Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Bike culture commentary via Craigslist

Yes, the attached post is sexist, objectifying and a half-dozen other things I try to avoid encouraging on this blog or anywhere else. 

But underlying this is a genuinely amusing insight into some aspects of bike culture and the demographics behind the appeal of Dutch bikes.  The line about a soul patch and classic cameras made me laugh. 

I may have found this all the funnier for having had my first Dutch bike retail experience only yesterday.  As I stood ogling a $1,500 Gazelle, it occurred to me that most people would find my appreciation for the bike truly baffling.

OK.  You've been warned.  Here's the ad.

2 comments:

  1. That is HYSTERICAL!!! And that's coming from a woman who rides a Dutch bike and loves everyone on a Dutch bike. I live in Chicago where there are a fair number of men and women riding Dutch bikes around the city, but even more on fixies with the de rigeur skinny jeans, converse low-tops, and Threadless T-shirts. ;-) And I won't even get into the bike bloggers that I know who do collect classic cameras. Funnnnnnny.

    PS: I don't think as many people as you think would find your appreciation for Dutch bikes that baffling. A guy on a Masi road bike struck up a conversation with me today in admiration of my Dutch bike, and a couple of other cyclists commented on my beautiful bike. Even a Harley guy shouted out his appreciation for my bike a couple of weeks ago!

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  2. Welcome, Ms. Ding! I was cycling in (or very near) your beautiful city last week. I didn't see many Opas, but I did see a lot of gorgeous vintage Schwinns... no surprise there.

    Thanks for "getting" the humor in the CL post. You're right about the frequency of camera-collecting among bike bloggers... I've noticed it too.

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