Where’s the Diversity in Bike Touring?

14 May Where’s the Diversity in Bike Touring?

There’s one thing I’ve been wondering about for a while now in the world of bicycle touring, and that’s: Where is the diversity? The majority of folks I’ve been noticing in conferences, forums, blogs, and social media are white men. I have seen more and more people of color and women represented across the board, but why is there such a wide difference out there?

Let us examine why this might be the case and start with findings from People for Bikes on the topic of race, ethnicity, and income. These numbers and outcomes actually focus on bicycling in a larger scale, but may provide some more insight as to why fewer people of color and women are not bike touring as much as white men.

Up Trend

Based on the People For Bike Building Equity report, many of the current trends point to the fact that people of color are riding more. They would be regular bike riders and want to bike more than white Americans do, but the fact remains that we’re not seeing this translate in the bike touring world. Many people of color have lower incomes, therefore they are more open to biking for both recreation and transportation. But why does this not translate to more people jumping into bicycle touring?

Photo Credit: Galantucci Alessandro via Compfight cc

Way of Life

To further explore the lack of diversity, the report examines these behaviors in regards to 2 different ways of using a bicycle: 1. people are using it as transportation because they can’t afford a car and 2. as recreation for exercise. Bicycle touring does not fit in either one of these categories. You can say that it is recreation, but most people only take leisurely rides and make their way back home in the same day. Even though you get huge participation on both accounts, you have to realize that bicycle touring isn’t something you have to do, like biking to work, nor is it something you can do in a few hours, like you do for recreation. Bike touring takes commitment and time. Both of these things are rare if you need to spend your time working, and when you’re not working, you may be biking, but you won’t want to go anywhere further than the neighborhood you’re familiar with. 

Because of the economic difference of people of color compared to the white Americans, they are trying to make a living and can’t afford to go on bike tours for long periods of time. They can squeeze in a short trip or bike to work, but asking them to travel with bike is confusing when they can use their cars to go camping and come back. It’s just much more convenient.

Parents who sacrificed to get over to this country will never understand why their kids would want to put themselves through such struggles, when they can just stay home and relax. Their mindset is to make a living and raise a family. Whereas bicycle tourists may not conform to these traditional thoughts. We are explorers. We wander. We like being out in nature.

For women, the lack of bicycle tourists can be directed to 1 concern: safety. Women are more averse to risks by nature and are likely to not participate in an activity that is risky, like riding their bikes in unknown parts of the world by themselves. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules.

Cost Barrier

I have always been telling people that bicycle touring does not cost you much, and I still believe that. But that’s me with the $1300 bicycle, $200 pannier, and $70 tires on my Salsa Vaya. I was fortunate to have a job prior to fully committing to bicycle touring, a pretty good job to afford such luxuries and still be able to save up enough to not have to work for the next few years. At one point in time, my family did struggle to make ends meet. I wanted a nice bike growing up, but my dad couldn’t afford one. So we went to the swap meet to pick one out for me. Having to buy a bike, even a used one, and all the equipment that it takes to go on a bike tour is costly. On top of that, you need to pay for camping and food. Why not just stay home and get groceries? It’ll be much cheaper.

You see, there’s a time when you get to travel, but most of the time, you’re still trying to stay afloat to get by. You’re trying to make rent and put food on the table, so it’s understandable why bike touring doesn’t come to mind for people with lower-income.

Johnny in “Tweed”

High Wage Earners

How about for the folks whose median income ($67,000) is considerably higher than most other groups, even whites? How come we don’t see more Asians on bicycle tours? Even though 60% increase in biking is seen from Asians, we don’t see that in bike touring. We don’t have to look too far and reference the Outdoor Foundation 2014 Participation Report. The report tells us that even in just outdoor activities, only 7% Asian / Pacific Islanders participated. The lowest amount of average outings were from Asian / Pacific Islanders, averaging at 37 outings in a year. The percentage dips even lower as you look at older individuals. About half of the Asian / Pacific Islanders participate in outdoor activities between the age of 18 – 44, but from age 45 and older, that number dips down to 37%. Bicycle touring is an activity which most people do when they get older. The trend is not promising based on these numbers. As you can see, the likelihood that Asian / Pacific Islanders will take part in a bike tour can be quite rare. With that being said, don’t count us out yet.

Final Thoughts

We are not seeing diversity in bicycle touring because of many possible reasons.  People of color are usually lower wage earners, and so they don’t have the time to take longer tours. It is also a different mindset as folks work so hard to avoid living in the streets, but to ask them to do it voluntarily does not make any sense at all. For women, safety is a huge barrier to get over before they are willing to join. That is why traveling with more people should help increase the number of women who bike tour. I’ve come across sites like Skaltitude who showcase and celebrate solo women bicycle tourists on their blog, it is very encouraging to see.

As for those few individuals who are not women or earn more than their white counterparts, not wanting to do it or they don’t have time is just a cop-out as I think if they realize the benefits and the enjoyment of a bicycle tour, they would surely change their minds. I am hoping that my site, as well as many others, can help inspire them to take their trips and empower them to want to take the trip. Whenever I hear people tell me that they don’t have time, that’s not true. They have the time. We all have the same 24 hours a day. It is how you spend that time and prioritize it. When it comes down to it, it’s not that they don’t have the time, it’s that they don’t want to do it if they have the time.

Do you have any ideas or theories why we don’t see much diversity in bike tourism? I would love to hear from you and discuss why? I would love to hear what your thoughts and theories are.