Researcher peddles theory on how bicycles define us
A cyclist’s bicycle often becomes an important part of who they are, a University of Alberta student has discovered.
Cyclist Karly Coleman recently finished her master’s thesis, which explores how rider identities are linked with their bicycles.
“I grew up in northern Saskatchewan where the dominant culture is more automobile-oriented,” said Coleman, 49. “So when I was 16, I got a car and cars were cool to have ... I lived 4½ miles out of town. No one even thought that you would ride your bicycle 4½ miles.”
At 18, that changed when Coleman moved to Edmonton and fell in with a group of bike commuters.
For her research, Coleman interviewed 28 regular cyclists, 14 women and 14 men. Her research found people feel their bike is an important part of who they are, but the roles their bike plays in their lives can be very different, similar to how people see their cars as a part of their identity.
“The Ferrari drivers are typically some kind of person and the Volkswagen owners who are another type of person, probably not the same. They wouldn’t necessarily hang out in the same bar,” said Coleman. “And you get that with cyclists. Cyclists who are racers and cyclists who are commuters, they don’t really hang out that much.”
Cole is now moving on to begin a PhD, focusing on cities this time.
Historically, very little thought was given to the possibility of getting around North American cities on a bike. When no one considers cycling to be a viable transportation option, you end up with cities that are very unfriendly to cyclists, said Coleman, but she said that paradigm is changing.
“Bicycling infrastructure in particular gets created because people talk about it,” she said.
Edmonton’s downtown bike lane network is set to open at the beginning of July and could help change local sentiment.
“Watching somebody else use that infrastructure in a role-model kind of way, then you would use it, then you would understand, ‘My neighbour does this, my neighbour rides her bike everywhere, I’m going to ride my bike. I’m going to try.’ ”