Road Cycling - Do I smell or what?

Here where I live we have 3 or 4 great bike trails, one is 56 miles long and the others are about 25-36. Lots of Roadies use these as they are smooth and well no cars:) me being newer to road biking I must be missing the secret code or greeting.. I am a nice person and I say morning or give a little wave to the bikers on the trail... and I would say that 75% ignore me or just look at me like I am a Idiot. What is the rule of the road out there... do you not give any friendly gestures to riders?

Thanks
Chaz

Roadies are imfamous for being snobs, especially us racers.

I remember being in the middle of nowhere once and seeing a roadie maybe a mile up the road. I chased him for a few miles and at one point could see him looking back at me. I realized then that he was trying to avoid me. I've had the same exact experience as you. I know the look that you got very well. To hell with them. Just be yourself.

Also reminds me of being in Honduras and not seeing another American for two weeks. When I finally ran into a couple of them, they ignored me completely.

I wave to other cyclists with helmets. Basically I use the helmet rule, knowing that serious cyclists wear helmets and therefore I tend not to wave to people without helmets. :) Usually works!

It also helps to have panniers and flags and other oddities because then other cyclists will look, especially when I'm commuting.


Jay

P.S. and yes, you must smell, I can smell you all the way over in NJ... whew... :D Just kidding... must be the jet stream.

In my limited experience I have found that about 50% of riders will acknowledge your greeting. Either with a sometimes hard-to-see finger lift off of the handlebar or a grunt that you may not hear.

This weekend I was riding up a particularly long and grueling hill and a rider coming the opposite direction said "Morning!" Unfortunately all I could muster was "Goroudfrg!"

My advice would be to not take it personally and don't let it change your attitude. I like when someone greets me with a smile or nod as they pass me going the other way, so I'll do the same. Everytime.

If I have someone trying to chase me down, I run from them. I use it to pace myself. I absolutely hate to get run down by someone. I love chasing people down. I just dont want to be. :( :) I usually will wave or something, though.

I always wait, and if they make eye contact or say hello, then I say hello or give a nod or something. I've come to realize that sometimes people just want to be left in peace.

If they don't acknowledge you in some way, let them be. You'll find people who will want to be friendly, and it's no fun to waste the kindness on someone who doesn't want it.

Koffee

I noticed the same thing the other day. The only rider who waved back was a dad just out with the kids enjoying the day. You would think more riders would be friendly. I get the same reaction when riding a motorcycle too. Harley riders don't wave to sprortbike riders, don't wave to touring riders, etc, etc. Can't we all just get along?

I always wave or say hello. That is my personality.

About 50% of the time I seem to be ignored ... or I cannot hear/see their response. But I don't let it bother me or take it personally.

I do believe that it depends on what part of the country you are in. Here in "rural" Midwest it is normal to greet each other ... in a car, on the street, in an elevator, etc. When I lived in Chicago for a couple of years many people would not acknowledge you if you were standing by them while in a line waiting on the train.

I'm a roadie and a mountain biker. I desribe the roadies as the lycra clad elite snobs - not friendly. Mountain bikers tend to be much friendlier and helpful too. I think it has to do with what you wear - my kids will go mountain bikng with me because I dress more like them, they won't even be seen with me when I break out roadie togs - "Dad, you're not going to really wear that are you?"

Subaru drivers usually wave to other Subaru drivers. Well, they did before the WRX came out, but that's another issue for another board.

If I'm hammering, I'll notice someone's there but usually don't notice a wave or anything. But, I don't hammer every day and I try hard to wave at folks when I'm riding. I've noticed more people waving (with more than one finger, no less) as they drive by. I try to wave so they see me, but I usually end up hoping that they see me in the rearview. I wave to riders on the road, or say hello on the trail. Especially when they initiate interaction.

But, yes, roadies are snobs. It's a burden the nice roadies have to bear, too.

the more cyclists around, the less friendly they are...too many people to greet. just cycled from ventura, CA to carpinteria yesterday. this is decidedly less urban than my usual LA routes. fewer cyclists, and they were generally more friendly.

i think people are generally shy. if you wait for the other person to say hi (koffee!), then no one says hi. it's important to be definitive in your greeting...don't whisper it from 100 meters, and don't wiggle your left pinkie and expect a response. a hearty "good morning!" or a visible wave of the arm is more likely to get a response. the other cyclist will feel obligated since you've made such an effort! and of course, the other cyclist has to be looking your direction or within earshot for it to be effective.

if you're shy, remember you probably have sunglasses on. they allow you to do things you wouldn't do normally.

i acknowledge roadies coming the other way, and everyone i pass. and i don't even bother remembering when people don't respond. i'm having too much fun.

