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

[deedolce]

Interesting read! Is it regional? Cultural? Perception?

Personally, my bike handling skills suck, especially when I'm tired, and so my hands stay on the handlebars! But I have a good nod.

Older male roadies hereabouts, I've found very friendly as a breed. Nice smiles and hellos. Those that are grumpy; well, I bet they're grumpy everywhere. Our young racing team boys are well raised younguns, and may even nod (they also are well supported by our local bike club) The snootiest seem to be the college boy racers.

When I see another female rider, especially solo, it's a big rush of happy for me and feeling a part of a secrest sisterhood or something. lol. They all, in my selective memory, seem to smile and say 'hello'.

Maybe I have a 'happy aura' from being out on the road, riding. I do love to ride.

[KnottedYet]

BUT I do get offended when I'm showing up for my first beginner, no drop ride and no one welcomes me, talks to me AFTER I'VE said hello, bothered to listen when I say my name, and they LEAVE me on the first hill of a NO DROP ride. We have a lot of LBS that play host to group rides here and it is VERY hard to get people to let you into their inner circle...even the beginner rides. I never felt like I was in a friendly group showing up for these rides. I felt like it was a big competition to see who we could all drop first.

What about starting a TE ride where you are? Now that you know how the road-riding works, you could organize a few fun rides for the TE'ers in your area.

[Bad JuJu]

Littlegrasshopp, that's a great idea that Knotted suggested. And even if you can't find any or many TE'ers in your area, you could start your own little group.

In my area, there's a sort of branch of the local club, called the "Sweet Sixteens" because they're a no-drop group who try never to exceed a max no-hill, no-wind speed of 16mph. You could try organizing such a group yourself, by posting flyers at LBSs, gyms, even grocery stores. You could make the max speed anything you want; the idea is to appeal to people who would otherwise hesitate out of fear of being treated as you have been. So you can all enjoy your rides and even work on improving together.

Gee, I sound like such an expert, with my grand total of 4 club rides. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

[pyxichick]

I find that I got more waves when I was riding early season, before a ton of people were out, and whenever I ride in inclement weather.

On a warm summer day, with the trails and roads clogged with cyclists of all sorts, I think it just becomes tedious for people to try to acknowledge everyone.

I just smile at everyone and if they say hi then I say hi back.

[pkq]

I've had people from both genders say and so ugly things to me. Of the two, women have been the most unkind to me. That's one reason I am wary of women. For some reason, they just don't like me very much, which is OK. We are all human and trying to get through life without receiving or causing too much damage.

[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.

[CyclChyk]

... and people look at my clothes and snort "You're not a *real* biker."

*sigh*

Ok so yesterday was the VERY first day I went out withOUT overshorts hiding my bike shorts. After having lost 40lbs I finally feel a lil more confident and DH said "Woah...... looking good" (GREAT confidence booster)

Do I count as a real biker?? Oh wait, I had on an Old Navy Sweatshirt..... damn I was so close to being a real biker.........

And FWIW, I never WAVE to anyone. My balance isn't good enough yet and I am usually going too fast (haha.... had to laugh at myself for that one). But I do nod and say "hi" as I whip by. Some respond, some don't, but I never think negatively based on the hello or lack thereof.

[Velobambina]

Amanda - I recall hearing of a recent study that concluded that people are becoming more isolated. A surprising percentage of folks have no close friends. Sorry, can't remember the details. But you are right: I've noticed the same trend toward rudeness and a growing pervasiveness of the "it's all about me" attitude. I just try to do unto others and hope the decent manners my parents taught me might rub off on those whom I encounter.

