Quote Originally Posted by SouthernBelle View Post
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.