Utility Cycling - Any one else get mistaken for a Hobo?

I was mistaken for a homeless guy last week while riding the Goat (my Big Dummy). Kid walked up and asked if I needed anything, a coat, etc.


...I smashed my empty bottle of "Mad Dog" 20/20 over his head and went on a rant about my soon-to-be-finished manifesto.
;)

Do I look homeless - or just fat? :lol:

http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/fat_fred.jpg

I was mistaken for a homeless guy last week while riding the Goat (my Big Dummy). Kid walked up and asked if I needed anything, a coat, etc.


...I smashed my empty bottle of "Mad Dog" 20/20 over his head and went on a rant about my soon-to-be-finished manifesto.
;)

As well you should. Your bike is as much a testament to excess wealth and conspicuous consumption as any other SUV out there. ;)

As well you should. Your bike is as much a testament to excess wealth and conspicuous consumption as any other SUV out there. ;)

Ouch. The wink icon can't take the sting out of that statement...

Who would mistake a recumbent rider or a guy on a n extracycle as a hobo? Those things are BANK!

When people talk to me I just mutter incomprehensibly and start to twitch... :lol:

My daughters and I were cruising the arts district one Sunday afternoon and stopped to chat with a few young ladies that were busking by playing the guitar and singing (quite well too).

They said it had been a slow day, that they had not made any money, and that their fingers were numb from playing.

I took the guitar and started playing some little riffs and my girls kicked back against the wall and a fellow walking by stopped, looked at the girls, and dropped a 20 in the guitar case.

The next person dropped in a ten.

The young ladies asked if I could come back with the girls.

:)

Ouch. The wink icon can't take the sting out of that statement...

Haha, sorry. I meant it in a good way. :) Nothing wrong with having enough money to set up (pimp :p) your utility vehicle exactly how you want it. Beautiful ride, money well spent. :thumb:

Do I look homeless - or just fat? :lol:

http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/fat_fred.jpg

Muscular and well trimmed......which is saying a lot like me....except I have less grey, no sandals and a helmet.

As the saying goes: A smart young man is someone your age who agrees with you :)

Haven't been mistaken for a hobo [yet!], but the homeless bike guys give me smiles or nods when I drag the upright bass around in the old burley trailer.

I get mistaken as a hobo all the time,every campground between San Diego and Santa Barbara (think ZZ TOP).The cops in my own city think I'm a hobo,and I've had a business here for 30+ years.I go to the Chamber of Commerce meetings and they think I'm a hobo.I've been in the chamber longer than most of the bankers and lawyers there.They always look at me like I'm just there for the food!

I got arrested a few months ago for taking pictures of young girls in PUBLIC(lewd act with a child) when I was taking pictures of cars parked on the sidewalk.The cop took my camara out of my bag and started to look through it.I told him if he didn't put the camara back,I would have him arrested for theft.I said if you want to look at the pictures,arrest me or get a warrent.

He thought he was going to railroad me into county jail.I got arrested,I called my lawyer and explained what was going on.We both had a good laugh.My lawyer is well known in the city,his father and grandfather are district and superior court judges.

To make a long story short,the cop knew he had made a HUGE MISTAKE when my lawyer walked in the door.Everybody in the police station knows him and the family.I told them they had better call the chief,head of the chamber of commerce and the mayor.I want everybody that was on duty here to listen to him apologise to me or my lawyer will be standing tall in front of his father(the judge) with my lawsuit against the city for false arrest.

I saw him at the bank the other day waiting in the ATM line,I got in line and told him I was taking pictures of horses the other day and asked if he was going arrest me for a lewd act with a horse.I could have lit my cigarette of his eyeballs!

I'm the only hobo in L.A. with a custom touring bike....Now's the time of year I become Santa instead!

Why does that happen to you so often?

You might want to lose the milk crate. Get a good quality internal frame back-pack, around 1800-2100 ci. http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorgear/Osprey-Packs-Kode-38-Backpack-2100-2500cu-in/OSP0159M.html?CMP_ID=SH_SHP001&CMP_SKU=OSP0159&mv_pc=r110

Paul

Nothing like riding a bicycle wearing a big backpack to let people know you're "king of the road"!

You might want to lose the milk crate. Get a good quality internal frame back-pack, around 1800-2100 ci. http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorgear/Osprey-Packs-Kode-38-Backpack-2100-2500cu-in/OSP0159M.html?CMP_ID=SH_SHP001&CMP_SKU=OSP0159&mv_pc=r110

PaulMe? Lose MY milk crate? Never! OK, maybe not NEVER but not till I prove to myself that I will use that bike for hauling crap enough that I can justify buying baskets for the back. Besides, I get "that look" on other bikes and before I put the crate on. I suppose the fact that I don;t own ANY spandex might be a contributing factor. I guess, after reviewing some of the posts here, I don't feel like people think that I am a hobo so much as a guy with a court order not to operate a motor vehicle. I just really like the worf "hobo".

Here in Austin, having plastic crates or flats on the back of a bike is considered "in style" with the hipster or hippie crowd. You score points with the critics at the coffee shops if you ride up on a bike like that.

I confuse people. On one hand I'm wearing ordinary clean cut clothing, i'm clean and shaved, and I wear a helmet. On the other hand I drive a vintage kuwahara that (until tomorrow hopefully) uses doubled-up plastic grocery bags tied to the top bar for storage.

Of course it could also be the pirate-speak and airplane/engine noises that gets them.

