Interesting that 531Aussie mentioned the tri-geeks. I came to serious cycling (by Red Baron's definition) from triathlon. In my experience, triathlons are very supportive, friendly events. Unless you're a pro, the competition is more against yourself than the other racers and so you get a lot of encouragement during the race. There's a sense of shared suffering and the knowledge that everyone has a weak discipline (or in my case, two!).

On the other hand, triathletes tend to train alone and since drafting is illegal in most races, few bother to learn paceline skills. I learned because I found out that it's a lot more fun to blaze along at 28mph in a big group than to grind away by yourself, studying your thumbs, at 22mph. Plus, it helped me break an hour in the bike split in my last tri.

So, what to do? I guess what I'm going to start doing is waving at every bike I see. From the Colnagos to the Huffys and everybody in between. If they don't wave back, their loss.