"wow, nice elitist attitude. cycling is a verb, not a fashion statement. LOL that you can't make a simple 15 mile ride but still find time to cop attitude at people that are dedicated cyclists. comments like this give social cycling a bad name. put your miles in, maybe you'll get it someday. /sorely disappointed."
-anonymous, on the latest (almost) weekly butterlap post
*don't worry – I won't publish your IP/sudo give me your info address, I no longer hack for a living....
75 miles in Marin in 2009 (about to do it again this weekend...)
photo by my partner in bikey crimes, Ade - 75 miles SF throughout Marin
July 17th | SF Randonneurs 2010 »
photo by my partner in bikey crimes, Ade - 75 miles SF throughout Marin
July 17th | SF Randonneurs 2010 »
Random 30+miles out in 4 points in Marin as well. Oh wait I'm wearing a dress and sporting freshly removed helmet hair. Oh, I'm such a poser.
And here I am, spitting my guts out. I'm sure this is a fake photo. Riding throughout the steepest hills of San Francisco on a 45lbs steel mixte and a skirt. Which is also happening this weekend, but, I will be doing that mentioned 75 miles ride in Marin.
No need to explain my weekly 60+miles a week, really.
Since when cyclists bully other cyclists? Does this happen to you too?
Let's get along you all.
We all ride on 2 wheels. We are all masters of quickly dodging opening vehicle doors, sinking into potholes that shoot up your wrists, have ears that can take all that daily honking and yelling from the same streets, from the same bike lanes, and are able to deal with random flats.
YYYYouknowwatttt?! ♥Peace and ride on.
+This recently sent by the lovely Dottie behind Let's Go Ride a Bike! in response to a recent post (The Idiots) on our all women-collab blog Change Your Life, Ride a Bike!
biseekell.blogspot.com»
----
Thanks for the lovely, encouraging comments, my dear anonymous. I'll make sure to continue my fashionable statement, on and off wheels, and have lots fun while at it, alongside my elitist friends.
I find this quite flattering.
This blog has never been about anything but positive things, and my daily adventures around town.
If you must continue to send your cyber feedback do so, it won't really change my ways.
& also feel free to send it here: bikesandthecity /at/ gmail
much love.
xxox ♥meligrosa
<3 you're awesome meli!
ReplyDelete...and a triple A awesome from me. In Australia, Mr Elitist would be known as a complete 'Merchant Banker'.
ReplyDeleteMeli,
ReplyDeleteYou kind of have to feel sorry for that
over competitive spandex geek.
Sounds like he is being a real dink though.
You are beautiful and right to take the high
road.
Cheers
Jon C.
Interesting to me that if you write one post calling out rude and dangerous cyclists, you suddenly get a self-righteous and mean commenter. Even though you write 99% happy, positive posts about your experience riding your bike every day and interacting with the bicycling community. That commenter is obviously trying to put you in your place - which as a woman should be a place where you write only about sunshine and butterflies and not about anything that could bruise his precious ego.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar, though much less vitriolic, experience yesterday. In my case, it was some first-time commenter guy telling me to "chill out please" because I had the nerve to write an opinionated post.
Dealing with such people is a necessary evil to putting ourselves out there. The upside is that it's totally worth dealing with that .01% of rude people because everyone else is so awesome to communicate with and there's such a supportive community out there.
You and your skirts and your 45 pound mixte and your hill climbing and your long rides and your posse are an incredible source of inspiration. Ride on! :)
I just realized that this elitist comment was not even left on the post I sent you the cartoon about. Your butterlap post was totally positive and aimed at encouraging others to try the ride. I can't believe such an innocent post would cause someone to leave such a comment.
ReplyDeleteCertain people just need to rain on everyone's parade.
ReplyDeleteI think it's obvious that this person is trying to feel better than you to compensate for something else. Perhaps he's not getting laid? :)
Anyhow, no matter what this jerk says, I will continue to be inspired by your style AND your love of cycling!
