Utility Cycling: Why?

I track a fair number of folks within the cycling advocacy community.  The topic of promoting bicycle use for vehicular purposes arises a lot.  Opinions seem to be split as to just how to do this.  There are two schools of thought on the subject.  I think of them as the Nuts and Bolts Crowd and the Tom Sawyer Faction.  Oddly, while they both urge us to the same action, their underlying assumptions are almost exactly opposites.

Nuts And Bolts Crowd: 

Basic assumption:  You already want to use your bike for utility, or transportation, and you would…  If you just knew how.

This group believes that you have the desire, but lack the knowledge.  They are full of advice on equipment and techniques.  They are a valuable resource for those who haven’t yet attempted the thing.

Tom Sawyer Faction:

Basic assumption:  People would ride for utility if they just understood how it would benefit them.  You have a bike, or know how to use one, and could get one if you wanted to.  Knowledge isn’t your obstacle, but rather motivation.  If you just knew how good this was, why then you would do it.

Likely, both camps are right…  some of the time.  For that reason, we try to provide information on both the How of utility cycling, and the Why you might want to do it.  Of necessity, a lot of this information is based on our personal experience.

But wait, there’s more.  Lately, we’ve come to realize that most of the advice we dispense here is slanted toward the practical.  We talk about the money that can be saved.  We focus on time constraints.  We preach on about cycling as a means of avoiding traffic congestion.  We extol the health benefits.  All that is true and good, but we just might have been missing the boat a bit.

Commuting is FUN!

That’s right, I said FUN!!

Hey!  Why in the world do we ride bikes?  Here’s an exercise.  Please list your top three reasons for riding.  Do that in any order that they occur to you.  Then rank those reasons according to their importance to you.  Be honest.  No one else is going to see this.  Go ahead.  Do it now.  I’ll wait.

Got your list?  Now, I’ll bet I can name two of the top three reasons you listed. 

One of them will translate to “Improved mental health.”  Another will be something like, “It’s a lot of fun.”  Did I win my bet?

Okay, so you ride because it’s fun.  Sure, you justify and rationalize it.  You talk about weight control, and fitness.  You may be one of the “speed at any cost” crowd.  But, ultimately, you ride to have fun.  It’s a playtime thing.  And you know what?  That’s okay!  You may be a grownup, but you need to play.  Sure, you don’t need to play all the time, but you do need to play.  It makes you young and happy.  It’s good for you!

Now here’s the big secret:  I refer to my commuting, deep inside myself, as…    Are you ready for this?  Here goes…  Playing in traffic!

Yup!  I’m as serious as a heart attack.  I have fun commuting.  It’s a pleasurable activity.  No, not all the time, or all of any one trip, but on balance, it’s just plain fun!