Just a rant to get off my chest, to an audience of fellow bike dorks. There are probably other threads just like this, sorry.
I commute about 32 pretty flat miles a day, round trip. I'm not trying to kill myself, but yeah I go a teensy bit fast. And with 15 miles each way, I do indulge in lycra, even though I'd rather wear normal cloths. But, you know, my family jewels are much happier in lycra.

My gripe: I think since I dress semi-Fredly, I find myself in "races" I'm not aware I'm partaking in. Usually I don't mind, but this morning I was yo-yo ing with a complete yo-yo. He rode super dangerously around intersections, buzzed pedestrians, and cars. Unfortunately I found myself passing him on every incline, where he would then proceed to "half-wheel" me (overlap his front wheel with my rear), but not pass me. So either I tell him to go on ahead or he pulls some sketchy maneuver to pass me again. Inevitably I pass him on some tiny incline once again, and the process is repeated. The wannabe commuter racers don't annoy me sooo bad (I don't mind if someone drafts me, if I know they're there). But this overlapping wheels moron was the worst!
Don't be this guy!
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Quick survey?
Would you rather hear a friendly "good morning" if being passed, than a gruff "on your left"?
Do you enjoy talking to fellow commuters for a few blocks if we're going roughly the same pace?
I you happen to get passed, is your manhood/womanhood intact?
If you pass someone, is your manhood/womanhood the same as before?

If you answered 'yes' to all of these questions, you're alright by me.
Happy ridin'

I too have noticed that looking Fredly invites weekend warrior passes that the passer can't maintain on any sort of hill.

I would prefer a salutation as they pass, but I like a bell or announcement prior to the pass is necessary situations (I have a mirror so not a big deal). I personally ring the bell a few times and announce my presence and the side I will be passing. I then usually greet them with an appropriate chit chat statement about the time of day or weather.

If I have assessed they are of similar speed I will chat and talk with them, if they are marginally slower I will catch them fast and chat or slow back and let them catch me and see if they want to chat.

I rarely get passed but my manhood is in tact and the one who pass me deserve it.

My manhood always seems to remain constant. But when I get passed my womanhood changes.

I did feel bad last night I caught a guy and talked with him for a bit but them I got ahead of him as a result of me taking the road and him the path and he never really caught up and/or did not feel comfortable riding close by. I slowed and hoped he would catch up but he didn't. I gave him a bit to catch up and then I gave up and decided to start my hill sprint. I felt bad I did not wish him a good evening and left with out saying goodbye or even a wave.

I also am almost a fredly as you can get without a flag.

I ride in a “sorta kit” (clipless pedals, Lycra shorts, but a loose, short sleeve shirt and sleeveless cycling vest in summer; tights and cycling jacket in winter) on a high end carbon fiber bike. When I’m passed I think to myself, “I’m probably older, definitely heavier than you, and I have a fractured sacrum and lost significant upper thigh muscle in a cycling accident, so don’t gloat.” Especially to a gruff “on your left.”

Anyways, a Bike Forum adage I once read is, “My 15 mph is to me as your 23 mph is to you.”

I rarely ride with other commuters though I enjoy when it occurs. In fact:

I got some encouraging responses:

"On your left" is a warning not a greeting. Either one has their place.

No conversations for me. No one else is going so slow.

Since marriage my manhood is in a blind trust.

On my commute I rarely encounter anyone. There was only one time when I found myself behind a gentleman riding a road bike with a rack and pannier. I was just curious to see how fast he was going. I, in my heavy hybrid with 38mm tires huffing and puffing along. I was a good 100m behind him and couldn't catch up. He pull away gradually, and when he made a traffic light and I didn't that was the end of that.

By 'Fred' I am assuming this is some kind of euphemism for someone who's sort of a 'serious' roadie and indulges in the obligatory attire. In that case I guess I'm sort of a Fred. I wear lycra and clipless pedals, with shoe covers. But I'd been wearing lycra for years as a runner anyway. No full kit though.

when I come across clowns like this in my car I pull over and let them get far enough away that when I get back on the road I won't encounter them. whatever time I have left on this Earth is too valuable to me to waste in these kinds of struggles and distractions

As for the condition of my manhood, getting passed by or passing someone, it leaves my manhood completely unchanged. I'll tell you what affects my manhood though--this friggin cold wind hitting my between-the-legs area.

