Fifty Plus (50+) - anti-social?

I'm not talking about here, but most bike riders I come across strike me as quite anti-social. Every morning I go out for a ride. Now I don't want to be seen as putting people in boxes but the more kit a rider has, the less social they seem to be. You can see them coming ... first the Giro or equivalent helmet, then the "Team I Spent a Fortune" skin tight shirt and the "look how many socks I have in my nutcracker shorts". They're constantly gauging your ride and if you wave and say hello, they just look away. Maybe they're not impressed with my bricky's labourers flouro shirt or my baggy shorts and blue back pack containing phone, tyres and pump etc. You'd still think they'd say "hi" back tho.

Oh no, not another "he didn't wave back, he's a xxx" thread!

:popcorn

Hi Rob
Guess bike snobs are a global phenomena-surprised tho 'bout Australia, expected in my neck of the woods,Colorado.
Am returning to cycling after a ten year hiatus. Used to ride with a Club and built my now 30 yr old
Trek frame with quality components. Have decided that a used mtn or comfort bike is now the way to go as I live 3 flights up and physically unable to carry bike up & down and would prefer to lock
it at apartment bike rack w/o worrying about theft. Will also be using a loaded backpack inc pack
fishing rod... need simple transport to local fishing holes. Think I'll wait for the "elite" to wave at me
first!

You will learn.

There is a "Supposed" heirarchy amongst riders. So many different grades and classes and it is worse than the British feudal system that you got away from when your ancestors vacated these lands.

But like the feudal system- The various classes do not mix or even recognise each other. Just get a cloth cap and follow the following link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY

You will learn.

There is a "Supposed" heirarchy amongst riders. So many different grades and classes and it is worse than the British feudal system that you got away from when your ancestors vacated these lands.

But like the feudal system- The various classes do not mix or even recognise each other. Just get a cloth cap and follow the following link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DUsGSMwZY

Good one stapfam:D

When I first started riding in 2000 and rode my *lowly* Raleigh R600 and wore no name jerseys and had unshaved legs this happened all the time.
Since I started wearing respectable jerseys :rolleyes:, shave my legs, and ride a Litespeed, it never happens. I always get a wave or nod.

I guess *beauty* really is in the eye of the beholder. :twitchy:

As I ride almost exclusively on bike paths/trails/MUPs, I rarely encounter anyone who doesn't acknowledge me. I also rarely encounter anyone riding a road bike in typical road kit. But of the people I encounter in that select group, I'd say about 75% of them do not acknowledge me, as compared to about 5% of all of the rest.

However it is a small sample size. I doubt I have encountered more than 20 people on road bikes wearing road kit over the past 2 years of riding trails.

Some folks are friendly in real life, some are not friendly.

Those same folks are likely friendly or not friendly when they are on a bike.

Socks............what socks?

Some folks are friendly in real life, some are not friendly.
Those same folks are likely friendly or not friendly when they are on a bike.

Totally agree with Dnvr on this one! I ride my local MUP quite a lot and wave at every cyclist I see. The roadies (with or without Team Kit) are consistant micro-wave (no, not the oven), just raising four fingers up while the thumb stays on the bars (aero esp.).

Some "Freds" wave, but most don't. I see this one Freddly guy almost every time; I wave, he doesn't, but I can't resist, I always wave to him! Then once, last week, he was stopped on the MUP for some reason, and I said, "Hi, how you doin'?" . . . and he actually answered back:roflmao2:. I guess he just couldn't resist such overt friendlyness!

So you just never know. I've found recumbent riders about half and half with more waves from long-wheelbase than short wheelbase 'bent riders.

Keep in mind, though, I am usually dressed in cycling shorts and (non-team) jersey, with helmet . . . so maybe the non-wavers just don't like my type!

Rick / OCRR

While I tend to acknowledge just about anyone I see I have to defend some of my new found roadie friends. Not all mind you but people like most of my friends. I haven’t had a real jersey until late January and now I have three that I wear with pride because the match my Bibs. My shoes are even a good match for the kit. But most often if you see me alone heading down the road it is because I have been dropped by the larger group and I am huffing and puffing for all I am worth to catch up or take a short cut to cut them off. In that mode it is all I can do to breath and all I can see is the road about 15 feet in front of me and my front wheel.

I know none of the rest of you ever have to play catch up like that but I am rather new and slow so if you ever see me and I don’t wave it is simply because A. I didn’t see you. B. I didn’t have the energy. C. I was P.O. ed about being dropped again. Other wise I will wave and if by some miracle I catch you and am passing I will even talk.

