Read on Twitter
As some of you know, I wrote a bunch of tweets yesterday about wheelie culture (due to the bogus arrest in Perth Amboy). I saw a bunch of replies expressing questions, concern & disapproval about the safety of these kids styling amid traffic on city streets and had some thoughts.
The executive summary is that if you see young folks who don't look like you doing sick wheelies on busy city streets and worry or complain about safety, you're missing the point of the culture and likely assessing Bike Life from your POV rather than that of the participants.
Imagine having a position where you say you admire the spirit and creativity of graffiti but kind of just wish it was mostly displayed on art gallery walls and schools if it has the right message. This limits, appropriates, and entirely misses the subversive DNA of the art form.
As a bike person my POV (and likely yours) is radically different than these kids. I'm white, relatively affluent, a lifelong participant in car culture. I ride for recreation or utility. I generally feel safe and welcome day to day. I have easy access to so many cool things.
All this to say that I'm pretty satisfied if I can be granted the right to safely ride in the margins and coexist within existing conditions. It doesn't mean I don't want change but I don't have to ride like my life depends on it.
I lived in SF in the early 90s and was a part of some Critical Masses that were maybe the biggest & craziest ever. Many thousands of riders. Some very hostile to drivers. We took over the city. At the time I felt alienated by that anger but I get it now. Who owns the streets?
I try to imagine the life and bike life of these wheelie kids. The joy of getting in a bike mob and taking over streets that are theirs too. Not asking for permission—just doing it and then using it as a stage for this crazy inventive artistry. The rebellion is part of the fiber.
These kids don't want to ride in protected bike lanes or on pump tracks. And it's not my place to define their self expression. In so many facets of our culture, they just need to fight for what they want and deserve, including their place in the cityscape.
One thing that unites ALL of bike culture is some experience of being on the margins. But wheelie kids have likely experienced it 24/7 for their entire lives. I feel much love & admiration for what they've created and honestly wish I could do wheelies and join them. End of story.
Have a great Thursday and express yourself!
(and follow @love_me2pieces on IG)
(and follow @love_me2pieces on IG)
