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Where is the Outdoorsy Athletic Middle Class?

These days there is quite a bit of discussion on business and investing blogs about the slow decline of the once-mighty American middle class; we are splitting into losers -- 99% of us -- and a 1% who are benefiting from bankster and Washington DC corruption. That is, we are becoming a kleptocracy of the kind that is common in Latin American or third world countries. Indeed, it is in such countries that an American traveler might first notice that "most in the middle" is not the global norm, and that he has been taking it for granted all his life.

How long has this phenomenon have been noticeable? Boswell reported an outline made by Samuel Johnson after his one and only trip to France, near the end of his life. Johnson remarked that everybody in France appeared desperately poor except for the few who were unbelievably rich, and how different that was from England. A historian would probably explain this in the context of the rising bourgeoisie in the late Middle Ages in Europe, as well as Protestant culture in northern Europe...

Thus ran my thoughts as I watched a pro bicycle race in Gunnison CO. Gunnison has really developed a strong bicycle culture in town; the town's smallness and flatness lends itself to cruiser bikes. Also, the town is surrounded by sagebrush-covered mesas and hills, most of which is BLM land. The number of multi-use trails has expanded noticeably since the last time I was here. Even better, you can access those trails right from your front door in town!

I wanted to join the rest of the crowd in enjoying the start of the race, but I held back for some reason. Should endurance sport racing really be celebrated? Is it all that constructive or healthy? It's what gets the publicity and the glamour, of course.

A couple days later the news broke about Lance Armstrong being stripped of his Tour de France titles. Perhaps I shouldn't have been shocked: I was friends with a retired professional bicycle racer once. He told me that ALL top cyclists dope. After all, the human body is a biochemical machine, so biochemical tools are needed to get the last 0.1% of physiological performance out of an endurance athlete.

It has been a source of much frustration for me to live in a culture built around automobiles and fast food and obesity. Then, once in a great while, you meet one of that small elite group of Americans who isn't a standard couch potato, only to find out that his Ego is entirely concentrated on How-Far and How-Fast he can go. Most likely he will someday undergo knee surgery, thanks to the relentless abuse of running; or perhaps he will have many months of expensive and painful physical therapy to endure, as he recovers from a bicycle crash.

Do we need racing to whip up interest in walking, cross-country skiing, running, or bicycling? Why can't we just see human-powered transportation on safe and pleasant trails as an integral part of the Good Life? Whether they be dopers or not, maybe it's time that less glory and money went to a handful of physiological freaks like Lance Armstrong, and more attention went to building a more energetic physical culture out of millions of average bodies.

Comments

Unknown said…
Maybe you're looking in the wrong places. You'll find exactly the type of people you're looking for in our little corner of the rails-to-trails network.

I'm sure they're everywhere in the country, probably out doing their thing evenings and weekends, as most of them live a more conventional life than you. But they're there.

As for racing, I wouldn't do it personally because I'm not competitive that way but I know people who find it quite fun. To each their own :)
Jim and Gayle said…
It's painful to see so many obese people and their children everywhere we go. Back in our former lives many of our friends were people we met through racquetball or cycling, so it seemed like most everyone we knew was into exercise of some kind.
One problem is that most communities don't have safe or pleasant places to ride bikes or walk, but even when they do they usually get very little use. I don't see much hope for change unless we finally run out of oil and people are forced to walk or bike everywhere, but I bet they won't find it pleasurable.
Gayle
Maria, Rails-to-Trails is indeed an example of a budding athletic "middle class" culture. Let's hope they keep building 'em!

Jim & Gayle, most communities are pretty bad like that. The most obscence and nearly universal example is the post-World-War-II suburb, which doesn't even have sidewalks.

Progress is slow and hard, as I found out when I was on the walking and bicycling advocacy committee in Silver City.
Unknown said…
When I still rode bicycle, I searched for the rails to trails and used them frequently. Recently, been looking at the recumbent trikes to address the balance and still ride the bike trails. Sticker shock convinced me to continue walking. Truth be told, I prefer walking to bicycle. Much easier to stop and check out the micro worlds that I walk through.
Anonymous said…
In a healthy society almost everything goes to the middle to the extent that there are no "rich" and no "poor". In the USA everything goes to a minuscule pinhead at the top and what remains is spent to keep the poor at the bottom poor and at the bottom.

Ironically our bodies are starting to reflect what our society lacks -- a prominent midsection.
Anonymous said…
Enjoy your posts. Most people would be surprised at the amount of use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's). I was a competitive weightlifter for a few years, was trained by the USOC weighlifting coach in the 80's and knew and know many of the strength coaches in the SEC for football.
To compete at the national level and be top three, THEY ALL are on PED's. Same is true with football. Since football is more advanced than baseball in PED's, the players have switched over to HGH years ago that can't be detected via urine samples. I am sure the baseball players will switch to that soon.
That is why NFL Players Union is fighting against blood testing instead of urine tests because it will catch HGH use.