CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
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It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
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No more hippies and explorers: a lament for the changed world of cycling
With cycling’s increased popularity has come a cultural shift away from fun and experiences towards a macho world of speed and Strava.
"Road cycling has become the orthodoxy. Tedious, competitive, sports cycling has taken over. Cycling has become the new golf. It’s what men of a certain age, men with money and power, chat about after meetings."
Oops! Just realised IWRATS posted this about an hour ago. Let the thread battle begin! :-)
Looks like IWRATS has won this one.
It is in IWRATS's nature to only feel compassion for the orphan thread. Let's give her a boost.
I am conflicted over the video embedded in the article. Autonomous trail riding is my favourite kind of bicycling as it ties in with several of my more serious psychological flaws.
I can't quite get rid of the feeling that there's something very complex going on between the trail, the lady and her partner. I know I'm projecting my own issues onto the film, including jealousy of the rider's talents, but still....isn't there something almost inhuman in actively seeking out such a Spartan existence?
/wrong thread/
"/wrong thread/" No, this is the one about cycling, the other one is about golf.
@Stephan
Yes, but Stickman was going to post about embroidery, so it was the wrong thread.
@iwrats Ok, embroidery experts know much more about threads than I ever will, so I shut up.
"I can't quite get rid of the feeling that there's something very complex going on between the trail, the lady and her partner. "
I know what you mean.
OTOH there's also the classic stoicism of the long distance rider there to see. Cross country bike packing over such distances seems like an extreme version of audax (but presumably without control points, etc.) Or maybe a really long solo time trial. The boundaries between disciplines and categories get a little blurry in such a ride...
What I find interesting is that she keeps talking about her riding as racing, beating other people's times, etc. So it's not exactly the antithesis of the macho competitive roadie mentality that the Grauniad opinionist is allegedly seeking...
@Stephan
Just joshing to get crowriver's thread going. No offence intended.
BTW, thanks folks for reviving this thread. Especially IWRATS, such a gent! :-)
"So it's not exactly the antithesis of the macho competitive roadie mentality"
Yes indeed. If I was crossing the territory she is I'd be revelling in it, not blasting through and sleeping in a bin liner. It's almost like the public suffering of an ascetic saint.
There is always the pull between wonder and exploration and training/racing. I know I am going through it just now as I am training for a 94 mile charity ride in June. It's a massive thing for me as I've only ever done short distance a to b cycling before and I definitely need training up for this.
Fortunately I live in Dunbar and have easy access to a magnificent network of quiet country roads and disused railway cycle paths. But most of them I have never seen so the pull is strong to wander and explore. At the same time I'm trying to get my distance and speed up to scratch (modest gains by any standard other than my own).
I guess the idea is if you want to do record breaking challenges you might as well do them somewhere beautiful and inspiring and, well, challenging. Who's to say she hasn't already been over that trail many times as a leisure pursuit?
I thought the main resonance in the article for me was the brief rant about how nowadays everything is packaged and marketed at us. He mentioned gravel bikes, etc. but I think this makes his point almost painfully:
Cycle the Hippie Trail
“Turn on, tune in, Drop out”
It was 1967 – the Summer of Love – and Timothy Leary had this advice for his young followers at the Human Be-In taking place in San Francisco. War was raging in SE Asia, the Civil Rights Movement was spreading throughout the USA, the Cold War was at its height and all around the world young people were looking for a new approach to life. Many of them, including The Beatles, took Leary’s words to heart and headed to India to explore new spiritual possibilities. For most, getting there involved traveling along the Hippie Trail; an overland route that began in Western Europe and ran through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before splitting in 3 arms in New Delhi. One route headed to Katmandu, another to Varanasi and another to the beaches of Goa.
Now, half a century later, we invite you to rediscover India and yourself; to pedal the Hippie Trail from New Delhi to Goa in the footsteps of the flower children; to cycle into a physical and spiritual kaleidoscope. Instead of riding the psychedelic Magic Bus, you experience the incredible sights, sounds and smells of the country from the seat of your bike. While the original hippies crashed in Ashrams or flophouses, you will end your cycling days in converted forts, palaces and heritage hotels. The flower children ate what and when they could. You will enjoy some of the finest regional Indian cuisines available.
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