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

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Strange... everyone I pass always exchanges greetings or smiles or nods with me, roadie, non-roadie, man, women, kid, whatever they are. I live in a fairly rural area, with lots of bikers. Is it a city/rural thing maybe?

About half the time I ring my bell, ching-ching, just before I say Hi or smile, and I always seem to get a friendly response. But I get friendly responses when I don't ching too.
Maybe some people are not getting enough time to see a big smile or hear a big hello and respond to it before the opportunity is past?

[Cassandra_Cain]

My impression is this thread has become more focused on whether people 'wave back' or say 'hi'.

Well I think it is only fair that this isn't always possible or a big deal - waving back/saying hi I mean. Oftentimes there is a median or divider along the road and I am definitely not even bothering to look at a rider on the other side, 50 feet away! Sometimes, as has been mentioned you can be totally zeroed in on your ride (or too busy sucking wind!) to be waving at people.

What irks me about roadies is, among other things:

A) Unsafe passing - you know, they go by you like you are standing still and give you all of maybe 3 inches with absolutely no warning, nothing. So much as slight move by me in one direction or another, maybe to avoid glass or something on the road, and crash thanks to this type nonsense by others.

B) Not helpful at all - you have a mechanical or whatever and dozens of riders go by w/o so much as even glancing at you, much less asking if you need help. So much for a sense of community.

C) Bike clubs and group rides - Despite having lived in several states, countries and places, I've yet to see a bike club make any real effort to encourage newer riders. All they do is parrot the same old tunes....you'll get dropped, dropped, dropped, if you can't go 728 mph, ride a roadbike, and keep up.

I have far less of a problem with people not waving or whatever, than the 3 things above which to me are a much bigger deal.

So my conclusion is that roadies are, as a group, not much better than car drivers and motorists. It is all me, me, me.

Indivdually there are some great people, on this board for example, but on the road I don't expect it.