Is interest related to awareness?

[Swan]

Back when I was in university, I tended to notice cyclists on the roads... usually because I envied them for being able to bike. Back then I didn't live close enough to my university and wasn't in any kind of shape to even think of selling my car for a bike (which would have been the only way to afford one on my starving student budget!). But even when I envied them, I would catch myself feeling disgruntled by them every so often for sometimes not-so-good reasons.

Now that I'm a cyclist, though, my awareness of other cyclists has gone up substantially. On my way to and from a doctor's appointment yesterday, I was stunned to see so many of them on the roads, sidewalks, beaches, car parks... Everywhere I looked, there was a cyclist! I knew there were people riding bikes before, but it seems like until I started doing it myself, I never noticed how many there were on a given day (43!). I'm also equally surprised and excited to see how prominent cyclists are in television ads. Were they always there? How did I never notice them before?

And that old disgruntled feeling I used to feel is Gone. It's been replaced by wonder, fascination, and giddiness.

Have any of you experienced a similar shift in perception related to cyclists once you started biking as well?

[Owlie]

Definitely. :)

[emily_in_nc]

Swan, where do you live that you are seeing so many cyclists out and about in January? Just curious. Of course we have them everywhere here, but it's 80 degrees!

[Swan]

emily, I'm in (well, right next to) Panama City Beach, Florida :) We're still in flipflops and capris here!

[goldfinch]

emily, I'm in (well, right next to) Panama City Beach, Florida :) We're still in flipflops and capris here!

Too bad I didn't know. I was there for the first half of December.

[emily_in_nc]

emily, I'm in (well, right next to) Panama City Beach, Florida :) We're still in flipflops and capris here!

Aha! Sounds like here! Swimsuits and shorts. :)

[velo]

I think what you're observing holds true for any interest/cause/purpose/etc. I also think that's why advocacy groups of any type are important, whether they are for promoting cycling, or raising awareness of victims of any sort, recognizing a homeless population in your area that is in need or an expat community that has something culturally interesting to contribute... they all need a voice. The great thing about cycling, though, is that it's very visible so the "voice" is hard to not see.

We just got back from a trip and one of our stops was a culture we used to live in where bikes just ARE. There is no particular positive or negative attitude toward or perception of bicycles other than that they are just part of the everyday culture. I would love to see awareness in the US come to that point where it stops being cycling awareness and bicycles (or other forms of clean transportation) are just a matter of course. You make some great points in your OP and I do think people have a perception shift when something like cycling becomes an important part of their lives. There is a book you might be interested in reading. It's called Bike Tribes: A Field Guide to North American Cyclists (http://www.amazon.com/Bike-Tribes-Field-American-Cyclists/dp/1609617436). I think you'll find that it goes along with what you are observing.

Oh, to answer your question specifically. I kind of went from riding my huffy around the neighborhood, to riding my bike to school and at college, to it becoming a hobby then a bit of an obsession in my 20's. I've kind of been aware of them all my life, but I did take a break from riding for a number of years in my 30's and I agree that I was not as aware of cycling/cyclists during those years (but was hyper-aware of anything "baby", as I was starting a family... thus my above comments). I do feel I'm more aware again of bikes since I've picked it up more seriously again.

[Catrin]

The book sounds great, and my local library has it :)

[lph]

I think any woman who has been pregnant, or maybe is trying to become pregnant, can vouch for this effect - all of a sudden there are pregnant women everywhere.

Sadly the same thing goes for losing a loved one. You're hyper-attuned to the loss and tend to "see" them or recognize a common feature in people everywhere.

I guess it's an interesting comment on how much data actually pass us by on a daily basis, stuff we don't notice or recall.

[Swan]

velo, A-ha! Like Catrin, my library has that book as well :) I'll look into it! And yea, it does seem to hold true to any interest... hmm... As Iph mentioned, it's almost scary how much we seem to miss.

goldfinch Ah, nah! Next time you're in the area, look me up! :p
emily_in_nc Sounds like my da's kind of place! :)

[marni]

I refer you to the list of "you might be a bicyclist if...

You pass a car with two bikes on the bac, you can't identify the make or color of the car but you can identify the make, model and year of both bikes. Ditto for being on a bike and passing riders, you can't always identify the sex or age of the rider but you can idetify the make model year and color of the bike.

just sayin

mari

[thekarens]

I refer you to the list of "you might be a bicyclist if...

You pass a car with two bikes on the bac, you can't identify the make or color of the car but you can identify the make, model and year of both bikes. Ditto for being on a bike and passing riders, you can't always identify the sex or age of the rider but you can idetify the make model year and color of the bike.

just sayin

mari

Amen! When my partner and I are discussing a ride it always goes like this, "You know, the person riding the so and so...." People are no longer male, female, black, white, etc. They are the person riding xyz :)