Cycling Etiquette

DevonClimber

Harry, I get you on this I totally get you.

I have only recently started using this forum again, and don't have a high post count, which may mean according to some that my opinion counts for nothing.

I have been cycling Road/Mountain Bikes for well over 20 yrs and I always have, and always will greet other cyclists, sometimes with a knackered grunt and wave, sometimes with a full on good afternoon etc etc, I may sometimes forget without knowing but always do my best. It is manners, it does mean quite a bit and if someone purposely ignores you, it is rude on or off the bike, in my humble opinion.

Saying that, I suppose you will never know if someone has purposely ignored you or just hasn't noticed your greet, or perhaps they are just in the zone. However, humans are social creatures and thrive on good interactions so it is only normal to feel a little peaved when some one may have blanked you.

Ignore the forum snobs on here, post what you want and when you want even if it does mean a repeat, and don't be afraid to ask anything...it is all ours to use, and all opinions valid.

I'm off to start a thread on helmet use, tubs/clinchers and perhaps tyre pressures...who knows.

Frank the tank

I just respond with a cheery FCUK OFF CNUT. I find this inspires a whole new thread on bike radar about cyclists attitude.

hipshot

The first day I went out on a road bike I didn't know about the greet thing and I was suprised to be acknowledged by a team of very pro looking riders flashing past on superior bikes; it felt brilliant, like I'd been inducted into a select club. It would have been easy for them to blank me, after all I was just on an entry level bike in cheap kit. They didn't and there aren't many sports where that would have happened.

That sense of camaraderie and shared experience is real and almost unique. It is the superior attitude and the snobbery element in cycling that is fake. Blanking people on country lanes doesn't make you look pro, it makes you look like a shallow tryhard wannabe.

Frank the tank

TBH, I acknowledge other riders beit a "morning/aft'noon" or a nod of the head. If I get a reply or not I'm not bothered.

sloppyschleckonds

hipshot wrote:

The first day I went out on a road bike I didn't know about the greet thing and I was suprised to be acknowledged by a team of very pro looking riders flashing past on superior bikes; it felt brilliant, like I'd been inducted into a select club. It would have been easy for them to blank me, after all I was just on an entry level bike in cheap kit. They didn't and there aren't many sports where that would have happened.

That sense of camaraderie and shared experience is real and almost unique. It is the superior attitude and the snobbery element in cycling that is fake. Blanking people on country lanes doesn't make you look pro, it makes you look like a shallow tryhard wannabe.

Best avoid country lanes then

chris_bass

What's with all the old threads coming back from the dead recently?

Cyclum

I find the time of day makes a difference. Commute into work and most people have their heads down and a miserable face on. Leave it an hour or two and everyone is out enjoying their ride and saying hello to everyone.
I say hi/nod where I can but there are times where I've been too focused on my ride to notice someone in time, or simply don't have the energy. It's nothing personal, and I don't take it personally when someone doesn't respond to me.

I did see someone recently in all his kit waving enthusiastically and shouting (politely) good morning to every cyclist that he came across - I was one. It was rush hour and there were about 4 cyclists in a 20 metre section of road. I remember thinking to myself that he won't get far if he does that to every cyclist that he sees. It did make me smile though.