Mostly when I ride by, people not only wave, they laugh out loud. Then again, who can resist an old fat man in team kit with a large smiley face front and back on the jersey.

Acts of micro-aggression.... meaning some folks don't want to be friendly, and feel that any social pressure to do so has little or no substance. They acknowledge who and what they want to acknowledge when and where they want to acknowledge it... much like the bulk of modern society in the western world.

As long as they don't jam a minipump into my spokes I don't really care.

Very antisocial IMO. I'm a Fred but when I see a a roadie, they never even say hi or Boo!:eek:... I rode by this guy about a month ago. He took my wheel but never said a word. We did manage to ride together well for nearly 15 mile but he said nothing! Didn't even smile for the camera!:p

Then a couple of weeks ago, I ran into a roadie on a Masi singlespeed. There were only a couple of others out there in the rain but this guy pretended to not know me!:roflmao2:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/011709B.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/011709C.jpg

Who's the scary looking guy wearing yellow?

The most anti-social guy I've met was a teenager who passed me while I was climbing a hill on Wilshire Blvd in L.A.

When he passed, he suddenly pulled over to the right as he got in front of me. Our wheels met rear to front and I went down.

I picked myself up and hauled down the road to work. As I passed him, he stiff-armed me into traffic and we both went down when my rear wheel tacoed.

Now that's anti-social!



Did I mention that that section of Wilshire went through the original territory of MS-13 (http://www.knowgangs.com/gang_resources/profiles/ms13/).

It's no wonder he wouldn't acknowledge you Mr. Beanz, your helmet strap is slightly twisted.

We may be thinking too much here...
I've been riding as an adult for almost 40 years. When I started, in the early '70s, I might go a week or more without seeing another cyclist. I moved from the San Francisco area to Reno, Nev., in 1978, and rode for more than a year here before I saw ANY adult riders. In those days, we all waved.
When I do the same weekend rides now that I did in, say, 1980, I can easily see from a dozen to as many as 50 riders. I kept track last Saturday, the first nice day in several weeks, and I encountered 37 riders on an 18-mile loop. That's a wave every half-mile, on average.
FWIW, I date back to the days when imported cars were rare and drivers used to wave to each other. There was a strict protocol--MG and Triumph owners could wave to each other, but a Jaguar owner wasn't required to acknowledge a wave from a Sunbeam, and so on and on and on.
That all vanished sometime in the early '70s, and it's just as well. Nothing personal, but I'm waved out.

Since I started wearing respectable jerseys :rolleyes:, shave my legs, and ride a Litespeed, it never happens. I always get a wave or nod.

Now the question becomes: Do you wave back at everybody who waves at you?

Who's the scary looking guy wearing yellow?


Scary guy in yellow? I'm not sure but this is the same big ugly guy in red. Not sure who he is but I've seen him chase guys like Rick@OCRR up the mountain!:D

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/092209C.jpg

Tell Grumpy pig his shorts don't match his jersey.

Tell Grumpy pig his shorts don't match his jersey.

I would but he's very antisocial. He didn't wave the entire time he was there!:D

Ya, I'm a waver, I wave and say good morning/afternoon to everyone, bicycle riders, dog walkers, jogger, roller bladers, etc. Still I never expect anyone to wave back but a lot do. I rode motorcycles for 30 years, each, type of scoot rider has a special wave so I guess I need to learn the "specific wave per type of bicycle.:rolleyes:

I took the decals off my POS Roadmaster MTB-clone and i've noticed that when I'm riding local area "EASY" singletrack, the REAL MTB riders will do the "head nod", then give me a really disgusting look when they see the austabula crank and realize I'm on a Wally-Mart Special:D When I rode MTB's back in the early 80's, no one CARED about what equiptment you had or weither you had a "specific style" of bike for the type of riding, now it seems the "1st. thing that happens when you slow down and meet another MTB'er, is they do a automatic scan of what you ride and it's level of equiptment to see if you worthy of their company, SAD.:mad:

Oh well, I just wave anyway, continue my ENJOYING MY RIDE and hope they are having as much FUN as I am.:thumb: I guess I'm a FRED too as my jersey is plain and I wear black bicycle shorts cause there CHEAP next to the way cool baggy MTB shorts, well that and I'm old and fat too, LOL! :)

Now the question becomes: Do you wave back at everybody who waves at you?
Always. Every so often I'll wave or nod and don't get a response. Usually when it's a group of 4 or more and they're on a *training* ride. :rolleyes:

