Wow, roadies are a-holes...who knew?

[betagirl]

I'm not sure that it's that they're "roadies" but more a reflection of their personality. Like stopping or pausing to see if you're ok if you have a mechanical. Would these people stop if you were having an issue walking on the sidewalk (like twisted your ankle or something)? There's also a social phenomenon called the diffusion of responsibility, where people basically assume someone else will stop and help. So nobody ends up stopping and helping. I assume though that as a basis of comparison mtn bikers stop? Maybe because you're not out on the road it's perceived differently? Just a thought.

I'm a "roadie" and I don't say hello or wave to most people I pass. I smile and nod. But not always. Sometimes I'm in my own little world and am thinking about whatever. I may be crabby and not feeling all that outgoing or social. Why is there a requirement that because you're on your bike you need to be so friendly? We don't go around waving at each other in our cars. Again, just playing devils advocate I know, cycling is a community supposedly. And it is nice when we're all more courteous and kind to each other. It did used to bother me if people wouldn't return the wave or smile. Now it's not a big deal to me. I guess I'm complacent.

As for the reaction based on your bike. This I've seen. Though I don't have a hybrid. But I do have a fixed gear that I just started riding. 99% of the messengers in the city ride fixed gears. I usually don't get acknowledged by them when I'm on my Trek, but today I got a couple of nods.

I've ridden with a couple of clubs, and yes there are some a-holes in there. But some are nice guys, down to earth. The club I ride with now is more down to earth than the last one. I had one guy stay with me when I fell off the group and helped pull me back up. He could have easily dropped me. I could probably never return the favor, so I got him a cup of coffee when we were done

For me cycling is more what I get out of it. When I start getting bent out of shape because of how other people act, it loses some appeal. Just my $.02

[Eden]

I would cut people some slack as well. I'm not sure about your area, but there are an abundace of cyclists around here. After seeing multiple threads on this and other boards about this same topic I decided to count the number of cyclists that I encountered one night. The ride was about 28 miles, with part of it being on the road and part on a dedicated bike/walk trail. I counted about 200 cyclists coming towards me that night. I didn't even count those that I passed. I did not wave or say hi to each and every one of them and I really don't think that makes me a snobby roadie. I will certainly reciprocate if someone waves and I if I see someone with a mechanical problem I will ask if they need any help, but I honestly don't think that I need to personally greet all 200 or so folks that I see in an hour and a half's ride even if we do share the commonality of riding a bike.