[Closed] sour faced roadies

Grumpy people are grumpy

It must just be you. I was out on my bike yesterday (also CX - Cotic X in disc version) and had loads of nods and freidnly hellos. Do you look like a dick?

Very similar situation to,yourself - I posted a roady etiquette question earlier and the answers were enlightening.

Huge generalisation alert - It's a lot about how you look. Roadies are quite snobbish about your bike and clothes. If you're not a 'roadman' of a decades experience who knows the rules of riding in a big group etc etc some think you shouldn't be on the road.

I couldn't care less, I ride my CX with slicks wearing longs and a soft shell and my peaked helmet (oh the horror)!

Got the lycra on and everything, even got ignored by a bloke in bright pink lycra! there may be abit of 'dickenness' about my persona tho

Clanton you sound like one 🙄

It spoils their aerodynamics.....

it can be dependent on what you're riding/wearing. Response rate is far higher when I'm on the road bike in lycra than the mtb in baggies, and I'm fairly sure that if I was on a BSO in jeans riding with my knees out and a bag of shopping on the bars I'd be totally ignored.

Mind you, some roadies don't respond just because they're trying so hard they have tunnel vision and can't think of anything but how much their legs hurt.

EDIT: beaten to it...

Never had that issue, generally every person I say hello to responds.

I love race cycling books, love the whole history and etiquette of road cycling, love the Tour know who won it and all that.
I buy the whole looking good thing, but ultimately you are riding a bike on shit roads full of cars.
The reality doesn't live up to the romanticism.
No wonder they look glum.

Roadies went to the better secondary modern in town, in my experience.

Even got the disapproving looks while on a coffee stop in hebden bridge-the most open minded place round here.

Did have mud on me shoes tho

It's not just a British roadie thing....Here in Switzerland the ratio between those that say hello and those that don't is high.

I won't say it's every rider, but it's enough to notice.

Oh well, I always give a nod and a smile, if it doesn't get a response I'm not going to let it ruin a ride......

......but don't get me going on the drafting....that really gets my goat!

Edit...

I couldn't care less, I ride my CX with slicks wearing longs and a soft shell and my peaked helmet (oh the horror)!

Ah, yes, that's me, there lieth the answer.

agree how you look seems important as whether you are deemed a 'proper' cyclist, I rode to the shops on Saturday on my (decent) road bike in jeans/t-shirt and passed loads of roadies going the other way, most just ignore you, not that I get that upset about it

I used to commute on road on an MTB and got very few smiles or nods. I seem to get more now i'm on a road bike though, proper road bike though not a pretend MTB 😉

Although I do still have a helmet with a peak! must get a new one.....

Yeah, I'm going to keep saying hi and just toughen up!

(wipes tears away) sniff

I admit my tone was a bit OTT - I apologise. I am under pressure and seriously sleep deprived due to a sick 18 month old.

that said this sort of thread really annoys me. I ride a mountain bike, a CX bike and a road bike depending on my mood and conditions. I really find this idea that roadies are less friendly both false and bizarre - it is just an attempt to create an "us and them" divide. Almost all my mates have road bikes and mtbs, this division is totoally arbritrary - they ARE THE SAME PEOPLE.

I have turned up at loads of car parks in the Surrey Hills and been blanked by "rad, cool gnarly dudes" with their bling machines. i have ridden the South Downs way on a beautiful sunny weekend and passed 500 + MTBer's over 2 days and had about half return my nod and smile.

So to the OP - there are some sour faced roadies. IME the same proportion of sour faced mtb'ers. Don't let it get to you.

Also - in countries where there are lots of riders about very few nod and smile - if they did to everyone they met their heads would fall off! This obsession with greeting every cyclist you pass is a British thing. Probably because we are a minority sport still.

Ive found almost all Mtb'ers say hi, or even stop for a chat. Whereas 99.9% of the roadies Ive seen ignore me even when I say hi.

Perhaps my mountain bike is only visible to other mountain bikers ?

It's not a roady thing it's a person thing, when I'm on my HT MTB certain types of roady will ignore me, when I'm on my rigid SS I get looks of scorn from some people on full sussers, when I'm on my full suss some of the pro look XC jey boys look at me with disdain.. On the other hand most of em don't.
just people being people..

I think things have got a lot better over the last year or 2. Like many others I ride both on and off road, and say hello/nod/smile to pretty much everybody on a bike (especially those I'm passing), and most people return it.

The guy in full Hope team kit on a Van Nic roadie who overtook me *very* closely near Bamford (I was on my mtb), and didn't seem to be even aware of my existence (even when I said Hi), well, bit of a dick, frankly. Especially if he is genuinely a Hope rider, as he's not doing their image any good.

What a sad state of affairs.

I agree with Trimix. I accept I am generalising and that loads of cyclists (myself included) do more than one 'type' of cycling but IMO MTBers (apart from the DH pyjama wearing young 'uns) take themselves less seriously and seem friendlier than roadies.

trying to say hello to people!

Shall we burn him?

I wonder why some peoples experiences are so different to mine. Maybe it is where you ride or something- my hunch is the closer to a big city the more grumpy people are- maybe.

Whatever bike I am on most people are really friendly. Yesterday I chatted to to guys on road bikes, not really roadies and a couple of pedestrians in a vilage where I was stopped for a break. I have seen a few people who I guess take themselves too seriously, but just as many of them have been off-road as in lycra.
Most of my riding is in Wales if that makes a difference?

