Barney Ward, of Old Fat Man Adventures, recently joined the Surly family of cyclists when he bought a 50cm Long Haul Trucker, or LHT, in the Hill Street Blue color. And like almost all LHT owners, he immediately set about customizing his new sturdy steed.

As he was installing a rack and swapping the saddle, tires, handlebars, and shifters, Barney pondered what to call his style of bicycling. The result of his cogitation is a term which I think applies to a great many of us—Sight Seeing Bicycling. Here’s what he has to say about it:

For some time now it has puzzled me to put a name on the type of bike riding my style should be called. This afternoon a good name for it popped into my mind. It shall be called sight seeing bicycling. Gentle rolling around with a camera to see, photograph and report on whatever plops down in front of me.

Some of us ride bikes to get and stay fit. Some of us ride primarily for transportation. A few cyclists are racers. Many of us ride for all kinds of purposes. And when we ride to see the sights and enjoy the countryside, it seems to me that “sightseeing” is an excellent way to describe what we’re doing. I wish I’d thought of it!

 
Send a Comment