Quote Originally Posted by PamNY View Post
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So -- if I want to be a cycling advocate, I have to spend a jillion dollars on one of those heavy Dutch bikes and (this may be the hardest part) look "cute."
Ha ha! Ever notice most of those cycle chic bloggers are under 35? I guess you aren't supposed to ride a bike unless you're young, chic and attractive. That counts me out!

One thing I noticed a long time ago was that the most competitive people of all are those that call themselves non-competitive. These are the people who glare at you and mutter something about "show-offs" if you just happen to pass them while riding/running/skiing/pick your activity. Their egos are so fragile they absolutely can't stand to be shown up, even inadvertently. So they'll either stop doing the activity, or they'll do it in a "non-competitive" way and loudly denounce anyone who "takes it too seriously". Because of course, they've re-invented the activity and theirs is the only proper way to do it. I'm guessing that a lot of the militantly anti-lycra dutch bike crowd fit into this category.