Cycling culture and style
Understanding the changing face of cycling
Cycling culture is difficult to define, as there are so many facets to the global cycling community. And, as cycling has developed, particularly in recent years, it’s becoming harder to pin down what cycling culture and style means. In truth, it’s a tapestry of cycling types and styles, all woven together – often loosely – and yet all sharing one central them: seeking adventure and sharing a spirit for life. Whether your cycling lifestyle involves a short spin around town, taking in the coffee stop on the Chicago boardwalk; or a gravel biking epic across the white roads of Tuscany, we’re all part of that global village of cyclists. In truth, the greatest display of modern cycling culture is probably that seen daily within the Netherlands, and nearby in Belgium, where families exist with cycling as a way of life, a way of transport, a way of leisure and of sport. Elsewhere, we tend to add little bits and call ourselves cycling nations… but, are we really?
Pedalnorth always tries to be as organic as possible, evolving with the changing cycling scene – to be representative at least, of a few elements within the tapestry of the global cycling culture. In terms of our own cycling culture and style, this year we’ve taken on new writers from road racing, cyclocross, bikepacking and gravel biking, mountain biking and leisure cycling, and increased our women’s cycling blog area, to better represent the too frequently under-represented area of women’s cycling. We believe that cycling of all genres can sit together on one portal, and that our platform can provide relevant and interesting cycling lifestyle themes, such as our ‘Yoga for cyclists’ project with Diane Vilarem, alongside the bikepacking expeditions that Scott Cornish enjoys and once wrote about for us. We’re constantly reviewing what cycling culture and lifestyle means to us and to our readership. If it involves people having the best time on a bike, then it’s a good starting point for us.
Style too, evolves and changes within cycling as often as High Street fashions. It’s false and unrepresentative to try and focus solely on the urban centres, as London cycling culture can often have little in common with the club rider from the Yorkshire Dales. Converseley, cycling in any single geographical area or genre isn’t a full and accurate representation of cycling culture either – it’s merely a brief glimpse of a particular element.
The role of the cycling industry
A case in point is the recent issues surrounding the iconic Rapha brand within the global cycling culture scene. Whilst this iconic brand took off in London and the south of the U.K., it unfortunately never really made the same impact in the tough and rugged conditions of the northern National Park areas, where riders were more frequently seen in the Italian brands such as Castelli and Ale, or more reasonably priced and stylish home-grown brands. Ultimately, a jersey that costs up to £300 must do something special when the rain is hitting you and the wind is literally tearing at your face.Rapha do make excellent products. However, that special style element isn’t always going to be the tapestry of choice for all riders. In terms of the local bike shop too, they have to purchase multiple jerseys in varying sizes just to sell the size that fits you. Culture and style can come with a price tag.
And, when the sun has retreated and the cold weather warriors come out to play on the cyclocross race circuit, a £300 jersey just won’t cut it through the mud-strewn courses of Flanders and elsewhere. You need spiked shoes and the heart of a lion to climb the off-camber slopes and descend into the unknown of bike handling gymnastics. No, cyclocross refuses to take prisoners, and that expensive jersey will look just as dark and dirty as one half the price, when the battle is over. Cycling culture isn’t about Instagram poseurs looking aimlessly up into the air and pointing their cycling shoe toes like a somewhat ridiculous trainee catwalk model – men and women. Yes, I’ve seen some utterly ludicrous images of men on bikes, doing their best to look cool and striking the same overly-false and caraicature style pose on every image, in hope that some frankly limited thinking marketing exec will send them a few more jerseys to wear just once, as they continue with their inane act, producing unrepresentative and soulless images of modern social media cycling.
The best photographic representations of cycling culture often come from activity and motion, and those online images that seem to have movement within them. That may be a group of cyclists in the Netherlands using bikes as part of daily life; or it may be a group of friends tackling a climb together in the Yorkshire Dales. It may even be that group of friends at the cafe, or simply smiling naturally together on a ride out. However, social media has distorted the thinking of marketing agencies who confuse voyeurism with promotional success on Instagram in particular, as too often we see those aimless images of cycling statues.
