Tweed Ride: "The Ripley Road to London & Cambridge" (Wis.) Sun. Oct. 6, 2013
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on
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Damn. Going to have to miss this one, Pete.
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Permalink Reply by Wrongway Pete on
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Hope to see you there, David. I'll order some more scones. And, please, feel free to spread the word to all you know. We'd love to get a great turnout! Wrongway.
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Permalink Reply by globalguy on
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Dudic, did you put this in the calendar? If you need help, let me know!
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Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on
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Sounds like fun... until I look at that awful webpage and all of the rules.
Really, I should only bring a replacement horse of British origin? I should only wear period correct clothing? Please... you should be so lucky that I even bother to show up with my tweed coat and steel replacement horse (circa 2002 Waterloo, WI) if you are going to have so many rules. There is too much emphasis on correctness and too little on fun.
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Well, Drewbacca, I find it curious that you've never attended the ride --- which is tremendously fun --- and proffer such stinging criticism. The "rules" which you so critically site are, if you haven't noticed, couched very much in tongue-in-cheek British formalism. While it would be nice to see everyone with a British steed, I know that is not possible. And so, in fact, we have had all manner of machines come to the event, from mountain bikes to recumbants, all openly accepted, and this year there will be an electric bicycle present to accommodate a person with limited mobility. My goal is for everyone attending to have a good time, and to "spread the Gospel" of British bicycles and British cycling culture. Perhaps if somebody shows up with a mountain bike one year, they'll get inspired to buy a British steed in the future. In point of fact, this has actually happened because of the ride.
The "awful" webpage, www.bicyclingbackwards.com, is provided at my own expense and for the benefit of riders. Breakfast is provided gratis, and I often award prizes and certificates.I really do suggest, Drewbacca, that you actually try something offered in good cheer before you bombard the giver. It is people like you who make me sometimes wonder, "Is it all worth it?" As I've said in e-mail announcements, it is more the spirit and the frame of mind of the rider which count, rather than what hardware they bring. Your statement that I "should be so lucky" if you attend is arrogant and rude on its face and tells me you are not a kindly and blithe spirit who approaches life with an open mind.I will be most happy to not see you there.WW
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on
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WW--thanks for doing it. I don't know if I can make it up, but I like it. And I suggest that a lot of folks ought to have a look at the Happy Thread today!
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Yes, GG --- I did manage to put it on the calendar. Thanks for your kind offer of assistance.
Yours,
WW
globalguy said:Dudic, did you put this in the calendar? If you need help, let me know!
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Permalink Reply by Alan Lloyd on
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Really? I've ridden it twice before and it IS fun and NOT as dire as you fear! I feel you would have been more than welcome, but that was before you flamed it?
Drewbacca said:Sounds like fun... until I look at that awful webpage and all of the rules.
Really, I should only bring a replacement horse of British origin? I should only wear period correct clothing? Please... you should be so lucky that I even bother to show up with my tweed coat and steel replacement horse (circa 2002 Waterloo, WI) if you are going to have so many rules. There is too much emphasis on correctness and too little on fun.
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Just pointing out how the site comes across... (take it or leave it?). I'm glad to hear that I misinterpreted your meaning. My point is simply this, your site came across to me the same way that I just came across to you.
No need to find it curious I haven't attended the ride in the past, this is only my second fall living in IL. I've attended other, similar rides, without being so put off by the event page.
I'll admit that I could have been less crabby and more constructive. Regardless, I'm glad that you put these things together and I'd never put down any excuse to get together and ride bikes. Keep in mind that you don't know me, I'm not here to flame, and I was seriously put off by the site's content.
*edit to add* also, for what it's worth, I apologize for my initial tone... I wasn't trying to come across as mean spirited or insulting. I also hope that I would still be welcome to join the ride and apologize in person, if I'm able to make it.
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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on
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But yet putting down an event to ride bikes is exactly what you did...
Drewbacca said:Just pointing out how the site comes across... (take it or leave it?). I'm glad to hear that I misinterpreted your meaning. My point is simply this, your site came across to me the same way that I just came across to you.
No need to find it curious I haven't attended the ride in the past, this is only my second fall living in IL. I've attended other, similar rides, without being so put off by the event page.
I'll admit that I could have been less crabby and more constructive. Regardless, I'm glad that you put these things together and I'd never put down any excuse to get together and ride bikes. Keep in mind that you don't know me, I'm not here to flame, and I was seriously put off by the site's content.
*edit to add* also, for what it's worth, I apologize for my initial tone... I wasn't trying to come across as mean spirited or insulting. I also hope that I would still be welcome to join the ride and apologize in person, if I'm able to make it.