I started to say I never see other riders, but I just remembered that I met a guy as I was partway up a long climb just out of Dallas. The other rider was going down the hill. He said "Whee!"

There are other cycle commuters!

I usually only see other commuters on "Get the Bike Down from the Rafters for a Day, Day" AKA "Bike to Work Week," usually only on the trails or downtown, and they look pretty knackered and confused. To be fair, my possible commute routes are mostly not for the inexperienced or faint of heart.

Oddly enough, when it first starts to get cold, I will see two or three people pop up, generally with newish mountain bikes and studded tires outside of the relative "safe" zone near town. They seem kind of big on shoaling me, but only seem to last about a day, maybe two. I'm not sure if the cars get them, the zombies (lots of spaced out and chemically modified folks, not to mention small flocks of ne'er-do-wells on my route), or if they just lose interest.

I almost think I could put up with a little CAT 6 racing. As they say, safety in numbers. As for the guy drifting you on the half-wheel, I found in the past that some gratuitous spitting and snot rockets seems to help solve that problem.

Quick survey?
Would you rather hear a friendly "good morning" if being passed, than a gruff "on your left"? A friendly greeting is always welcomed, but honestly, I'd be happy with any warning over getting buzzed.

Do you enjoy talking to fellow commuters for a few blocks if we're going roughly the same pace? Yes

I you happen to get passed, is your manhood/womanhood intact? It depends. If you just passed me, and gave me warning that you were going to pass me, or gave me a decent amount of space, I always share a pleasant greeting/wave and it's all good. My bike is heavy, and my commute is long. If however, you buzz me, don't say anything, and generally act like a tool, you had better be prepared to haul ass so you don't get schooled by a dude on a bike with fenders, a rack, a mirror, an air horn, and several other "Fredly" items. Especially if your the kind of rider described by the OP that half wheels, or generally rides like an idiot. Man I hate that, and the situation often gets the best of me. If I don't have the legs, or it's early in the week, and I don't want to be shot the next day, I'll say something like "On your left goes a long way". I also call out riders that run lights at intersections that I'm waiting at. Aside from that, I'm a super nice guy!

If you pass someone, is your manhood/womanhood the same as before? Indeed.

I rarely see other commuters, and my short commute (under 4 miles each way) is so convoluted I doubt anyone else would be going my way for too long.

I'd just as soon they didn't say anything - I probably know they're there and even if I'm daydreaming it doesn't startle me.

I haven't ridden along with someone on my commute in about a year and a half, and we were both regulars at the time so I sort of knew him already. We - morning riders in my neck of the woods - have developed a custom of "good morning" to all other riders. There aren't that many of us.

No ego lost with me. I'm 53 and not a young punk anymore. I've heard bells ringing and warning yells. All do their jobs avoiding collisions. I do the same with people and cyclists slower than me.

what a coincidence!

I think since I dress as a casual cyclist, I find myself in "races" I'm not aware I'm partaking in. Usually I don't mind, but this morning I was yo-yo ing with a complete yo-yo. Unfortunately I found myself being passed on every incline, where he would then proceed to "half-wheel" me (overlap his rear wheel with my front), but never let me pass him. Inevitably he passes me on some tiny incline once again, and the process is repeated. The wannabe commuter racers don't annoy me sooo bad (I don't mind if someone drafts me, if I know they're there). But this overlapping wheels moron was the worst!
Don't be this guy!

Good Morning doesn't tell me which side you plan on overtaking me from. In fact, it doesn't signal that you're attempting to overtake me. The gruff "on your left" is a lot more informative.

Not while I'm cycling, but I don't mind a bit of chatter if we're both waiting at a stop light. I usually complement people if I see someone doing a really good trackstand on a geared bike. My technique is so poor that I have to pivot my front wheel constantly to remain balanced.

