Bike Snob NYC interview
New York City’s authority on cycling has a good old fashioned rant.
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Fast becoming one of New York City’s most refreshing voices, Bike Snob NYC has taken his much-loved blog that pokes fun at the world of cycling and turned it into something blogger dreams are made of: a real life book, made of paper, with a cover and everything!
HUCK spoke with the enigmatic, and once anonymous, Eben Weiss, as he was about to embark on a promotional road trip in support of Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling.
Read on as he discusses the finer points of bike snobbishness.
Pedestrians
When you ride a bike in the city, pedestrians can be really annoying, especially the way they seem to follow their cell phones around nowadays. Cell phones and coffee cups seem to drag pedestrians around at random, so that can be really frustrating. At the same time, cyclists get a little too carried away. You gotta remember; a pedestrian thinks about you [the cyclist] the same way you do about someone in a car… but sometimes you have to swallow your pride and look out for them.
Stop Signs
I love stop signs. Who doesn’t love a good stop sign?
Critical Mass
I’m not a fan; well not in New York because the only thing it does is cause trouble for everybody. My understanding of Critical Mass is that it’s supposed to remind people that there are cyclists out there, and that they have a right to the road. But there are bikes in New York all the time - and they’re everywhere! So the best way to remind people that cyclists belong here is to ride your bike everyday, and to ride smart and be responsible.
Hipsters are so far the best source of unintentional comedy for the twenty-first century.
Motorists
First of all, some motorists seem to hate cyclists, which is ridiculous because plenty cyclists also drive. Everybody forgets that you’re not the vehicle you’re on - you’re a human being. It shouldn’t have to be about ‘us versus them’. Drivers also need to realise that when they get impatient because there’s a cyclist in front of them, nobody cares where they’re going. Unless you’re driving an ambulance or a fire engine, where you’re going is not important. Just relax! And pass when you can.
Sidewalk cyclists
That’s like driving on the sidewalk – ride in the streets!
Bike lanes
I like bike lanes, we’ve been getting lots of bike lanes in New York and I hope we keep getting them – they’re a good thing. People who park or idle in bike lanes are a little frustrating though, and I wish the police would get on that a little more. You very rarely see people getting a ticket for parking in the bike lanes – so that’s frustrating but at least the bike lanes are there.
Hipsters
Hipsters are so far the best source of unintentional comedy for the twenty-first century. They’re a precious comedy resource and I hope they continue.
Competitive commuters
That is one of the most pathetic activities. Anyone who is competing in the world at large, on any vehicle, should be embarrassed because there are places you can go where you can beat people. These places are called bike races. If more people raced their bikes, we wouldn’t have annoying competitive commuters. Get rid of the impulse!
Lycra
I’m an advocate for the appropriate bicycle and clothing to suit an activity. People have this anti-Lycra thing, which is ridiculous. It would be laughable to wear Lycra to ride to the store. But if you don’t like Lycra, do me a favour; get on your bike, ride a six-hour ninety-mile course, then come back and tell me how you feel. And tell me how your crotch looks.
Bike messengers (and their aggressive tendencies)
I spent some time as a bike messenger and that was probably the most fun job I ever had. One day I’d like to spend twenty-four hours as a messenger and follow every single traffic law that applies to me, and I’d like to see how many packages I deliver that day.
Electric bikes and Segways
[Laughs] Ah, I’m not a fan of electric bikes or Segways. In New York electric bikes are taking off, especially with delivery people, and delivery people already ride on the sidewalk and in the wrong direction. Now they do it twice as fast and silently – they’re like a deadly missile. At least with a regular bicycle you’re only as fast as your physical strength allows; the electric bicycle makes weaklings as dangerous as bike messengers.
Final Word
The positive thing about bikes is that they’re a lot of fun and they’re really practical. There are so many fun things to do with your bike; you shouldn’t restrict yourself to one style of riding. Try new things and enjoy it, don’t worry about how you’re supposed to look or what you’re supposed to wear – just get out and have fun!
Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling is published by Chronicle Books, out now.
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Bike Snob NYC interview (text) by Nick Hanekom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Comments (6)
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As for lessening dependence on oil, how do you make electricity? Burning oil and other fossil fuels and polluting the environment.
say no to electric, use kinetic!
As for the fossil fuel argument, electric motors and power stations are much more efficient than motors in cars, so can contribute to reducing pollution and fossil fuel use - not to mention that electricity can also be produced in renewable energy and nuclear stations, helping even more. Although, again, not as much as a normal bike.
Personally I can't stand the things, but I'd rather the streets were full of them than cars...
I cycle on the pavement when it suits me. I let pedestrians have the right of way though.
An historic compromise
However, I bet this is just another phase, these kind of things never take off large scale really. They are there for the people who can afford to buy them and I bet anyone who does buy one ends up going back to their old friend Mr Pedal Power 6 months down the line anyway...
I say the best way to help the environment is to invest in a second hand pedal bike and have some fun doing it up! Check out your aunt's garage or something, I be you can find a bike that is in need of some TLC in there.