", then give me a really disgusting look when they see the austabula crank and realize I'm on a Wally-Mart


Ya know, I wave to everyone but I seem to uspet the hardcore roadies. I wore a tye dye blue cotton t-shirt for years. Roadies seemd to make so many comments about it.:(...But what really made me sad was when it finally fell to shreds!:D...And the incred-i-bel, they seem to hate it!:p

Totally agree with Dnvr on this one! I ride my local MUP quite a lot and wave at every cyclist I see. The roadies (with or without Team Kit) are consistant micro-wave (no, not the oven), just raising four fingers up while the thumb stays on the bars (aero esp.).

Some "Freds" wave, but most don't. I see this one Freddly guy almost every time; I wave, he doesn't, but I can't resist, I always wave to him! Then once, last week, he was stopped on the MUP for some reason, and I said, "Hi, how you doin'?" . . . and he actually answered back:roflmao2:. I guess he just couldn't resist such overt friendlyness!

So you just never know. I've found recumbent riders about half and half with more waves from long-wheelbase than short wheelbase 'bent riders.

Keep in mind, though, I am usually dressed in cycling shorts and (non-team) jersey, with helmet . . . so maybe the non-wavers just don't like my type!

Rick / OCRR

:lol: That is a good one - differentiation by wheelbase: subtle.:D

I was into kiteboarding for a while and found the same unfriendliness prevailed between the new guys and the pro's..us newbies were seen as just someone in the way rather than someone who would appreciate a little help or feedback. Maybe it is my age but I try to help and encourage anyone who is trying to learn about what I am doing. You shouldn't take yourself so seriously.

Face it. The 50+ crowd is just intimidating.
Would it hurt if we all just tried to be a little more approachable?

When a young roadie comes up to me I always say, "Yes, young one.. you may approach, and heed the wisdom of the ages. What is your question."
Hey.. just doin' my part.....

Group hug?

Face it. The 50+ crowd is just intimidating.
Would it hurt if we all just tried to be a little more approachable?

When a young roadie comes up to me I always say, "Yes, young one.. you may approach, and heed the wisdom of the ages. What is your question."
Hey.. just doin' my part.....

Group hug?

Beauty!!

Maybe it's that folks aren't friendly, maybe they're like me on the motorcycle when people give me that stupid down-low Harley wave and they (like me) just ignore it. Whatever. At least they're on a bicycle and not in a cage. We're all brothers/sisters in arms.

Getting race-faced is a global problem.

Its not an issue to me. If you're walking down a busy street, do you say 'hi' to everyone you pass? Probably not. It would get to be a little 'much' when constantly waving/saying hello to everyone I cross paths with. I'd feel like a politician in a parade. Maybe that/those other rider(s) are just concentrating on their own ride ("in the zone")?

I'm not comfortable with 'drafting,' but it seems its tough to convince others to either pass me or don't ride that close, especially on busy streets. Something about "thats how its done".

:deadhorse2:

:deadhorse2:

Now that's a nice wave!! :thumb:

I probably did not understand or whatever, but when I am riding with a group on the road or on a trail we are normally drafting. When riding in this group I am paying attention to the wheel in front of me along with the bikes in front of him/her and trying to keep from getting into trouble. For the most part I cannot wave on a consistent basis. I simply DO NOT have the ability to ride on someone's wheel and wave at all the bikes I meet.

This has more to do with survival than friendliness.

On the other hand I will occasionally ride solo. Often I will just enjoy the ride along with doing some serious thinking about what is happening in my life. I do not mean to be unfriendly, but I may not wave at everyone.

Until now, I did not know it was required to wave at everyone. Live and learn.

Very antisocial IMO. I'm a Fred but when I see a a roadie, they never even say hi or Boo!:eek:... I rode by this guy about a month ago. He took my wheel but never said a word. We did manage to ride together well for nearly 15 mile but he said nothing! Didn't even smile for the camera!:p

Then a couple of weeks ago, I ran into a roadie on a Masi singlespeed. There were only a couple of others out there in the rain but this guy pretended to not know me!:roflmao2:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/011709B.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/011709C.jpg

The poor *******'s flat out trying to keep up ... and you expect him to wave as well?

Richard

Atleast a wink or half a smile!:D

I noticed when hiking in the mountains in years past that down by the trailhead, people wouldn't even say "hi" if you spoke to them, but about 8 miles from the trailhead, everyone you meet is your friend.

