Some Riders are Snobby

[GLC1968]

Runners, on the other hand, ALWAYS seem to look like they are miserable.

Thats normally very true!

Three days ago, I was driving somewhere and I noticed this runner coming towards me. He had a HUGE grin on his face...as if he was having the time of his life on his run! I immedately snickered and I found myself smiling the whole rest of the way to my destination. He'd totally made my day!

I need to do the same thing...smile as big on the outside as I feel on the inside when I am on my bike! (the threat of bugs in my teeth doesn't scare me, damn it! )

[Bicyclette]

I think I always ride with a funny look on my face - my husband pointed it out last week - he thought I was suffering - but I was just totally focused - which is what I tend to do - and I try to say hello to everybody - but sometimes I just can't get it out!! and when others say hello first - by the time I realize they've greeted me and I go to respond - they're long gone

[Brandi]

This is funny cause I have thought about this myself. I didn't have clipless peddles for sometime (to scared) and I am not a fredweina And my bike is a highbread with street tires. It was strange cause when i got my clipless peddles it seemed the bikers on my route noticed me all of sudden. maybe I am wronge but that is what I noticed. I am still not a fredwiena though! Very mix match bike clothes.

[mimitabby]

This is funny cause I have thought about this myself. I didn't have clipless peddles for sometime (to scared) and I am not a fredweina And my bike is a highbread with street tires. It was strange cause when i got my clipless peddles it seemed the bikers on my route noticed me all of sudden. maybe I am wronge but that is what I noticed. I am still not a fredwiena though! Very mix match bike clothes.

wow, you get the prize here. I was thinking, high bred? bred? high? bread?
blink blink blink...

sorry.. back to your regularly scheduled program..

[Geonz]

This is funny cause I have thought about this myself. I didn't have clipless peddles for sometime (to scared) and I am not a fredweina And my bike is a highbread with street tires. It was strange cause when i got my clipless peddles it seemed the bikers on my route noticed me all of sudden. maybe I am wronge but that is what I noticed. I am still not a fredwiena though! Very mix match bike clothes.

To many cyclists around here, riding a hybrid means you're not a real biker... could be the clipless pedals made them look closely enough to see the street tires (I have a similar arrangement and it's plenty fast, though mostly people see me on the Xtra, which is in its very own category - the fast guys will go by and say "sure could use a smoothie about now!" whether or not I've got the blender attached )

[Bluetree]

I think it can go both ways. I say "hi" to a lot of people on my rides... and very few on a MTB or hybrid respond. Or, if they do, it's belatedly with a surprised look on their face. Maybe they're just not used to other riders acknowledging them. Roadies, on the other hand, almost always respond to me, unless they are in full TT-mode.
Just this morning, I came out of a blind corner (construction was obstructing a clear view of the main bike path) and I stopped short so I wouldn't hit a jogger or blader as I came out. At the same time, a guy in full pro-kit on a sharp looking Cervelo came around the turn. He was in his lane, I was in mine, but he thought I stopped short because of him. He stopped, turned around and apologized. (It was totally unnecessary, but if a cute guy with legs like a Greek statue wants to be nice to me... no one better stop him

Granted, if I were wearing my grungies instead of my Castellis, he might not have given me the time of day... but I'm not complaining!

[eclectic]

2 things

first of all people could think I am a snob because I don't wave a lot of times. the main reason is I have a hard time quickly taking a hand off the handlebars and eyes off the road - I have a tendancy to turn where I am looking

I do give a smile and say something like - its a great day for a ride or Hi there in a cheery voice but too often they are long gone and probably don't hear me

I've been wanting to tell this club ride story so here is my opportunity.

The official rides ended about a month ago but people are still getting together and going. A couple of Wed ago I showed up had a quick visit with a few great people that were meeting but not riding that night and waited for other riders to show, one other person was there and I thought "Whoooa we won't be riding together long - He was cruising in and had legs like tree trunks (and not saplings if you catch my drift.)

