Got any dating by bike tips for a magazine article?
Chainlinkers,
A bike magazine asked me to share people's advice on
"How to catch the eye of that special someone on the bike path this Valentine's Day," including tips on how to meet other cyclists and go on a date by bike, for example:
- On a bike date with someone who rides slower than you? Let them ride in front so they can set the pace.
- Bike-friendly transit makes it easier to date people who aren't die-hard riders. Say you meet up with a transit rider for a blind dinner date and you hit it off and want to go somewhere else for a movie or drinks - you can bring your bike on the bus or train and ride there together, or throw your bike in the trunk of a cab.
FYI, below is an old piece retelling people's bike and transit-related romance tales.
Anyone got any advice or stories to share?
Thanks!
John Greenfield
Metra-sexuals
Public transit and bicycling can be routes to romance
By John Greenfield
[This piece also runs this week in New City magazine, www.newcity.com.]
It might seem like living car-free would make dating difficult. But as Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay’s steamy El-train scene in“Risky Business” shows, alternative transportation can actually rev up your love life. Here’s testimony from Chicagoans who really “get around.”
Aurora Butterfly, a poet and co-organizer of the World Naked Bike Ride, says she’s had her share of make-out sessions on deserted Metra cars. But the CTA’s #66 Chicago Ave. bus was where she first flirted with relatively well-heeled suitors. “One was a voice-over artist who was deliciously beautiful, and the other was a successful animator and e-entrepreneur who looked like Batman,” she reports.
“Since it was the morning commute, they were too tired to lay it on thick,” she says. “It was more of a hunt-and-peck, secret glance style of courting, peeking over the marketing textbook.” Dating professionals was a nice change from her usual starving-artist types, says Butterfly. “They were
thoughtful enough about the environment not to drive downtown even though they owned cars,” she says.
“Pete,” a musician, was entering the Damen Blue Line station soon after 9/11 when he saw an
older lady standing on the stairs, wailing. After a young woman helped him get assistance for the senior, the two of them talked on the platform about how after the Trade Center attacks it seemed important to look out for other people.
On board they chatted and complimented each other’s eyeglasses as other passengers looked on. She gave him her business card as she got off the train, saying she’d love to go out some time. “I swear one guy in the train gave me a thumbs-up,” says “Pete.” Three weeks later he finally got the nerve up to call her, she invited him over to her apartment, and one thing led to another.
“Hannah” and “Dan” first met while building chopper bicycles at sessions organized by the Rat Patrol bike gang. She’s Jewish; he rolled with the Scallywags, punk-rock Christians whose members ride double-tall bikes and are sworn to celibacy before marriage.
The two mechanics got to know each other better on the Perimeter Ride, an all-day, all night, 100-mile bike tour around the city, ending with skinny-dipping in Lake Michigan. Needless to say,
“Dan” gave up his vows. Nowadays the couple lives together at the Hub, a housing co-op owned by riders from Critical Mass. Vive le velo love!
A bike magazine asked me to share people's advice on
"How to catch the eye of that special someone on the bike path this Valentine's Day," including tips on how to meet other cyclists and go on a date by bike, for example:
- On a bike date with someone who rides slower than you? Let them ride in front so they can set the pace.
- Bike-friendly transit makes it easier to date people who aren't die-hard riders. Say you meet up with a transit rider for a blind dinner date and you hit it off and want to go somewhere else for a movie or drinks - you can bring your bike on the bus or train and ride there together, or throw your bike in the trunk of a cab.
FYI, below is an old piece retelling people's bike and transit-related romance tales.
Anyone got any advice or stories to share?
Thanks!
John Greenfield
Metra-sexuals
Public transit and bicycling can be routes to romance
By John Greenfield
[This piece also runs this week in New City magazine, www.newcity.com.]
It might seem like living car-free would make dating difficult. But as Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay’s steamy El-train scene in“Risky Business” shows, alternative transportation can actually rev up your love life. Here’s testimony from Chicagoans who really “get around.”
Aurora Butterfly, a poet and co-organizer of the World Naked Bike Ride, says she’s had her share of make-out sessions on deserted Metra cars. But the CTA’s #66 Chicago Ave. bus was where she first flirted with relatively well-heeled suitors. “One was a voice-over artist who was deliciously beautiful, and the other was a successful animator and e-entrepreneur who looked like Batman,” she reports.
“Since it was the morning commute, they were too tired to lay it on thick,” she says. “It was more of a hunt-and-peck, secret glance style of courting, peeking over the marketing textbook.” Dating professionals was a nice change from her usual starving-artist types, says Butterfly. “They were
thoughtful enough about the environment not to drive downtown even though they owned cars,” she says.
“Pete,” a musician, was entering the Damen Blue Line station soon after 9/11 when he saw an
older lady standing on the stairs, wailing. After a young woman helped him get assistance for the senior, the two of them talked on the platform about how after the Trade Center attacks it seemed important to look out for other people.