[Crankin]

I have noticed the same results about waving and friendliness as reported here. More roadies nod or wave to me since I got my Kuota; for God's sake i had a Trek 5200 before, so what's the deal with that? I'm always wearing cycling clothes, too. I see the same people a lot on my after work rides. Now I know which ones to nod to and which ones wave. The commuters never wave...
People on hybrids or recreational riders seem shocked when I say hi. A funny story relating to this is for years we saw a guy running on the streets in our old neighborhood as we rode. We called him the "mean" guy. He never smiled or waved, said hi when you said hi to him. My son made it a "thing" to get this guy to talk back to him as he rode by. Finally, he got some response back, after like 2 years. About 2 years after that we found out it was Bill Rodgers, the 5 time winner of the Boston Marathon! He lived about half a mile from us. He got nicer when he had some injury and was walking instead of running...

[Velobambina]

Robin - That's a hoot. I guess having to walk humbled him, eh?

[run it, ride it]

Sometimes I don't look up because I'm shy. And afraid of mean looks.

And then there are heterosexual couples. As a single young female, a friendly hello is almost impossible to pull off. The male will avoid eye contact at all costs because he's afraid his significant other will think he was checking me out, and the female is too busy making sure her significant other isn't looking anywhere near me. Even elderly couples. If I do look up and smile, I try to make contact with the female first to lessen that look shot at me like I'm some sort of evil temptress on wheels. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get a genuine smile back from one or both parties. But all too often it's just.. awkward.

I am not some sort of evil temptress on wheels! I'm not a homewrecker! The sport demands spandex! That's it! Why won't you accept my friendly smile?!

[Bluetree]

Sometimes I don't look up because I'm shy. And afraid of mean looks.

And then there are heterosexual couples. As a single young female, a friendly hello is almost impossible to pull off. The male will avoid eye contact at all costs because he's afraid his significant other will think he was checking me out, and the female is too busy making sure her significant other isn't looking anywhere near me. Even elderly couples. If I do look up and smile, I try to make contact with the female first to lessen that look shot at me like I'm some sort of evil temptress on wheels. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get a genuine smile back from one or both parties. But all too often it's just.. awkward.

I am not some sort of evil temptress on wheels! I'm not a homewrecker! The sport demands spandex! That's it! Why won't you accept my friendly smile?!

I would accept your smile, Runit!
The thing is, when I ride with a guy we're either 1) Going easy and having a conversation, or 2) He's pushing me and I'm busting my a** trying to keep up. Either way, I often forget to notice other riders, male OR female. No offense intended.

***Warning: Thread hijack****

On a side note, I used to be somewhat shy, too, esp. when it came to public speaking. I'm probably just too old to give a s**t about what strangers think abut me, but the turning point came when I read a psych report. It basically stated that shyness was a form of self-absorption/self-centeredness. It means that you find your own image in the world to be so important that you would refrain from taking actions that could make your life (or other lives) potentially better. It made me think... what do I have to lose by being kind or open or friendly? If someone has a problem about it, it's their problem... not mine. Mistakes? Everyone makes them. Learning from them is what makes you grow as a person. Everyone has something to offer to make the world better, even evil smiling temptresses on bikes!

***End of Thread hijack****

[Aggie_Ama]

Sometimes I don't look up because I'm shy. And afraid of mean looks.

And then there are heterosexual couples. As a single young female, a friendly hello is almost impossible to pull off. The male will avoid eye contact at all costs because he's afraid his significant other will think he was checking me out, and the female is too busy making sure her significant other isn't looking anywhere near me. Even elderly couples. If I do look up and smile, I try to make contact with the female first to lessen that look shot at me like I'm some sort of evil temptress on wheels. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get a genuine smile back from one or both parties. But all too often it's just.. awkward.

I am not some sort of evil temptress on wheels! I'm not a homewrecker! The sport demands spandex! That's it! Why won't you accept my friendly smile?!

Wow the women you ride around must not have much self confidence. On the other hand I KNOW I am the most beautiful woman in spadex around these parts- at least in my DH's eyes. I wouldn't care if a beautiful woman was friendly with DH as long as she was friendly to me. So we would both accept your friendly smile, some people are just not friendly.