Yelling at the Clouds

aesthetic (n) – one’s set of principles or worldview as expressed through outward appearance, behavior or actions

I want to start off my saying I love riding my bike. I ride my bike so damn much. At least 1.5hrs a day commuting and just about every weekend for at least 30-120 miles. I’ve also gone on bikepacking over-nighters, and bike credit-card touring. Recently I’ve found myself a bit bored, so I started riding from work in Palo Alto to my home in San Francisco, which let me cut my usual exercise time down and get more errands done. I find that if I don’t ride a bike for even a few days, I start to go a bit insane just walking everywhere.

That being said, at lot of that love and joy comes from the aesthetic of riding my bicycle. Aesthetics are more than visual in this context, and have morphed into a philosophy for the way life itself should be spent. Before the philosophy, a summary of the outward expressions of my bicycle riding style includes:

• The bike I ride is aesthetic – Old-school, mechanical & tested components. Mostly silver with a quill stem, for that classic touring bike aesthetic, ready for a 10-day tour or a cut through trails. All of that, plus the upright, new-age mixtie geometry that Rivendell is championing. Most importantly, of course, with the long chainstays.
• The attire I wear while riding is aesthetic – t shirt, usually a soccer jersey, and some dickies. Sneakers, preferably walking sneakers, too
• The cargo I bring along with me is aesthetic – Functional, having everything I need, while not being overbearing. Lunch, noise cancelling headphones, book, computer; only the essentials, with some pleasure. Also, no new-age frame bags. Just a simple rack and basket.
• The reasons I ride my bike is aesthetic – to go visit far off mountains and forests from my home in San Francisco, and to do anything in my daily life, including going to work or doing laundry

All of these more visual reasons, I feel, manifest themselves into what riding a bicycle means to me. It is more than a form of transportation, and far more than just a fashion statement. Let’s break down every aspect and expand:

The Bike:

• Old school, mechanical & tested components: A rejection of the bike industries incessant desire for progress, often at the expense of long-term reliability and cross-functional compatibility. Every part on my bike has existed for at least 10 years, most far longer than that, and can be reserviced or bought cheaply when a replacement is needed.
• Mostly silver, for that classic touring bike aesthetic: Black is all the rage with modern bikes. Usually paired with dull blacks and greys for frame colors. Something about them just looks unnatural when riding through forests or while on tour
• Ready for a 10-day tour or a cut through the trails: A rejection of ‘one bike for each use’ that the bike industry loves. You need to get one road bike and another gravel bike, because apparently you can’t ride the gravel bike on the road, or something like that
• Upright: A rejection of racing culture
• New age mixte geometry: A rejection of years of years of gendering that unfairly classified step throughs as ‘girls’ bikes’ and diamond frames as ‘men’s bikes’. Get me the one made for the females, please
• Long chainstays: A further rejection of racing, which values the agility of tucked chainstays over the stability and long-term comfort of long, flexy chainstays

The Attire:

• T-shirt, usually a soccer jersey, and some dickies. Sneakers, preferably walking sneakers: Cyclists are constantly bombarded by the idea that they need cycling specific clothing to go on long rides and consider themselves a real cyclist. Usually that entails squeezing yourself into tightly fitting lycra for some unmeasurable aero gains and clacking around on some clipless cycling shoes at the rest stops. It’s expensive, looks ridiculous when your off your bike, and just continues to gatekeep people from picking up cycling

It’s romantic falling in love with something that lets you not drive a fucking car. The bicycle is more than just a thing for me now – it is a lifestyle. With an aesthetic that just makes it feel so uniquely mine. I don’t know if I would love riding my bicycle as much as I do now without the aesthetic I’ve curated for myself.  I’d consider riding a bike if you don’t already.