kirbyx

I am average weight, bike a lot of mountain road distance, fairly fastish. I am stunned how many Clydes I see on bikes, and how powerful they (very often) are. But the one thing that makes them (generally) stand apart from the standard roadie is attitude... they smile, actually seem to enjoy the hard work, and have an infectious good vibe. It's f*****g inspirational.

rokphotography

i always throw a peace deuce up to any body riding any kind of bike on the road. out of courtesy, and its just nice seeing peoples reactions. especially hipsters on fixies around where i ride my roadie, all i get are dumbfounded stares at what im riding!

(51)

We're there to enjoy the ride...Not to break to 20mph speed limit.

And although I say, "Good morning" to everyone I pass, about half don't respond.

jaxgtr

I guess it must be uncomfortable to ride with a stick up your butt.

I_Bike

I find it disappointing when a fellow cyclist won't respond.

Bizurke

When I first started hitting the busier MUP in my town I always gave a wave or a nod to every rider that went by and I never got a wave back or a nod, at most I would get a nasty look. One day I finally started getting pissed off about how no one in my town who rode a bike would even give me the time of day. I stopped at a bar along the trail to get a beer and saw a guy in spandex and a jersey sitting by the window. I decided I would give it one last try and said "Hi" to him. Luckily that guy was actually really nice and I ended up joining his RAGBRAI team and having the time of my life. If I wouldn't of given it that last chance I never would of met all the great people I ride with now.

It still pisses me off though.

crtreedude 

For many, just riding IS the accomplishment. How fast is not even thought about. For me, just the fact I commute daily with a bike is a great joy and satisfaction.

Oh, a note, some of us Clydes (or in my case, ex-clyde) are not without our pride. A skinny guy was going up a hill with a bike stuck in a single gear (really common here) and when he stopped, I said - why are you stopping? He said, "no tiene cambios" (I don't have any gears). So I borrowed his bike and showed him how it was done. As I told him, I have the legs of a horse!

One of those satisfying clyde moments...

The CLYDE

I been the chubby guy on a bike, I been the skinny as hell road racer and now I'm the REALLY REALLY big guy on a bike and you are ABSOLUTELY correct...We Clydes just bring to cycling a grounding it so desperately needs, those little race twerps are such a-holes nine times out of ten but man...is it fun to get on one of their slip streams and hold with them for a few miles...they ALWAYS try and lose you eventually but you stay, right there, making them work and then they think, "okay fat boy...yer turn, have the front" and that's when I like to get up front and show them what REAL cycling pain feels like. I've always been a mountain goat, so i love to hurt the skinnies up a climb, increase the tempo everytime I hear them exhale hard or drop gears...Sure, they eventually pass you but not before you've given them a whole new appreciation for the bigman/woman on a bike. The next time you see em' out there, you typically have earned "the nod."

Skinny or fat has so little to do with output once your legs and lungs have been conditioned.

chipcom 

I have a theory. As we get older, we put on weight. The extra weight speeds up the normal effects of gravity over time and helps to push our heads out of our okoles.

crtreedude 

For those of us who aren't carrying a lot of fat anymore - we tend to be very good for the long haul. I can outlast most people - these horse legs of mine have a lot of storage in the muscles.

Miguelangel

crtreedude:
you are right in that opinion. Throughout my life I been the chubby guy, even when I was in college: I swam a mile and a half every morning used my bike to commute and ran 5 miles a day. On weekends long rides were always on the menu and finished several trialathons in pretty good standing. And still I was a bit overweight. My college swiming coach changed my mind form the classic speed swimer, needs to be thin and have long reach, to the long distance swimmer. Not only do heavier guys have more flotation but they do have reserves for the long haul if they learn how to use them. Well in a bike thiner is faster and easier on the uphills. Then the question is what is your right weight to mantain enough reserves ???? (sometimes not necessarily as thin as the competition)

big john

Sure there is some elitist stuff and some snobs on bikes, but I've had a lot of fast riders, even some pros, who were friendly and supportive. I think when some fit riders see an older, heavier guy like me climbing a hill, they like to give a few words of encouragement.
chipcom, you make a good point.