When bicycle were first invented and popularised in the late 1800s, they were met with a degree of moral panic. Would bicycles lead women into immorality? Would upstanding citizens be overrun by mobs of cycling hoons?
David Herlihy’s book Bicycle: The History presents one particularly hilarious example of these reactions. It shows Puck magazine’s 1897 vision of Sunday cyclists who have biked their way into the inferno.
We now live in a more secular society, where relatively few people argue that weekend warriors are risking their immortal souls with Sunday morning rides. But, as some people’s fevered reaction to new on-street bicycle facilities shows, a small minority do seem to believe that a bit of green paint and a few safe hit posts will condemn them to traffic hell.
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“Would bicycles lead women into immorality?”
Without a doubt cycling did allow women to break out of their mould and in a direct way did lead to the emancipation of women – in the UK at least.
Not so much here though, as by the time these words were written women here already had the vote.
So no doubt when judged by some people of any day, giving women the vote no matter when or where it was was “immoral”.
So yes, to answer your question: cycling did indeed lead women into immorality. But not in the way they meant.
As for today, indeed it is said by many famous people in the past that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_road_to_hell_is_paved_with_good_intentions)
Which brings those shitty helmet laws we and Australia have, to mind, but thats for another day.
But to stay in the posts context, it may also be said the road to driving hell is paved, not with green paint, separated cycleways or the bodies of cyclists, but in fact, tarmac.
The more of it you have, the more hellish the problem gets for everyone.
So the answer is not banning cyclists, cycle lanes or pedestrians, but in fact in sharing the road space around a bit more equitably.
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”, is the [Marxist] phrase that springs to mind.
I suspect its the fact that this sharing idea simply *sounds* “left wing” or socialist, and that is why mere idea of cycle lanes and such actually gets up some peoples noses.
It just, you know, feels, wrong and also anti-capitalist to have to share the road when you have a winner takes all economic system.
And cars have obviously, like the dinosaurs before them, won the evolutionary race to the top of the heap. So by rights, should dominate all.
There is still a lot of vitriol for those who spend their weekends on the saddle voluntarily. This is despite the fact that these people are improving their health and enjoying themselves. Is it the pleasure which is offensive? Or is it the health?
I do wonder where the hate for MAMiLs comes from as well.
I know it is a stereotype people love to bash, but I have seen some pretty nasty threads on Trademe forums with drivers going as far as threatening to kill cyclists. Weirdly the thing that seems to wind people up other than the claim that cyclists are some how going out of there way to block lanes, is the Lycra thing. As if wearing less appropriate clothing like jeans would somehow make us less like a target?
As a middle aged male who puts on bicycle shorts (but not head to tail fancy cycle gear) and rides a bit including some commuting, not ran into too much abuse personally but does worry me that some people are making out that some classes of road users are less worthy of protection and respect.
I think the MAMIL as mythical hate object comes from a few places:
– the general “manchild” image that a large part of our culture/media associates with adult men on bicycles (think Peewee Herman or Steve Carell)
– the idea that the typical middle-aged male body is an object of shame, which definitely shouldn’t be “shown off” with form-fitting clothing
– the “poser” slur associated with replica racing kit – the idea that someone with a gross middle-aged body (see above) might be trying to physically look like a bike racer really seems to set people off. Perhaps it’s because the kit is something that is visibly worn on an exposed human body; people “posing” in quasi-sporting or racing cars seem to get more in the way of envy than outright ridicule, and when they do it seems less directly personal.
– combined with all of the above, the idea that these people are usurping “our” road for “their” sporting pleasure (again, an argument that doesn’t seem to apply to sporting motorcycles or cars).
So it’s a potent mix of shame factors in our wider culture – around maturity and “proper” behaviour for one’s age; around body image; around self-image and acting too big for your boots; and yes, as George says, around publicly having fun in a non-typical way (there is still a wide streak of puritan dislike of others’ pleasure in New Zealand culture, at least when that pleasure doesn’t involve sports or beer).
Women don’t seem to have a direct MAMIL equivalent stereotype, although I’ve no doubt there are probably similar forms of shaming or erasure going on which I haven’t picked up; a female commenter might have more to add…
“less appropriate clothing like jeans” – How are jeans not appropriate clothing for cycling? Why is lycra so great? It doesn’t make any difference to me when I am cycling for 10mins to the shops, beach or to catch the ferry.
I think you and grantblk are talking about two different types of cycling – if we’re talking longer-distance rides then Lycra has its advantages, if just to the beach or dairy then denim is a perfectly fine choice. (I do however avoid jeans on the bike for the sake of avoiding grease stains and chain/cog damage – destroyed at least one cheap pair as a kid riding delivery routes in jeans, when I was too self-conscious to rock shorts and shoes…)
I am talking about my personal experience, and even when cycling to beach (Long Bay yesterday) or to the ferry (Devonport for the commute) I tend to wear padded bike shorts and shoes with cleats.
Just my preference of course, but the road bike I use has ~23mm wide tyres pumped to over 100lb sq in and a rock hard saddle; so anything other than padded shorts can be .. not comfortable.
Observing the collection of bikes on the ferry, you tend to get a fairly ecliptic mix of different bicycles and different clothing styles of course. Not sure there is even a thing as a typical cyclist.
I was fascinated the other day to see a woman on a nice new retro-cruiser bike pedaling off from the ferry through Devonport in long dress and platform high heels.. I couldn’t imagine wearing shoes like that walking, much less cycling. In the end, I like to see people on bikes, regardless of the bike or the clothing as you get to communicate with people rather than all being stuck in tin-cans on a motorway.
Given that we are talking about people riding for sport denim is completely inappropriate