In the latest issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine (you need a membership to sign in. And why not have a membership?) Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycle Works responds to some criticism of his ideas that he espouses upon in his book Just Ride. I don't necessarily agree with every point Grant makes in his book but I do strongly agree with his thoughts in his letter to the editor. What recumbent rider couldn't agree with his letter to the editor? We choose to ride what we like and not what we're suppose to like.
BTW if I were to own a DF bicycle it would be one of Grant's creations. His bikes are works of art.
From Adventure Cyclist March 2015.
PETERSEN RESPONDS TO READER LETTER ‘UNRACING? UNCOOL’
Racing attitudes, bikes, clothing, and diets have become the norm and normal, and are so pervasive that many adult cyclists, maybe even some you know, accept the racing standards as the only legitimate way to be a serious adult cyclist. What I tried to do in the book Just Ride — and what we do here at Rivendell Bicycle Works — is offer an alternative, a model to other adult cyclists that there is another way. This letter is not an ad for either. I’m simply saying where I come from and what I do.
We are the mice trying to squeak above the roar at the base of the waterfall. It is no time to be wishy- washy, but I try hard to not offend. Inevitably, a declarative position on any matter is bound to raise a few hackles with those who have a different position, but it still hurts to be judged by a stranger who would probably like me, and whom I’d surely like, in person.
A good number of our customers are middle-aged and older folks trying to fit in some activity as they age. They often have the means, and they’re influenced by what they read and see that promotes racers as a good model — and that’s something I don’t agree with.
They shop as innocents and come out of it dressed like racers and riding bikes that are not only inappropriate
for the kind of riding they do, but are,
on top of that and more egregiously, not
comfortable. We undo that. You may
see ego or evil behind it, but I don’t
feel either of those. I see racing and racers as fringe and am simply trying
to legitimize an alternative point of view, one that I feel strongly about. I’m trying — certainly not singlehandedly — to make people feel good about riding without dressing in pro-team gear and copying so many other affectations of the racer, and that is what Unracing and Just Ride and Rivendell Bicycle Works is all about. We’re nobody’s enemy. Some of my best friends pedal cliplessly and in spandex. It’s cool.
Grant Petersen Walnut Creek, California
feel either of those. I see racing and racers as fringe and am simply trying
to legitimize an alternative point of view, one that I feel strongly about. I’m trying — certainly not singlehandedly — to make people feel good about riding without dressing in pro-team gear and copying so many other affectations of the racer, and that is what Unracing and Just Ride and Rivendell Bicycle Works is all about. We’re nobody’s enemy. Some of my best friends pedal cliplessly and in spandex. It’s cool.
Grant Petersen Walnut Creek, California
