hbburgman

Truth be told, other that a couple of "look at that weird bike" type of comments I haven't had many comments good, bad or otherwise. But, I did have an unusual experience the other day, I rode up on a couple of guys riding mountain bikes with skinny tires, they were side by side riding at a moderate pace and talking to each other and I passed them going a couple of mph's faster not thinking any thing about it. In 5 or 10 seconds they came blowing by me, pace lining, going much faster! So, I clicked my Downtube 9ns into ninth, caught up with them, pulled up along side the guy in front and asked, "How far are we riding today?" to which the rider practically spat, "Farther Than You!", to which I said, "Your one of those angry bicyclists I've heard about.", to which he said, "F@#K You!" Kind of odd don't you think?

rbrian

Imagine how he'd have felt if you'd passed him in an econobox when he was driving a sportscar - same thing. It's all down to the size of your manhood - you need big cajones to ride a bike with tiny wheels.

timo888 

Maybe you have the power to make things happen when you speak them? You should try, "You're one of those people who bring million-dollar checks to sweepstakes winners" or "You're the girl of my dreams" or "You want to give me your Rohloff".

Regards
T

folder fanatic

Too bad bike riding is now sliding into more game playing amoung it's own. Folding bikes are considered the "poor cousin" of the serious cycling set. The person who chooses to own and use these bikes have to have a bit of a maverick in their personalities. So I am not really surprised at the retort you got in return. I am really surprised that you did not get socked in the face from these types of prehistoric brutes.

DLBroox

I ride in Miami where there's lots of roadies on the streets where I ride. One day two girls and a guy were passing me going the opposite direction. One of the girls and the guy said hi and the other girl laughed at me. I felt like a gawky high schooler again, and went home and road my full size bike for the next two weeks. Then one day I realized I wasn't having fun on that bike and what the heck was I thinking. I took the clown bike back out and now ride it proudly. I think special people ride special bikes. I adore my folder. I'd sooner give up my full size bike.

bicycleflyer

I accompanied my wife to a convention in LAX once and took my Bike Friday. I located a group ride one morning and decided to join them. You should have seen the eyes roll when I showed up. By the end of that ride they were all asking "what in the he77 is that!!" That was my first bike-friday, I have since upgraded to a pocket-rocket

I pass other roadies up all the time, and some pass me ... It's not the bike, it's the rider. I do get everything from amusing comments, good conversation, and the occasional *****. But when I think about it, I get that sometimes when I show up on my rivendell. While doing a club ride on my rivendell I had a guy ride up after the group made a stop. He was about three minutes behind me. He then made the comment "I know what I need to be fast now ... Fenders and a kick stand"

Dahon.Steve

Never call anyone angry. Those are fighting words and you don't know what they're capable of.

Cheers.

juan162

I think that if an apple is an apple, you should call it an apple. My 2 cents.
Juan

mulleady

Total jerks not even worth the reaction. I've had 2 aussie guys when drunk call my Brompton a ***'s bike in the centre of London. I reacted that time and shouldn't have bothered as they are the ones with masculinity issues not me lol! Let them wallow in their ignorance.

The fact folding bikes get a reaction either way rather than no reaction speaks volumes for their qualities and quirky nature. I have asked my final year degree students to choose from 10 products for an international marketing project. Guess what one of the top 3 choices is? A Brompton folding bike! Even informed young people think they are cool and folders are becoming more hip by the minute.

Only the ignorant laugh so laugh at their ignorance

timo888 

What about bad apples?

Regards
T

noteon 

If I'm reading this right, they got passed and then passed you in turn.

You responded by catching up and provoking them verbally, and then bragged about it on a message board.

I realize this is a minority opinion, but it seems to me that this time around, you were the jerk.

bykerouac

+1. It does seem like the OP was seeking a confrontation, especially with his angry bicyclist comment.

rhm

I tend to agree. When you ask "how far are we going today?" you imply you are part of their party. But in fact you were not invited and did not ask whether you can join; you just joined. In effect, you crashed their party. So they threw you out. Why? It may have been bicycle snobbery, but perhaps they are spies surreptitiously passing state secrets back and forth; who knows?

Next time you see them, try asking "hey, mind if I draft you for a little while?" or something; they'll probably grant permission with a curt nod of the head, and then try to drop you but fast. If five or ten miles later they still won't let you into their club, come back and tell us-- you're still welcome here!

staehpj1

+1

I have to wonder if you (the OP) didn't speed up to pass them and then slow down in front of them. Even if you didn't you still acted like a jerk in this case even based on your own description of the events.

gruffydd

I wonder if McCain and Palin ride folders? That's a scary thought.

Sammyboy

I would ignore it. For me, as a reasonably strong rider, this is one of the joys of folders. Going past anyone on a remotely performance oriented bike causes them to absolutely burst a blood vessel trying to catch me. Some of them can, and some of them can't, but even if they do, what do they prove? They're faster than a fat man on a clown bike. This was even more fun on my absolutely stock Raleigh 20; I remember tailing a guy in full lycra on a CF roadie all the way along the Embankment from Westminster Bridge past Blackfriars as he near killed himself trying to drop me. Good times!

chainstrainer

Passing another cyclist may stoke your ego but hanging on his tail will provoke his ego. The latter is a lot more fun as Sammyboy has pointed out.

Sammyboy

I should point out that for every lycra poser I could hang with, there was at least one more who was no poseur at all, and could drop me with reasonable ease (as he should be able to, on a bike that weighs about the same as the rear wheel of my granny bike!)

griftereck

if you catch and pass then catch and pass
your playing a game.
so expect the other players to not be too polite.

cyclezealot

Not a surprise , cyclists are people like everyone else. A certain percentage are bad eggs.

mrbrown

hanging on their tail, fun stuff.

drdave

i've usually had good vibes from roadies.

my favorite was a fellow that hailed me .."yo, folder dude!"

d

chainstrainer

If you're a senior and was carrying yours at the time you'd be an older folder holder.

zebede

What if you are active duty Military, close to retirement, carrying your folding bike. What would your be then?

rbrian

If you were all of that, and a bit braver than your average serviceman, you'd be a bolder older folder holder soldier!