Biking vs cycling?

as a Canadian, to me biking is the more automatic word for it, although it can mean motorcycling as well, such as "dirt biking". although I'd probably favour "cyclist" over "biker" without context. the word "cycling" in general sounds kind of British to my ear edit to add: "cycling" would specifically refer to street cycling to me. mountain biking is mountain biking and no other term seems to fit, for me.

Native, American, West Coast. "I'm going biking." (80% bicycle, 20% motorcycle) "I'm going cycling." (100% bicycle) "I'm going to ride my bike." (50% either way) "I bike." (70% bicycle, 30% motorcycle) "I cycle." (100% bicycle) "I ride." (50% either way) "I'm a cyclist." (100% bicycle) "I'm a biker." (10% bicycle, 90% motorcycle) That's my impression of what is most likely intended, given the statement in question.

canada. i say biking informally and cycling if i feel like i'm being a little bit special. i bike to work. most of the time i save the word 'cycling' for people who are way more lance-armstrong about it than me. to confuse things though, i still think of 'biker' as meaning motorcycles. 'cyclist' is my word for any person who is travelling by bicycle - any bicycle, at any speed.

This is almost certainly regional. In the US a "biker" is a motorcycle rider, and often the sort with epic hair and leather outfits on big bikes. That said, if someone says "let's go biking this weekend!" they are talking about bicycles. The title and the verb are used in opposite ways. A "cyclist" is usually a reference to someone who rides a sporty bicycle in athletic clothing, usually fairly fast. "Cyclist" may change as more and more people start to ride bikes in the US for non-athletic reasons, for instance to go to the library, or to a friend's house, but while bike riding is growing at a slow but steady clip the language for it is still evolving, and a lot of the evolution revolves around having to change people's perceptions because...bike lanes often conflict with parking (or are imagined to). Or people might not want a trail in their neighborhood for whatever reason. And when these conflicts arise you inevitably get someone who shows up to the planner meeting and says "I'm a cyclist myself!", referring to the high-intensity athletic riding. Then whoever it is that just wants to ride casually to their friend's house is stuck trying to explain that there are a variety of reasons and skill levels (and speeds), and that simply telling someone on a bike to "ride in traffic!" is not a solution for anyone who is not an athlete. And *that* language is not yet developed. IOW, stay posted as this will be changing but I don't know how. *edit: athletic riders in traffic are not a good idea either if statistics are to be believed, but that's a separate conversation; the point is that about 50% of the population is willing to ride if they are not in traffic, at least for short trips, but fewer than 10% will ride if the only choice is to be in traffic. It's that 'other' 40%+ that don't yet have a common name*

They're interchangable in the US. A "biker bar" is a bar where motorcyclists congregate.

Australian here: Cycling: Lycra wearing road bike speedsters Biking: Parents, children and grandparents out on the shared use paths Mountain biking: Crazy people with death wish

I think biking can mean either cycling or riding a motorcycle, depending on context.

Not native speaker and I think it's really difficult. Someone who rides a bike (bicycle) is a ~~biker~~ ~~bi~~cyclist. Someone who rides a motorcycle is a ~~motorist~~ biker. Someone who drives a car is a ~~carer~~ motorist. Someone who drives a train is a ~~trainer~~ conductor or engineer or engineman or motorman? Someone who flies a plane is a ~~planer~~ pilot. Someone who drives a truck is a trucker. (Yes it's an exception)

I'd use both for bicycles, I'd never use biking for a motorcycle, though someone who rides one is still a biker (and someone who rides bicycles is a cyclist).

I'm in NYC, and either can refer to riding a bicycle here. Sometimes US Americans will refer to a motorcycle as a "bike" though.

I’m an American English speaker, and I wouldn’t usually use or hear “biking” to refer to motorcycles. Both terms to me imply bicycling. Could be different in other dialects of course.