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Putting a positive spin on cycling - Positive spin on Cycling |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 23 August 2006 |
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Page 7 of 8
Waving biker finds friendliness in Fort Collins
By Felix Wong
For NEXTnc
After the umpteenth bicyclist on Overland Trail Road had greeted, waved, smiled or nodded at me as I pedaled by in the opposite direction, I started thinking about what a contrast this was from where I cycled in my youth.
 Growing up in Stockton, Calif. — a sad, gang-ridden town haunted by the massacres at an elementary school and multiple McDonald’s — I was certainly not accustomed to this treatment.
First off, despite having wide, pancake-flat roads and dry weather nine months of the year, there were very few cyclists in the city of a quarter-million people.
The ones who existed were generally BMX-riding punk kids with purple hair, hobos whose other worldly possessions included stolen shopping carts, or serious recreational riders who kept a steely gaze on the road ahead or the tire below, seemingly oblivious to the entire world around them.
None of these riders would offer as much as a simple gesture aside from the occasional one-fingered salute in the shape of a bird.
I used to think this was because they were concentrating hard on not getting hit or run off the road by horn-happy, obscenity-yelling motorists who passionately believe that roads were created for autos only.
 Then I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where cyclists are present en masse and drivers are generally respectful of them. Even there, however, only a small percentage of cyclists would acknowledge fellow cyclists. I have heard many attempts to justify this including:
“If you can smile or wave, you’re not pedaling hard enough.”
“If you encounter lots of cyclists on your rides, it gets tedious to wave at each one.”
“I don’t always smile during sex, but that doesn’t mean I am being unfriendly!”
It is refreshing, then, to live in a cycling-friendly community
where — despite having many top riders — such justifications are generally unused and unheeded.
That an unusual number of cyclists take a second or two to nod their head or lift their hands off of their handlebars as they pass another pedal-pusher garners a sense of camaraderie, and is just one of the many reasons that makes cycling in Fort Collins so great.
Felix Wong is an avid bicyclist and runner. He completed the Pikes Peak Marathon last weekend. Wong is a recently transplanted Californian who lives in Fort Collins.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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