I don’t want to be controversial, but….
13August 30, 2010 by welshcyclist
Don’t get me wrong, I love to read and view, all the blogs I’m going to mention, but it strikes me, that they are all written by upper middle class girls, who have very good jobs etc.. Now there’s nothing wrong, at all, with that per se, but can they relay the true bicycle situation in their hometowns? Am I being unfair?
Perhaps, Girls and Bicycles, Lovely Bicycle, Bikeskirt, and Let’s Go Ride a Bike would argue that our blogs are also hindered by the fact that we are all middle class this side of the pond. I would say that I am not middle class, but I have access to a computer, so where does that place me in the class strata? They all write extremely well, are obviously, well educated, computer literate, take amazing photos and extremely good looking and talented. None of which can be said about me.
If they were contestants in the X- Factor, which I hasten to say I do not watch, it would have to be a very close run thing.
Let’s be even more controversial, and state the obvious, they’re all girls. Now let’s be really sexist, and ask how can girls possibly know so much more about bikes than us fellas? Velouria, in particular, knows her subject inside out, not that the other fair maidens are far behind.
What do you girls over there say to that?
On to other things, my commute today was in glorious sunshine and blue skies. I was on a support shift, providing meal break time for my colleagues, so on a short shift of six hours only, 09.00-15.00. That meant my ride in was much later than usual, starting at 07.00, but boy was it cold, only 6 degrees centigrade, and a stiff headwind.
During my ride in, I witnessed a little bit of nature’s tooth and claw. I saw a sparrow hawk swoop down into the road ahead of me, and take a blackbird. It landed on the road, perhaps 120 yards in front of me, with it’s kill held in it’s talons, Seeing me coming it took off carrying it’s prey, but was struggling to hang on to it, so it set down on the grass verge, as I was still nearing the scene it obviously felt too exposed to try to take off again with it’s load, so leaving the limp body, it flew up into the trees alongside the road. I cycled on about another 80 yards past it’s kill, stopped, got my mobile phone camera at the ready, to see if I could take a photo of the bird returning to it’s breakfast. Sadly no joy, the hawk did fly from one side of the road to the other, presumably on a recconoitre, but didn’t return while I was there, and I couldn’t wait long.
The blackbird’s body was nowhere to be seen on my trip back in the afternoon, so hopefully, the hawk got his hard earned breakfast.
It took me ages to type this, I bet you girls can type the ass off me as well, doh! Got something to say?
Do any girls read this blog of mine?
Cheers.
Welshcyclist's Weblog 
As I thought no one’s reading my efforts, not one comment, save this one….. MINE!
Can I comment even though I’m not a girl?
Of course you can, I’ve been talking to myself for too long.
Hey what about me, I visit here. 🙂 Oh and your mention of being forced to raise bats on my blog. Good grief!!! Keep on biking bro.
Sometimes I cry like a girl, if that counts?
I think what attracts me to the female bloggers pages is that they tend to have more care put into them than the average male blog page. They will go to the time to take and post great pictures, care about the presentation, whereas we type it out, dont spell check, then fart & go have a beer!
Hi KungFooSausage,
I think you’re probably right, presentation is everything! I suck at it, but I like to think I haven’t the time to get it all together, lack of patience is more like it, though. These female bloggers, the ones I read anyway, seem to have it all. I’d love to know what jobs they do, especially Lovely Bicycle, who seems to travel all over the place, she’s a writer of some sort, and a good one. By the way we all cry like girls.
Problem solved, “Lovely Bicycle!” blogger, is an academic in the art world, and also a policy adviser? I just read her “about” section, doh!
Basically, I don’t recognise the world these bloggers cycle in, my world is very different and mundane in comparison. I hate to use the word posh, but I can’t think of another, to describe their world. Perhaps that’s the council estate boy talking. My use of “their” suggests an innate recognition of a class divide on my part. I think I’m jealous of “their” world, am I sad?
