Cycling Arrogance

Mark Alexander

daz51 wrote:

makes me ask the question with the Roadie scene is there a split between low end and top end riders ????

No, on Sunday I was given encouragement and had a nice chat with a 18yo pro and the fast guys. It's rare that I get ignored but many are on training rides and may not be rude.

Sadly though, there will always be ignorant riders. I find that it's worse on cycle paths namely The taff trail. I blame the upbringing so it's down to the parents.

babyshambles

Parsnip49 wrote:

daz51 wrote:

Then they should stick together and spend 2 seconds anknowledging another rider.

Yup, laughing at them for having a mechanical - your truely are a rolemodel all cyclists should try to be like.

That, or your just a bit of a richard - if i recognised you, i wouldnt wave.

Behaviour breeds behaviour - be nice !

gtr mart

Normally I dont care and to be honest roadies do tend to blank non roadies so i dont often bother to initiate the wave when on mtb but some tosser on a road bike did it the other day. what made it hillarious/annoying was that he was at a juntion waiting to come out so wasnt pushing it - I said Hi and waved and he looked away. It was blatantly becuase I was on my mtb.

The stupid thing is, whilst I may have been blasting miles on my mtb in prep for a session in a few weeks, my regular road ride is a carbon trek that was loads better than his bike and I would have blown him away.

Knowing I was near the end of my ride, instead of a cool down I let rip and let the guy eat my dust / smell my fart which i am pretty sure would have pissed him off. made me chuckle anyway!

Flambes

I always say hello, or nod or wave or something to other riders when I'm out in the Devon lanes. I'm just so surprised to see others out, even on sunny days with perfect riding conditions.

Said hello to a group of slow moving older people last Sunday, all kitted up on a warm day in their long shorts and fluorescent jackets on their upright steeds. That is until I rounded the bend and found a peleton of them, 6 abreast, all across the road, having a chat, forcing me to do a risky manouver into the hedge, whist of course copiously swearing and shouting at them. They had a number of cars queued behind them on what was a fairly narrow road, with them probably going under 10mph.

Friendliness rescinded you group of old duffers, get off the road :evil:

robmanic1

I imagine that's one of the benefits of getting old, you're allowed to get in people's way (especially in Tesco's on a Saturday afternoon), and you get to wear cardigans and carry a stick.

Flambes

Yes, I suppose they could have been on their way to the post office.
Oh no, it was Sunday.
Although saying that, the speed they were going, they were probably heading for a lunchtime Monday arrival time.

Parsnip49

gtr mart wrote:

Normally I dont care and to be honest roadies do tend to blank non roadies so i dont often bother to initiate the wave when on mtb

Of course, you're not blanking the roadie when you dont wave - but when they dont wave they are blanking you?

Roadie bashing is too easy - give it a rest.

Honestly, you wouldnt need a lifejacket in your end of the gene pool...

ricadus

Being a Londoner I blank everybody, cyclist or not. It's safer.

babyshambles

yeah, when i'm commuting through greenwich, its every man for himself !!

jam1e

Surely the main thing to bear in mind whenever the issue of "blanking" is raised is who (if anyone) initiated what...

If both cyclists (roadies, mtbers, unicyclists or whoever) choose not to acknowledge each other then there are no issues...

If 1 cyclist is thrashing himself up the road so hard his eyes are bleeding then a lack of response is unlikely to be a deliberate snub and should not really be considered as such.

If 1 cyclist waves and the 2nd makes a conscious effort to avoid giving a response then the 2nd cyclist could probably described as "socially challenged"

And yes - roadie bashing is easy, maybe those taking offence at the criticism should contemplate why roadies come in for so much of it, from other roadies and the wider cycling community in the first place.

(Of course, those getting the most annoyed at the criticism are likely to be those who will insist that they don't care about it anyway :roll: )

gtr mart

parsnip49 wrote:

gtr mart wrote:
Normally I dont care and to be honest roadies do tend to blank non roadies so i dont often bother to initiate the wave when on mtb (end quote)

parsnip49:
Of course, you're not blanking the roadie when you dont wave - but when they dont wave they are blanking you?

Roadie bashing is too easy - give it a rest.

Honestly, you wouldnt need a lifejacket in your end of the gene pool....

You twonk. Read the message. I am a roadie.
There is a big difference between ignoring someone and not going out of your way to INITIATE the wave. I still look up to see if they are likely to say hi and if they do great.



