BSNYC Fridaculous Fun Quiz!

This is an exciting weekend for cycling. First of all, the Tour of Flanders will take place, which means that the types of people who are really into romantic images of suffering and "embrocation" will hold Belgian-themed viewing parties. Also, at least here in New York City, the weekend looks like it will feature a very pleasant weatherway, and this means the riding should also be quite pleasant. You might even get a chance to "wheelsuck" behind some hardcore cyclists with "weird style diktats:"

Ironically, though, the best thing about this weekend in terms of cycling is that it marks the start of the New York International Auto Show. I always enjoy when the car show comes to town because it throws the "bike culture" types into a tizzy of smugness. In a way, "bicycle advocacy" is quite similar to the Tour of Flanders, in that each is decided by a small group:

Anyway, every year when the car show comes to town, the "smugerati" like to reflect on what it means:

Of course, what it means is simple: New York City is the media capital of the United States, so if you want journalists to come and take picture of your crap, this is a good place to display it. However, this is too easy for the "bike culture," who prefer to put the whole thing in "culture vs. culture" terms, and to treat the car show like Passover by dwelling melodramatically on the suffering of our ancestors:

Speaking of the local "bike culture," it has a "celebrity spokesperson" in the form of David Byrne, an artist who used to focus on music but who now works in the media of smugness and bike racks:

A reader recently alerted me to a Byrne interview on CNN, and even though it focused on his view of song lyrics he also took the opportunity to remind viewers of the following two things for some reason:

"I don't listen to the radio very much but that could be because I don't have a car."

"I ride a bicycle to work every day."

This is great for David Byrne. Furthermore, I have nothing whatsoever against Byrne, who like any hardworking person deserves his success. I do, however, think the New York City "bike culture" is making a huge mistake by holding him forth as an example all the time. Yes, despite presumably having plenty of money David Byrne does not own a car; furthermore, he rides a bicycle to work (as many of us do). But let's consider New York City itself:

As you can see, it's a very big place. But here's where David Byrne lives and works:

Not only is this a very small portion of the city, but it's also one of the most expensive places in the city (if not the entire country). Obviously, by no means is everybody who lives there well-off; also obviously, there's nothing inherently wrong with being well-off. Still, the fact remains that relatively few people can make the choice to live and work where David Byrne does, and even the well-off can't always live where they work.

If we widen our view somewhat, we see the area in which most members of the "bike culture" live, work, and recreate. This is larger than the David Byrne-iverse, but it's still a relatively small portion of the entire city:

Here, too, rent and real estate is expensive, and not everybody can decide to live and work here (unless they predate gentrification and got "grandfathered in"). For those who can, though, it is still small enough that riding a bicycle is an easy choice.

Here, though, is the whole city, and it might amaze some members of the "bike culture" to learn that actual people live there:

Sure some of these unfortunate people are tragically unfamiliar with the world of "five Japanese slow-drippers," "Saffron Kings," and expensive cocktails with excellent "mouth feel," but I assure you that they are people nonetheless.

What's more, like anything great, New York City is more than the sum of its parts, and you really can't understand it without also taking the surrounding area into account:

Really, New York is a huge place filled with friends and relatives, employers and employees, and so forth, all of whom need and want to interact with each other and to obtain goods and services. We're not all individuals who exist in tiny Byrne-iverses; we need to travel all over all the time:

You can't even see the David Byrne-iverse under all this mess. The truth is, not having a car can be a difficult and expensive decision to make. I know David Byrne rides his bicycle to work every day, and I know he takes a bicycle with him on tour, but I would wager that he's no stranger to the occasional Town Car. I'm guessing he does not ride his bicycle to the airport. I'm sure he uses motor vehicles while touring. In fact, it would not surprise me to learn that, despite not owning a car, Byrne spends way more money on car travel than a family of four in a modest neighborhood who commute by train but also own a Honda Civic. Can the family of four use bicycles a lot more than they realize? Almost certainly. Does the transportation infrastructure need to change to better accommodate bicycles and pedestrians? Undoubtedly. But if the "bicycle culture" really wants to make bicycle use seem normal and accessible, I'm not sure citing David Byrne as an example is the most effective way to go about it. I'm no stranger to the Gentri-verse and I ride my bike all the time, and I can't even relate to him--which, I guess, is why I also can't always relate to the "bike culture," since they seem so determined to rarefy the normal.

Anyway, I'm pleased to present you with a quiz. As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer. If you're right you'll know, and if you're wrong you'll travel to "back in the day."

Thanks very much for reading, ride safe, and keep it universal.

--BSNYC/RTMS