snobs or not?

[Brandi]

When I ride my bike (it is not a road bike), oh it has road tires but it is a hybred of sorts. I like the extra energy I have to put into it to ride. i don't go as fast as the road bikes but it is a solid bike that has been good to me and i can swith it to mountain if I want. None of my bike stuff matches my bike except for maybe my helmit. I wear what works. I notice there are some road bikers that won't even look at me (I don't think I am ugly or anything). I always say hi but they don't always. Are they looking at me and thinking "does she think she is a biker?" It just bother's me sometimes that they are like that. How do some of you road bike women feel when you see a hybred or mountain bike sharing the road? Do you think I am a poser?

[Nanci]

I think you can't judge a cyclist by their looks. I am smart enough to know that. I think the snobby riders who won't return a wave are probably like that to everyone, not just you.

Nanci

[Brandi]

It is sad that they are like that. Some day they might need my help, then what?

[sarahkonamojo]

I think nanci is right, they are just aloof. It hurts, though, to feel snubbed. Particularly if you feela kinship to those on two wheels. I always feel friendly towards fellow riders, but I'm not always able to wave or say hello. (I'm huffing and puffing, reading my computer, concentrating on the dog/pedestrian on the trail behind you or spacing out.) And sometimes the hellos can be subtle, such as a raised finger or a nod.

Sarah

[Offthegrid]

Don't give it a second thought if cyclists aren't friendly to you -- it really has very little to do with you but with them.

I've said "hi" to really serious cyclists and have some wave, some nod and some not even acknowledge I was there. I've also said "hi" to recreational riders (people in jeans, etc), and have the same three reactions. Some people are just very serious and caught up within themselves.

[TrekJeni]

I'll admit, I was a bike snob at first! Not that I had anything to be really proud of! I bought the cheapest Trek 1000 road bike in the store. I've since learned that we're all different. Lifestyles, likes/dislikes, budgets, etc. We just NEED to do what makes us happy. If happy means I drag the rusty old 3 speed tucked away in my moms shed that hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years, then so be it!

Someone that will probably get looked down upon by the bike snobs soon as I'm turning my current road bike into a single speed, getting a MTB later this month, and getting a new road bike in the spring. I can't image what "bike snobs" will think when I fly by them on my SS complete with streamers!

Jeni

[Bikingmomof3]

You are not a poser. Try not to give it too much thought. Some people are just not friendly, others are too focused to notice.

[Kimmyt]

Why is not waving at someone you pass on the trail considered snobbish?

Why isn't it just considered 'focused'?

Why should I feel compelled to 'act friendly' to people on a trail who I will never see again after those fleeting seconds in which we pass? To make me feel better? Or to make them feel better?

If I smile and wave at everyone on the trail I pass, my ride will be very happy. But very slooooooow.

K.

[Eden]

This discussion seems to come up rather often these days. I have to say NO- if someone does not wave at you does not make them a snob. I think that it is as unreasonable to expect that every other cyclist on the road/path acknowledge you as it would be to expect every other person on the sidewalk or in a car to acknowledge you when you are using the same mode of transportation as they are.
Everyone is out there for their own reason. They may be wrapped up in thought, they may be working hard, they may just be shy, they might be afraid to take their hands off the bars to wave. They might just be wondering who is that waving- do I know them?
Personally I don't acknowledge every other cyclist on the road. It has nothing to do with what they are riding, how they are dressed etc. If someone waves to me I do my best to acknowledge them back, but we have thousands of cyclists maybe hundreds of thousands around here. I don't consider them all my personal friends just because we all ride bikes. If that makes me a snob, well then I'm a snob, but I hope that people don't judge me based on a second of passing on the street.

[SadieKate]

One of the most recent discussions is here. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...hlight=roadies

Of course, this in no way prevents more discussion of this same subject again and again and again . . . there is probably some social experiment that could be done to figure out why we expect waves when we're pedaling and not when we just have foot to the car pedal.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Yes, this definitely does come up often and I know of a couple of threads where we've discussed the subject before.

Maybe it keeps coming up as it tends to be one where people hold strong opinions.

My own have evolved the more that I have been riding and go something like this....

Quite honestly, I ride for my own enjoyment and to train for races. I do not leave my house with any idea or sense of establishing camraderie or some feeling of sister/brother-hood with other riders. Nor am I looking to make friends or strike up conversation with cyclists on the road.

Inevitably, I'm out training and pushing myself, so other riders, by and large, don't much show on my radar. If someone waves and I'm aware of them then I'll usually wave back - unless I'm sprinting or in a hard interval - but I no longer go out of my way to acknowledge people.

We all have different reasons and motivations as to why we ride.

I know in some activities, people feel a sort of kinship to others that partake in the same sport/hobby. The reality, IMO, is that we are all out there following our own goals. You can even see it in this forum - some want to lose weight, some want to do a certain mileage, some just want to spend more time with their BF/GF/hubby/wife/etc....some want to win a race - all very individual goals.

I simply do not read anything into someone waving or not waving.

[Adventure Girl]

This discussion seems to come up rather often these days.

<<Sigh>> Yes it has been covered several times. Do we really need to rehash this again?

6 pages here:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=10248

4 pages here:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=10527

And these were within the past 2 months.

[lauraelmore1033]

I have noticed that certain things about cycling and cycling gear reduce one's ability to "read" the emotional state of other riders; Sunglasses mask the expressiveness of eyes, helmets look rather hard and forbidding, mouths are often drawn down in concentration. I know I tend to view "emotionless" behavior as slightly hostile, even though it is hardly ever intended as such-- and I doubt that I am the only one. (Mr Spock was always viewed with suspicion by the crew...) Perhaps that is what we sensitive types are keying in on.

[LBTC]

Some day they might need my help, then what?

Help them.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Nanci]

On the motorcycle, everyone waves (well, gives the stuck out hand or "you rock" or peace sign- it would be pretty uncool to actually wave) And on my bike, if I wave at MC riders, they more often than not wave back.

Kids always wave at cyclists.