Sheila Renee Jackson

ENG 105-029
September 9, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis Paper #1
When we think about transportation, the majority of us think about a car, or
some other motorized vehicle. No one ever thinks about riding a bike at this day in
age. Kyle Boggs says otherwise. In his essay, That is Not Why I Ride a Bike, we as
college readers are informed why he rides a bike everywhere and he convinces us
to do the same. This is a successful attempt because I, as one of the many readers
of this article, am convinced that riding a bike around the beautiful city of Flagstaff
can not only be a healthier choice, but one that is a time collecting choice. Time
collecting in this tense, is that we are gaining time by riding bikes and missing the
traffic. Boggs achieves this successfully by appealing to the readers emotions,
ethical beliefs and logical reasoning. This essay was rhetorically effective because it
has contested to all three of those appeals to me, and they can easily be identified
throughout the writing.
Throughout this essay, it is a bit hazy as to who exactly Boggs is writing to.
There are so many audiences that can apply to this writing. Boggs states that
Indeed, it is the exercise component that is built into the bike, not the guilt. When
he said this, it was pretty clear that the main audience target were those who do
not ride bikes because they do not like to exercise. Another targeted audience are
those of us who are college age, between eighteen and twenty four. This statement
from the article,

. . . especially college-aged students, share many of these

privileges but chose to sit idle in traffic and drive, shows us that Boggs believe that

since we are able to ride bikes in a small community, that we should. It would make
it a faster ride to wherever we were headed. Although there are many audiences, as
long as we can depict one, it is then easy to figure out the appeals and which ones
they are directed to.
Having an emotional connection to a type of writing is very critical. This
allows us to even decide if we want to read the essay, novel, article, etc. Boggs
tried hard to connect with every kind of reader of this essay. He connects with those
who love riding bicycles. How much he enjoys riding is explained in detail so those
who enjoy riding as much as him and connect to this piece on a personal connection
allowing Boggs to persuade them about his ideas much easier. Not only does he
connect with people who enjoy riding, but those who do not like riding bikes as
much. Boggs communicates By thinking of a bike as exercise, there is a built factor
that develops, having people say, for example, oh, I know I should ride a bike
more. This statement can make those who do not like exercising as much, want to
ride a bike because it is not exercise per say. Guilt can then be released from those
who do not like to exercise and they can take a big weight off of their shoulders for
not being as healthy as others. The emotional appeal is portrayed greatly within this
piece of writing.
When writing anything, you always want to make sure that your credibility is
up to date. Boggs could not have written this essay about riding a bike in Flagstaff,
Arizona if he were from Long Beach, California. The climate, along with everything
else is rather different. Showing that he is a credible writer proves to the readers
that there are reasons that they should believe what he is writing to be true. Boggs
has been riding for years. For a long time, it was his only transportation according to
his essay. He simply states It had been years since either of us drove a car

regularly. His experience as an avid bike rider also gives him the credibility
necessary to write an article such as this one. If someone who has never rode a bike
a day in their life wrote an essay for a newspaper about why everyone should ride a
bike everywhere that they go, I would not want to take their advice. It is known that
someone who has a background that contains the knowledge of their writing topic,
people will believe more. No one wants a shmuck writing about things others should
do, and cant even take their own advice.
Factuality of a writing can be critical. We all read someone elses work and
wonder to ourselves if what they are saying is the truth. If it is not then we honestly
wont believe their next paper either. In the end of this read, it states some facts
about how dangerous it is to ride in a car rather than ride a bike. The statistics listed
are very convincing on why we should ride a bike. Since they are very convincing,
this is what makes us curious as to if what Mr. Boggs said is the truth. I looked up
the answers and to my surprise they are all true. The dangers of driving in a car, or
even just riding in one is much higher than just riding your bike alongside cars. The
fact that I am convinced to ride a bike shows that Boggs has successfully written a
column that is rhetorically effective. We, as readers, can easily buy into his logic and
realize that it is the known truth and he isnt just giving us things that are not worth
believing.
The article, That is Not Why I Ride a Bike, has not only taught us why we
should ride a bike, but it has appealed to all of the rhetoric that is known. The
author, Boggs, auspiciously used emotions, credibility and logic to create a beautiful
piece to persuade those who are able bodied to ride a bike rather than drive or ride
in a car. He doesnt want us to ride because it will help the environment, or because
it is a good method of exercise. Instead, he wants us to ride a bike because it is

what we want to do. He has experienced on numerous occasions why it is just easier
to ride to the places that you desire to go. Some include the fact that he just doesnt
want to sit in traffic, which if you drove a car, you would be doing plenty of. Boggs
emotionally connected us to this article from the newspaper The Noise by showing
us that we do not have to ride a bicycle to exercise and make our bodies salubrious.
We can instead find other reasons to ride. We were also convinced to do more riding
because of his credibility. He has experience and the words he wrote about riding
made him not only seem more credible but more logical. This reading was not just
found off some place where we dont know what the truth is and what is false
information. If the reader can relate to each of the appeals discussed then the piece
was written prosperously and that is what makes it a stupendous read.