I don't understand runners (or anyone....that doesnt bike...for that matter)

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle....right?

Well it didn't. We have since moved on to computers, hot tubs, SUV's, 10,000 sq. foot houses; and along with this comes a set of moral values that has changed dramatically since 1817 (when the bicycle was invented). Our standards have been changing exponentially fast. If you ask me, I agree with Thomas Hobbes. We are screwed. Whether global warming, failure of our government, or some terrorist "somehow" gets his/her hands on a nuke. And don't blame the president. Ultimately, our moral values are changing at a rate that we can't handle.

So when my mom gets mad at me for buying a $150 bike (an orange fixed gear...sorta like merckx's), I can shrug it off with out feeling to guilty (my mom is a runner). For me, and others, cycling is a way of getting away from everyone else who has moved on.