I feel ya, Rippo. However, I come from the school of thought that when people are working out and exercising, if they don't want to be disturbed, leave them alone. Quite frankly, if someone disturbed my workout, I would go ape on them. ;) And the gym where I did the majority of my training was like that- we were all friends and we'd talk and chat and have great fun, but during the exercise, people went to their corners and did their thing. I guess that's where I got my habit of leaving people to their own devices. I have eased up on my "leave me alone" attitude, since now that I ride, it's nice to see other distance riders out there, so when they give me a nod or hello, I'll respond. Otherwise, I assume they want to be left alone, and I let them do their own thing.

Koffee

I think part of it is how much effort they are putting into their ride. If it's a casual ride then they will probably wave thats if they are a serious rider anyway. Those really working hard maybe too focused to notice you. I always try to wave when riding. I also noticed when I had a Jeep, that us Wrangler/CJ owners waved to each other. Well, at least us enthusiasts did anyway. Just keep doing what you;r doing. I always enjoy being acknowledged by a fellow biker, whether on the road or trail.

yeah ok koffee, i see the analogy to working out/weight training. don't want to high five someone as they're attempting to bench press. although with cycling, it's not always such a concerted effort...well let's be frank, maybe 1% of the cyclists i pass on any given day look like they're working to the point where they can't speak or look around! if someone's struggling up a hill, i just leave them alone or maybe smile to show i know their pain. but for the other 99% of the riders, i might say hi. i'm not some perma-grinned goofball who's saying hi to everyone he meets, not by a long shot. some days i strap my sunglasses and helmet on extra tight to keep the world out.

my wife thinks i'm a bit odd, because i wave to other Mazda Protege5 drivers. there aren't that many on the streets. but they all seem confused when i do it. i continue to do it. :)

i'm not some perma-grinned goofball who's saying hi to everyone he meets, not by a long shot.

Well... that's what YOU think!

;)

You sound like such a goof- waving at all the Mazda folks and having them give you confused looks. That's classic! :lol:

Koffee

It's funny because I was thinking the exact opposite yesterday as I was taking my Sunday morning ride. I passed about 6 or 7 bikers and a jogger and all of them waved and/or said hello. I'm newer to road biking (don't see as many people mountain biking), and I was suprised at how friendly people were. Guess it just depends on the people.

Teski

erm...well ok, maybe i am a goof. but i don't have a perma-grin. really i don't. i'm frowning right now in fact. grrrrrr....

there's an old guy i see along my rides a lot, he looks like he's 90 (but could probably smoke me in a sprint). every time he passes me, he sticks his arm out and points to the side. took me a few days to realize he was waving at me. i felt bad for not waving back, and made me realize how easy it is to miss the greetings people give you.

I went on a nice 50 mile tempo ride down the San Diego coast. I pretty much say hello to everyone no matter what and get a 50/50 chance of a response.

When there is no choice but to stop at lights, people will take the time to say hello. Otherwise, I think they are concentrating on their workout.

When I pass someone, I usually give a small wave. When I get passed, I grunt a "way to go".

Like everyone else has mentioned, just be yourself.

Oh yes, my observation between mountain biking and road riding is the personalities involved. Roadies tend to be a lot more serious and introverts while MTBers tend to be laid back and extroverts. Again, just my observation.

I think it does depend in part on the culture of where you live. Here in Eastern CT it's apparently against the law to smile at or otherwise acknowledge a stranger on the streets, at least for the Anglo population.

We also have a substantial Puerto Rican presence, & they, on the other hand, will almost always respond in a friendly, human way.

Oddly, altho i'm not a hardcore roadie, i find most hardcore roadies (all Anglos) will nod at me if i look their way. Maybe it's my helmet.:->

So the only hardcore roadies i dislike are the ones at the LBS.:-> If you don't belong to the tribe, they'll make sure you know it.

Also, altho i'm not as familiar with this aspect, i think the cult of the bike itself is generally greater with roadies than offroaders; there's more history & glamor there.

It's a male status thing too. How much you paid for your ride has a lot to do with your status among the roadburners, more so, i think, than with many of the mountain bike folks. Altho i imagine even a $4000 bike will not do much for you in that respect unless you're also knowledgeable, & can keep up with the pack.

