BikEcology - Put it out there
The following article is the first of a series I am writing for Mountain Biking Magazine….
In 2000, Carey Hart put it out there when he attempted the holey grail of FMX, the back flip; now it’s in every pro’s trickbook. Just a few short years ago Darren Berrecloth put it out there with some huge 360 drops; now it’s standard practice in any slopestyle comp. Audacious individuals are often the ones responsible for progression in alternative sport. Another example of this same concept would be Al Gore and his environmental activism; all the scientific data was there, but he put it out there that action must to be taken; David Suzuki in Canada is doing the same thing.
People like this start a trickle of action, then maybe a small stream depending on the importance or demand; and if the idea or trend is worthy, a raging river. Now of course we could get by with just a small trickle of people doing 360 drops, the hospitals couldn’t handle much more, but we do need a raging river of people being environmentally responsible. I guess my motive for this new series of articles on bicycle ecology is to help divert a few more of those random trickles of water in to a desperately needed raging river.
To get a little more scientific, Everett Rogers from Stanford did some extensive research on the ‘diffusion of innovation’ (trends). First are the innovators, as mentioned above, then come the early adopters, which make up 15% of the population, they seek the new and have a higher tolerance for experimentation; this might be where you find the competitors of Hart and Barrecloth, or those following the recommendations of Gore or Suzuki. Then all of a sudden a bright idea will metastasize and spread rapidly through the next group called the early majority (35%). All those young groms sessioning the dirt jumps after school in hopes of being the next big name may be in this group. The next batch according to Rogers research, which spanned some 50 years and targeted over 500 major trends, is called the late adopters (35%). The remaining 15% are the laggards, they are off the back and tend to be on their own program. So just as good tricks spread rapidly through the population of capable riders, so will environmental responsibility for everyone, but I don’t think it has quite hit home for most people.
When I’m learning a new trick or technique, I have to practice it over and over and over. When I need to update or modify a technique, it takes even more effort and dedication. Is the reward worth it? The satisfaction of nailing a new move clean is amazing, totally worth all those failed attempts and practice. A large part of the solution to global warming will be like modifying an old trick, in other words we have to change our habits! Will the reward be worth the effort?
The mountain bike world seems full of coffee drinkers, am I right? Now I’m more of a tea guy although I do love a good java here and there, but anyway, I personally drink two cups of tea a day. One of my recent road trips lasted 75 days, so that’s about 150 cups that didn’t end up in a landfill because I managed to create a habit of bringing my re-usable mug with me. To help solidify this habit, I would often punish myself from caffeine if I forgot my ‘to-go’ mug. A bit crazy yes, but it worked, caffeine is a strong motivator!
There seems to be disconnect between understanding a problem like global warming and actually acting on that knowledge, in future articles, I’ll explore this further. But for now, consider this, it is said that if insects disappeared from our planet life would cease in five years, but if humans disappeared from this planet life would flourish in five years. Yes, we have some work to do. So can we put in the effort toward this critical goal of a sustainable world? Can we change our habits and inspire others to do the same? Can we put it out there? Well I have to agree with the charismatic words of Barack Obama, “Yes We Can!”
Stay tuned for future BikEcology articles on all sorts of green topics. Check out my blog at ryanleech.com for more.
Tags: al gore, barack obama, bikecology, carey hart, everett rogers, mountain biking magazine, put it out there, Ryan Leech
April 10th, 2008 at 9:16 am
“I would often punish myself from caffeine if I forgot my ‘to-go’ mug. A bit crazy yes, but it worked”
I’ve done that, it works very well.
Nice work on the article. Now it’s time to ride my bike to work in the rain. .
April 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
love the message!
April 11th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Right on RL, there is definitely a disconnect between understanding a problem and acting on that knowledge. Unfortunately there is an even greater disconnect between observing a symptom and understanding the problem. Global warming is not a independent symptom. Not understanding the many collaborating factors (caused by our action or inaction) which eventually lead to it will not stop or reverse it. There are several other obvious symptoms being exhibited by both the planet and the life on it that can be traced back a little further, closer to the root of the actual problem.
Let me also use the bicycle and riding as an example. As long as we are dazzled and distracted by the tricks being performed on them, we will never understand the consequences of buying many different flavors of bike that are fabricated on the opposite side of globe only because the dollar per hour of human labour is lower. These numbers are also more economically favorable for us if their environmental protection and workplace safety standards are not as high as we would expect them to be if they were being made at home. But we can’t see that from here, so who knows.
Disposable tea cups are not the problem, it’s being addicted to two cups of tea per day. Sorry, you won’t save the world by riding a Norco.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Thanks for the message ‘brubot’. My riding career could be viewed as toxic to some, but can the positives of what I do outweigh the negatives? I explored that question briefly in a post called “is the footprint of my career justified?”. At this point I hope and think it does.
Have to admit though, and in accordance to what you’re saying, that the idea of becoming a privateer and riding my bikes until they fall apart and wearing nothing but patagonia clothing has crossed my mind, but at this point I could not do what I do without their support, and I am fortunate enough to have a title sponsor (Norco), who now has a “green team” of which I am proud to be a part of. Again using recycled paper won’t save the world, but the small steps add up and are contagious.
I appreciate your comments…
April 12th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Bravo RL! I appreciate that a voice such as yours, with the following and impact that you have, is being one of the early adopters in this issue. I must agree that this is one of the biggest issues that humans have ever faced and taking actions (particularly early on) is not just important but a necessity. It will take persistence by the innovators/early adopters for the majority to pick up the baton.
I think you have started down the right road with the disposable mug. You have to take that first step before taking the second step. By making a first change, it makes people more aware so that you can take the next step. For instance, changing light bulbs to CFLs and driving less/biking more are easy steps for everyone to do start down the right path. I have noticed that when you are biking to work, more people in cars notice you and I hope they are thinking - I should be doing that too!
Ryan, have you talked to your sponsors and to other competitors to see how you raise awareness and take more environmentally friendly actions?
April 16th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Just a response to: “disposable tea cups are not the problem, it’s being addicted to two cups of tea per day.” Once again, it depends on where the tea is coming from. We have plenty of local tea available here in Canada, that can be quite local depending on where you live.
Changing consumption patterns will only get us so far. Any long lasting social and economic change requires that governments enact laws that benefit or punish forms of behaviour and consumption. CFLs and fabric shopping bags are great, but its not until a gradual phase-out through government action that occurs that we see real change.
At the same time, governments can also offer positive incentives, such as removing provincial sales taxes on bikes sold in Ontario.
As for being “dazzled and distracted by tricks”, go visit any bmx track, inner city skate park or bike path in a park. Bikes play a vital role in getting people outdoors. They take us into the public spaces that make up our neighbourhoods and our communities, the very places threatened by climate change.
Bikes can be part of that first step, of knowing what surrounds us locally. Then, with that sense of place, we can act in a way that hopes to benefit everyone and everything we value.