Yeah it doesn't bother me. Some people have shorter commutes than others and can afford to go faster. My commute is a bit long so I have to preserve energy and not waste it by attempting to drop some random person who I have no connection to and will never see again. Dropping people is only fun when you can get to rub it in their face afterwards (over beer!).

I ride one of two heavy steel bikes with, fat tires, racks and bags to work. I have more of a Grant Peterson philosophy about riding bikes. I’m just out to get to where I’m going and hopefully enjoy the ride. However, sometimes I get passed by a kitted up roadie, or the like, and find it amusing when I end up passing them in the root heaved path section in the woods or some of the big hills along my journey. They always make a point of “winning” as they pass again on flat smooth ground while recovering their ego.

When I start my commute its 5 AM. I generally wake and become somewhat human sometime after coffee at 7. Anything that happens before that - short of being hit by a car ( where the physical evidence is irrefutable) was most likely a dream. All sorts of wacky things happen in my dreams and what little I can remember of them doesn't seem to affect my waking life.

Your experience sounds different.

This really isn't a story about commuting but it's funny to me. I was just getting into cycling, not every experienced, and had maybe 500 miles under my belt. I got into a full kit for the first time, and had my mind set on a tough 30 mile loop with some good climbing. I was about ten miles into the ride when I passed this older guy on the first climb, he was riding a Colnago, also fully kitted, and looked quite pro. So, needless to say I was stoked, my ego that is. Where I live most of the big climbs end abruptly, so you take a quick break, then decend. I was drinking my water, and self satisfaction, when the same guy finished the climb and started to chat. He asked how my ride was going, and the normal formalities. I asked him the same, which he replied, pointing at his garmin, "Well, 100k down, fifty more till I'm done for the day..." After that day I don't judge anyone for any speed they are going, either cycling or running. I have no idea what milage you've been putting in, and in no place to judge... ego checked!

fred 1) n. a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." Synonym for poser. Occasionally called a "barney".

2) n. a person who has a mishmash of old gear, does't care at all about technology or fashion, didn't race or follow racing, etc. Often identified by chainring marks on white calf socks. Used by "serious" roadies to disparage utility cyclists and touring riders, especially after these totally unfashionable "freds" drop the "serious" roadies on hills because the "serious" guys were really posers. This term is from road touring and, according to popular myth, "Fred" was a well-known grumpy old touring rider, who really was named Fred.

I'm a "fred" 2) n.
A slow old rider on a slow old bike who quickly gets left in the dust on the flats, but often ends up gaining on those "faster" riders on hills.
Doesn't really mean anything other than how one typically rides.

common geriatric ruse... probably didn't even want to talk.

Funny you bring this up.... I've found that I can pass most people as long as they are not way more fit than I am. Either pass & leave in dust, hang well back, or pick a different route.

- Andy

Thanks for the clarification. I am probably not a 'fred' by those definitions.

Yes, I've spent some money on my bikes, but I am always frugal about it. I didn't spend a whole lot on spandex/lycra, and I am a decent rider. But the last part I have no basis for comparison other than this forum. None of my friends ride. I don't ride with a group.

I generally avoid getting close to other cyclists I encounter on my commute. If they have a reasonable pace, I just stay back. If they are clearly slow I will do a quick pass and sustain a good pace to keep them behind me. Those cyclists who manage to catch me up and pass by shooting stops and reds are aggravating; however I always have the option to change my route.

My answers to your poll:

1. I do like to get a "good morning". When I pass I ring my bell or give a "on your left" but as I pass, I always say "good morning" or some sort of greeting.

2. No, I don't generally seek out to chat with other commuters, unless we're both stopped at a red.

3. I go my pace. If someone wants to pass me, fine, Just stay in front of me.

4. I pass when their pace is slower, not because it's a competition. I do enjoy trying to catch up to cyclists in the distance, but typically back off rather than passing as I get close. I see it as a motivation to sprint.

I usually give them a ding on my bell, and a good morning as I pass.