Cycling has an illness and sadly the cure is not more cowbell.

So instead of finishing off my story about nationals today, I’ve decided to write about something else. Something that came from reading this article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324767004578485194028851214?mg=reno64-wsj.html?dsk=y

To summarize, the article talks about the change in cycling culture happening from the Armstrong fallout. It goes on to look into it a little deeper and examines the cycling culture; mostly based on internet sites and interviews with industry reps.

I love to read these types of articles for a few reasons. First it’s interesting to see what the outside sees looking in. I’m the first to admit, I’m immersed, trapped almost, in the world of cycling. I pretty much only ride in a chamois, my kit always matches and I wear white shoes when I ride. So it’s good to see what the general public sees when they see me. The other thing that’s interesting about these articles is how often and how far they are wrong. Usually the facts are at best, locally specific when labeled as national trends. Often they are just the opinion of one dude in some town and just plain wrong. You get the point; they are not the best articles.

But for some reason this article struck a chord with me. I started riding on a mountain bike where everyone is friends and what mattered was that you showed up and had a blast. That is the sport I fell in love with. But as I’ve moved deeper into the sport, and specifically onto the road I’ve noticed that people are less welcoming. They seem to click together a little bit. They are not grouped by skin color, age or the bike the ride, but how fast they are and if they ‘get’ it.

There is so much emphasis on wearing the right socks to match your shoes. You have to match your kit all the time. Saddle needs to match your bar tape and if your glasses are under your helmet straps, you might as well just go home. I’ve seen this type of social behavior push countless people away from the sport. We’re all just a bunch of frat boys carrying on the traditions that were taught to us when we got started. If you don’t follow the rules, then we don’t want you in the club.

With some thought it is understandable how all these rigid rules came to be and why cyclist organize by them and cling to them so tightly. Cycling is a skill (specifically, this is what annoys most cyclist about triathletes). It’s not just how strong you can become, because with enough time, a coach and effort anyone can become fast enough to hang in most circles. It’s a skill because you spend the time to make sure your kit is clean and matches. You clean your shoes and bike to make sure it works well. You watch the pros race and follow their lead. There are rules about who can ride with whom because it makes it safer. More experienced riders, fast riders, they ride together because they have an understanding that they all know how to ride and how to corner. If you put someone who doesn’t have this understanding in the mix, they might react to a situation differently and that’s where crashes happen.

But that is racing and training. We have a hard time letting go and just hopping on a bike, breaking the rules and enjoying it. We as racers have a tough time letting go of the racer mentality long enough to remember what it was like when we got started and why we kept going. This is why cycling is viewed as a grueling sweaty sport (and only a sport!). If we really want to grow the sport, we need to stop with the judgment and just have fun (on our fun days for those of us training).

Like I’ve said, I’ve watched and participated on a few occasions people genuinely interested in riding their bike get pushed away because they were breaking a rule that they never even heard of. Well rules like that are pretty dumb and they only add to the ‘PR’ problem that cycling has on a local level. I want cycling to be a welcoming place where people come together not because they have matching socks, but because they love to ride bike and they love to ride bikes with each other. The feeling of the wind pushing against your body as you push back against the unstoppable force of nature. The excitement pushing yourself beyond your limits and finding out that anything is possible. The freedom to go anywhere you are willing to work for; whether that’s across town or across the country. These are the things that should unite us as cyclist.