Social media – in too many ways – skews our impression of what cycling culture and style is. Unfortunately, brands have frequently become drunk on it, as they continually throw out samples to aesthetic clothes horses who represent nothing more than their own egos, on an all-to-familiar journey towards false fame and hidden loneliness as just another forgotten Z-lister. This isn’t cycling culture, nor a sub-culture strand of cycling – it’s simply a sad reflection on modern life, where the influencer culture has become badly mixed in with that smaller group of genuinely talented and skilled marketeers within the online and social media world, who truly want to inspire, to encourage and to ride into adventure. And yet, their value and the culture that they portray has become diluted as the cycling industry wrongly aligns them with the pouting mannequins who look aimlessly into an empty sky.
Yes, good content that accurately reflects cycling culture and style costs money, because it costs good writers and good media creators time and effort to produce the content. Content that includes an abundance of knowledge, skill and familiarity with the truth of what cycling culture and lifestyle is… or could be. We need to press pause on the static pouting poseurs and mannequins – men and women – and start valuing those who want to inspire and encourage that spirit of adventure, and not simply influence through a false aesthetic that adds to the distortion of cycling culture and which ultimately harms the bottom line for already struggling cycling brands, desperate to find the pot of gold at the end of the culture rainbow.
The role of clubs in defining cycling culture
Cycling clubs have always been the bedrock of U.K. cycling culture, and indeed, cycling culture throughout the global village. Clubs such as Otley CC in Yorkshire, continue to produce world class riders such as Lizzie Deignan and Tom Pidcock, whilst the nearby town of Ilkley, surrounded by steep hills, has the largest cycling club in the U.K., enabling riders of all ages and all levels to find a group to ride with and to learn about the magic ingredients of cycling culture – the tea and cake stops, the quick bike fixes, and how to improve your performance on the bike as you serve your apprenticeship in the club cycling peloton.
It’s the same in Italy, Spain and France, too – and other European countries – which have a far richer and more vibrant cycling club foundation than the U.K… Clubs form the pattern of their cycling sport agendas, and help to support thriving race series’, feeding the higher tier clubs and teams that in turn feed the UCI with a conveyor belt of world class riders. Belgium is a testing ground for many young riders, who use the country as a base as they begin their journey, with the cold winds of Flanders testing them on winter training rides.
Technology and cycling culture
The online world and the cloud now have its own version of an international cycling culture and lifestyle, as apps such as Zwift, Whoosh, Rouvy and Wahoo allow cyclists around the world to easily interact and race each other from the comfort of their homes. Add to this the rise of gravel biking and those seeking off-road adventures and exploration, as people seek something different, to escape from chaotic and crazy society and world that too frequently seems to be filled with economic woes, wars and environmental destruction. Yes, joining in with the global cycling culture and finding your fix on 2-wheels can be therapeutic – both physically and mentally – adding to the changing face of the global cycling culture.
E-bikes have enabled far more people to enter our global cycling culture. Whether it’s simply a means to extend adventure, add to the adrenaline or for health reasons, E-Bikes are now a common site at trail centres and mountain venues, bringing a new cohort into the outdoors. In the main, pedal assist motors simply allow people to enjoy that aspect of cycling that adds something positive to our lives, and we all need to embrace and accept this new form of cycling culture. Festivals such as the U.K. ‘Ard Rock Endura’ at Swaledale have become the Glastonbury of off-road cycling, attracting riders from across the world, and with E-Bikes easily outnumbering traditional bikes.
No, it’s not always the big trade shows, and certainly not aesthetic and style orientated shows such as Rouleur Live that provide consumers with the best cycling shows in the world. It’s the absolute awesomeness of events such as ‘Ard Rock, Dirty Reiver (gravel), Roc d’Azure and L’Ardéchoise, a large, annual amateur cycling event held in the Ardèche department of France, and bigger than the Tour de France for participation community. These are the events that truly define our varied and simply beautiful global cycling culture. Not the fading menu of old fashioned trade shows, or the over-priced and over-inflated brand fests tucked away in cities, without even a defined cycle parking area, and which simply provides a very small and very expensive stage for the industry peacocks to show off their expensive feathers.
Modern cycling consumers want interactivity and particular vibe. EuroBike is developing this at its Frankfurt venue, but has a way to go still. Consumers want inclusion and action and bikes that can be seen to offer that adventure that so many cyclists are now seeking – at every price point. The aesthetic based trade events simply fail on every level to truly represent the average cyclist who still uses the average bike shop, and who still wants to pay a reasonable price.
