Some Riders are Snobby

[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..

[Cassandra_Cain]

Eclectic - great story! thanks for sharing

Glad mr. congeniality managed to find some manners and actually apologized.

[HillSlugger]

On the road, I've found that I get more waves/nods from people on Harleys then I get from roadies. Strange... Just goes to prove that it's got nothing to do with the bike and a lot to do with the person riding it.

Where I ride almost all road bikers will nod, wave, or say "hi" (I like to say "good morning!"). I was put off by the guy who buzzed by me without so much as a "on your left"...he was tuned out with his iPod.

I've never gotten any response from a motorcycle rider.

[mimitabby]

most motorcyclists have been really friendly to us except for the !#@$@ who told us to get off the road (right outside a state park)

[Squeaky]

I believe the appropriate response to that is, "bite me."

[Bad JuJu]

I believe the appropriate response to that is, "bite me."

Yes, I think I read that in "Miss Manners."

[Red Haired Girl]

<heavy sigh.....> I have yet to get to wave to/from (or see) another rider...shoot, even the junk yard dogs ignore me! I'm beginning to wonder if the loaner Trek 1220 is actually a Romulan bicycle, complete with the optional cloaking device....now that would way cool!

Lara the Lonesome Rider

[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!

[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.