What an incredibly stupid thing to say.

can't nod to every other biker or even fixed rider here in davis, i'd get whiplash.


also, I might nod at someone riding freewheel with just a front brake, which pisses me off because high bike density and noob riders with just one brake = big crashes

ftfy

Wore Vans in the early 80's. You mean they're still hip???

+1 on the "corvette wave"

Really? What about this:
They made clipless Vans when I was a messenger 10 years ago.

Funny thread.

Rob

It's the Jeep wave.

I ride in boots.

no, he is exactly right. no one looks at tatoos and piercings and thinks "what an inviting look, he must be polite and friendly". any smart person would know what they were in for when they started.

I personally have no problems with tatoos and piercings, but they do still have a stigma in society and will cause many people, myself included, to make assumptions.

Read what he posted again. "You got what you wanted". It's an unfortunate characteristic of some people in his generation that they can be so fantastically self absorbed as to think the only reason anyone would do something is to elicit a response out of them, but outside of baby boomer delusion land you'll find that most people aren't thinking about what reaction other people are going to have when they get dressed in the morning, or chose their haircut, or get body modifications.

Being part of the dominant clique in society neither excuses nor condones your ignorance either. It would be similar to you coming downtown and having ten of us confront you in a bar saying "We don't like you old pricks coming down here with your khakis and polos, get the **** out of here" and us justifying our behavior by saying "Well, they got exactly what they wanted wearing those clothes". It's idiotic and juvenile (which is ironic because it comes from old people more often than not).

So I reiterate, it's an incredibly stupid and self absorbed opinion to hold.

They're just mad because having fixies show up on the market from Specialized, Trek, etc. means that the fixie "movement" is dead, and they now have a bike that they can't sell for anything close to what they have in it.

ElTwitcho,

Well, it appears we are both hyper-generalizing. But, I must admit that I do not give everyone the same autonomy and "totally disconnected from the world around me" feelings that you do. I believe that the vast majority of people make statements with their appearance. They are consciously and purposefully sending messages. There are exceptions. We're talking about human beings. Of course there are exceptions. As long as tattoos are not grossly offensive (say racial slurs or outrageous vulgarities) I have no issue with them unless they are below the wrist line or above the collar line. Then, I believe people have made personal decisions that negatively affect them. Again, a very small minority exist. But for example, if you decide to get a neck tattoo then please be very sure you are exceptional at what you do because a price will be paid. That's reality. Same goes for tattoos below the wrist line and anything done to your face. Your face and hands are who you are. Study after study has proven this - yes, we actually look and make judgments about people by their hands. The face is a given. So, if you alter these things in unnatural ways the overwhelming reaction from society as a whole will be negative. Tattoos like say full sleeves are largely taken in stride but they do impart an "outside of the norm" feel. This is intentionally done by the vast majority.

I don't buy the hyper individualism for a second. And again - in the vast majority. Why? Well, let's see. Do you have any idea how many hyper-individualists I've seen with the exact same tattoos and the same types of facial piercings? Very "Lone Wolf" behavior. Give me a break.

You know, I teach my kids to stand tall as individuals. To question the norm. To ask why. Believe me when I tell you there are days my 15 year old pushes those limits. But, I also teach them that true individualism is an inside job. The moment you do what others are doing you are by definition participating in herd behavior. The herd ain't a bad place to be. You can change the herd by being a person of true individualism. You will stand tall and the mirror will always reflect a true man or woman.

Ghandi was an individual but to look at him he was just another old, skinny cat walking down the street. He changed 2 countries.

/thread

you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't choose their clothes or hair based on what another persons opinion will be.

there actually used to be a dude on here that rode the vans/spd combo, brakeless.

oh but and also: it is incredibly naive to think that because you deserve someone's respect because you both ride a similarly styled bike, because you ride a bike at all. i've found that fixed gear riders in particular believe they are some rarity and as such they are brothers in arms. they are not. listen, you ride a bike, great, here's some empathy. but don't feel like i have to give you the time of day. we ain't nothing special.

finally, this whole thread: tl;dr.

lol i give all cyclists a nod on the trail i ride down, every once in a while you'll see another fixed rider and he'll nod back, but never the millions of ppl on multi speeds

One of each in size 9 please.

That's one pair of each.

I've actually found that I am approached FAR more often when my tattoo-sleeved arm is showing than when it's not. Perhaps because I'm a female and it gives people an ice breaker? Although there's only so many times I want to answer the "how long did it take / did it hurt / how much did it cost / do you have tattoos on ANY OTHER PART OF YOUR BODY???" questions. I've also been in Florida the last few years where I guess fairly heavily tattooed women are less common. And I should also mention that it's not just young guys asking me questions, it's also older folks and little old ladies, which is kind of awesome.
Last time I checked, not everyone was an ******* who expected tattooed people to be nasty.

**** skateboarding. riding a bike is nothing like woodpushing. go kickflip or something.

tool

Not that I hate overtly, but as one of the frankenbike ilk I appreciate that a fixie is easy and simple to build for free or on the very cheap and I'm often confused by folks that pay out the nose for such a simple machine. But, I agree there's no need to bang on anyone for buying a factory made ride (as long as there riding and not driving, right!); I think there's two types of bikers: riders that just love riding for itself and riders that love to ride but also ride for a political/ethical reason. In addition the only reason I ever look down on factory built rides is that unless you got a local build, or one made of reused your adding to the dynamic of labor issues in under regulated factories and the sheer amount of materials used to get a shiny new bike to you.

that and no effort was put out on his part. all he had to do was swipe a credit card. there was no building up of a bike involved. he went out and bought his cool right off the peg and is surprised when people don't give him a ******* and say "welcome to the club, this is the secret handshake"

congratualtions, you edited your post and came up with tool. quick wit and big words abound with you don't they? were you just pissed because you skateboard but picked up an off the shelf fixed gear because you could 'kickflip over something'. all the hatepost and you get to pick mine out cause i hit a sore spot with you? i'll say it again, **** SKATEBOARDS. go drink your mountain dew and watch your x-games and come back when you have something better than 'tool' to say.

**** dude, chill out. Did a skateboarder beat you up once? And way to stereotype.

lol at sweeping generalizations. Maybe you should pick up your "fixie" and barspin your way down to the local independent coffee shop where you can sip on free trade coffee with your art school dropout companions. Then you can pull some Kerouac, Rand or Camus out of your messenger bag, smoke some American Spirits and finish the crossword in the Onion.