"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" wrote in
message ...

And to the one that implied that I was trying to "start
something",
you're right, and it seems I did. What inspired it up was a
discussion I
heard at the bike shop by a customer who was under the
impression that
bicycling was somehow like baseball in the pre-Jackie
Robinson days.
That we, as cyclists, simply didn't welcome blacks.

Cycling's a great solo sport, so I don't think whether other
cyclists were welcoming or not would make much difference.

Certainly in Chicago you see a considerable number of
Afro-American cyclists, but less than one would expect.

To a certain extent I would think this is cultural:
1. Afro-Americans are less likely to attend college,
particularly those nice campuses where you do without a car
and bike around campus.
2. I would guess -- but don't know -- that the general
attitude of "people only bike ride if they can't drive" would
be particularly common among lower income groups. In higher
income groups, there's more ability either to buy an expen$ive
bike (turning the attitude on its head) or simply ride a bike
out of a sort of reverse snobbery.