On board they chatted and complimented each other’s eyeglasses as other passengers looked on. She gave him her business card as she got off the train, saying she’d love to go out some time. “I swear one guy in the train gave me a thumbs-up,” says “Pete.” Three weeks later he finally got the nerve up to call her, she invited him over to her apartment, and one thing led to another.
“Hannah” and “Dan” first met while building chopper bicycles at sessions organized by the Rat Patrol bike gang. She’s Jewish; he rolled with the Scallywags, punk-rock Christians whose members ride double-tall bikes and are sworn to celibacy before marriage.
The two mechanics got to know each other better on the Perimeter Ride, an all-day, all night, 100-mile bike tour around the city, ending with skinny-dipping in Lake Michigan. Needless to say,
“Dan” gave up his vows. Nowadays the couple lives together at the Hub, a housing co-op owned by riders from Critical Mass. Vive le velo love!
Views: 170
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on
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Great advice Adriana, for romance and for life in general.
Anyone else have a dating and biking tip?
Thanks!
John Greenfield
Adriana said:Best advice I can offer is to Smile...I smile at everyone: women, men, children, old folks, animals... Be yourself, I know this is difficult for those who are extremely shy (oh if only they knew how absolutely awesome I am), but the lack of eye contact or a smile is off putting. Be nice to everyone, be good to everyone, including yourself. Everyone you meet you meet for a reason, not just the romantic possibilities. Relationships are necessary in everyday life...be it the old man at the newsstand, your mail carrier or anyone who gives you the courtesy of acknowledging your existence. Remember, pride will get you no where fast, but humility and kindness will get you through any trouble!
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That's another (Napoleon) dynamite suggestion.
Thanks Adriana!
Anyone else?
John Greenfield
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Know thy weather: Bring an extra pair of gloves or a rain poncho when things look sketchy. This way if the weather turns instead of shivering, your sweetie will think of how considerate you are.
Bring a snack. Someone riding may not realize that they should eat more, and could turn cranky when hungry. Bring a small snack to keep you both fed and in good spirits. Something you can share is nice, like cookies or dried fruit.
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Permalink Reply by Gin on
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Unless you are very talented at balancing, that first kiss usually is best if you stop and get off your bike. And put it to the side.
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Great tips Liz. Cold, wet and hungry are not good conditions for romance.
Anyone else have suggestions?
John Greenfield
Liz said:Know thy weather: Bring an extra pair of gloves or a rain poncho when things look sketchy. This way if the weather turns instead of shivering, your sweetie will think of how considerate you are.
Bring a snack. Someone riding may not realize that they should eat more, and could turn cranky when hungry. Bring a small snack to keep you both fed and in good spirits. Something you can share is nice, like cookies or dried fruit.
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Very true, Gin.
I've also heard that balaclavas are not very conducive to necking.
Thanks!
John Greenfield
Gin said:Unless you are very talented at balancing, that first kiss usually is best if you stop and get off your bike. And put it to the side.
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Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on
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stick to low traffic side streets.
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Permalink Reply by KatieP on
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Keep an eye out for stickers/spokecards on bikes and use those at conversation starters.
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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on
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What's your deadline John? I need to put my romantic thinking cap on....
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No big rush - I have to turn it in at the end of the month.
Thanks!
John Greenfield
Julie Hochstadter said:What's your deadline John? I need to put my romantic thinking cap on....
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Permalink Reply by Chris B on
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Liz said:Bring a snack. Someone riding may not realize that they should eat more, and could turn cranky when hungry. .
I have to do this with my girlfriend even when we are not biking! :)
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Permalink Reply by Lorena Cupcake on
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Oh, man, I already get teased by my friends incessantly for how easily I get weak in the knees for bike kids. I'm pretty sure any advice I give is going to be way too incriminating.
It's nice to have some cheap shitty blinkies hanging around you can lend people; before I basically started living out of the same messenger bag every single day I was always riding over to people's houses and not realizing I'd forgotten my lights until I was leaving in the pitch black. I'll ride with people who just don't own lights, as well, and lend them mine because they're making me nervous.
Discuss red light preferences before riding with someone. I know a lot of dudes who just mash through every stop no matter what the traffic is like. I tend to be a bit more laid back in my riding style, and totally appreciate when someone holds back a bit on my behalf and doesn't run every red light like they have a organ in a cooler in their Chrome bag.
I tend to lead a lot when riding with people; I'm not horrifyingly slow but I'm not particularly fast and a dude with a foot of height and 50 pounds of muscle on me is pretty much always going to be hard for me to keep up with. Either they ride too fast or they overcompensate and we look like one of those pairs of Chad and Trixies riding their shiny new REI bikes a half-mile per hour on Sunday afternoons.
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