General Cycling Discussion - Ever get the urge to challenge one of those bike snobs to match 'em?

[all this happened the other month, but something just reminded me of it, today.]

So I was out riding, having a great time, when I ended up at an intersection with this other cyclist. I grin and wave hi while taking a sip from my bottle; no big deal, happens all the time. for the record, he's on a very nice Trek and he's dressed the part, while I'm in a pair of Columbia camping type shorts and a tshirt from the Gap and I'm riding a Bianchi Axis that I've taped a bit because I don't like part of the paint job.

but this guy does these slow loops while waiting for traffic and gives me the old once-over, you know the look? the let's-see-what-you've-got-there look, and he actually blows me off. he ignores the ancient ritual of the friendly wave. I'm thinking, "You have GOT to be kidding me. Did this guy actually do that? What is he, twelve? Amazing. Just ... amazing." I had brief visions of a scene out of a fifties hot rod movie race starting at the green light, but his going in the other direction cut short my little reverie.

so how about it? how do you react to the Lesser Yellow Chested Bicycle Snob (**** sapiens velo idioticus)?

If I see another cyclist I usually make eye-contact before saying 'Hi', however if I get blanked it doesn't really bother me, its their loss.

This guy Sounds like a poser. You should of dusted his butt big time.I just love the looks from their faces as I pass them.:D

Its a tough call, I usually ignore the snobby looking riders. Just like in your situation, they usually dont say anything. However, if their not on the pro tour - whats with the attitude in my opinion. I ride year round here in wisconsin, even in the worst of weather (commutes) I ride mountain, tour and road. Ill take any of those snobs on in the hills, Ill challenge on my mountain bike if need be. However, I did run into a very nice rider on my ride home friday, great conversation?

jack... how exactly do you know what he was thinking or feeling? maybe he was exhausted from a long ride and coming home and simply didn't have the energy to respond... maybe he was preoccupied with something and just didn't notice... maybe he was painfully shy... maybe he interpreted your greeting as a threatening gesture...

the fact is, you don't know if he even saw you...

I enjoy exchanging pleasantries. I was challanged by a punk, (I use that term humourously) today. I came by, "On your left" went on, he looked at me as I went by. He kicked it in and passed me on the right, in the grasss, and said to me, "Can't let an old man pass me on the trail," he grinned and blew by.

I may be new to cycling, but I KNOW one thing for sure, a 20 inch fixed speed BMX special is no match for a Bianchi road racer. I spanked him to the next mile marker, and then went on out of sight. I was at around mile number 20 of a 30 miler today. If felt so good!

Originally posted by velocipedio
jack... how exactly do you know what he was thinking or feeling? maybe he was exhausted from a long ride and coming home and simply didn't have the energy to respond... maybe he was preoccupied with something and just didn't notice... maybe he was painfully shy... maybe he interpreted your greeting as a threatening gesture...

the fact is, you don't know if he even saw you...

Exactly...I try to make an effort to say something but sometimes am either too focused or too tired. Heck sometimes I don't even notice people I am too zoned...

Doesn't mean hes a dick.

Originally posted by The Terminator
I enjoy exchanging pleasantries. I was challanged by a punk, (I use that term humourously) today. I came by, "On your left" went on, he looked at me as I went by. He kicked it in and passed me on the right, in the grasss, and said to me, "Can't let an old man pass me on the trail," he grinned and blew by.

I may be new to cycling, but I KNOW one thing for sure, a 20 inch fixed speed BMX special is no match for a Bianchi road racer. I spanked him to the next mile marker, and then went on out of sight. I was at around mile number 20 of a 30 miler today. If felt so good!

Sounds like he was having fun...and it got your boosted didn't it :)...Sounds like you ended up with a great ride because of the bmxer ;)

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Sounds like he was having fun...and it got your boosted didn't it :)...Sounds like you ended up with a great ride because of the bmxer ;)

A great ride it was, and I hope to see the young man again on the trail, soon. :) - Ted

Originally posted by goodcatjack
so how about it? how do you react to the Lesser Yellow Chested Bicycle Snob (**** sapiens velo idioticus)?

:roflmao:

Sounds like the guy is compensating. For some reason, he obviously feels threatened by other men. His solution is to ride a bike and let his ego and his view of the world revolve around it.

I just wonder what he is compensating for?

just yesterday, i was cruising alone(as always) along my daily route,I saw a group of cyclist in full battle gear(jersey, camelback, i mean everything you can possibly carry). I figure, they might be warming-up/training for an up-coming mtb race(they were on an MTB).

