting back involved in the sport and in the industry a few years back, I found the “scene” had not changed much attitude wise.  I get questions all the time from people thinking about picking up the sport of road cycling….”Will I fit in?”  The answer is a resounding…”No, you will definitely not fit in.”  Don’t worry though, fitting in is not necessarily good.

Let me tell you about what I mean with a short autobiographical story.  I picked up the sport of road cycling when I was about 12 years old.  I was immediately hooked, and I managed to recruit a few close friends to ride with me.  We somehow found ourselves a great mentor who had previously had a pretty distinguished cycling career.  The most important thing that our mentor taught us was that it doesn’t matter what other riders think of you.  It is o.k. to show up in non-matching clothes, and there is nothing wrong with not to having the most current model bicycle.  My friends and I could not afford new bikes.  We were scavengers, scouring trash piles and yard sales for anything worth adopting.  Sure, we didn’t have matching clothes, clipless pedals, bike shoes, or $100 helmets, but we were riding and having a great time.

Then, probably the most unfortunate thing happened to me.  I got a job at the local bike shop.  At first everything was cool.  My friends were jealous that I could get awesome deals on bike gear, and I was making money talking to people about what I loved to do.  It was the perfect gig until…….  I got sucked into the cycling scene.  We shop employees secretly talked behind the backs of customers that couldn’t afford top of the line carbon bikes.  We secretly made fun of the “poser” doctors that rode the top of the line carbon bikes but really didn’t need anything that nice.  Anyone that admitted to buying something via mail-order was immediately shunned.  People that were starting out, just like I was at age 12-16, might as well not even talk to us because their clothes were old and they didn’t even ride with cycling shoes.  Some of these new riders even wore tee shirts instead of jerseys…GASP!!!  They had no business calling themselves cyclists.  They definitely did not fit in with what we called ”real” cyclists.

I thought that I would make a career of running the bike shop, but thank goodness I got burned out on the negativity from the owners and other shop employees.  I escaped from the cycling elite scene and sold most of my bikes to pay for some college tuition.  I didn’t even watch the Tour de France for over 10 years after leaving.  I got burned out because I forgot what my mentor and great friend taught me at the very beginning.  It doesn’t matter what you ride or what you look like.  It only matters that you are on a bike, and you are having fun.  It took almost 10 years to remember that and get back into cycling.

The moral of this story is that cyclists are, alot of times, nothing more than jerks.  If you encounter a jerk, politely call them out, and move on.  Don’t hang out with them.  Don’t continue to ride with them.  If you join a local club that turns out to be full of snobs that claim there is only one way to do things…quit the club and start your own.  Get out and ride.  There is most definitely a “correct” way of doing things in cycling, but if it comes down to it, the most important thing is riding.

So, Clint from Portland, if you are new to cycling, and you are wondering if you will fit in…the answer is no.  But, it doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you are part of cycling.  We want you to be part of us.  Ask my friend Billy that rides an early 1980’s Schwinn Le Tour.  We still let him ride with us because the most important thing is that he rides. (By the way, Billy easily out-rides me on his 50lb LeTour)

Just get out and ride.  Forget all that hierarchy stuff in cycling.  Forget the snobs.  You are welcome on a ride with me any day.

Enjoy this cartoon that shows the “cyclists” that I try to avoid.

22 April 2008 | Letters | Comments