Cycle - you must be sport

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Si
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Cycle - you must be sport

Post by Si »

Following on from the 'banned or poor' thread....

So we went to a community awards ceremony last night because part of our community cycling project had been nominated for two community awards - Community Leadership and Bringing the Community Together or some such and we were told that it had made the final three so, although no one expected to win, at least there would be an appearance on stage and a photo.

What's our project about? Getting non-cyclists onto bikes, gentle riding in the local parks and cycle paths to aid personal and community health, or riding to work/shops/school/etc to aid finances, reduce congestion, reduce pollution, etc. And just cycling for the sheer joy of it. Under no circumstances are we there to promote cycling as something that is difficult and can only be done by sporty types.

Our categories came and went and nothing....then the last category of the day...you guessed it, 'Sport', and we are called up to get our certificates. So, it appears that the people running the awards decided that bikes must equal sport rather than being part of everyday healthy lifestyles so that's the category they moved us to. Makes you want to weep. It's like when you do, say, 20 miles on a bike and someone asks you what charity you did it for.

Not that I want to sound bitter - it was a nice do, a free dinner, and we were grateful for any recognition and a smidge of press coverage....but it would have been nice if we were recognised for doing what we were actually doing rather than for what we were trying to get away from.
Mark1978
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by Mark1978 »

Not that I disagree with you. But, if you're cycling for some other reason than pure transport then it *is* sport? As I understand it sport doesn't need a competitive element.
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mjr
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by mjr »

Not tempted to protest in your acceptance speech?
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Si
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by Si »

No speeches and we didn't win anyway!
Nice curry though.
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squeaker
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by squeaker »

Possibly 'cos it's the 'sporting' cyclists that cause the most aggro to other road users / are most visible tearing around 'our' countryside in peletons? :lol:
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broadway
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by broadway »

Mark1978 wrote:Not that I disagree with you. But, if you're cycling for some other reason than pure transport then it *is* sport? As I understand it sport doesn't need a competitive element.


That would mean most Sunday motorcyclists are enjoying a sport?
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gentlegreen
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by gentlegreen »

I would probably never have started cycling (aged 27) if I hadn't recently discovered the Walkman.

It was 8 years before the rave scene came to my neck of the woods and it's gradually dawned on me since that what I've been doing is dancing.
27 years of cycling and though these days I quite often make a conscious effort to push myself, I refuse to even acknowledge it as "exercise" - let alone "sport" - which still leaves me cold.
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Mick F
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by Mick F »

There is no way on God's earth that I would willingly partake in sport.
I do not like it, and never done any since I left school and was a new entry into the RN.

Cycling for pleasure isn't sport.
Sport needs a competitive aspect, even if you are competing against yourself.
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gaz
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by gaz »

CTC, the national cycing charity wrote:Charitable objects
1. PROMOTE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN HEALTHY RECREATION BY PROMOTING THE AMATEUR SPORT OF CYCLING, CYCLE TOURING AND ASSOCIATED AMATEUR SPORTS;

Nice to hear that BNB has been recognised for it's contributions to sport, our turn next? :mrgreen:
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ArMoRothair
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by ArMoRothair »

Si wrote:...but it would have been nice if we were recognised for doing what we were actually doing rather than for what we were trying to get away from.


Not only that but David Arditti argues cogently that thinking of cycling as 'Sport' is harming cycling. Worth a read http://www.voleospeed.co.uk/2012/08/pro ... utely.html
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by MikeF »

Mark1978 wrote:Not that I disagree with you. But, if you're cycling for some other reason than pure transport then it *is* sport? As I understand it sport doesn't need a competitive element.

Then dog walking must also be a sport. I'd never thought of it like that! :lol:

The problem is cycling is promoted as a sport. Just look at some websites Tredz, Chainreaction, PlanetX and all the expense, promotion and cavalcades of motor vehicles that accompany (some) road racing and from that some regard all cycling as a sport..
Many non cyclists regard any fast cyclist as Lycra clad even though they are not.
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by Chris the Sheep »



I love that description of a Skyride! I've never been to one, nor to my local 'Ride the Lights' events in Blackpool, precisely because I expected it to be absolutely as described. I have no desire to do the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride for charity, but I'd do it for a day out, on my own.

I'm sick of living in a country where everything has to be organised, marketed, sponsored, hi-vizzed to its eyeballs. I hate being told to 'have fun' by others who happen to be outgoing and think everybody else's definition of fun is the same as theirs. I prefer to keep my dignity.

Sport to me is something I had to do at school. That doesn't mean I'm not competitive, but I prefer not to shout about it. I don't think I'm at all unique in that, I don't think I'm even in a minority.

I also think sport cycling is seen as something that 'normal' people might do; after all, utility cyclists are either poor or basket-weaving hippies.
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ncutler
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by ncutler »

Bit of an antidote here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=86465

Guardian article about cycling culture in cities

Nick
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RickH
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by RickH »

I reckon cycling as a leisure activity is often classed as "Sport" as shorthand for "participation in sports and other energetic activities" - things that should generally improve your health but that aren't necessarily practical. Cycling, and to an extent walking & running, are a grey area as you can use them to get around too (for example - when I was running, training to do a marathon, I would sometimes get Mrs H to drop me off near work on her way past & then I would run home after) Cycling does works better as a transport option IMHO.

On the Skyrides & the like, I've done few - Manchester, Bolton & Blackpool Ride the Lights a couple of times each - with the grandchildren on our tandem & think they are good fun events. Bikes of all shapes & sizes completely taking over the streets! :D It was quite amusing on the last Ride the Lights, there were a few cars parked on the prom too late and the marshalls were having to stop the bike traffic of bikes & carefully steward them off the route - they were very much the minority mode of transport. Riding for a short time on roads chock-a-block with bikes (plus trikes, quads & unicycles too) is an experience, you don't often get a complete standstill due to the sheer volume of cycles as you do on Ride the Lights. Seeing small children on balance bikes, or with stabilisers on, happily riding down Deansgate in Manchester, when it is usually chocka with traffic day & night, certainly made me smile.

With regard to competitive cycling I think British Cycling's strategies are sound - there are really only 2 ways to get talent coming through, one is to encourage cycling in all forms to give a broader base, some of who will then take a liking to racing & feed in that way, &/or you target talented folk in other sports & get them to switch. They've already been doing some of the latter. For the former they are building on the high profile big events with locally organised rides starting from a few miles on motor traffic free routes for any ages, through a range of steadily longer road rides. Assuming people feed through, they can progress to riding quite a few miles on the road & may then consider it as a transport option as well as a leisure activity. They might even contemplate racing! :shock: (I'll state a slight vested interest here as I've gone over to the dark side :twisted: & done the training as a ride leader for the local rides earlier this year.)

For many non-cyclists there is a vast gulf between what they could quite easily do & what they perceive. I went out somewhere this evening, about 5 miles each way, and as I was leaving one guy asked if I wanted a lift home! :? I don't know why as he's seen me arrive & depart by bike numerous times, maybe it was just because it was dark. It wasn't something that would have occurred to him to do.

Those are just a few thoughts (ramblings).

Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Cycle - you must be sport

Post by al_yrpal »

Is rambling a sport? Doh! Then what charity is it for? How far is that? OMG! One gets used to it...

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
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