Fuck Elitism

I can be such a dumbass sometimes. I complain about the Top 40 while smoking American Spirits and perusing vintage vinyl. I cite obscure quotes from Catcher in the Rye while I blog and listen to Neon Indian. I have been known to scoff at mountain bikes, beach bikes, motorized bikes, dirt bikes, cafe racers, bikes with gears, and soon, bikes with brakes. I don't care how much your specialized cost, it is automatically not as cool as my draft because you bought it from Bike Source, while I sourced my components from thrift stores, vintage bikes, pre-owned bikes, currently-owned bikes, and once I even single-handedly crafted a crank arm from a pencil stub I found on the floor of a locally-owned coffee house. I can be such a dumbass sometimes.

I like fixed gear bicycles because they are the simplest simple machine. Aside from legs, transportation really couldn't get any more primal. And I assume other riders would agree. I don't even really give a shit about tricks. Sure they look badass, and sure I'm learning to skid and shit, but what I enjoy most is just pedaling around on the pavement and enjoying the silent agreement that exists between me and my bike: I will forever grease your chain if you promise not to throw me over the handlebars. Deal.

But just because I most enjoy this aspect of riding doesn't mean that I'm any better. Who am I to say that surfing your huge fucking 40s through the forest is and less tight than squeezing between parked cars and a hard place? If you want to sport your bans and unnaturally small dog in your panniers and Miley Cyrus in your ear-ears, so be it. Hell, I haven't even heard of most of the reviewed albums in Filter.

We are all connected in a beautiful way. We are all sharing the road, trying to get from point A to point B, and back again. So I need to quit being a fucking elitist. Because as long as we can agree on the fundamental ideal that two-wheeled modes of transportation are the shit, then I'll be content.