KonaRider125

I've recently in the last year gotten into bicycling and really enjoying it, I plan to upgrade from my hybrid to a nice road bike soon. I ride every weekend on rural country roads in central coast California wine country(where I live), roads that a lot of road cyclists travel to come ride.

One troubling thing I have noticed when out on the road is a lot of the serious looking road cyclists are arrogant A-holes. They don't wave back to me usually, ride double wide on the narrow country roads, and they don't move over for vehicles. They have the attitude like they own the road and F everybody else. I'm friends with a local rancher who owns property along a local road very popular with cyclists(The 2014 Amgen Tour of CA went on it) and he regularly gets into heated confrontations with cyclists for riding in the middle of the road and not moving over.

Bottom line, most of these guys with expensive bikes and clothing are complete unfriendly arrogant A holes who give everyone who rides a bicycle a bad name with local property owners and drivers.

Is this just a California thing, or is it common everywhere? Rant over.

danmc

I think we've already met our quota for waving threads this spring.

RPK79

bt

great idea for a fresh new topic.

KonaRider125

This is not a waving thread this is a thread about someone new to cycling discouraged by the behavior of other cyclists.

ktm4012

Funny you posted this, I am new to cycling, bought a road bike but haven't gotten around to purchasing the proper attire yet. Seems everyone just ignores my wave/nod. It's all good, I enjoy the workout and will keep waving.

rpenmanparker 

Forget about the lack of waving and unfriendliness. Their not out on a Sunday stroll. The're working hard and aren't interested in communal niceties. Get over it. The road hogging is different. It is inexcusable. Feel free to let that eat at your insides. You will be a better man for it.

RPK79

If you properly ignored other cyclists you wouldn't have this problem.

Team Sarcasm

Are you in the SLO central coast area?

Waving is hit or miss here, mostly hit with the cute girls.

rpenmanparker 

No it's a waving thread. If you want to exchange waves, join a Mardi Gras Krewe. Cycling isn't about special waves, nods and secret handshakes. It is about hard riding.

RollCNY

When you go to the gym, do you wave at other people on the tread mills? Do they wave back?

LesterOfPuppets

Just wait 'til your wave gets ignored by a fat dude on a Magna crapwagon.

t.braxt

We aren't all like that.

danmc

Speak for yourself.

raqball

Agree 100%! Cycling is loaded to the hilt with these types.. I ride a flat bar bike, wear shorts and a t-shirt (with bibs under) and it cracks me up how other cyclists act towards the riders that they 'assume' are new or are beneath their greatness / studlyness..

I am not new to cycling and I still find their behavior to be troubling..

I always waive and can usually tell right away if my presence will even be acknowledged just based on the other riders face / expression.. More often than not, I get the 'you are a looser on a flat bar bike, dressed like a fred and I am beyond you' type look as a response..

I keep on waiving though!

I also slow / stop to check on other cyclists who may be on the side of the road or pushing their bike.. Most of these 'stuck on themselves' types are to busy trying to set land speed records or qualify for the Tour de France that they can't be bothered to check on another cyclists..

My .02 flame away!

aubiecat

Speak for yourself.

wphamilton

Just real quickly because I've never experienced your roads but in general there's a flip side.

* Some roadies don't wave because they're focused. Others see it as irrelevant unless they know you, and they do have a point when you think about it.

* Riding double on narrow roads is no more disruptive than riding single. When the lane is too narrow to safely share.

* They should move over for vehicles, but only when it's safe for the vehicle to pass them in the same lane. A driver doesn't always realize that, and will sometimes squeeze by as soon as the bike moves over. You can't encourage that if you want to live.

* I don't ride in groups so maybe I see a different crowd, but I see a lot less arrogance from roadies than I see from the weekend warriors and self-appointed "ride marshals" on the MUP. Especially this time of year. I don't think any category of cyclists generally has a preponderance of it.

CommuteCommando

They wave, nod or do some other friendly gesture, or not. No matter. Doing a close brush pass at 25 MPH with out as little as an "on your left", is what I call arrogant.

For years I was one of those who scoffed at riders in full kit as posers, until I discovered just how comfortable that stuff was for riding. I do frequent 40-50 mile rides, can keep up with most casual to moderately paced groups, and will nod or otherwise acknowledge those who wave, unless I don't. Don't take it personally.

Nachoman

Sounds like you and your cager rancher friend have a lot in common.

daihard 

Just curious, does CA have the FRAP law (where the cyclists are supposed to ride on the right edge of the road as long as it is safe to do so)? Even if they do, those people you observe may legally take up the whole road if the road itself is narrow enough.

contango 

This is very true. If you've got spare energy to wave you aren't working hard enough.

aubiecat

The ones that do this are by far the biggest a-holes.

banerjek

I waved to a guy driving down the road the other day. He didn't wave back. I tried this with a woman, and people of all ages. They also didn't wave. Stuck up jerks -- eff em all.

You don't even want to know what happened when I lectured a bunch of other drivers on what they were doing wrong.

I'm sure all this mistreatment was because my car is old and they think they're better than me Is this just an Oregon thing, or does it happen elsewhere?

t.braxt

I share the road, I just don't wave nor care about getting waved at.

RJM

What's this waving crap? If you want to wave at everybody who rides the same thing as you, take up motorcycling.

Seriously, the last thing I want to do when huffing and puffing up some hill is to wave to some dude riding down it.