Welcome to my Cycling Blog!

The world is full of average Joes who ride bikes; let’s get together and make it a better world for all of us Average Joe Cyclists.

My name is Joe, and I’m an average cyclist who decided in 2010 to write a blog, in the hope that it will be enjoyed by average people who cycle. I hope to hear from readers about fun places to bike, and about cycling infrastructure problems and your proposals for fixing them. If you like, I will publish these as Guest Posts.

I read and enjoy a lot of biking blogs, but they’re all about people who bike much better than I do. I noticed that most cycling blogs were about god-like athletes who look drop-dead wonderful in skin-tight lycra. Yeah, I admit that I have always wanted to BE one of those people, but NO, it’s NEVER going to happen! So I decided to write a blog that was written by and for people like me: Average Joes (and Janes). If you like what you’ve seen so far, please consider joining our community by subscribing to our blog!

I live in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. I am fortunate enough to live with a large, lovely and beloved family – we have nine people and four generations under one roof. I work full-time in educational publishing.

Like most average people who ride bikes, I am not a Competitive or Professional Cyclist, because I’ve just never been a great athlete. And also because I’m a real fat cyclist.

 No matter how much I cycle, I remain chubby at best. Although I have to admit that my cycling activities have shaved off 40 pounds so far, so that I can now at least feel the muscles in my legs, although they still aren’t all that visible. I live in hope that another 10 years of biking will reveal the steel hard cycling muscles that lie just below the chub …

Even though I’m just an Average Joe who rides a bike, I do cycle to work almost every day (except when it snows), and I don’t own a car out of principle (although I admit Maggie does, but as a cycling couple we’re a work in progress – not perfect yet), and I cycle whenever I get the chance, and I believe that cycling is one of the few ways for adults to reconnect with the sheer joy of being a child.

I hope one day to bike a century (100 miles in one day), but I know I will never do this in five hours or less. I have no hope that anyone will ever give me a real sponsorship jersey – as opposed to those fake ones you can buy at any bike shop, but which I won’t buy, not so much out of principle, but because they make me look really, really fat.

This blog is mainly about fun things average people can do on bikes, such as cycling the bike routes in Vancouver or Richmond or Montreal or Portland or Vancouver Island, or going on strenuous (but not insane) bicycle tours. Along the way, I hope to hear from readers about other places that are fun to cycle, and maybe together we can figure out which city really is the best in the world for average cyclists.

I will have the occasional rant about the way cyclists are treated, because as a regular bicycle commuter, that subject is never far from my mind. Cyclists are one of the few hopeful signs in a world that otherwise seems bent on self-destruction. Despite this, we are often marginalized as if we’re just a bunch of crazy people, getting in the way of cars. To me this is insanity – but the most troubling insanity of all is begrudging every penny that is spent on cycling infrastructure, and every inch of road space that is given over to bikes, while resolutely ignoring the tiny beacon of hope for the planet that cyclists represent. We are not the only beacon, but we are a beacon. As H.G. Wells said, “When I see an adult on a bicycle I do not despair for the future of the human race.”

I am not a genius, and I am not a millionaire. I am now past 50, and have had to cope with the stunning realization that hits most people at this age – “Wow! I am just an average guy, and my life will not magically save the planet!” But I have not given up all hope. I acknowledge that I am not super special – but I still hope to do SOME good – and I hope that this blog will help to contribute to building a world in which average Joes and Janes, and little kids and seniors can ride bikes safely, and have fun doing it. I hope to hear from you about fun places to bike, and about cycling infrastructure problems and your proposals for fixing them. If you like, I will publish these as Guest Posts.

The world is full of average Joes who ride bikes; let’s get together and make it a better world for all of us Average Joe Cyclists!

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