I've ridden my bike for years and only now am I hearing of this Fred phenomenon. I've read through some "Fred" post and the only thing I've come to conclude is that Fred is a Bike rider. Maybe I need to pay closer attention to this. Am I a Fred? Beats me. I do know, however, my bday is tomorrow and I am getting some bike stuff! Woo Hoo!

That's where a webcam might come in handy. I might be tempted to return the favor. But then I'm not of the "turn the other cheek" school of thought.

Wow. That indeed is a helluva accomplishment. Ride on!

thanks- i ride like my life depends on it- i actually feel blessed to have this disease, it's given me a different perspective on lifeand i figure the minute i stop, the disease has won and i might as well take a dirt nap!

That's not a joke, that's vandalism of your private property. How would your co-workers feel about getting to the parking lot and finding that someone let all the air out of their tires? would they be laughing about it? I'll bet not.

If it were me I'd file a complaint with HR, and the webcam idea is good too. Heck, I've fired people for less.

Fred reminds me of a character in the IT industry referred to as 'Mort'. Mort is not a coder, he's just some guy trying to get some work done. As a result Mort tends to build databases using Microsoft Access and Excel macros. His code is really ugly and the people 'in the know' get a good laugh out of the clever solutions he comes up with.

To be honest though, Mort gets 99% of the job done himself just fine and can usually manage to save the company some money despite the application being kludged together.

And no, Mort has no idea what a Mort is and probably doesn't care.

Show us a picture of you on your bike and we will give you precise advice.

"Mort"s get things done. IT departments frown on the kludged applications "Mort"s design, but when people ask IT to do it they get a reply like: "It's a priority 3, we'll get to it in 6 months". Mort's stuff isn't as slick and crashes a lot more, but they can start using it in a few days instead of a few months to never.

I've been both a "Mort" and an IT guy so I know how it works.

wouldn't posing for a photo-op with my bike make me a fred?

You are not only a potential fred, you are an inspirational fred contender....

I'm a 40 year old father of 2 with asthma doing the bike commute.... I can only applaud you sir!
and say, wow,.... modern science and medicine are a wonder....


Kudos!

Dr. Joe

It depends, is there a Starbucks in the background?

In these dire economic times even a boarded up Starbucks will suffice.

... only if it is posed ...

unfortunately i don't have a photo of me with my bike-

That reminds me I need to get a few more pairs of cargo shorts

Wait, read that again. Your question was "what do I do to not be a Fred, and the answer was to dress and act like a roadie. (I'm a Fred-roadie "half-breed" so it's PC for me to comment.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling)

i read the definition but now i'm confused as to what a fred is? is it someone who tries to pose as a lance or is it someone who wears cutoffs with cycling shoes,

Yes.

A Fred is someone excited about his kickstand and uses a bike flag.

We're all freds...and the definition changes depending on who is defining one. F wiki.

essentially we're all freds to some degree- although, does the fact that i've acknowledged fred tendencies mean that i'm not a fred if you go by the wikipedia definition?

I've said it before, you don't bring a wiki to a bike forums fight.

I think a more helpful definition of Fred is:
The other guy on a bike.

(For Doris substitute gal for guy).

Is a guy a Fred if he wears BDU's hacked off just below the knee patch, thus forming some sort of goofy Combat Knicker?

I am both a Mort and a Fred.

The managers come to me for answers and the roadies follow me around on the charity rides so I'm doing just fine.

Oooooo, I just ordered a new Greenfield!! Black to match my bike too. Seriously.