May 3rd, 2007
Leaping From A Moving Bandwagon
Thankfully the US media can be more intelligent than the UK press which caters for the baying mob. The New York Times article Unstoppable, about fixie riders in NY city is a case in point. In the UK it would degenerate into a “can’t these people afford cars?” anti-bike rant attracting a deluge of letters from Disgusted of Kent about tearaways running red lights and riding the kerb. Nigel Havers would be having nightmares.
But as fixie riding finally grabs the attention of the mainstream media luvvie dahlings I’m a-leaping from the bandwagon. I realise that any reference to my own fixie riding experiences puts me in danger of being a ‘more singlespeedy than you’ arsehole, and I’m not proud of my inverted snobbery, but once you can write quotes like this with a straight face, then I’m lining up to finally master the skid-stop:
“Fixed-gear bikes are being ridden all over New York, by messengers, racers, lawyers, accountants and college professors.”
In my defence I don’t think it’s just me:
“[Johnny Coast] laughs at the absurdity of a brand like Mountain Dew approaching Black Label with an offer of sponsorship, as he says happened last year, and is wary of exploitation of the fixed-gear bike culture by corporations that have little to do with biking. “
Never mind the idiocy of a consumer brand trying to approach a set of recycling vegan anarchists I can’t help feeling that lawyers and accountants riding fixies is also just a little absurd. Maybe the new generation of ‘This Life’ era lawyers are cool enough - though even they turn into Range Rover driving Tory cocks in the end. At the risk of stereotyping accountants based on those I know then the phrase “about as useful as a bicycle for a fish” springs to mind. Maybe I should be less cynical. If it makes them realise that SUVs on city streets are A Bad Idea then that is a good thing.
I’d love to be more hopeful of a future that embraces cycling in the UK. So while I’m generally positive about the NY Times article I do feel that this quote is playing into the hands of those liability lawyers who haven’t swapped their expensive status symbol car imported German car for the latest in fixie fashion:
“Kyle Fay, a designer for Urban Outfitters … is a relatively new convert. “You take the blame if you get hit,” he said.”
Fuck off you do. Riding fixie does not automatically make you responsible if hit by a cager. Remember, Cars-R-Coffins.
Make up your own mind - check out the pictures and feature.
If that floats your boat then check out West Coast fixie riding courtesy How To Avoid The Bummer Life.
Me, I’m about to risk my nadgers on the top tube as I try and stop pedalling. And as I dice with the local traffic using, if not gears, then two fully functioning brakes, I will try and be more hopeful of our future.
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells
Thanks are due to Tom for the heads up.
![[Valid RSS]](http://32sixteen.com/wp-content/themes/three_column/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
del.icio.us
May 4th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
got a 404 on that carsarecoffinslink, and it seems to have gobbled up the next paragraph too.
May 4th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Aye, Wordpress is being too clever for it’s own good and trying to correct incorrect tags instead of warning me about them.