Why is road cycling so political and middle class?
05-01-14, 02:48 PM
#176
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I'm not going to read this post, but "middle-class" as an adjective… really? Poor choice of words.
05-01-14, 03:04 PM
#177
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I'll guard the hen house?
05-01-14, 03:55 PM
#178
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I have a confession to make. I'm middle class. Have been my whole life. Even when I was an anti-establishment bohemian in the 70s and 80s, I was closeted middle class. You can rise above the stigma, enjoy yoru nice bike, and be a proud middle class cyclist regardless of what the hipsters at the coffee shop might call you when they think you're not listening.
05-02-14, 07:41 AM
#179
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05-02-14, 07:57 AM
#180
The Left Coast, USA
As a road cyclist, it is my duty to be smug, and unrepentantly pursue the "pro" state of being, and exceed that to a degree at the hobbyist level which rewrites the book on casual road cycling. With a dedicated spirit and lust for the goal, coupled with contempt in my heart, I can attain a state of being so pro that it exceeds pro peloton levels; oh to be more "pro" than an actual professional. Then just maybe, if the cosmos aligns, I can be out there, gasping for air on a cat-5 climb, gasping for air at sub-1000', a pro might drive by in a car and think, "I wonder if I know that guy, he looks pro?" Then, although I'll be ignorant to the ebb-and flow of energy, the whims of the great magnet, I will have obtained a degree of fitness that exceeds the potentials of fitness and strength, I will "look pro".
You too can be "pro". It doesn't take a $10k bicycles, Campagnolo (it sure helps), nor does it require Rapha (but seriously, lol @ troglodytes riding on SRAM). It takes is an unrelenting respect for the rules and the commitment that holds you to standards which exceed them.
So I hope I've enlightened you and eased the burden of course attitudes you have toward cycling and that you've now realized that anyone with a smug attitude and a saddle bag or mismatched components should be immediately disarmed by the rules. I also hope that you have learned that although speed and endurance are paramount, the strongest cyclist in the pack is no greater than the depraved chi of his bicycle affixed with a saddle bag.
You too can be "pro". It doesn't take a $10k bicycles, Campagnolo (it sure helps), nor does it require Rapha (but seriously, lol @ troglodytes riding on SRAM). It takes is an unrelenting respect for the rules and the commitment that holds you to standards which exceed them.
So I hope I've enlightened you and eased the burden of course attitudes you have toward cycling and that you've now realized that anyone with a smug attitude and a saddle bag or mismatched components should be immediately disarmed by the rules. I also hope that you have learned that although speed and endurance are paramount, the strongest cyclist in the pack is no greater than the depraved chi of his bicycle affixed with a saddle bag.
To the OP: I don't think it's politics or economic status. More likely it's the human need to fit into a 'tribe' or those who project their ambition and fantasy into their rides. In other words its human nature, there is simply nothing to be gained by obsessing over it.
05-20-14, 03:48 PM
#182
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Just to touch base on the comments earlier in the thread about "staring at bikes and equipment," I am guilty as charged. I DEFINITELY do this! I wouldn't say I'm "sizing someone up," but I do look at the gear. It's like a, "What'cha got there?" I also see people staring at my bike and equipment. This happens mainly when I'm mountain biking. I couldn't care less about someone's roadie, I like to see what kind of MTBs people are riding.
My Flash gets a lot of attention, and they're always the same questions, as it has a "Lefty" fork on it. "Is it safe?" "Does it feel weird?" "Is it light?" Does it handle the terrain very well?" It's pretty amazing how a lot of people aren't real familiar with the "Lefty," especially given its popularity...or maybe people have seen bikes equipped with them, but just don't bother trying them out?
But yep, I'm definitely guilty of being nosy and scoping everyone else's gear.
My Flash gets a lot of attention, and they're always the same questions, as it has a "Lefty" fork on it. "Is it safe?" "Does it feel weird?" "Is it light?" Does it handle the terrain very well?" It's pretty amazing how a lot of people aren't real familiar with the "Lefty," especially given its popularity...or maybe people have seen bikes equipped with them, but just don't bother trying them out?
But yep, I'm definitely guilty of being nosy and scoping everyone else's gear.
07-13-14, 12:18 AM
#183
Campy NR / SR forever
Last edited by cadillacmike68; 07-13-14 at 12:48 AM.
07-13-14, 12:32 AM
#184
Campy NR / SR forever
I can't even get through page 2 of this.....
Last edited by cadillacmike68; 07-13-14 at 12:48 AM.
07-13-14, 03:24 AM
#185
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Sometimes I don't always notice oncoming riders as I am focused my form and keeping an eye/ear out for traffic. Often times while bombing up a hill with traffic on my left side, I don't feel comfortable taking a hand off the bar to wave.
07-13-14, 04:24 AM
#186
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I ride in work clothes to work. I would say good morning. A dude passed me in full get up I said good morning he said nothing so I passed him. I met him off the bike he's still a snob. My jelly belly gear hangs in the closet. When I don the sweet candy suit I always say hi , ride in my domaine we will spread cheer.
07-13-14, 04:59 AM
#188
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it is true. a greater proportion of roadies are snobs.
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coasting, few quotes are worthy of him, and of those, even fewer printable in a family forum......quote 3alarmer
No @coasting, you should stay 100% as you are right now, don't change a thing....quote Heathpack
07-13-14, 05:28 AM
#189
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Is it being a snob, if I'm actually better than you
07-13-14, 05:44 AM
#190
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Oh look ... the first "they didn't wave at me" thread of the season!! 
The imagination is an amazing thing.
Focus on your own ride ... stop imagining what people are thinking of you. Most of the time no one sees you ... no one notices you ... no one is paying any attention to you at all ... no one cares.
The imagination is an amazing thing.
Focus on your own ride ... stop imagining what people are thinking of you. Most of the time no one sees you ... no one notices you ... no one is paying any attention to you at all ... no one cares.
07-13-14, 05:45 AM
#191
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07-13-14, 05:46 AM
#192
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I ride in work clothes to work. I would say good morning. A dude passed me in full get up I said good morning he said nothing so I passed him. I met him off the bike he's still a snob. My jelly belly gear hangs in the closet. When I don the sweet candy suit I always say hi , ride in my domaine we will spread cheer.
07-13-14, 05:48 AM
#193
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I hate it when I respond to old threads without realizing it. I feel so......violated.
07-13-14, 05:52 AM
#194
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Why don't riders with Yellow Buckets Wave?
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07-13-14, 06:01 AM
#195
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07-13-14, 09:34 AM
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What about if you are a center left union man, working a very blue collar job that is traditionally done by those with many right wing views that affords a middle class lifestyle? What then?
07-13-14, 09:43 AM
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07-13-14, 12:50 PM
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I have a confession to make. I'm middle class. Have been my whole life. Even when I was an anti-establishment bohemian in the 70s and 80s, I was closeted middle class. You can rise above the stigma, enjoy yoru nice bike, and be a proud middle class cyclist regardless of what the hipsters at the coffee shop might call you when they think you're not listening.
07-13-14, 02:43 PM
#199
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07-13-14, 04:41 PM
#200
Senior Member
Why is road cycling so political and middle class?
Something strange happens when mild mannered men put on a jumper and mount up.