Since social media algorithms are so good at pushing more of the type of content you engage with, I see loads of pro-bike posts from people far beyond my professional or personal network. A recent surge of ordinary people posting clips of joyful solo and group rides got me thinking about the stark difference between bike-riding normies and well-meaning advocates. One group is enjoying life while the other is shrieking about the dangers of life.
I’ve been writing publicly for almost 20 years about the dangerous conditions created by the 20th century’s uncivil engineering, so I’ll be one of the first to tell you it is important to draw attention to bad design so that it can be fixed. But advocacy that’s zeroed in on the negatives is slowing or even preventing culture change.
There are hundreds of movies about sharks terrorizing humans. Shark attacks are so rare that they barely register in any ranking of realistic risks, but the “Jaws Effect” as it’s called continues to trigger a visceral response. Researchers ran a simple test where they showed one group of people positive YouTube clips of sharks (nature shows, non-aggressive behavior, and ordinary ocean life). For another group, they played the usual scary stuff. After fifteen minutes, about 70% of the group watching positive clips felt more positive about sharks and perceived danger dropped by 27%.
Who else is old enough to remember stranger danger? Ordinary outdoor spaces like sidewalks and playgrounds were framed as hunting grounds for boogeymen. The actual risks of kidnapping or harm from strangers are extremely low, but we humans aren’t logical. We’re feeling creatures who sometimes think. Research shows that when adults are given a story that treats physical risk in outdoor play as normal and developmentally useful rather than mostly dangerous, their tolerance for childhood independence jumps. (Read Jon Haidt’s work and check out his Let Grow partnership with Lenore Skenazy.)
The way an opinion or idea is framed plays a huge role in how other people react, whether the topic is swimming in the ocean, letting kids play unsupervised, or using a bicycle to get around town.
Advocacy often leans hard into “it’s terrifying to ride bikes” even though most of us live in places where low-stress streets already exist. Their heart is in the right place (fix the bad infrastructure!), but what if it’s causing people to choose driving a car instead of riding a bike because of the Jaws Effect? When the dominant message is danger, the human impulse is to stay in the car, keep kids within eyesight, and avoid ocean vacations.
Behavioral scientists will tell you that people move toward what feels safe, comfortable, normal, and rewarding. Messages framed around something you gain work better than constant warnings about a sense of loss. Messages that reinforce “most people like you do…” are more effective than fear. So in bike advocacy terms, a powerful message would be something like “most streets in your neighborhood are low-stress and comfortable for the whole family to ride bikes.”
Frame the activity as ordinary, comfortable, and worth doing. Talk about the bicycle as an ordinary household tool. Share pictures and videos of all sorts of people riding and parking bikes. Talk about the feeling of moving under your own power and the small daily freedom of not needing a car for every errand. If more bike riding is the desired outcome, then frame bike riding as a normal routine for normal people.
Here are some ideas for my fellow pro-bike advocates to try.
Messaging tips
Lead with the real experience, not a perceived threat. Instead of “These streets are deadly,” try “Most of our neighborhood streets are already calm enough for an easy ride to the park.”
Use gain language. Focus on things that people get: quiet time, a clear head, time with a kid, rock-star parking at the restaurant.
Normalize bikes. Show ordinary people—parents with kids, older adults, people in regular clothes—doing ordinary trips. The message is “people like you already do this,” not “only the brave survive.”
When you must mention risk, pair it with agency. “Yes, some streets need work. Here’s where it already feels good, and here’s how more of us can use those places tomorrow.”
Activity tips
Host low-key group rides or walks on the calmest streets you have. Keep the pace conversational. Richmond, VA is fortunate to have at least a couple dozen organized rides in different parts of the city.
Invite people who don’t bike much (or at all). Explain the basics like how to know if the seat is high enough and how to lock the bike to a rack.
Share simple route suggestions that emphasize comfort, even if they aren’t straight lines. This is path of least resistance stuff.
Document and share the ordinary moments! People chatting while rolling, a kid riding ahead of a parent, someone carrying groceries. Those images do more for social norms than crash statistics.
Pair any safety campaign with visible proof that the activity is already happening and already enjoyable in parts of your community.
The normies posting cheerful videos probably don’t have any experience with formal advocacy work, but that’s not stopping them from normalizing bikes as transportation tools. We advocates would benefit from copying what’s working to accelerate the culture change.