Unfortunately, when you invite the cool cats out to play, teh interwebs sometimes cough up a furball. Fortunately, this one hit the wood floor and you cleaned it up in jiffy. Hey! Meli! Over there--ball of string! Squeaky toy! I got it, I got it...furball erased from memory. Cool cats resume the games already in progress.
ReplyDeleteMeli:
ReplyDeleteI got such a laugh from The Elitist - I get that attitude every day where I ride. I ride a '60's men's 3-speed (50 lb!) Raleigh and wear real people clothes and get a ton of snark from the spandex crowd. I just roll my eyes, wave at them and continue on my way. I've been riding this way for 30 years and I hope I'll be riding for 30 more! We should all try to make the world a more beautiful place, and chic bicyclists are doing just that. (And those heavy steel bikes give us great legs!) Keep riding, keep smiling and keep having fun.
Sophie W.
oh dear...well...anonymous will factor out through natural selection. on the bright side, i am riding my bike to work today for the first time because i am so inspired by you. many thanks and much love to you, your style, and your bike revolution. ~heather frendo
ReplyDeletep.s. i left my full name. faceless bullying is for pansies.
hey meli. sorry you have to deal with the negative stuff. in general, these kind of things have more to do with the person who wrote it, and very little to do with the person at which it was aimed :)
ReplyDeletesee bright and early on sat.
Pero cuanto idiota suelto! Ni caso!
ReplyDeleteYou look great in those pics!
I went to Point Reyes on May and saw those hills, you are a brave soul!
Besos desde Guada!
?!?
ReplyDeleteGuys comment doesn't even make any sense. Dedicated cyclists? Where I come from the ones we call dedicated cyclists are the ones who are out in the rain and the dark and the snow and the cold, the ones who ride 200 miles a week, in bursts of 5 and 10 miles at a time, in whatever clothing they're wearing at the time.
I see few of the tense type A lycra crowd out under those conditions, and they're usually the first ones to load the bike on a car and drive out to the country for a posh sunny day ride!
Keep on riding!
muchacha, usted no tiene que demostrar nada a aquel cobarde anónimo de un idiota. ¡siga pedaleando y compartiendo lo que usted ama, usted inspira a todos nosotros! ¡muchos abrazos!
ReplyDeleteEchoing what some of the posts above said: you are an inspiration. Your "little blog" provides a real service to a lot of people, and it brings a smile to my face almost every day. Thank you.
ReplyDeletePS: The 'helmet hair" only makes you look hotter! :)
I honestly can't believe the nerve of people - the rude commenter and the lycra bike bullies - both are pathetic. What's even worse is that lycra-wearing bikers act that way to fellow non-lycra wearing bikers. I'd expect (and get) that type of verbal abuse from drivers in my city, but maybe there just aren't enough bikers on the roads here for hostility to develop yet!
ReplyDeleteJust continue exactly what you're doing and ignore all the jerks - love your blog posts!
Oh, Anon, someone needs to put down the keyboard and take a power nap. It takes so much energy to anonymously insult people on the internet and it takes vital power away from keeping your heart rate up on your 6 lb unobtanium racing "machine" while pounding down the pedestrian path. We would hate to see you lose a second or two off your kickass finishing time in the "International Race Of The Internet Jerks".
ReplyDeleteMeli, you are truly a class act.
ReplyDeleteRyan (goodsterman)
What everyone already said - ditto! You keep rockin' Meli and doing your thing, that's inspired me and I'm sure so many others out there to just get on a bike and go. Your Butterlap post would have totally spoken to someone like me, possibly nervous about joining a group ride, and loving to hear that it's all good, it's for everyone at all levels. Thanks for doing what you do and don't let anyone discourage you from it!
ReplyDeleteS.
You put us to shame climbing those hills last year. Too bad Seven Hells and 115k Populaire conflict.