I kind of know what you mean (as another middle class girl blogger, who feels somewhat jealous of other people’s lives all the same). But I’m sure a lot of people present an idealised picture on their blogs – leaving out the messy bits. And I’m jealous of your sparrowhawk sighting now! we’re all looking over the fence longingly at someone else’s life…
Hi there disgruntled, thanks for dropping by. I have to leave out the messy bits, because I’d be blogging all day long. I get what you say about presenting an idealised picture, but have you seen these girls blogs? “Girls and Bicycles” is a world that I couldn’t identify with, much as I’d like to, LGRAB similarly I just don’t recognise. and “Lovely Bicycle” is very highbrow. They all make great reading, but are far different to my world, am I jealous? Too right I am! Whether or not I’d swap my beautiful vale of Neath for USA, is debatable, but it would cross my mind. As I’ve said, they seem to have it all. Now there’s you, I’ve had a quick look at your “About” section, so what is it about riding bicycles that girls, who appear to have it all, find so attractive? Hope you come back to me, I’ve subscribed to your blog, and will be reading your posts, and possibly your book(s} in the future. Sadly my blog is a work in progress, I’m terrible at IT, so you won’t be able to subscribe to it even IF you wanted to. Of course all you girls can type, as well, I started typing this at midday.
Anyway cheers for now.
Ah, but do I have it all, though? I’m certainly living on a lot less money than back when I was a disgruntled commuter. As for the bikes, I don’t know. I’ve always ridden a bike wherever possible, it was only when I started reading bike blogs on the internet that I realised it was a minority thing. I don’t know about vintage bikes or cycle chic or anything like that, I only have the one bike, I just like riding it. I know what you mean about those blogs – they’re fun but they’re aspirational and they always make me feel I should be popping off to the farmer’s market and then having a latte somewhere trendy with my friends, but then I look at the empty roads and scenery I ride through every day and realise I’m lucky too. Try cycling down some four-lane US highway with rednecks shouting (or shooting!) at you and you might decide we’re the ones who have it all…
I think on the whole that blogging in general is a bit middle class – you have to have the time and the inclination, not to mention the confidence to assume that what you write is interesting to others. So it’s good that you’re bucking the trend. I’ve followed your blog on and off for a while (since it was on blogspot), nice to see another rural cyclist – I was glad to see you popping up again on WordPress.
And as for the typing, we girls were taught it because schools thought we’d all become secretaries when we grew up. It’s turned out to be a useful skill after all.
oh, and for a complete contrast to those blogs how about Darlobikegirl? Warning, it’s a bit (well a lot) sweary
Thanks for the tip about DarIobikegirl, and the warning, I had a good laugh, I wish I could write like that. Yet another girl with a fantastic looking blog etc.. She’s got quite an imagination, I particularly liked her “breastapo”, excellent! When did you go to school? I don’t remember my sister being taught typing. We were in school through the 60’s. I’m surprise you’ve read my blog before. I just tried to move it to Posterous.com, another blogging vehicle, which was a disaster, I typed for 25 minutes, all of perhaps 150 words, plus uploaded some photos, tried to post it and it all disappeared, when will I learn how to use my PC? Once again I think you’ve hit the nail on the head about “those” blogs, being trendy, ending up in trendy cafes, restaurants etc.. If anyone saw me entering a “trendy” establishment in my commuting gear they’d call the police. Since my return to cycling, I’ve had 5 bikes, the first one was OK and broke me in, I was very unfit, the second was a disaster from Halfords, the 3rd was a good one that established my commuting, the 4th was a compensation gift from Raleigh, after an accident with one of their pedals, really lovely bike, which I rarely ride, and now my current commuter, that I’ve been riding for the last 9 months. I’m a hopeless mechanic, more a thinker than doer, as my better half will attest to. Oh, I just love the idea of self bike maintenance, DIY etc., but if it doesn’t work first time, I lose the plot. But I’m a good complainer. I have very little confidence that anyone would be interested in reading my posts, but writing/typing them, even with two fingers sure beats watching the telly, says he, after just watching a repeat repeat of “Minder” on the box. They don’t make ’em like that anymore. Why aren’t all you girls secretaries? Because you’re all riding bikes and blogging, is there no order in the world anymore? It should be “blogging” for girls and “bloking” for us lads, policed by the blogstapo and blokestapo respectively, sorry Darlobikegirl, for that bit of plagiarism. I know disgruntled, I do go on, thanks for the chat.
Cheers.
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