Diffusing and de-fusing
 

What do you do to defuse mockery from some people? Actually, I just want to read stories about encounters which ended well!

I'll start.

I rode to Best Buy to grab a case for my (non-iPod) MP3 player. On my way out of the lot, which faces a shopping mall, I encountered a mass (6-10) of younger teenagers (13-15 I assumed). They all looked at me and, in what I took for slight, but friendly, mockery, woo-woo'd at me.

Here's the image of me: high-vis yellow jersey, bike shorts of the tight variety, yellow glasses, helmet, PB Epileptic Special (AKA Superflash).

I propped myself up on one hand, turned to them semi-upright, and with my free hand flashed the rock horn sign with the rocker pouty lips. They stopped woo-wooing and started cheering. :D

Maybe they were just mocking your choice of MP3 player, and not the biking.

"Hey look at the geek! Hooray!"

Blow them a kiss. Either that or pretend I am deaf.

No harm, no foul. Kids can yell whatever they want at me and I let it slide. I don't feel the need to take action until someone attempts to hurt me.

My favourite is riding past the skate/bike park, because I get a few BMXer kids that want to race (which I lose intentionally) or challenge me to wheelie contests (which I lose because I'm not as good as them.) They laugh at the 'old' guy, I laugh and tell them "I'm stopping at the bar on my way home and having a beer, wanna come? Oh yeah... you can't." And we go our separate ways.

Throwin' the horns is always a great manouver. I'll have to remember to toss one of those in there with my banter amongst the skatepark kids.

Sometimes I purposely make my commute by the skate park. If I rode my XC bike that day, I'll even play out on the ramps with some of the kids. It's kind of fun to get back out and play again. Just because you commute doesn't mean it has to be strictly a means of transportation.

People only mock me behind my back.

This sounds like Metal Hand Sign Abuse!

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/42365

:lol:

I must be incredibly uncool...I have NO idea what anything in that sentence means. :(

Rocker Sign:
http://www.delta.edu/jfrohm/sign/iloveyou-sm.jpg

Pouty Lips:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...Kids4/LIPS.jpg

Have fun

Thanks! I'll be sure to practice. :D

I wear a skater lid and (in summer) Dickie shorts, so get more cool than geek remarks from kids. Image is everything.

^^^^Poser

<--- Dork.

Optional replies:

Smile. Give thumbs up.

Wave.

Ignore.

Yell, at the top of your lungs, while shaking your fist, "you Goddam kids!"

I'm an old lady luddite fuddy-duddy. I have no idea what on earth kids are saying anymore.

It's OK. They don't either.

I rode past a skate park (with some BMXers playing).

None of the kids had helmets on. One that was close to me was like "dude, nice helmet."

I said "Thanks."

Then, I thwacked him on the skull with my frame pump and said "See? I would have barely felt that" and laughed and rode away as he lay there, bleeding in the fetal position.


Okay, so I just ENVISIONED the stuff in italics. That's usually about all it takes. Who gives a flip what some lame kids think? They're riding 0.4 miles per day round trip from their house across the street, and they probably spend more time playing computer games or surfing myspace TALKING about how cool their bike stunts are, than they actually spend practicing bike stunts. Whenever I go past there, there's a bunch of kids, some skateboarders, a few bikes laying dormant, and people hanging out in the picnic shelter.

I should ask if any of them want to race. It would rock to see a 220 pound fat white almost 30 year old dude on a clunky decade-old MTB school some youngins.

I kind of like the mockery. Okay, sometimes it can get painfully cliche. But if they use some imagination, or at least change the word order, I feel better. It's just getting so hard to really annoy the crap out of people nowdays. All that's left is either bike commuting or handing out copies of Watchtower magazine. So just take pleasure in knowing that if you get mocked, it was caused by your pissing them off more without really trying. It's a gift I tell you. Some people are talented musicians or artists and they have learned to accept it. You need to accept your's. Annoying the general public from time to time is a neccessary and valuable social service.

People compliment my helmet like every other day. I thank them. I do it for the people after all.

Better tuck that thumb in or it's not a rocker sign!

I like the idea of playing at the BMX park...it sounds fun!

Today I saw a whole schoolbus full of kids yelling obscenities at passing cars. Kids these days are something awful! (Yes, I was like that too. :D)

For lycra, substitue cargo shorts (wear lycra under it if you need that). For hi-vis, substitute just about anything (I only wear a hi-vis in the dark). For yellow glasses, just don't. I don't wear a helmet any more since I read the research about how much closer cars cut you. And, all my bikes are fairly cool, except my tourer. But really, I don't care, I know I'm cooler than they are.

Stop caring what morons think of you. You start living by what other people think of you, before you know it you're driving a BMW. Or and SUV. Or a BMW SUV. (Shudder)

It was overcast, hence the amber lenses. It was going to get dark on my way home, hence the hi-vis.

Anywho, this thread is about sharing stories, not me venting, bragging, etc.

See above! :)