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Dear Drewbacca---
You say that you are "just pointing out how the site comes across..."
May I point to the the text from the "splash" page of www.bicyclingbackwards.com:
"BICYCLING BACKWARDS is a place which celebrates the wistful whimsy of slower days and gentler ways awheel. Join us, won't you, as together we bicycle backwards toward that better place which beckons our better selves and awaits us all just beyond the horizon, just around the bend."
I sincerely mean those words, and I cannot imagine a less threatening and more welcoming introduction to the site. I honestly do not see how anyone could find offence in the language, there or elsewhere. You are indeed the first, at least the first from whom I have heard.
The page with which you no doubt had a problem is the "What to Wear" page, which reads:
"--WE ARE A SPANDEX-FREE ZONE!Wool, cotton, and other things sheared from the animal kingdom, plucked from the field, or spun by the creepy crawly creatures are acceptable.
--Do try to match your dress to the era of your cycle. In other words, if you're riding a '70s Raleigh Pro, don't wear knickers, vest and a handlebar moustache (unless, of course, you're playing the eccentric). And if you're on a '40s New Hudson roadster please keep that orange-and-black Ti Raleigh racing jersey in the dresser drawer. In the fine art of our type of cycling, aesthetics are to the fore and the devil is in the details.
--AWARD FOR THE BEST-DRESSEDCyclist & cycle combo."
Again, the language above and throughout the site is couched in a rather ornate British formalism, Victorian and Edwardian in origin, but that is part of the whole shtick --- the creation of an alternative fantasy world if you will, when prim and proper manners and the details of dress were part of the social order. Note that I say, "Do try to match your dress..." I do not give blanket orders. Even these benign words were crafted after several e-mails from potential participants sought guidance from me as to what to wear and what clothes went best with their bikes. They are not marching orders, but simply advice. And even if they had been phrased more harshly and stiffly than they were, one still is asked to "play along" as a good sport if you will with the whole spirit of the site, which is a play on British stylistics and even foppery. Even my own personal "handle," "Wrongway Pete" is a play on my own buffoonery when on my first 3-Speed Tour I accidentally rode along the wrong side of Lake Pepin after having lost the main group. Others -- who will be attending this very Rural Ramble -- gave me the moniker and I welcomed it in the jovial manner in which it was given. I don't mind self-deprecating humor or even playing the fool, all in good sport. That is partially what the site and the ride are all about.
I do suggest you take the time to read the short essay on the last page of the site, The Art of Bicycling Backwards, which begins, "WHENEVER we are worn, weighed down and world weary, the way to rejuvenation and refreshment lies well within our reach. It is as near as our shed, and as far away as our imaginations and our wheels will carry us." Cycling -- and my ride -- are meant as respites from the cares of the world, not as a gauntlet thrown down to create antagonism. Again, I cannot imagine someone -- even in their most prickly state -- finding offence with the language on the site. But evidently you did, which is regrettable.
Most people who have questions or concerns write to me directly, at the e-mail address provided, and that is certainly the better route to "beckon our better selves" as the introduction states, rather than posting negative comments to a forum. Had you written to me I would have responded to your concerns directly and hopefully allayed your fears. Your attempt even in your latest message to create a linguistic and moral equivalency between the language on my website and that which you used in your posting to this forum, is, I feel, quite a stretch. Remember, what I offer I offer for free, as a gift. I don't have to do this. I can ride my cycle alone or with friends, or simply count on others to organise events. This is my little contribution to the grand tradition of cycling and to the fellowship of the wheel. I spend my own limited funds to put on this ride and host the website, and I invite everyone who has the interest and inclination to participate. I sincerely do mean to, in a small way, help "bring out our better selves."
It is in that spirit that I fully accept your apology and look forward to meeting you on our Rural Ramble IV.
Sincerely,
"Wrongway" Pete
Drewbacca said:Just pointing out how the site comes across... (take it or leave it?). I'm glad to hear that I misinterpreted your meaning. My point is simply this, your site came across to me the same way that I just came across to you.
No need to find it curious I haven't attended the ride in the past, this is only my second fall living in IL. I've attended other, similar rides, without being so put off by the event page.
I'll admit that I could have been less crabby and more constructive. Regardless, I'm glad that you put these things together and I'd never put down any excuse to get together and ride bikes. Keep in mind that you don't know me, I'm not here to flame, and I was seriously put off by the site's content.
*edit to add* also, for what it's worth, I apologize for my initial tone... I wasn't trying to come across as mean spirited or insulting. I also hope that I would still be welcome to join the ride and apologize in person, if I'm able to make it.
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