Velosophe

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“Do You Think You’re Better than Me?”: Disdain for Cyclists and the Moral Insecurity of Driving

December 3, 2019 by Bernhard

Virtually everyone I know who regularly rides a bike in Toronto has gotten in an argument with a person driving a car. (I assume you would find similar results in any major North American, British, or Australian city, among others). The reason for this is that virtually everyone I know who rides a bike regularly in these places has nearly (or actually) been hit by a person driving car. I have been in more spats with drivers than I can […]

Categories: Bicycles

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Can Sports be Intellectual?

April 18, 2017 by Bernhard

I first saw the documentary Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media in high school, when I was an avid athlete. The film is a sprawling overview of Chomsky’s life, linguistics, activism, and, as the title suggests, his critical analyses of the mass media. Amongst this broad subject matter, covered through an enormous amount archival footage and interviews, one small scene stood out to me. In it, Chomsky, while giving a public lecture, makes some offhand critiques about sports. Years later, I’d […]

Categories: Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, sports • Tags: intellectualism, Noam Chomsky, sports

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Cycling is Still Bro

March 16, 2017 by Bernhard

Throughout high school, I played competitive basketball at the top level in Ontario. While basketball players are not at the very top of the jock-scale, there was still enough trash-talking, inflated egos, and shitty masculinity (which I regretfully participated in at times) to turn me off of the sport by the time I got to university, at which point I almost stopped playing altogether. In comparison, road cycling has to rank pretty close to the bottom of the jock-scale. This […]

Categories: Bicycles, Ethics • Tags: bikes, competition, cycling, gender, masculinity, sexism, sports

Do you Believe in Mechanical Doping?

March 6, 2017 by Bernhard

About a month ago, 60 Minutes ran a segment investigating the issue of so-called “mechanical doping” in cycling. The (admittedly silly) term refers to mechanical cheating, specifically, the surreptitious placement of motors in bicycles used in professional racing. I’ll get into the specifics in a moment, but will mention as a preface that the gist of the investigation is that hidden motors have allegedly been used in the highest levels of cycling. If comment-section discussions are an indicator, it appears […]

Categories: Bicycles, Philosophy • Tags: Bayesian probability, beliefs, bikes, epistemology, mechanical doping, Quine

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The Rules of the Road are Baloney

January 2, 2017 by Bernhard

I’m going to start with the assumption that, at one time and place or another, people who bike have been chastised by people who drive for not “following the rules of the road.” I have seen and heard this grievance aired frequently. It has often been presented as an argument against increased bicycle infrastructure. It goes something like this: If cyclists want the “privilege” of using space “designed for” cars, then they must earn it by adhering strictly to the […]

Categories: Bicycles, Ethics, Philosophy, Transportation • Tags: cars, rules of the road

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The Latest Front in the “War on Cars”

August 3, 2016 by Bernhard

If you live around Bloor Street in Toronto you might have noticed something remarkable today: the commencement of the installation of bike lanes on Bloor. I hope it not too hyperbolic to say that this is a momentous occasion, and as such, I should probably write a positive and optimistic piece. But instead I’m going to sully this event by using it as a platform to address an issue that I am confident that will emerge (or has already, I […]

Categories: Bicycles, Ethics, Transportation

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Performance Enhancing Drugs and the Limits of Human Nature

June 30, 2016 by Bernhard

As far as questions of ethics in sports go, cycling has been one of the most pronounced sources of moral dilemma. While the nature and cause of these dilemmas might seem obvious, it’s worth it to briefly recite them. Sports are supposed to be fair. Fairness is typically construed to mean that no participant should have access to any means that gives them an unnatural advantage over others. Performance enhancing drugs are a widespread source of an unnatural advantage; using […]

Categories: Bicycles, Ethics, Philosophy • Tags: human nature, PEDs, performance enhancing drugs, sports

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Bikes Lanes on Bloor and the Suburbs: On Dependency and Freedom from Cars

May 6, 2016 by Bernhard

Those of you who don’t live in Toronto are unaware, but a previously unfathomable thing came to pass on Wednesday. Toronto City Council voted in favour of a pilot project for bike lanes on one of Toronto’s major (if not the major) thoroughfares, Bloor Street. The rallying call of “Bike Lanes on Bloor” from cyclists over the last decade always struck me as mostly symbolic, if not a bit tongue-in-cheek. In car-centric Toronto, it just never seemed possible, no matter […]

Categories: Bicycles, Toronto, Transportation • Tags: bike lanes, suburbia, suburbs, Toronto

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“It’s Not Like Riding a Bike Will Change Anything”

April 7, 2016 by Bernhard

I suspect a recurring theme on this blog will be: what’s the point? My inaugural post starts by facing this existential question. In a world where free-will seems dubious, or at least impotent in the face of powers beyond one’s control, and where one’s actions appear so insignificant and futile, what of ethics? I’ve routinely encountered detractors who, while seemingly not in the midst of existential crises, have expressed doubt, if not disdain, of the personal ethical decisions of others […]

Categories: Bicycles, Environment, Ethics, Philosophy • Tags: bikes, ethics, moral philosophy

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