Originally Posted by JoeyBike

Don't ask don't tell.

Except for my wife and a few friends who ride with me, no one knows how I ride unless they come right out and ask a direct question. Otherwise I keep my riding to myself (and post vids on the Web under a pen-name). Now and then an acquaintance (or a even a stranger) might ask a pointed question (Are you one of those people who run red lights?) and I will give a pointed answer (Do you really want me stopped in FRONT of you when the light turns green?) which usually embarrasses them into shutting up.

Relatives other than my wife have no clue about my personal business.

Originally Posted by the fly

The last family reunion, one of my cousins asked if I was scared to ride my bike. I told her I was more scared of complications of diabetes. Since it runs in the family, she knew exactly where I was coming from. That's pretty much my standard answer to anyone who asks.

Originally Posted by lostarchitect

I sometimes wonder why people have so many problems. I ride almost every day in NYC, one of the craziest places in the country in terms of traffic, and I almost never have any issues. Maybe it's just the culture here--people are used to bikes and pedestrians and bad drivers. But I can count on one hand the number of times people have even said something nasty over the past several years, and 2 of them were fellow cyclists! I have never had anything physical happen.

(edit: I did forget about the one time a delivery guy on a bike ran into me. No real harm done. I think he was looking at some girl who was jogging.)

Originally Posted by turbo1889

Where I live if you bicycle on the road, especially a narrow two lane road that is like totally not anywhere near a town you are like a total freak beyond belief and need to be dealt with accordingly. At least that is the cultural norm I have to deal with. Even more so if its not Summer weather. (Like right now, just got back from a 40-mile supply run by cargo bike in total winter weather conditions, near sub-zero temperatures, snow, ice, snow plows, the whole nine yards people honking at me and screaming stuff out their windows at least three times both coming and going and all but about three or four miles I was able to ride on the shoulder edge and wasn't even in the main traffic lane and when I was in the main traffic lane that was on the little private road that goes up to my place and a few of my neighbors only and in-town where it was low speed traffic and I was keeping up just fine. Basically at no time was I ever a hindrance to them on this run because its a good one as far as road conditions for a cyclist and still they honk and yell at me. Anymore I'm just glad that is all they do for the most part and its only the really nutty ones that go further and thankfully they don't seem to be nearly as common as to ones who don't have the guts to actually do anything really nasty.)