Originally posted by sebring
I also noticed when I had a Jeep, that us Wrangler/CJ owners waved to each other. Well, at least us enthusiasts did anyway.

I used to participate in the Jeep Wave thing too but I hardly ever got any returns... usually just odd looks. But then again I drive a ZJ. The best was when I got a wave from some guy in a flat-fendered Willys in full WW2 camo towing an equally authentic trailer. But then again, he probably knew we were serious offroaders as there were a bunch of us following each other up to the trails and some of our rigs were fairly built up.

As far as waving while cycling, don't let it bother you if you don't get a response. I still think it's weird that some of us assume that cycling is some exclusive club where everyone has a secret handshake or whatnot. The fact of the matter is that we're just people who like to ride bikes. We're all more multifaceted than just a heard of lycra clad lemmings. I've met rude roadies, rude MTBers, rude tandemers, rude bent riders, etc... I've also met an equal number of friendly and courteous riders from all those categories. In the end, we're all human beings and our diversity extends beyond the homogenous activity of cycling. People will be people... regardless of what kind of bike they're riding, how they dress and even if they're cycling at all.

I don't find roadies any more or less snobbish than mountain bikers and vice versa. I think there's also something to be said about making broad observations in that if you are out looking for something in particular, you'll probably find it. So if you're predisposed to think that roadies live up to their snobbish stigma then you'll most likely find plenty of examples but it is also possible you are subsconsciously surpressing evidence that might counter your predispositions.

I always say hi, and surprizingly, I usually get a "hi" back. its nice, and I am a roadie, and these are usually roadies I get a response from. The only time I don't wave is when I am really pumping up a hill, and i am in serious pain...but these days, i'm takin it easy, so that doesn't happen much. Also, most of the people who don't wave are going through this too.

Originally posted by chaztrip
I would say that 75% ignore me or just look at me like I am a Idiot.

Remove your training wheels and see if they respond differently. :D Just kidding!

I think it's a regional thing.

Where I live and ride 90% of the roadies wave at each other unless they are really hammering. Even when cyclists are driving in their cars they usually wave as they pass a person on a bike. When I'm on my mountain bike 90% of the mountain bikers wave. But when the mountain bikers and the roadies cross paths the mountain bikers are usually either rude or just ignore the roadies. For some reason the hard core mountian bikers around here don't want to be associated with the roadies.

I'm pretty friendly, but sometimes I'm right in the middle of focusing on keeping my lungs from bursting out of my chest. Other times, I'm tired and just keeping the road straight. I try to acknowledge, but sometimes it's just a head nod. If they're snobs, screw 'em. Get in form and then lap 'em some day ;)

I used to wave but the majority didn't acknowledge it so I don't anymore.... why waste the time.

I never had any preconceptions about roadies tending to be snobbish or arrogant, but experience showed me it was true.

By the same token it's hard to separate that out from status/one-upmanship (my bike & getup cost a lot more than yours) & US male insecurity & anti-social tendencies.

I've never been part of any bike "culture" - bikes are my transportation (tho i also enjoy them). I know a couple of other bikers, neither of them hardcore anything.

The generally cold & suspicious attitudes of Anglo people in this part of the country are well known.

The wife and I were watching the TDF and she commented on how humorless so many riders seemed to be. I told her that yeah, road racers seem to be an overly serious bunch.

I used to try and strike up conversations before races but quit after receiving a few "what the hell are you talking to me for" looks.

Originally posted by Ba-Dg-Er
I used to wave but the majority didn't acknowledge it so I don't anymore.... why waste the time.

well if your avatar picture is any indication of the wave you're using, i can see why you don't get a good response. :)

Originally posted by rippo
well if your avatar picture is any indication of the wave you're using, i can see why you don't get a good response. :)

Only the smelly ones get that wave.

Maybe it's because I'm old but most riders around here acknowledge a nod, wave or word. However, over some 25 years of riding, I have found that there is a tendency for "serious" rodies to be a little aloof. My theory is that most have not participated in any organized team sport, i.e., basketball, baseball, etc. and when they find out they can blow someone away on a bike they get a little carried away. For those few, remind them that they "are participating in a childs activity on a kids toy" for what it's worth!

I built a log cabin in the far northern WI forests and have planned ways in which I can 'remedy' cyclist who choose not to be more friendly. Here is me in the mornings:
(notice the bolt-action rifle...just waiting)

i think you need to go whole hog and mount a machine gun on the handlebars. i'm making do with a couple of grenades in my jersey pockets.