"kayaker" vs "Kayaker"

There's been a lot of discussion in my kayaking club lately about finding the right approach to the  entry-level kayaker. Are we a club for kayaking enthusiasts, and the heck with the newbies? Are we a club that's open to people who aspire to develop their skills and become kayaking enthusiasts? What about people who enjoy knocking around in kayaks but are happy not to progress any further? Someone used the expression "Big K Kayakers vs. Little k kayakers" to differentiate between avid kayak enthusiasts and people with kayaks.

I scratched my head over the "little k kayakers" a bit (why wouldn't they want to grow into Kayakers?) until I thought about my relationship to cycling. I'm a guy with a bike (two actually) but not a Big C Cyclist. While I was going on multi-day hostel-to-hostel cycling trips and knew how to rebuild a bottom bracket before most of the Spandex-clad jerks I see on the bike trail were born, I don't have the cute outfits or know the lingo. I'm just a guy who enjoys riding a bike.

I hope that "kayakers" don't find "Kayakers" in our club to be off-putting. We try to be welcoming. I have to admit, though, that I have not found the same to be true in the cycling world. I find a certain degree of arrogance among "Cyclists". It's not just me, either. Witness this Pearls Before Swine strip from the other day, which made me laugh and is the real reason for this posting.