I think I know the problem.
It's not roadies or mountainbikers, it's leisure riders. I covered 85 miles today and the only ones to ignore me were the ones that looked wrong i.e the bloke on the Cervelo with team lycra and lace up MTB shoes and the fella in the KOTM jersey. I just don't think they know to give a nod.
On the other hand spoke to loads of 'proper' roadies and a couple of geezers on a Nomad and Enduro.
The KOTM leader looked proper cross as his missus smiled at me. I really need to sort out my badly worn see-thru 3/4s 😳
I

Well I was on my cx bike with slicks, mtb helmet, downhill shirt, baggy shorts and a rucksack and two lots of full on roadies went by and all either smiled,nodded or said hello.
The only one to ignore me this morning was a rather large bloke on a road bike and to be honest he looked to **** to acknowledge me even if I was Cheryl Cole naked begging him over he just seemed to have a 1000mile stare.

oldgit – are you suggesting that a man who wears MTB shoes on a road bike must be a leisure rider, and therefore doesn't know to give a nod to be polite? Whats the difference between a leisure rider and a 'proper' rider?

Just curious 🙂

The two people who didnt aknowledge my "good morning" this morning were all baggy short wearing MTB goons.

Wit an attitude like that, I'm not surprised noone wants to acknowledge you!

Had smiles and waves from all sorts on our tootle round Macc Forest area yesterday

Proper roadie, not proper rider i.e a clubman, racer, Tester, audaxist?
A pair of lace up brown leather MTB shoes on a stunning Cervelo looks a little wrong in my book. No doubt someone will tell me they train and race in them, but I've never seen THAT combination at a race. I've seen and worn MTB shoes and Eggbeaters myself at events not those trainer ones though.
And KOTM, white, green, yellow, pink and rainbow jerseys are never to be worn unless youve earnt it.

What are you on about? I say hello to everyone. So when I say hello that's attitude is it?

As a roadie [in that I ride a road bike] & MTBer
I have found roadies to be a bit over concerned about what other people are wearing
I've no idea why this may the case – I remember one mate of mine invited me on one of his club runs & was very worried that I'd turn up in baggie shorts & dirty shoes

I kind-of agree about the flexi shoes on a cervelo and not earning a jersey, but they still sound like they at least have a clue… I decided a while ago to give a nod and not to care if I don't get one back. It is interesting though…

You are right uplink they/we do I admit that. The logic is why leave a mountainbike at home and embrace the road bike and it's efficiencies on the road, but stop at wearing what is known to be the best choice of kit to get the best out of the bike.
A roadie is not someone who rides a road bike.

Where I live there is a lot of acknowledging/ nodding going on so much so that after my run yesterday I had a sore neck nodding at proper roadies in a chain gang, people on shoppers, people on mountain bikes, other runners, dog walkers etc. It seams where I live everyone who does anything vaguely active gives you a nod where as in London where I study I'm lucky to get a nod off anyone.

So it's probably got more to do with where you live than anything else, if you live in the countryside in an everyone knows everyone sort of area then you'll get plenty of nods if you live in a larger town or city you probably wont.

Iain

Swalsey they'll probably cotton on to acknowledging others as they go on. But some just have that look of 'do I know you'.
I mean I'm not bothered, but I was trying to answer some earlier posts. The ones that have been about a bit will know it's polite to acknowledge another rider, newbies probably wont. Therefore I'm saying it's silly to label every type of rider as miserable because they didn't wave back to you.

Isn't it a bit more simple than that – viz, some people are just rude, or self absorbed or whatever, it has nothing to do with whether they're a 'proper' mountain biker or a 'proper' roadie or a 'proper' leezure cyclist or even what flippin' shoes they're wearing. It's just that some people aren't very friendly.

I'll nod and say hi to anyone, but if they don't reply I don't swoon off into some cloud of existential angst and try to rationalise it all into an understandable pattern.

Perhaps they're put off by your semi-translucent Lycra? I know I would be… they may mistake your innocent friendly greetings for some sort of attempted pick-up?

Oh and isn't your visit oop north to show me and Chris how to ride hills on the road somewhat overdue? 😉

My daughter has binned the offending sky blue/transparent Nalinis. I was going to patch them up.

Slightly. I'm racing next weekend if I do well I'll come up. If I don't I won't. That's fair enough isn't it.

Mind you as the years go by I'm finding that many of us are slowing down, not me though. Are you still a tiny bit mental about training?

Tell you what though, Triathletes they are bloody miserable.

Mind you I would be if I had to climb the Chilterns on a Cervelo Lo-Pro, and perhaps they'd crash in a ball of fire if they were to so much as raise a little finger on those contraptions.

have you tried calling "hiiiyaaaah" followed by a frantic yet tiny wave?

That's the only way, followed by 'ooh ain't you fast'.

The KOTM leader looked proper cross as his missus smiled at me.
I love it when that happens 🙂

Are you still a tiny bit mental about training?

Nope, I'm just riding fer smiles. My turbo is on holiday in the sun. Intervals are the bits with the ads on at the cinema. And I don't really care who's faster than me anywhere. My 3/4s are quite opaque though and I get more nods and greetings returned than not.

