The safest and most efficient method of operating a bicycle is driving on the same roads, following the same rules and enjoying the same rights as the drivers of other vehicles. This is sometimes called Vehicular Cycling [1].
Some people who call themselves “Bicycle Advocates” [2] often try to disparage these best practices by calling us “elitist”.
We have the interesting situation where the elite are not elitist and the elitists are not elite. |
There seems to be a consensus that only a small minority of cyclists ride according to the best cycling practices. Some estimate this minority at five percent. Since these cyclists are so few and their knowledge level is much higher than the average we may call them elite.
However, if you talk to “elite” cyclists, they will tell you that almost anyone can learn to cycle as they do. The most difficult thing is getting over the miseducation and superstition that affects most people in our society — and it is difficult to get people to accept the idea that there really is something to learn about bicycle operation. Elite cyclists are quite willing to share their knowledge.
In other words, though they may be elite, these knowledgeable cyclists are certainly not elitist.
Now, on the other hand, we have the typical bicycle advocate who does not know how to ride in the vehicular style [3], and is unwilling to even try to learn. These people are not elite. However, they feel that the skills required for vehicular cycling are beyond the ability of the average person [4]. That is an elitist attitude.
Thus we have the interesting situation where the elite are not elitist and
the elitists are not elite.
For an interesting essay on why people denigrate elite things for political ends, see Best Is the New Worst
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