I don't get mistaken as homeless as much as either too poor to buy a car or I got a DUI. People at work offer me rides home or money for gas for my car. I just politely decline, but it does get annoying at times. I don't think I have driven my car to work for 5 or 6 months. I think a lot of them figure I wrecked it, or just don't have gas money. Most people, including my wife, just don't get that I enjoy riding everyday. Part of the fun to me is seeing how much stuff I can bring home on my bicycle.

Ya I absolutely HATE that. When people try to throw the pity on you. I rode my bike to save money and because I love doing it. I wish biking was more recognized as viable transportation but I'm sure it will never happen.

Ya I absolutely HATE that. When people try to throw the pity on you. I rode my bike to save money and because I love doing it. I wish biking was more recognized as viable transportation but I'm sure it will never happen.Oh, I don't know about that! The guys over in the car-free forum seem convinced that the Automotive Apocalypse will be kicking off any day now. Like you I ride my bike to and fro because there is no reason to destroy my car with short trips, no reason to spend gass on short trips and no reason to NOT burn fat on short trips. I ride mostly because it is FUN and if I can have FUN going to the bank or the dentist, well then By Good: I will! I don't wear "Cycling" cloths because I think that they look silly and pretentious and are hella expensive. If I were to be doing long rides (more than the 20 miles or so tops that I do now) I might find a use for a set of $200 spandex pants with a sued crotch that had nothing to do at all with tequila and under-aged Philippino prostitutes but not now. In this weather, even I find myself first thinking about the social or legal process that brought any given individual to Cycling in these parts. I know, in my hear of hearts, that it is not necessarily the case but I just can't help wondering.

A couple years ago a friend of mine saw me riding my Townie3 with Burley Flatbed trailer in tow. Before he recognized me his first thought was that I was a "displaced person". A few weeks after that I saw a real displaced person in the area with a similar set up.:lol:

Actually I have once and sadly enough, I wasn't even on a bike. Before I started cylcing again a few years ago, I was doing a lot of walking. Well that was fine, but not much of a workout so I started carrying my old ruck sack from when I was in the Army. Each week I'd add 5 pounds in it...Well one day I was walking down the bike trail with it on and this car whips it off the main road and stops in front of me. A guy gets out and opens his wallet and hands me a dollar.:roflmao: He thanked me for my service and I was so stunned I just looked at him like he came from Mars. :twitchy: Then I said "Oh wait a minute man, I don't need this. I live right up the road here and I'm just carrying this for exercise." HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!!! :notamused: I kept trying to give it back but he wouldn't take it. :roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2: Finally I just said "Well alright then, thanks" and started walking again. When I got home I took off my ruck sack and went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and :eek: I hadn't shaved since Friday morning and this was Sunday afternoon. :o:lol:

its sad, but a few weeks ago, i too found the horror of being mistaken for a bum. i was shopping, more specifcly i was putting my groceries in my grocery panniers, and this girl (16-20 yr range) comes out and snidely remarked "yea, they put that there for you huh?". i was standing next to one of those food donation bins while putting my groceries away. just because i have a beard, ride a bike and DONT wear cycling specific clothing... i feel sorry for her.

I've been commuting for the past two years, summer and winter, and get a lot of looks when I'm wearing regular clothes. I'm just waiting for that philanthropist to stop and give me enough money to buy a car. He'll be surprised when he see's me the next day riding a new bike.

man the town I live in has cycle traffic backed up at lights during the summer. So no, although I think some people look at me like a hipster. When really I just hate to drive. lol

A dollar? Twenty years ago, some places, that would buy you a quart of beer. Nowadays, that will not even buy you a cup of coffee. So, when someone offers you a buck, figure he/she has lost touch with reality, and accept it graciously. You will earn good karma, for talking pity on someone less fortunate.

mr,grumpy..you rock.And i salute you.

This happens to me alot,almost daily.

Even when i rode an old all Campy International for crying out loud.And still worse, often the looks come from other Cyclist.Usually the look on my face does not hide the pains that sometimes come with my bike trips etc. but I doubt this is the cause.I am about as laid back as you can get so the attention is not welcome at all.Oh well.

Anyway,keep the crate man.Strong,cheap and those bungee cords fits all over.

Peace.

Speaking of people who LIVE in Hawaii riding their bikes (and the polar opposite of hobos on bikes)... I heard that bikeshops there will not accept used bikes with non-carbon rims. When I first heard this, I was flabbergasted by the apparent snobbery... then it occurred to me what that kind of cloying humidity probably does to steel and almuminum braking surfaces.
Am I sorta on track?

Furthermore, my bike is covered in eco-stickers, has spare spokes strapped to the frame, a DIY rear rack made out of aluminum angle-stock bolted together (fekking heavy, but sturdy as the dickens), a delightfully loud and obnoxious squeaky-toy on the headtube.... and often sports detergent-bucket panniers.

If I get mistaken for a hobo, THAT'S A GOOD DAY, *****ES!

If I get mistaken for a hobo, THAT'S A GOOD DAY, *****ES!

:roflmao2:

I find I never get asked for change from homeless guys. They seem to recognize me as a fellow traveler and we nod at each other.

The automobile is one of the best ways to display ones wealth, or the appearance of wealth. For many it represents a huge part of their income. I wonder what the real net worth of those who mistake a utility cyclist for a hobo is. Some of them are probably afraid of falling off the social ladder,and becoming homeless themselves.

However, things are better now than they were in the fifties when I was growing up. Cyclists were a curiosity outside of Cambridge. I remember when Eisenhower's heart doctor, Paul Dudly White, was shown riding a bicycle. How odd! This was about 10 years before the beginning of the "bike boom".

Thorsten Veblen's " the Theory of the Leisure Class" is as good as explanation of automobilists attitude .