Anyway, shout if you're up this way. Chris is doing some road racing, I think, so should be quite tarmac friendly 🙂

He is and I know all about it already.

I wear lace-up mtb shoes and a yellow jersey on my racer. I try to be nice and friendly to others.

What I don't do, is go round offending everyone with badly worn see-thru 3/4s. Now that would just be impolite…

Up north nearly everyone like 9 out of ten people give a nod generally, even walkers, unless it’s like Sunday afternoon and the roads are packed. Doesn’t seem to matter what bike or attire.

Spent a week in Somerset / Glos way, 1st ride no one, not one person acknowledged my presence. Thought I must look like a northerner, or it is customary to ignore mtbr's on the road.

Next time followed a Sustrans route (to Humber Bridge), could have been a bit later, nicer weather too. And just about everyone gave a cheery hello, even a policeman on a ramshackle mtb.

Reckon it's the commuters that are miserable fheckherz. And younger women, but that's prolly just an affect I have.

Talkemada fromthat reply and your other post I can only assume you have a syndrome.

I can only assume you have a syndrome.

Probably got plenty. My therapist is on Valium…

I've started riding a bit with a local roadie club – some of their winter kit looked like old mtb kit (some very fetching retro spesh flouro yellow and pink stuff!) and nearly all rode standard spd's on the winter rides.

When in the group, we've gave a nod to everyone – even if they didn't nod back. Been very suprised how friendly they have been tbh.

The other local road club though – they didn't even respond to my email enquiry – presumeably cos I said I enjoyed riding off-road!

If I fail to nod to riders (which I hope happens rarely)…it's usually because I'm too f*cked/have hit the wall/am off with the fairies…don't talk it personally!

Most roadies are friendly but like some MTBers you come across ones that look down upon you if you haven't the "right kit". Stupid really.

The worst case of this happen to me a few years ago when I was riding past Rykas to go up the boxhill climb. As I was going up a guy on a top spec pinarello came up along side me. I turned around and said hello in the friendliest possible way. He look me up and down like he had just stepped in something with a massive snear. This to me is the blanking people riding in the opposite direction since there is no excuse.

We both turned up the Boxhill road, him going up the road me going up the offroad. I'd just ridden the previous week the Surrey League Revolutions Five day stage race (at that time the longest roadie stage race in the country). I gave it full beans up the climb and I was waiting beside the road at the Boxhill cafe with my cup of tea and a cake as he came up. He wasn't sneering then.

It's not Roadies or MTBers just people generally with their head stuck up there a*rses!

Thing is as some of you probably know roadies can be like this with each other. And the older they are the worse they are, but in your own group it can be quite ammusing to see how wound up some get bt the tiniest things. ie riding in france with an old ex GB bloke and when we stopped he noticed two frayed cable ends I was almost blanked after that.
They seem to hate camelbaks with a vengance as well as anything loose or dirty. Makes you wonder if they do it on purpose.

i wear mtb shoes and a mtb helmet on my roadbike, on fridays road ride, everyone waved or said hello, even the guy on a fixie, maybe the OP should change his aftershave from "oldgitspice" 😉

Roadies have got nothing on joggers.

Dour faced ****

Still reckon I got 80 nods and about 3 no goers.
Strangely one didn't acknowledge me because he was busy lifting his Buff over his face bandit style and it was warm and sunny. Then doubly strange I saw another guy with a Buff almost totally covering his face…why?

That's coz they can't afford bikes.

I normally nod to all on bikes, generally get nods back whether its me/them on mtb/roadbike.
last time i didnt get nod back i realised it was probably as i was driving my car at the time.
i guess they probably didnt notice or were thinking 'what is that guy on'??

having driven through englandshire countryside today and friday i too would be misrable if that was my view of hedgerows and certain death round every corner- even in teh van i feared for my life as nutters came round on the wrong side on blind bends ( we do drive on the left in england dont we ? )

then climbing back to the SSEC camping ground we nearly got taken off our bikes by 2 or 3 cars while climbing a 17% gradient – the cars obviously thought that we had no right to be there …

I went from north manchester to near northwich today through Lymm and back in the afternoon, got lots of waves and a few missed waves but surely as long as you get a few waves then all is good no???

I must admit I miss waves sometimes when commuting as I just give a nod – I need to concentrate on not being killed by other road users either half awake or not giving a sh1t….

trail_rat – Member
having driven through englandshire countryside today and friday i too would be misrable if that was my view of hedgerows and certain death round every corner…

Funny, that was my feelings too. Those English are a brave lot 🙂 Stuff that for fun!

It's put the kybosh on my plans to do a LEJOG. I'm going to circulate quiet little Scotland instead.

a man who wears MTB shoes on a road bike must be a leisure rider

Was it me?

out on club ride yest. probably 30 of us in the group.

went past some xc lads (aged 30-40ish) de-camping from their cars next to ladybower, and could see them from a mile off smirking and starting to take the pish out of roadies, lycra etc etc. (nice bit of pointing and laughing going on)

its no suprise that roadies occasionally dont say hello, particularly with a large proportion of mtb riders being complete infantile n0bheads.