So i waved and smiled at them. I got a snubbish response, as if i wasn't worth to be on a bike... well, i'm 200lbs@5'6"(i'm big and Fat).. And i was wearing regular shorts and a t-shirt.
So, I thought, they may be stronger than me but I have to prove myself.. not to them but to myself..

So i gradually increased my pace.. And at the right moment, when i was about 20ft behind them, I kicked it and sprinted to about 40-45kph on an uphill.
No way they expected that... they really tried to keep up.. I can here them say "lets go after him". Unfortunately, Roadbikes have a definite advantage on road... went out of sight after a few kms..

I like MTBikers, I enjoy thier company, I just didn't know those guys(new faces)..
And i really enjoyed myself because of them... exhuasted but so much fun!

oh, did i mention i got thier respect...

After my ride, I went home and drove to my LBS to pick up my MTB.

I saw them and they approached me and introduced themselves.. It turned out that they were from out of town and were training for a race... That was enough for an apology... I greeted them and got myself three new MTB friends...

I had fun, and got new friends... how's that?

If someone's so focused on a ride they can't return a greeting or a wave, there's something going on there. Just MHO. If you don't return a greeting, you are subject to a dusting. I've had fun dusting guys on Ghisallos while I'm riding my Yeti Road Project with the Judy on the front since I'm still waiting for my real fork.

Originally posted by goodcatjack
...the let's-see-what-you've-got-there look, and he actually blows me off. he ignores the ancient ritual of the friendly wave. I'm thinking, "You have GOT to be kidding me. Did this guy actually do that? What is he, twelve? Amazing. Just ... amazing."

How do you know that other rider even gave you a second thought or even cared enough to play in your 'ancient ritual'? For all you've described, he as likely just doesn't happen to care about other riders. Whatever his reason(s), how does his failure to acknowledge you make him a bad guy?

What ever happened to the sanctity of people just doing their own thing and minding their own business? I mean, geez, you sound like, 'Hey, goddamn it, you be friendly with me!'

Sorry, but I vote that you're acting like you're 12.

even cared enough to play in your 'ancient ritual'?

good heavens, boy, didn't you read the post? somebody waves and smiles at you, and you're no more than ten feet (3 odd metres) away, and you don't respond -- AT ALL? and instead, you stare pointedly? the scenario is whatchacall fact-dependent. this fella was a d*ck. the question was more along the lines of how-d'ya-respond-to-this-particular-BREED-of-d*ck.

sigh.

I mind my own business. really, I do. I just find it mind-boggling when I encounter people who consider themselves so ABOVE the everyday giveandtake of polite society merely because of the money they're riding etc.

that's what I'm talking about. I have a full enough little life without demanding that "Hey, goddamn it, you be friendly with me!" -- thank you very much. the question is: is observing the niceties too much to ask? and how have you reacted when you've experienced differently?

if ya don't read anything else (and at this point, I don't have any faith that you will) -- read this: one fella greeted another in a friendly fashion from within face-to-face distance, and the other gave him the high hat. the first fella just wanted to find out if anyone else had experienced the same with similar amazement.

ta,

alex.

Originally posted by jatkins679
Sorry, but I vote that you're acting like you're 12.

there's always a "kid" in us... it just so happened that the kid never got over biking...

Let's be kids again and enjoy!

Originally posted by goodcatjack
... this fella was a d*ck. the question was more along the lines of how-d'ya-respond-to-this-particular-BREED-of-d*ck...

... I just find it mind-boggling when I encounter people who consider themselves so ABOVE the everyday giveandtake of polite society merely because of the money they're riding etc. ...
the point is that you're imputing motives that might not be there. what if this guy had just lost a friend in a car accident and was out riding, thinking about him... what if his wife had just left him... what if he'd just lost his life savings in the stock market... what if his kid had just been diagnosed with an incutable disease... what if he was out on a ride trying to unwind and cool down because his life was going to **** and he really just didn't feel like playing your game just then?

that makes him a dick?

what? i don't know if that was his story? well, you don't know that it wasn't. until you know the entire circumstances of the guy's life, or until you can read minds, maybe you should show some humility and accept the fact that maybe this guy just wasn't in the same head space as you.

to be honest, your pique, the way you're projecting like this, and imputing motives that might not be there is actually more dick-y than not returning a wave.

Somebody waves at an intersection you should wave back or at least nod.

