Originally Posted by
cachehiker
Fred's are a dedicated breed. I am the Fred of the racing team I ride with. Yes, I am fast and yes, I do own a racing bike.
But it's more common for me to roll up on a drop bar mountain bike wearing a wife beater and clipless sandals. The comments are usually along the line of "that bike is so wrong on so many levels" and "where do you mount the keg on that thing?" Whatever, 100 miles a week on heavy bikes loaded with groceries while wearing denim shorts with sandpaper instead of a chamois makes you a tough sob.
Then one day I suddenly show up for a group ride in full racing regalia on Ksyrium SL's and make the poseurs wonder how I got to be so fast without riding. I didn't. I rode when it was cold. I rode when it was hot. I rode when it rained. I rode when it snowed. I rode when the wind blew. I rode when it was dark. I just rode and didn't worry about whether or not I had the "proper gear".
That sounds like a pretty good description of a Fred. I didn't know much about the term before, so I just didn't use it. Anyways, sometimes I see serious cyclists their, umm, special clothes at the uni. Makes me wonder how far they biked that they felt the need to make themselves stand out. Hard not to chuckle when I see them around the student center. I wonder if they change before class or if they just walk around all day with their junk outlined perfectly. Nothing against roadies, some of them that I've met on the MUPs have been really nice and helpful and some are just fools.