Chicas 1

Ezequiel Chicas
English 115
Professor Lawson
1 October 2014
Culture and Identity, Rough Draft
Word Count:1391
Urban Cycling Culture
Riding through the city streets, wind blowing in your face, and keeping an eye on every
car that passes by you. Thats a daily experience as an urban cyclist, we fight traffic, trying to get
to our destination in one piece. Though at times we may be reckless, its all in the thrill. Its a
culture to me, is very different than most cultures. We take care of our own, either new to the
culture or veterans. Its a culture that has influence my life in more ways than I would have
thought at first.
It all started around the summer of 10th grade, riding a skateboard was too slow. A bike
just seemed so much more efficient. Now to what bike I should get, well that was a hard choice.
Since theyre so many different types of bikes, mountain, time trail, road bikes, and fixies just to
name a few. I decided to get a fixie, since one of my friends had one, and the bike looked so
simple. A fixie is a single speed bike that has a fixed gear, which doesnt allow for coasting,
coasting is when you can continue moving without pedaling, and are usually seen without any
breaks. Now I had a break at first but slowly took it off as I learned to skid. Skidding is when the
cyclist pulls up wards on the pedals instead of pushing down, (made possible by cages or straps
on the pedals) or locking your legs. Since the bike doesnt coast, when you attempt to skid, you
stop the rear rim from spinning, causing you to slow down and stop, that was our brake.

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The first time I went to a group ride I was a bit nervous, since I was a rookie compared to
most of the riders who were there. To my surprise they were all very nice, and offered plenty of
tips and advice to riding in the city. They had a policy that was called No rider left behind,
which was great because they would slow down, or even stop if someone didnt make the light or
had a flat tire. When you happened to get a flat tire and had no tools what so ever to fix it. They
would offer to fix it for you with their own tools and spare inner tubes.
Big group rides werent the only type of rides I went to, I occasionally went on
adventures with my school friends. One of the adventures was riding to Pasadena. That ride was
a great experience, we left North Hollywood in the morning went through Burbank then around
Griffith park. We eventually took a wrong turn, and ended up having to go all around the rose
bowl. I never been to the rose bowl, so it was a nice view seeing the scenery. One of my other
adventures was riding to Santa Monica beach/ Venice beach. We had to go up this hill, and oh
boy I remember wanting to dismount my bike and just walk, but I pushed on forward, and boy
was it worth it. The downhill was a blast, and really had my adrenaline pumping since I had no
breaks, and well it was a now or never situation. Either I skidded for to for dear life, or failed and
passed the traffic light while it was red. In the end you had that sense of accomplishment, the
feeling of not dying. Once the hill was over is was mostly flat land going through L.A. It was an
ecstatic feeling passing cars who were stuck in traffic. All I could think was, You should of
rode a bike. Once we got to the beach it was a nice break to cool down.
Through the big rides I did get to meet some pretty awesome guys. One of the guys I met
was Marco. He was a temporary ride leader for a ride that happened every Thursday. The ride
was called Thursday Night Promenade. They had track stand contests every time, the winner got
cool prizes, such as spare brake pads, spoke cards and a hat! Track standing is when you balance

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yourself on your bike without pedaling. When I won for the first time, I got to have a
conversation with him. To my surprise hes now one of my closest friend that I see daily. Since
he just so happens to go to CSUN as well. Another friend was Robin, I originally met him when
I was a freshman in high school, but he was a senior, so once he graduated I thought Id never
see him. Till one day I went to a bike race called Lord of Griffith. It was a race where you had to
go through Griffith part three times. Just going through Griffith once was a hard time. I was just
spectating the race, and in the crowd of spectators was my old friend Robin. We had a long
conversation over what hes been up to. At the race I also met the leader of a group of riders
called Wolfpack. They were some of the fastest urban cyclist in L.A. He was a very humble guy,
with a cool nick name. He was called Road Block.
Road Block would organize races in the Downtown L.A area. But he wasnt the only one
organizing big events for cyclist. There is an event call CicLaVia, where they would get
permission from the city, to close down a whole street to cars. Its such a wonderful event,
knowing you dont have to worry about cars getting to close or cutting you off. Not to mention it
was unreal riding through a street that would normally be packed with cars, but instead was now
packed with cyclist of all types. I had the wonderful opportunity to help out during one of the
events. I was a route angel, my job was to carry around tools and help any cyclist who had a
problem on their bike. But helping fellow cyclist didnt stop there.
Recently a friend of mine, Alex, got into an accident, and was left with insane medical
bills. Marco planned a checkpoint race to raise funds for his hospital bill. A check point race,
was a race where the participant has to ride to all of the checkpoints and receive all the stamps,
then race back to the finish line. I volunteered to give out the stamps on one of the check points,
which was no easy task, though it may sound like was. Having ten or more cyclist coming at

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once, eager to get stamped and move on to the next check point, was a bit hard. As soon as it was
all over, the race had raised a good amount of money for Alex to pay off his bill.
Now you may be wondering how this culture could have any effect on me. My dress style
was heavily impact by the culture. I buy shoes meant for urban riding. I rolled my jeans up, so
that they wont get caught in the chain as Im riding. I cut my old skinny jeans into shorts, just
because they feel so much more comfortable in the summer. Even the bag I take to school is for
cycling. Pretty much my attire consist of cycling clothes, so that I can be comfortable riding.
Sometimes my tire maybe distracting though. Like my shoes, the heel has a reflective area that
shines even in the day. The culture has also changed my perspective on many things, and
influences how I dress. Im now always very observant with my surroundings on and off the
bike, as if I was on the road. Being so observant really made me less fearful. It takes a lot to
scare me now. Urban riding has also made me more considerate. Instead of thinking about
myself, I think about how the other person feels. I will now go out of my way to help someone
who needs help. If I see a cyclist in trouble, Ill pull over and do my best to help him get back on
the road. Its only what Id hope someone would do for me, if I ever needed help. So if you ask
me who am I, well Id simply say, I am an urban cyclist.