Guest poster Don Blount’s inquiring mind wants to know.
I often use the two terms interchangeably to describe someone who rides road bikes.
Dictionary.com, the online reference site, provides these definitions of the two terms:
Biker – noun: a person who rides a bicycle, motorcycle, or motorbike, esp. in competition or as a hobby.
Cyclist – noun: a person who rides or travels by bicycle, motorcycle, etc.
Any difference there would be minute.
However, a member of my bike club makes this distinction:
“I must confess that I cringe when I read about us being ‘bikers’ and going ‘biking’. I’m not a biker, I’m a cyclist. Bikers wear leather and drive motorcycles and look tough and drink beer. Cyclists wear lycra and cool pro team jerseys and drive Honda Elements that have less power than one of those motorcycles.
And I don’t go ‘biking’ either. I go cycling, like I did today; 50 miles and 3800 ft on a beautiful spring day.”
Perhaps the confusion comes from ‘mountain biking’, which means to ride a mountain bike. This is a sport I am unfamiliar with, but which I believe is distantly related to cycling even if I find the bikes repulsive looking compared with svelte road machines.”
By his definition, I would be a cyclist.
How do you see yourself? Are you a cyclist or a biker?





