"Whites Only"?

"Rich Clark" wrote in message
...

"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" wrote in message
...
I have been riding for over 30 years now. I've been the member of many
clubs, large and small, on both coasts and in the middle. I've been to
and done many organized rides (short, long and "are you nuts?") and bike
rallies boasting attendances ranging from the hundreds to the thousands.

Yet at any one of these organizations or events, I could count the total
number of "Afro-American" riders with the fingers of one hand.

And yet, riding to and from work every day (which is as organized as *I*
ever get about riding) I see blacks represented in roughly the same
proportion as they exist in the general local population.

The
portion of South Carolina where I live now, according to the latest
census, has a population that is about 60% black. Yet the local club,
which has nearly 100 members, to my knowledge has only one black
cyclist. Hardly an accurate representation of the population at large.

In fact, I'll be willing to bet, that out of all the posters on this
board, only one, maybe two, max. are black. If indeed anybody here is.
Where are all the black riders? What is it about our sport that makes it
so unappealing to an entire race of people?

Anybody have any theories?

My theory is that some people don't find it necessary to pay dues, join
organizations, and wear uniforms in order to ride a bicycle.


My theory is the black people you're seeing on bikes are riding for
transportation because they have no other means of transportation. I see two
distinct classes of white cyclists where I live. There are enthusiasts,
those riding LBS bikes and wearing the gear, riding for the experience of
riding. Then there are the DUI cyclists riding 'mart bikes or old road bikes
with inverted drop bars, usually with a rear rack/milk crate combination.
They ride because they have to, not because they want to. That's the rub.
:-)