ReplyDeleteI wish that the bad attitude of Mr Dedicated Social Cyclist was an internet-only phenomenon :-(
Sometimes I go fast but your style reminds me of the many more important things to do on a bike. Peace and ride on.
hello! I am kind of lost on the trail of this... but I think I get the main idea and I can tell that I get it eve-ry sin-gle day :( it's actually more depressing and disheartening than the rudeness I get from drivers... I get so many disbelief/patronising/disapproving looks from the super fast, super lycra people on their fast bicycles, just because I ride a dutch style bike, in my everyday clothes... and they overtake me just to prove a point (what point exactly anyhow?)...
ReplyDeleteThis happens everywhere... even across the pond!! see? :D I love your style, you're inspirational, always with a smile and makes me want to push my boundaries and cycle further afield :)
When I get overtaken by the 'fast, fast spandex cyclist' I just yell "Good morning to you my friend!" as I get overtaken... sometimes I surprise them and even get a "oh sorry, yea, bye!" reply ;)
I wish there was more tolerance amongst everyone... on foot, on bike, by car etc :)
ride on Meli! You rock!
ciao cara amica! L xoxo
Meli, anonymous comments really aren't even worth reading typically. You are the real deal my friend - can't wait to ride the 75 miles with you in a couple days...
ReplyDeleteWow,
ReplyDeleteyou sure found someones sensitivity button.
I love the 'cycling is a verb' - well for many,
it's a lifestyle, freedom, empowerment, and
a way to enlightenment (listen to my hippy
dribble).
I don't see pacelines as being 'social'.
A group ride of friends is social.
And dedication? Dedication to logging as
many 'junk miles' as possible? Or dedicated
to putting the bike first and getting out there
on the streets? Please. There's more time
spent on rollers than commuting in traffic.
Who knew you were so controversial?
i had been runnin around all day and came back to all your awesome and straight up comments! thanks all so much. I actually thought this was rather comedic and oh so inaccurate, also unfair to so many of us that do this 'cycling' thing so often, nevermind so chill,fun and happy. who the hell wants to be e-bullied, cuz we will laugh at their lame attempts. so lame.
ReplyDeleteI thought it would be even more interesting if anon, was in fact, a she - i guess we would find out next time he or she feels the urge to lurk again around the blog, as they have no idea what the fcuk this blog, the people that read it and my posse, are all about.
besos +much luv
♥to all of you.
now let's get some ridin going on!!!
MELI, ANDA LAH YANG TERBAIK!!!
ReplyDelete(in english: MELI, you're the best!)
this blog and especially this post = amazing. thanks for the insightful and powerful piece! it makes me see new york a lot differently now. i was in between the slow and the A-Holes. kind of moderately paced, and this drawing and series makes me approach it in a whole new way now, extra caution and extra empathy for the rest of the world (drivers/pedestrians, too!). we all need to calm down with the rage and hostility!
ReplyDeleteAdding my voice to the chorus. Bozos are everywhere, sadly, but I do wish they'd get off of bikes and leave biking to the positive, serious, happy majority.
ReplyDeletesave the puro pedos comments anon for your bean powered ways across the ggb at 8am. we'll be on it before then tho, so glad to have missed you! :)
ReplyDeletebesos y pedos!
DFWTG. BVPV.
c/s,
ctx.
Don't pay attention, and continue exactly how you are doing. You are great.
ReplyDeleteYann
zoraimi/ oh i LOVE it!! :D ur very sweeeeeet
ReplyDeletetrue w/ i haven never biked in nYC but im sure there are more similiarities than not from here in SF, asides the hill-aspect. Im glad to hear from you +continue to do your own thing, will keep your experiences true to yourself, and a happy will reflect upon the rest of traffic. stay in touch! xxo.meli
angela/ thanks for your words! +happy riding to you too :D
ctx/ SQ ILT. PBP con queso
Yann/ but of course will do :D
thanks for stopping by +many thanks! xxo.m
I got an ugly comment sent to me once - actually sent to my personal e-mail, which indicated he really went to a lot of effort just to be mean.
ReplyDelete