Originally Posted by oldfixguy

PedallingATX,

Thank you. You did a very good job of making my point. I'll try not to drag this out.

We as cyclists are one of the most poorly mannered groups I have ever encountered. We suck at keeping ourselves in line. It's why I have such a disdain for roadies (as opposed to people who ride road bikes). You see, the only reason roadies behave the way they do is because we as cyclists permit it. If we called people on their crap then this issue would disappear. Roadies would have no one to act up in front of so their little "trip" would simply be over. They would be relegated to only hanging around others like them and that's a limited gene pool that dies. So, the next time you see a roadie being snotty, aloof, elitist or any of a hundred other things I say call him on it. Tell him it's unacceptable. Do not require him to leave but do require him to behave in an appropriate manner. Roadies are a minority group within our minority group. But, they are plentiful enough that every last one of us has met more than one. They act the way they do because we don't call them on it.

Need a comparison? Good. I have one. Triathletes. I know a number of these guys and gals. These people are completely off the deep end. They wear their HRM's at work. They train like animals. Their lives are being tri-people. They are also some of the kindest, most mild mannered, friendly, all-inclusive people I have ever met. I know tri people who you would look at and say "Yea, dude is bad to the bone". I know tri people who are fat senior citizens that picked up the bug last year. They are all welcome in the tri world. As are their friends and families. I see tri-people training in groups that the rear group is literally kids and non-tri spouses or designated "I'll watch the kids" tri-folk. When was the last time you seen a hard core road ride being caboosed by kids and non-hardcore cycling spouses? Tri's are never aloof, crappy or nasty. Their culture does not permit it. You behave yourself or you quickly find yourself feeling very alone among 35 people. I've watched it happen with my own eyes so I'm not just shooting off. These people have a very special place in my heart because they are both incredible athletes (regardless of current athletic status or prowess) and incredible human beings.

So, that's it. I make all the bold, admittedly big-brush statements to make a point. We as a group need to get it together. We need to be both great athletes and great human beings. We need to start with our own