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I ride a bike.

I've debated with many over labels we apply to ourselves and others that include and exclude: cyclist, commuter, bike rider, biker, hipster fixie kid...

I race. I commute to work and to the store, I ride around the neighborhood for pleasure. I play bike polo. I ride Critical Mass.

Where do I fit in?

The same place you do if you've ever used a bicycle.

Whether you're a strict vehicularist who stops and merges and flows with cars or a pretty day, once-a-summer, beach cruiser mom I speak to you. I speak for you. I want to speak with you.

Racers enjoy leaving the slow, out of shape, and weak in favor of a lycra-clad battle to the next imaginary line. Commuters long for a world with showers in every office and ample covered, secure, indoor bike parking, and so on...

...all the way down(up?) to the guy who lost his license for his 3rd DUI, the guy who can't afford a car riding back from the dollar store bags dangling from his handlebars bouncing around in time with the cigarette between his lips, and so on...

I've read books on how to ride. I've apprenticed with mechanics on how to wrench. I've raced alongside dozens and ridden streets others refuse to approach. Does this make me a cyclist? a commuter? a bike rider? a biker? a hipster fixie kid?

Does this make me more than another who rides a bike?

No.