Style versus substance
Style is always difficult to define, and it forms a central theme in cycling culture. Back in the day, cycling style was focused for many around their club kit and how they reflected their participation and membership of a defined group. In more modern times, cycling style has been more expressive and exciting, with brands such as Ale, Beihler SYN, Rosti, MAAP, Attaquer, and of course Rapha, redefining what cycling culture, community and style ought to be.
It’s easy to say that the price of jersey isn’t relevant, because it is. There is an invisible price-cap for many peoplle – and yet they still expect style and comfort and performance. Frankly, charging upwards of £250 for a short sleeved cycling jersey is obscene for most cyclists. It’s not supposed to be an iconic item of wearable art. They want a jersey to keep them warm, keep the sun at bay, hold off the wind and look smart as they tackle that tough climb or ride the rolling hills into the valley. Cycling culture is a social thing, a sporting lifestyle… not a competition to display your position in societies economic hierarchy. Let’s leave that to the golf clubs.
In terms of women’s cycling culture, the old-fashioned attitude of ‘Pink it and shrink it’ is no longer acceptable, as brands such as DS Pro and Jelenew have set new standards that balance performance, technicity, comfort, and feminine style in equal measure. Women are finally being allowed to look and feel like women on a bike – whilst sexism does still exist in many areas, including within the professional ranks, where the UCI has only recently grasped the issues. Cycling culture is accepting that women are built differently – funny really, when you consider that they haven’t just evolved with their own particluar form and requirements! The patriarchy has simply taken too long to accept that they might just have been wrong. Women have always been able to hold their own on a bike. However, how many bike shops have you been in and seen only two or three women’s jerseys on sale, whilst there are rows and rows of jerseys for me! Frankly, it’s a disgusting display of openly being sexist and failing to market towards a growing base of cyclists with a disposal income and a willingness to buy cycling products designed specifically for their needs – women!
Personal choice versus chasing personal fame
Ultimately, cycling culture is whatever we want it to be. I love riding with my cousin to the tea rooms at Jervaulx Abbey, returning along the 2014 TdF route. I also like nightriding across the technical trails and hills of Wharfdale on my mountain bike or sharing a city ride with my son in London. Colleagues here at Pedalnorth likewise mix up their riding; with Kristi riding road for a pro team in the summer and changing to cyclocross in the winter. Alex rides mountain bike as a pro in Romania and yet took to the Stelvio recently, along with Teo – albeit then descending the off-road alternative!
And then there is Nadezhda – a bundle of electricity and energy. Nobody here defines the spirit of cycling more, as she travels the world ,seeking new cycling challenges; climbing the Tourmalet not once but twice – 2 days running – before heading to Italy and riding in the early morning darkness, simply to see the sunrise from the top of the Stelvio. That for me is cycling culture. It reminds me of climbing trips in my youth, when we would travel in the early hours, hiking in to the mountains as dawn came, so that we could climb alongside the sunrise and feel the warmth on us as we ascended. Those magical moments are what define cycling culture, and style how we prepare and how we cloth ourselves in a way that outwardly displays our own indiviual spirit and personality. Cycling culture is defined by that seemingly endless stream of young cyclists in the Netherlands, making their way to school. It’s their parents on the cycle commute into work or into town to shop and socialise. It’s Nol Van Loon on a multi-stage gravel adventure on the Silk, Road. It’s Tudor Oprea in Romania, creating the TRIADA festival for off-road riders of all ages and abilities. It’s the Sunday morning club ride to the cafe, or the Thursday night mountain bike ride across the Yorkshire Dales with friends.
Cycling culture is ultimately up to you
Cycling culture is simply that spirit that lives within each of us – once we accept it and set ourselves free in pursuit of adventure! It’s not about the poseur on a bike that’s more expensive than their ability requires, and nor is it solely about the commuter on their £300 bicycle shaped object, wrapped against the morning cold on their way to work. It’s all of these and more, and cycling culture will continue to evolve and change, as new styles enter the global cycling community. Nobody owns it or has a more important place in our culture than anyone else.
Quite simply, cycling culture belongs to you, and it’s yours to define, as you ride in any way and in any direction you choose. It’s a revolution that will never end, and it’s simply quite beautiful, as independent spirits continue to take to 2-wheels and set themselves free.
Pedalnorth.com – where cycling culture & style lives in freedom