To put a different slant on this topic - do people nod and wave at people who arent bike enthusiasts Ie people that are probably just commuting? I rode in this morning (34 miles) and see quite a few peeps who are just riding to work - I do tend to nod and wave and most people are surprised but still say hi back - but I feel a bit silly at times as many arent really bike enthusiasts.


What do other people think?

andrewc3142

Riding into London from Woking there aren't that many people to wave at for the first half and then so many you'd do nothing else. But I try to wave and acknowledge.

It always interests me how quickly cyclists break down into groups. Most of my time is on a road bike, with lycra, etc. But I also use a Brompton when I have an evening meeting, sometimes in winter when getting up early to cycle 30 miles in the freezing dark yet again doesn't appeal, working in Europe (goes on the train), or working away and I want to explore the area further than the hotel. I also have a tourer, which mostly gets used for shopping. And a tandem to taxi the kids around. And an MTB which might be crashing through the forest (although I'm not very good at off-road) or tooling along the canal tow path with the kids.

I'm still the same me, but I sometimes wonder whether some roadie is thinking "what a plonker on a Brommie" or an MTB guy is thinking "what a waste of a decent bike just to go along a canal path".

I'm sure the same applies to my wife slowly riding her Pashley + basket to the shops rather than her rather nice road bike.

Respect for all on 2 wheels.

madturkey

Is this maybe something to do with the number of people on bikes where you're riding? If you waved at every cyclist going up Box Hill you're arms would fall off, whereas if you're in the back lanes of Devon / Norfolk / Snowdonia / Scotland it's a bit rarer so more chance of a wave?

idaviesmoore

I seem to have a feel for who is going to wave and who is likely not to want to. TBH if I lift a hand and get nowt in response then I don't carry any grudge, I dare say I've missed a wave when I'm pushing hard myself.

Live and let live and see it for what it is. Humans doing their 'thing'

STEFANOS4784

Also worth baring in mind the slow witted amongst us who wave about 10 minutes after the other cyclist has disappeared

Mettan

idaviesmoore wrote:

I seem to have a feel for who is going to wave and who is likely not to want to. TBH if I lift a hand and get nowt in response then I don't carry any grudge, I dare say I've missed a wave when I'm pushing hard myself.

Agreed - I tend to act on that basis - seems to work out most of the time.

bellys

i all ways let on to every one i see on a bike.
i find the older rider will wave but must say dont care if they let back on.
if they dont let on its there loss as im the nicest person i know

ademort

Living in the Netherlands ican relate to many of the stories in this thread.Across the road from my workplace there is a nuclear power station and they also have a cycling club.I see many of them every day.Most of the time they are in groups, but once and a while i meet them individualy.They all wear the works shirts and shorts and ride with their head up their arse, never speak, tottally ignore you. But i found a solution one day when i was working afternoon shift i met them coming towards me and i said good afternoon arseholes, they all looked at me so i waved. The next afternoon i did the same. The next afternoon they saw me coming and stopped. I thought this will be fun.I told them i see them and their workmates every day and they never speak, bloody ignorant the lot of you.I made it quite clear that as far as i,m concerned they dont need to speak to me but i will speak to them. I greeted them in this way the rest of the week. On the following Monday i was called upto the personnel department. On arriving i saw man wearing a security uniform from the power station across the road. I was told that there had been complaints about my aggresive behaviour from employees and the security officer would like to talk to me about it.I told him about the negative behaviour and absolute ignorant attitude of the bikers over there.We agreed that he would talk to the men about it and he would get back to me. I could not believe it but on monday evening they all spoke and have done ever since. Bloody brilliant. Would really love to know what the security man said to them. It costs nothing to greet another biker with a friendly smile a hello or a wave. greetings Ademort

nolf

Great story

I guess thats one way to make new friends!

toshmund

I always say hello, going on the basis that it will be a brief "crossing of paths". I don't really want a "jackanory session" with the other person. I quite like cycling for the fact, that you can cycle through relatively boring scenery/countryside - which to walk in would be boring. By the same token, it is nice to be in that environment in your own thoughts. If that means you don't notice someone - no biggy!? Just because we share the same pasttime does not really make us obliged to say hello to each other. Nice to ponder lifes complexities, in a bit of fresh air.

Probably more a issue with the pace of life nowadays, you would not walk through a precinct saying "hello, my fellow shopper..." think the same applies here. Live and let live...Cynical...moi? No way! lol

Richard_D

Most of my cycling is around the lanes of the New Forest. The responses I have seen to waves, nods, smiles etc.are very varied. One ride early in the year every single rider responded or inititated whether they were roadies out in club colours or MTBers out on a way to a trail. Old and young alike. but I have had other rides were I have had very few responses.