Exhaustion of Leisure: Identity and Cycling

Finn Kolsrud examines amateur bicycling from a sociological perspective, relying on interviews and the concepts of exhaustion and flow. Kolsrud’s project examines the ways that the drive to compete gets mixed with the drive to get ahead. His findings give him some surprise; he assumes that “badass”...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Finn Kolsrud
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: New York City College of Technology 2014-05-01
Series:NANO
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.nanocrit.com/issues/issue-4-all1/exhaustion-leisure-identity-and-cycling
Description
Summary:Finn Kolsrud examines amateur bicycling from a sociological perspective, relying on interviews and the concepts of exhaustion and flow. Kolsrud’s project examines the ways that the drive to compete gets mixed with the drive to get ahead. His findings give him some surprise; he assumes that “badass” culture would define the racers’ mindset, but he finds that sharing stories and sharing the workload are just as important. In the end, Kolsrud describes a complex “civilizing process” to racing and training that emerges when he more closely investigates the concept of flow. His ending questions complicate any easy notion that hyper-masculine drives must always form the foundation of bicycle racing ethos.
ISSN:2160-0104