cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/51267350
Brian May has said that the song was not an autobiographical portrait of Mercury and that Mercury did not particularly enjoy bicycling, also noting that despite the lyric “I don’t like Star Wars”, Mercury was a Star Wars fan.
The song references the band’s song “Fat Bottomed Girls” with the line “fat bottomed girls, they’ll be riding today”. “Fat Bottomed Girls” reciprocates with “Get on your bikes and ride!” The two songs were released together as a double A-sided single.
Yeah, not my favorite songs of theirs. Bicycle race makes me think of karaoke with friends, so I’ve come around to it. We get drunk and sing it loudly.