It's not that heavy a challenge.

velocipedio: well, you make a good point. and you're right, I shouldn't have stated the case with such pique. there's absolutely the possibility that all these other plausible alternate explanations exist for this guy's behavior; maybe I was the guy in the wrong. but I don't think so. I was there and you weren't, but still, we'll never know now, will we? and for the record, you'll remember that as far as my reactions that day, all I did was wave in a friendly fashion, then wonder why I was ignored so pointedly.

is there any way to get this thread back on the right track? I hope so. apologies to all if I conveyed a sense I didn't really intend to convey. I don't like having to deal with this kind of energy on Mother's Day, and what really sucks is that I started it, however unintentionally.

perhaps a restatement: forget the particular occurrence at incident. instead (unfortunately) we all know bike snobs exist, which I don't think anyone can deny. how have you reacted when snubbed by one, if ever? and on second thought, I don't think I'd mind if no-one replied at this point, instead letting this thread dissolve into the archives. this totally went into regrettable directions.

bummed,

-alex.

There's two very good arguements on this topic. I know some days I've been too occupied with my own thoughts that some times I'm just too focused.

I've even seen other cyclists nod thier heads or wave and I its surprised me, kinda woke me up, if you will. By then its too late, either I'm gone or vice versa. Then again I've given the ol' head nod and received nothing in return. No skin off my back though.

There's nothing wrong with doing your own thing. Some people are naturally untrusting or just not very friendly to people they don't know. I like to think that as much as we are human with our own thoughts and the ability to change and adapt, sometimes we are a product of our enviroment. If that enviroment has taught us to keep other people at a distance then thats how some people will react.

Its a damn shame really. Its too bad everything couldn't be all beer and pretzels on the patio with a few friends and brewskies! Actually nevermind that last sentence it was just an excuse to use these two guys. :beer:

Appearances can be deceiving. Whether I wear hiking shorts and a T-shirt or cycling shorts and my Bianchi jersey, I am the same person. I am amused and frustrated by the hostility between casual cyclists and the "lycra set," because I freely move between both categories.

At my skill level, I pass lots of other cyclists, and lots of other cyclists pass me. I have met several valued friends while cycling, just because I exchanged greetings.

When I ride the Capo, I can savor a bit of "my bike's older than your bike" snobbishness.

maybe i live in a bubble, but i haven't really experienced much bike snobbishness. sure, there was a group of older, 50-smoething guys at the pizza place yesterday where my club ended our ride [one litespeed, one trek and one ti bike i can't remember the make] who were pretty unfriendly, but maybe that was a 50ish thing... :)

roadies are all over montreal, so maybe we haven't developed an overweening sense of our own superiority. i mean, there's always someone who can spank you pretty bad, so you may as well be nice...

a couple of stories though...

a year ago in april, i was fighting along the lakeshore into a very nasty headwind, and i catch a guy from one of the local teams going in the same direction. i take a breather on his wheel for about a minute and then pull up and suggest that we work together. he says "f**k off." so i fall back on his wheel again, breathe a bit, and then pull ahead. he's on my wheel, but i keep bringing the tempo up until he falls off. damn near killed me, but i enjoyed it. i see this guya round -- we call him "smiley" -- always training alone, not even with his teammates for company. i suppose he's just an unpleasnt sod.

another time, last august, i was training for the cyclo-cross season on mount royal. the park was crowded, so i rolled off and took the dirt road from ile-ste-helene along ile des couvees to the ice bridge. i notice that my left cleat is loose just after i get onto the ice bridge, stop, lean the bike up againt the rail, take off my shoe and tighten it. i take off the camelbak i'm wearing since my 'cross bike doesn't have a bottle cage. a couple of weekend roadies come by -- one guy on a very new, very shiney, very expensive pinarello, one on [i think it was] a specialized allez pro and a woman on a brand new trek 5500. not a spec of dirt anywhere. they make some crack about my camelbak and "tes gros pneus" and ride on... i finish with my cleat, hop on, and spin up into my biggest gear, i pass them at about 45 km/h, one of the guys tries to hop my wheel, but falls off. i look back about 1 km as i turn off the bridge and see them in the distance. satisfying.

the truth is that i find most cyclists here quite friendly, and i try to be friendly to most cyclists of whatever persuation. most common is something like the time when i stopped to get some water on mount royal and a group of free-riding, baggy-shorted teenagers pulled up to admire my cyclo-cross bike and ask me about the sport. we had a good friendly chat and spread some mutual goodwill...

they get really upset when you pass them on a hill with loaded panniers, they can't take it. I did one in when I still had my Nokian studs on, he was frosted.

