Odd article. And I’m sorry to say that cause I was really trying to understand the angle and approach and play along, but it just felt like it fell quite flat and doesn’t really even say anything useful, and if anything was detrimental to your own message. In my mind it looked like grasping at analogies that fit your chosen ideologies.
Inclusivity is an odd thing when it comes to sports. I understand the motive to want to share this beautiful sport with more people. I really do, and I respect that tremendously.
However, to think about it for a moment, how does that happen, why should that happen, who should make that happen, and most importantly who benefits and why and how do you measure that in a meaningful way? And does it really even matter except to make people feel good?
If we really think about this without worrying about some silly university survey or any statistics and extrapolating something truly arbitrary.
Let’s just think about this in the realest real world sense. There are a couple things any participant in this sport will need to overcome as well as just inherently possess.
Mountain biking hardly has any real barriers to entry except one big one that I can think of, and frankly, your article never even mentioned it. The cost of a good bike is thee primary barrier that has kept out many people I know from participating in this sport both short and long term. Proximity to trails and transportation to trails is also a barrier.
But perhaps the biggest one is just what people personally care about and want to do with their own time and money. I’ve learned this myself over and over, and I’m sure others have too. Not everyone cares to try this sport no matter how much it would like them to and however much I may try. It really just is not for everyone, not even in the same family with the most similar preconditions possible, and we should never make the mistake of thinking that it can or even should be for everyone. Because Who the F am I or you to try and decide what someone else should be interested in and do with their time? That’s a personal thing with a million variable influences. If people of any background want to do this sport, there is nothing stoping them. If anything, if someone doesn’t look like the typical participant the whole of the observed bike world i have seen over the last 30 years seems to go out of their way to make sure that person is welcomed, almost to the point of exhaustion. It’s a great thing.
Just because there’s a perceived gap does not mean there is a real problem that we need to try and solve to feel better about that perceived gap and about ourselves. People have different interests and it is as cultural as it is personal. And that’s how it should be, cause that’s normal and natural and as powerful as any other force of nature. Don’t try and force some control over that or it will surely end in disaster.
But the cost of bikes? Fuck the cost of bikes. They’re fucking expensive as fuck and I know a ton of people who would do this sport if it wasn’t for that barrier.
March 22, 2024, 10:34 a.m. - Metacomet
Odd article. And I’m sorry to say that cause I was really trying to understand the angle and approach and play along, but it just felt like it fell quite flat and doesn’t really even say anything useful, and if anything was detrimental to your own message. In my mind it looked like grasping at analogies that fit your chosen ideologies. Inclusivity is an odd thing when it comes to sports. I understand the motive to want to share this beautiful sport with more people. I really do, and I respect that tremendously. However, to think about it for a moment, how does that happen, why should that happen, who should make that happen, and most importantly who benefits and why and how do you measure that in a meaningful way? And does it really even matter except to make people feel good? If we really think about this without worrying about some silly university survey or any statistics and extrapolating something truly arbitrary. Let’s just think about this in the realest real world sense. There are a couple things any participant in this sport will need to overcome as well as just inherently possess. Mountain biking hardly has any real barriers to entry except one big one that I can think of, and frankly, your article never even mentioned it. The cost of a good bike is thee primary barrier that has kept out many people I know from participating in this sport both short and long term. Proximity to trails and transportation to trails is also a barrier. But perhaps the biggest one is just what people personally care about and want to do with their own time and money. I’ve learned this myself over and over, and I’m sure others have too. Not everyone cares to try this sport no matter how much it would like them to and however much I may try. It really just is not for everyone, not even in the same family with the most similar preconditions possible, and we should never make the mistake of thinking that it can or even should be for everyone. Because Who the F am I or you to try and decide what someone else should be interested in and do with their time? That’s a personal thing with a million variable influences. If people of any background want to do this sport, there is nothing stoping them. If anything, if someone doesn’t look like the typical participant the whole of the observed bike world i have seen over the last 30 years seems to go out of their way to make sure that person is welcomed, almost to the point of exhaustion. It’s a great thing. Just because there’s a perceived gap does not mean there is a real problem that we need to try and solve to feel better about that perceived gap and about ourselves. People have different interests and it is as cultural as it is personal. And that’s how it should be, cause that’s normal and natural and as powerful as any other force of nature. Don’t try and force some control over that or it will surely end in disaster. But the cost of bikes? Fuck the cost of bikes. They’re fucking expensive as fuck and I know a ton of people who would do this sport if it wasn’t for that barrier.