JoeyBike

Well, in the Commuter Forum, where most folks are commuting well under 10 miles each way, we are much more likely to not want to look like we just got dropped by the Peloton. Personally, I find that dressing like a "normal" person for my commute gets me a lot of slack from motorists. I often wear a long sleeve dress shirt untucked and some cargo shorts - often black. I look like waitstaff. Motorists see a regular guy going to work and treat me like one of them at rush hour. I almost never see anyone in New Orleans biking to work in full kit. Maybe one a year (probably not going to or coming from work). One third of our population do not own cars. Many bike. We all wear our regular clothes.

So if you are tooling around downtown in the grid in full kit, you look a bit like your spaceship just landed. There will be "fun" remarks so I have been told by roadie buds of mine. Like "Hey Lance...where's the race?" or "Nice package bro". Motorists tend to think of you as some kind of Pro and graze you mercilessly.

I think the gaudy jerseys draw the most ire. I don't think the hate comes from jealousy for sure. The kit is a costume far as I can see. It screams "Look at me!...I'm a CYCLIST!" Whooptie-do.