I had one of those fun moments a few years back when I was in better shape. I was pulling a trailer with two kids behind my schwinn letour and kept passsing a guy who was riding in full regailia on a racing bike. He could pull away from me at stop signs, but after I got up to speed I was able to blow by him, dressed in jeans and a t- shirt. I pretended not to be riding hard and got some realy funny looks from him, along with a lot of looks around his bike to see if there were a mechanical problem.

Well, snob or no snob, I'm always looking for someone to challenge.

I would probbaly be considered a bike snob by a lot of you. Whenever I'm out riding its in my full team kit and so on. I try and be friendly, but often when I am going hard or have just been going hard, I can imagine myself being less than friendly. It is never intentional, but often when I pull up to a stop light and I am riding hard I would rather not start up a conversation for 30sec and then end up leaving the other person behind thinking that I left them behind just for the sake of leaving them behind. Or else if I just busted my balls I know I am often turse, and instead of having a conversation where I come off rude I would rather just sit quietly until the light changes and be on my way. However on the other days I am more than happy to strike up a conversation with other riders, and even alter my pace to ride with them to keep it going. So before you make the call on if someone is a bike snob or not make sure you evaluate the situation.

-Matt-

P.S. And be careful when you challenge people, because if you challenge someone who you think is a bike snob, but turns out to be a legit hardcore rider, they will most likly break you in two without even trying.

Sometimes your lost in your own thoughts & its after that split second & its too late that you realise , That guy/girl nodded /waved ,hope they didnt think Im ignoring them!!
When I greet some one & they ignore me ,quite often you see them again & again, but I keep on greeting them , after 2-3 times they usualy start to respond with a wave or a nod ,maybe because they think Im nuts or something & Ill start stalking them if they dont :D :D

it is hard to judge from the initial information given here. equipment doesn't mean anything....full kit may say something....but ultimately, actions speak louder than words.
i remember when i used to be super slow and used to get dusted all the time. now i can keep up with most and my perception has changed. some people have limited time to train. they have to be home for the sitter or for work, or are trying to set/beat a PR because they feel particularly good that day.
i like a good conversation as much as the next guy, but if i find you at a light and we engage in small talk, and we start down the road and he can only hold 15 mph then i say 'enjoy!' and speed off. (it happens to me the other way as well)
if you take 9 other of your neighbors, 3 or 4 are likely to be either over or under friendly. same subsection with people who ride bikes (international laws of rounding applied here)
2 seasons ago i tried to join a sunday morning ride at the LBS's suggestion. i went out every sunday and got dropped every ride but one. and dropped bad. only the leader of the ride talked to me or encouraged me. the others were wrapped up in their training. i was sufficiently intimidated. well we get into september, and a fast 60 miler. i am keeping up and hang on for an avg of 20.4mph (haven't done it before or since) ---> we get back to the start and all the guys are clapping for me and patting me on the back.
turns out they are cat2-4 racers, race on the velodrome on saturdays and this sunday ride is included in their serious training schedule.
they didn't give me the time of day - not because they were snobs---but because they didn't know me, they were racing or drafting, or recovering, etc.

and they turned out to be great guys. so i never prejudge riders.

i pass them at about 45 km/h, one of the guys tries to hop my wheel, but falls off.

I'm a newb, what does this mean?

i think that the poster meant to say that at 45kn/hr the guy tried to hang on to his rear wheel (draft) and couldn't hold the line, so he just fell off the back as the lead rider sped off.

I had a fun one along these lines. I was out going for a 40 mile into the wind and this guy comes up and passes. I stayed with him, and asked if he minde me drafting. He said no. After a few turns I took to pulling. We road for a while switching off, and talking. He shared he was headed for a ride I hadn't been on and I tagged with him. It turned into a pretty cool ride. We even passed a couple of "posers." They were invited, but we must have been cruising(checked our average before an extreme hilly section 21mph, after the hills we'd dropped to 18mph) or they didn't want the help. Hope I'll ask to draft again, or at least get asked. We did 40 miles together, taking turns leading and talking about riding.

I have enjoyed taking on the guys in full kit on my way home up hill on my fixie. They manage to get away from me at the light, but I turn such a big gear that by the time I get a full head of steam I'm on their wheel and passing them. I also like to wait out a light, slow down until the light changes? I know my route, and I am king of it. I've gotten a swelled head a couple times, forgetting the flashing don't walk sign count, and wind up looking the fool at the light(god how I hate that feeling, you just smirk and shrug).