When someone thinks you are a newbie... and you have been riding 4 years.

[KSH]

Gosh, not sure what screams "NEWBIE" about me lately... but in the past week I've had 2 different guys talk to me like I have never been on a bike before.

It's actually kind of funny.

Shoot, I ride a good 400-600 miles a month... and yet, I do something that says, "I'm a newbie". Who knows.

I had to hold back telling one guy, "Look! I'm not new. I've been riding for years. So yea, I know that when I got salt on my shirt that means I've lost salt that I need to replace."

I know he was just trying to be nice... but I really did get annoyed after 30 mintues of him trying to teach me things.

Anyone else out there get this?

[kelownagirl]

Gosh, not sure what screams "NEWBIE" about me lately... but in the past week I've had 2 different guys talk to me like I have never been on a bike before.

It's actually kind of funny.

Shoot, I ride a good 400-600 miles a month... and yet, I do something that says, "I'm a newbie". Who knows.

I had to hold back telling one guy, "Look! I'm not new. I've been riding for years. So yea, I know that when I got salt on my shirt that means I've lost salt that I need to replace."

I know he was just trying to be nice... but I really did get annoyed after 30 mintues of him trying to teach me things.

Anyone else out there get this?

Maybe he thinks you're cute and he just wanted to start up a conversation? (Of course your sweat isn't exactly a good choice... )

[SouthernBelle]

I think due to my grey hair, It's often assumed I know more than I do!

[mimitabby]

hm, maybe you should stop coloring your hair? Works for Southern Belle

a lot of guys tend to talk this way when they are trying to impress you.

[Aggie_Ama]

Do it to me all the time. I think it is just men. Or the fact that I look like I am in my late teens, not late 20's.

[KSH]

Right, well I will say that one of the guys was hitting on me. I mean he came up beside me on our group ride... saying I was the girl with the cute @ss. He was also complimenting me on my muscular thighs. Of course, I gotta say he was like 20 years old then me.

The other guy was a bike mechanic. He was trying to tell me some really basic stuff like, "Don't lay your bike on the derailer". REALLY! With regards to why my chain keeps falling off... to which it wasn't falling off before the bike shop made an adjustment to it because it was skipping around on the gears.

[Trek420]

I had to hold back telling one guy, "Look! I'm not new. I've been riding for years. So yea, I know that when I got salt on my shirt that means I've lost salt that I need to replace."

"and I got it by riding for years like this ...." and drop him Helps if you take some sips from the water bottle while leaving him in the dust.

[Andrea]

"and I got it by riding for years like this ...." and drop him Helps if you take some sips from the water bottle while leaving him in the dust.

IMO, Best response EVER!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That happened to me on a couple of club rides too. Two different guys about my age giving me tips as though it was my first month on a bike. Sheesh.
I had to finally tell one of them I appreciated his help but that I already knew all the stuff he was telling me. (like advising me how to cross RR tracks before we came to them, how to spin up hills to conserve strength....all stuff I already know and do)
You'd think they'd try to find out how much you know before trying to 'teach' you.

[KSH]

That happened to me on a couple of club rides too. Two different guys about my age giving me tips as though it was my first month on a bike. Sheesh.
I had to finally tell one of them I appreciated his help but that I already knew all the stuff he was telling me. (like advising me how to cross RR tracks before we came to them, how to spin up hills to conserve strength....all stuff I already know and do)
You'd think they'd try to find out how much you know before trying to 'teach' you.

HA! Good job on that one.

Yea, I kept giving that one guy hints as to my experience by saying stuff like, "Oh yea, I've been on this ride before."... "I have been riding in groups for 4 years."... "I'm training for an Ironman (he's a triathlete too)."

Just subtle hints like that... HA!

I guess because I wasn't comfortable with pulling the group, he figured I was a newbie. But shoot, I NEVER pull ANYONE. I'm usually so slow I'm being pulled. It was just freaking me out to have GUYS drafting off ME! Of course my freak out was me just looking behind to see if I was holding everyone up.

[mimitabby]

like advising me how to cross RR tracks before we came to them, how to spin up hills to conserve strength....all stuff I already know and do
You'd think they'd try to find out how much you know before trying to 'teach' you.

my DH is always telling me to be careful on RR tracks. i think it's partially reminding himself and he needs reminding, he fell on tracks a couple of months ago.

I was like YOU WHAT????

[shootingstar]

I don't mind if a male/female bike mechanic in a bike store tells me whatever (I might know)...it is part of their job/duty/customer service ..particularily if they don't know me.

My dearie partner only tells me if he notices I'm cycling particularily slow during certain rides. As for other men, lecturing/telling me something I don't know....maybe I hang out with the wrong men, but these guys that I know have also (like my partner) cycled across Canada. So they are competent and knowledgeable cyclists. No, these guys are not racers also.

They don't lecture me/offer newbie info...

Maybe being such a plain Jane woman like myself I don't get unsolicited advice.

Cycling is a inherently, a solo sport so it's easy to ignore some annoying folks.

[KSH]

I don't mind if a male/female bike mechanic in a bike store tells me whatever (I might know)...it is part of their job/duty/customer service ..particularily if they don't know me.

I completely agree.

See, I asked the guy if he could figure out why my chain kept dropping. I said that the bike had been worked on because it was skipping gears... and everytime I laid down the bike it would drop the chain. He said not to lay it on the derailer. Ok, no problem.

I then went on explaining how the bike was NOT dropping the chain BEFORE they worked on it... and the chain stayed on for an entire year without dropping. To give him some clue to as to the fact that something the other shop did, caused the chain dropping to start.

Then he went on to tell me how the bikes worked and how they can be complicated. He said it in a way that was like, "Well little missy, these bikes can be mighty complicated... too complicated for you... " In a tone like that.

My boyfriend was listening to the whole conversation and we walked off even he commented how the guy was talking to me like I had just bought the bike and had never ridden it before. We started to laugh because it was so silly how this guy was talking to me.

[SouthernBelle]

That's when you totally snow him and start talking about the bike you built, whether you did or not.

[lph]

heehee - or if you have the balls, excuse my language, you go all out, start batting your eyelids and going "gee, that's so NICE of you to explain it to me, I find this all so CONFUSING...!!"

I have a friend who is infamous for talking down to people. When he starts doing that to me I've learned to just stop and stare at him. He gets the point after a minute or so of a blank stare.