Tag: bicycles

Revisiting the Rules of Cycling Rewritten (Throwback Friday)
cycling · fitness · fun · rules · tbt

Revisiting the Rules of Cycling Rewritten (Throwback Friday)

elan.paulson2 Comments

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 about 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 road and gravel cyclist, I might not have even joined the sport of cycling a few years ago 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. Marc 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?

cycling · Guest Post

Goodbye, hello! (Guest post)

Sam B3 Comments

by Eleanor Brown

 

1

It was red. There was a little bit of orange in the colour, but not too much.

Second-hand, and on sale, a big rig for a big gal, reassuringly heavy, a solid commuter bicycle for a middle-aged sort who had not been on a two-wheeler in a while. It’s beautiful.

Almost immediately, the brakes started to give me trouble.

 

2

I loved the bike.

Spring, summer and fall, I spent at least an hour on it, daily.

In the winter, the brakes froze. The front wheel was rarely true. It had 21 speeds, but I never switched it from the initial setting.

Once, I wiped out on ice rather than hit a car. The bike survived better than I.

Displaying Bike1.jpg

3

Raleigh bicycles used to be high end. Not anymore. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The company was founded in 1887 in England. Much later, it built a manufacturing plant in my home in the Eastern Townships, in Quebec. One hundred small-town residents had jobs there.

In 2013, those employees assembled 135,000 bicycles.

The plant closed forever soon after.

 

4

I started spending more and more money on the bike.

 

5

I bought a stationary bicycle, putting the bright-red Raleigh away in winter.

Spring always returns. I pulled the Raleigh out of the garage, pumped up the tires, oiled the chain and buffed the paint.

It rained torrents for days.

Saturday, as the sun peeked out, I excitedly took it out for the season’s first real ride.

I was happy. The itinerary included a diner, second breakfast.

Within a block, I discovered the front wheel was pushing against the brake pad. Even after a half-hour, I couldn’t fix it.

Walked home.

6

I have a new bicycle.

It’s grey. There’s a little bit of black trim around the edges, but not too much.

I bought it new, and on sale, a big rig for a big gal, reassuringly heavy, a solid commuter bicycle for a middle-aged sort who has not been on a proper two-wheeler in a while. It’s beautiful.

I’m stripping the Raleigh for parts.

Displaying Bike2.jpg

Eleanor Brown is a freelance writer living in Sherbrooke, Quebec. She’s a former managing editor of Pink Triangle Press’ flagship publication, Xtra, in Toronto, and the former editor of a daily newspaper, the Sherbrooke Record. She can be reached at ebjourno at gmail.com.