He looked at me like "who is this granny, she probably can't even make it up the easy hills" I didn't really want to ride with anyone with an attitude so just said "which way should we go but we will most likely be doing our own rides anyway" He said I should go ahead and he would catch up because he was going to wait a bit to see if anyone else was going to show (I thought this was lame because we were already 10 min past regular start time.) I said fine. I knew he had no intention of even starting out with me so because of the wind I switched routes and had a great 23 mile ride. I just thought he's a hammerhead jerk who can't even be kind (most of the other good riders are very kind and will soft pedal while the slower ones catch up)

Now for the surprising part. On the local club website this guy made a public apology for ditching the unknown rider that night. He said he made a lame excuse about waiting for others then just went home. His route home was on the route chosen and he didn't catch me like he thought he would and figured I just went home too. (the wind was pretty strong that night)

He didn't have to make this public apology because the only people who would have known was me and him. The other members assigned him penance such as riding for 60 miles with a slower rider in granny gear all the way

One person wondered if the ditched person read the site. That was my opening and I said "yes she does and apology accepted". The other members thought it was a hoot when they found out it was me. Because although I am not as fast as they are for the distance I can keep up for quite awhile now, a good friend (and star hammerhead himself) was going to post " good thing you didn't ride with her she would have smoked you!" (not true but the thought was nice)

So the old lesson learned once again on both our parts "never judge a book by its cover"

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I think I always ride with a funny look on my face - my husband pointed it out last week - he thought I was suffering - but I was just totally focused - which is what I tend to do - and I try to say hello to everybody - but sometimes I just can't get it out!! and when others say hello first - by the time I realize they've greeted me and I go to respond - they're long gone

And they probably think you're a snob!

[SouthernBelle]

In this area we have large groups of both bi- and motor- cyclists who ride out on Saturdays in large groups. So we frequently meet up. Most of them wave or nod, at least to me. Maybe it's because I'm a girl. I do think I often get treated better because of that.

[inatree]

i live in a very bike friendly town, and there are always LOTS of different bikes and riders around town.

when i nod, smile, wave, whatever, it is a special day when i get a positive response.

i just got a new road bike and i've noticed i am treated very differently...i thought i would get more respect from riders for having a nicer bike, but its the opposite.

i dont have my cool little oufit yet, or my gear yet. some of them actually look at me in disgust.

this is only one more aspect of life that directly mirrors the high school experience, tho. all that talk about people growing up and not worrying about looks or coolness is just not true. such a shame.

[SouthernBelle]

I think the only real snobby-ness I have noted is from the group I call the "fast boys". They tend to be young, fast and overly competitive. They also don't quite realize that no matter how hard they work, it ain't gonna last forever. They are going to slow down. Things are going to start to ache. Life is going to get in the way.

Is it wrong that I want to be available for snickering when it does?

[mimitabby]

I think the only real snobby-ness I have noted is from the group I call the "fast boys". They tend to be young, fast and overly competitive. They also don't quite realize that no matter how hard they work, it ain't gonna last forever. They are going to slow down. Things are going to start to ache. Life is going to get in the way.

Is it wrong that I want to be available for snickering when it does?

Hey Susan, I ride with some of these guys, only they are in their 60's and 70's

they are truly amazing riders. Some of them walk like little old men, can't see well at night; wear thick glasses or dentures, but they DO ride like bats out of hell STILL! but the main thing about these old men, If they can see you, they are very friendly!

[Eden]

I think the only real snobby-ness I have noted is from the group I call the "fast boys". They tend to be young, fast and overly competitive. They also don't quite realize that no matter how hard they work, it ain't gonna last forever. They are going to slow down. Things are going to start to ache. Life is going to get in the way.

Is it wrong that I want to be available for snickering when it does?

At the risk of stirring something up. Yes, I think it is just as wrong as someone who sneers at you for you to want to sneer at them. It seems like what they've done wrong is to be young and fast and it annoys you because you aren't one or the other. Besides than riding a bike, what do you have in common with these guys that would make them talk to you or be your friend?

It's OK to be annoyed at people who ride dangerously, but not all fast riders are dangerous and yeah I have come across people who think that every rider who passes them is the devil incarnate and riding too fast, just because you've gone by them, no matter how much room you give them or how much "on your left" notice you give.

So I say live and let live. Accept that while we are a cycling "community" we also have different motivations for riding and off the bike we are probably all as different as any other group of people. Any reason to ride is a valid reason to ride and no one should sneer at anyone else for their gear (too plain or too fancy) or their speed (too fast or too slow), but neither should one expect all other cyclists to automatically love one another.