When in a situation where I cannot ignore boorish remarks, I have always followed Judith Martin's (Miss Manners) advice and replied with a mild, "How kind of you to say so."

That sucks. I feel your pain. There's always some fool in a pack of people trying to show off how stupid they are. Next time it happens and it will, smile, wave and reply with a "Thanks for the encouragement!" and ride on. That person will look like an even bigger jerk and everyone will realize it.

Mockery will always be there and it will always hurt. Don't give in to the frustration and keep riding.

Ignoring it is unfortunately the best option.... although sometimes entertaining the idea of getting off your bike and beating the snot out of them with you frame pump will put a smile on your face :) . bad idea but as it puts us at their level.

good to have you posting on with us, you are allowed to sound like a teenage girl every now and then.... just don't start dressing like one :) .

Btw how did you break your hand ? only thing i have broken so far is my dignity and my sanity ... neither of which i needed .

(hollered back over the shoulder) "Nope - there are just way too many inconsiderate ***holes out today. Makes navigating difficult"

Or:

"Nope. Just in a hurry to get to your wife"

I was trying to avoid a dog that barged into the biking lane and my bike crushed into a bush. My hand was caught between the handlebar and the ground. The dog owner didn't put the dog on leash, and didn't even bother to apologize. 6 weeks in a lovely cast.

Then stop thinking about it. The day before yesterday I rode into a neighboring city on a busy highway. At one point some jackarse threw a cigarette at me from the passenger side of a pickup then flipped me off as his buddy floored it. I thought "What a *#*#*#" and then let it go. A few miles later I was stopped on the right side of the road at a stoplight. There was a long line of traffic turning right (right on red state) and when the light turned green I was stuck until a kind woman stopped and waved me through. Karma balanced, life is good, sky is blue, grass is green, yadda . . . yadda . . . yadda.

Honestly, the vast majority of people are pretty cool. Just like on the road, even on smooth paths sooner or later you'll come across a few dips.

ouch , yea some people are just drop kicks. but other people make up for them , as myosmith said.. karma :)

Shame you had to run into the vocal minority .
Most folks admire your ability to get out
there and do your thing.
Silently .

Some folks can argue that other exercises (like running, f'rinstance) work more muscles and may be more effective, but if it is a chore, one won't stick with it. The most effective fat burning exercise is one you do because you enjoy it. If you enjoy it, you will do more of it and it won't be a chore. I've gotten to the point now where if I can't get on the bike for a few days, my body starts craving it and I get antsy if I can't get out for at least a short evening ride.

It's funny that this situation came up within a day or so of responding to this thread. I've been majorly lycra-averse since I started riding again last summer, mostly because I thought that displaying my fat body in body-hugging fabric was certainly a violation of social mores, if not outright illegal. I've lost a lot of weight, and it's been very warm out (until today), so I decided to forego the outer baggy shorts and just ride with my cycling shorts as outerwear.

I was riding along in Paterson, NJ, and two guys passed me in a car. The guy on the passenger side yells out the window, "Nice butt!" I wonder if he was surprised when he discovered that he'd just said that to a 59 year old, bearded man...

Or maybe he intended that all the time, and was commenting that, although I've lost a lot of weight, I'm not there yet. Either way - it was a great ride. Beautiful weather, relatively empty roads (for this part of the world, anyway). No way was one a-hole going to spoil it.

I posted this to another thread, and you might not have seen it. I think it's appropriate to keep this in mind as you embark on your journey:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=254161

Seems very befitting for an A-hole to talk about butts, if you know what I mean. I guess A-holes really do exist no matter where you are; but then again, maybe it was a real compliment?

Now THAT'S creepy! I'm not sure I like the idea of 20-something inner-city guys vocally admiring my posterior ... Homey don't play dat! Not that there's anything wrong with it... :D