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

[BadgerGirl]

I smile all of the time. I can't help it...I am having fun. I think that is a good greeting and I don't have to remove my hand to do it. I have waved and said "how are you doing?" to some people; it just depends.

But as long as you are bringing this topic up, I am wondering if people are just getting isolated. I grew up in the Midwest and it was common to say "hi" to people on the street; even if you didn't know them. As you were driving in the countryside, poeple would wave as they passed by. What happened to this gesture? And now we put up 6' fences to seperate our yards. When I was little, we played football in our neighbors back yards with the trees being the endzones. Are we becoming less social? And is this causing us to be rude, insensitive, angry, and worse? What do you all think?

[Bluetree]

I was thinking about this thread on a ride the other day. I wanted to see what kind of rider gave me the most response. It was early in the morning and the crowds were not out yet, so it was a small sampling. I passed only a hundred-or-so cyclists on a 25-mile ride and responses ranged from a nod, a smile, a fingers-off-the-hood-wave and a hearty "good morning!" but here are the results of my unofficial tally:

• Male roadies (relaxed pace): 60-70% said hi first or responded*
*Note: older roadies 30+ responded more often than younger ones
• Female roadies (relaxed pace): Only 3, but 2 responded.
• Roadies (in obvious training or paceline): Didn't bother, either way

• Male hybrid/MTBers/commuter: None said hi first, about 10% responded
• Female hybrid/MTBers/commuter: None said hi first, about half responded

• Male recreational bikers: None said hi first, about half responded
• Female recreational bikers: None said hi first, about half responded
Note: some were obvious tourists and may not have spoken English. Riders with kids responded most often.

To clarify, I was a 30-something 105-lb gal riding alone, on a Specialized road bike in full Castelli gear. I think roadies are just more accustomed to respond to their "own". I've even been told (jokingly, I think) by a couple of roadie pals, "You're one of us now."
Had I been on a hybrid, or if I had been wearing my Nellie Olson Rocks! sweatshirt, I'm sure my results would have been different. But that test is for another day...

[Aggie_Ama]

I smile all of the time. I can't help it...I am having fun. I think that is a good greeting and I don't have to remove my hand to do it. I have waved and said "how are you doing?" to some people; it just depends.

But as long as you are bringing this topic up, I am wondering if people are just getting isolated. I grew up in the Midwest and it was common to say "hi" to people on the street; even if you didn't know them. As you were driving in the countryside, poeple would wave as they passed by. What happened to this gesture? And now we put up 6' fences to seperate our yards. When I was little, we played football in our neighbors back yards with the trees being the endzones. Are we becoming less social? And is this causing us to be rude, insensitive, angry, and worse? What do you all think?

Good question Badger. My university had a tradition of saying "Howdy" to everyone you made eye contact with while on campus. It was such a friendly environment, even though the enrollment was 44,000 my freshman year. To this day when I am wearing one of my shirts from there in public I will get a "Howdy".

If I just say hi to complete strangers at the store they think I am a) Flirting (happily married, thanks) b) Selling something or c) Too odd to give the time of day to. Rarely would I get a happy smile back, it is usually a puzzled look.