We may be thinking too much here...
... I moved from the San Francisco area to Reno, Nev., in 1978, and rode for more than a year here before I saw ANY adult riders. In those days, we all waved.
...

Yeah, the 70s and early 80s were pretty heady times for friendly bike riders. Then somewhere along the line, some pinhead(s), probably the entire '84 Olympic cycling team and some guy named Lemond went and ruined everything by getting all these anti-social psychopaths into cycling. ;)

Reno, yep, last time I went riding there, back in the mid-80s, another rep and I were out riding before Interbike or whatever the show was that used to go there, and some yahoo in a pickup truck takes a shot at us w/ a BB gun and pegs the arm of the guy I'm riding with. :twitchy:

I commented earlier about how nearly everyone waves, except most of those who ride on road bikes and are in road kit. Well, my experience is on rural rail trails. Lonely trails. Not busy urban mups. Most of the riders are 50+ people on hybrids, riding in couples or fours. They are very friendly.

I ride along for 5-10 miles and encounter no one, then I run into a couple out on a ride. It's almost a social situation. Many times we stop and chat. I've had dozens of conversations with other riders. I've had lunch with a few.

Heck, we've tried each other's bikes out a few times. Late last fall I encountered two other bent riders. We stopped, chatted, and rode each other bikes.

I never encounter groups of road bike riders, riding hard and fast. The road bikers that don't acknowledge me are usually riding solo or with one other rider. I do find it interesting that in this very light traffic situation, that riders on road bikes are still much less likely to return an acknowledgement. It strikes me as a cultural thing.

I don't think my situation is at all like encountering 10-20 roadies along a highway. I probably wouldn't bother to say hi, unless some of them did.

Socks............what socks?

Well, mostly roadies wear these really tight pants. As a consequence, like when the Italian racing team are standing on the blocks waving their trophies and booze over their heads, you get this great gander at all the spare socks they tuck down the front of their skin tight team shorts.

Cause I wear baggy pants, you can't see the socks I have tucked in so I can be like the other folks tucking socks down their undies.

I only started doing it because I was told it would absorb moisture and foul odours. However, my missus reckons that's a myth. She says they stink really bad. However, I'm waterwise and refuse to wash them cause I haven't worn them yet. :D

Back in my foot race running days I noticed a different trend.

When I was just starting out and not very fast, all of the other runners were friendly and only too glad to give me pointers on how I could get faster. Every time I got good enough to beat somebody, their advice kind of dried up. The faster I got the fewer friends I had in the pack.

Cause I wear baggy pants, you can't see the socks I have tucked in so I can be like the other folks tucking socks down their undies.

Now we're getting somewhere. You're supposed to tuck the socks down the FRONT or your undies. Could that be why other riders are avoiding you?

When there is snow and ice on the road I work out at a health club. I try to use this time to improve my aerobic conditioning. Its very hard for me to make gains; I have to push myself on each workout and I don't like people bothering me when I'm doing this. Perhaps when you encounter an "unfriendly" rider they are just trying to work on some area of their riding skills and don't want to be bothered by someone.

Yeah, that might be it. I was wondering why my saddle had holes in it. I thought it was to make room for the socks but I guess you're right, they should sit up front. Dunno what the holes in my seat are for... maybe hemmies or something. :D

I usually wave a most riders I meet, unless I'm too tired or otherwise preoccupied. Sometimes I give a full wave and a greeting. Sometimes all I can manage is to nod and/or lift a few fingers. I notice that some people wave back and others don't. I have not really noticed a trend of one type of rider being more or less friendly than another type.

I always assume the best of people. The people with all the kit who don't wave, I just figure they are newbies and are afraid that if they take their hand off the handlebar, they might fall over. Just because you are dressed like a cyclist, doesn't make you one.

Be kind to newbies, I always say... :D

Funny you say that last Sunday did a ride... we took out a new guy. He was on a rigid mountain bike wearing a tshirt and shorts. My SO and are were in bike clothes but we were far far team kit outfitted roadies... the weather was nice and we past tons of cyclists and all of them either waved or gave us the head nod (which I prefer - I don't take my hands off the bars without good reason).

I think we tend to mistake intensity for anti-social behavior. Sure there are probably creeps out there but far more, in fact, I believe the bulk of most cyclists are friendly.

In my area, it's so unusual to see another cyclist of any stripe that both of us usually nearly fall off the road instead of wave. Shocked, I say, SHOCKED!