Alien27 wrote:Wow people are loosing the art of reading and contextualising text. The statements made were about the general (car driving) public's perceptions of different types of cyclists, and not the posters opinion of these types of cyclists. When the poster said he didn't like the lycra clad image, he was not saying he did not like the people that ware lycra, he was not saying he disproved of what they wore, nor was he saying the image was fair or accurate. What he said was he did not like the image.
Whether we like it or not, whether it is accurate or not and whether it is helpful or not, we (yes I'm in lycra every time I ride) project an image that is picked up by the general public, run through their faulty filters and used to draw conclusions about lycra clad riders as a group.
I would argue that people are losing the ability to address a point of argument without going off on an irrelevant tangent. The statement " I do not want to join the Lycra tribe. I do not like the image." in bold type , even when taken in the context of the entire post is inferring that lycra clad cyclists are the cause of much of the angst we receive from motorists.
I am arguing that when participating in cycling
as a sport there is no valid alternative to lycra. Here is a strava segment underlying my point
nth Harcourt road.
What would you suggest I wear while grovelling for the wheel of a NRS rider at 55km/h?
I have no business being there
but hell it is fun while I am.
So when someone tells me the sporting clobber I wear while playing my sport is causing angst on the road, I will explain it is worn for a reason.
That was a group of 20 odd cyclists on that ride. We only got the odd bit of grief whilst riding. The cause was that we were 2 abrest and were a group. It is irrelevant what is worn. Drivers do not like groups of cyclists on the road period. Associating that with lycra is wrong.
Maybe what some drivers do is associate individual lycra clad cyclists with bunch rides and vent for that reason. I haven't really experienced it though.