I went back to Sam’s Thursday post in the third week of April 2015 (11 years ago): The rules of cycling rewritten. It was composed of three linked posts and Phil Gaimon’s 3-minute video, New Rules of Cycling.

Sam’s two linked posts describe observations and correctives for some negative aspects of cycling she was seeing at the time, focusing on machismo and fussiness.

I found through the Wayback Machine the youth sport UK’s 27 rules for young cyclists, which emphasize respect, consctientiousness, and reality checks during training and races. The rules advise young cyclists to reject egotism and meanspiritesness and embrace competition while still seeing the bigger picture.

Finally, conplete with a makeshift outdoor office, a Cookie Monster mug, and his bike behind him, Gaimon shares general etiquette cycling rules that reject elitism and encourage safety and inclusion. And waving, as Sam notes in her OP.

If I had to boil it all down, the “new” cycling rules in 2015 were to Be Kind To Others and Be Kind To Yourself.

I think Sam’s post from eleven years ago is evergreen, not throwback. As a curious but hesitant new road and gravel cyclist over the last few years, I might not have even joined if I’d have known how gate-keepy it could be. I’m grateful for these posts because the culture of any sport is learned behaviour. As a novice, I only benefit from more seasoned riders who model and encourage unlearning the “old” rules that would have excluded me. Mark and Fred at the LCC lead in this way.

Longtime FIFI cyclists: have the “new rules” from over a decade ago become just “the rules” today? What’s changed, and what’s still the same in your cycling world?