C

I always nod or say hi, I get a bit of a mixed response. Most seem a bit unsure of themselves, and whether that should say hi - not unlike walkers really. The older guys seem more friendly, the young guns on their plastic rockets not so, but that's not stereotyping everyone.

i ride a moutainbike and a road bike and the constant demands of my dramatic personality change when i swap between the two are exhausting

I used to have a roadie say hello as he passed me on a hill.
Could never work out if he was being polite or giving me a Derek and Clive.

[i]khani - Member

It's not a roady thing it's a person thing
[/i]

Yeap, with the experienced riders, I reckon its this, most of the time. Another reasons ime is people cycling with ear phones in.

For the rest, they look as if they're genuinely struggling to the point of distraction and simply don't hear me bid them a good morning / say hello.

Either way, its no skin off.

it's no wonder they're sour faced given the state of the roads in the UK. It's hard enough negotiating all the potholes on a bike with soft chunky tyres and suspension never mind on one with no suspension and stone hard tyres, they must live in constant fear about the state of their arse.

Clanton, I don't ride round nodding like a woodpecker. I just find unusual to ignore a fellow cyclist saying hi or even just a smile on a quiet road in the middle of no where! I say hi to other dog walkers when out with hounds, is that normal?

My 3yr old hold had an accident lastnight and climbed into my bed in piss soden pj's and the 2yr got up 3 times, it's nice to be nice.
Hope your kid gets well soon.

my hunch is the closer to a big city the more grumpy people are- maybe.

Greater London here and I reckon I get about a 90% success rate of return hello/nod/wave. It doesn't really vary all that much if I swap between road and mountain bikes.

ultimately you are riding a bike on shit roads full of cars

This is the generalisation that gets my goat. There are thousands of miles of quiet country lanes out there that are a joy to ride on and aren't full of cars. I hate riding on busy potholed roads with lots of traffic, so I choose not to. I also hate riding along flat, boggy bridleways at the side of fields, so I choose not to.

As for the OP, bear in mind that sometimes cyclists are busting a gut and - as someone pointed out above - might be a bit too "in the zone" for general chit chat. In my experience there is no road/MTB divide here. Some cyclists say hello and some don't. Sometimes cyclists that usually say hello sometimes don't; please don't take offence when I do that.

ultimately you are riding a bike on shit roads full of cars
This is the generalisation that gets my goat. There are thousands of miles of quiet country lanes out there that are a joy to ride on and aren't full of cars. I hate riding on busy potholed roads with lots of traffic, so I choose not to. I also hate riding along flat, boggy bridleways at the side of fields, so I choose not to.

Sorry I was being PeakDistrictCentric, where a road bike nearly everywhere is extremely pleasant. I forget I live here sometimes 😳

Another way of looking at it is..
On the road I may be heading along at 20-22mph.. If you're doing the same coming towards me, we'll cross paths pretty quickly.
A smile/nod/hand wave may be gone in a flash, and we've both missed it...

Also, a brief "morning" may not be heard due to wind noise etc etc..

Some roadies are sour faced misery guts, but some aren't!

DrP

I like riding my road bike, I also like carrots.

I don't stand by the fruit and veg section of Tesco smiling and waving at every bloke who buys a carrot.

On a serious* note, it's like riding motorbike's in winter, the nod should be barely perceptible or simply raising the fingers off the grip as a wave. In all likelyhood they were probably looking further ahead than you, 'waved', then wondered why there was a delay followed by a full on Allan Carr Chatty Man, greeting a guest, double handed waving HELLLLOooooooooooooooooooooooooo. They probably brought their next interval forewards a few minutes just to be sure you didn't turn arround and try and give them a hug.

*road cycling is always serious

If I was a roadie, I'd be grumpy too.

I am sure that my 'struggling for air' grimace ,must frighten other road users ,but I always wave or nod.
[i]When you are really trying,there is no room for a smile[/i] 😉

They won't say hello unless they're a gang of 10 riding 2 abreast holding all the traffic back. They're very happy then. 😈

I agree, DrP - if you're passing each other on opposite sides of the road with a closing mph speed in the 40s, unless you really stare at the other person which frankly makes [i]you[/i] the odd one, then it's pretty easy to miss the nod/hand raise etc.

I still acknowledge the other cyclists and don't take it too personally when I don't see them respond.

I agree, DrP - if you're passing each other on opposite sides of the road with a closing mph speed in the 40s, unless you really stare at the other person which frankly makes you the odd one, then it's pretty easy to miss the nod/hand raise etc.

It's mostly this. It's easy to miss a small nod in your direction. Even easier if one of you is powering on and blowing out of your arse. I wouldn't take it personally.

Complaining about this is like complaining people don't say hello as you pass them in a super market aisle or when you're driving down the road in your Germanic estate car, other drivers of Germanic estates don't wave to you.

Not everyone wants to acknowledge another person just because they happen to be pedalling a bicycle on the same stretch of Tarmac/trail/bridleway etc.

Get over it.

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2472/13056920114_b7b8eb6c9a.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2472/13056920114_b7b8eb6c9a.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/16701462@N03/13056920114/ ]200_s[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/16701462@N03/ ]paul.sal[/url], on Flickr

If you want to get their attention, I find throwing stuff at them does the trick

Well I suppose it is a day or two since we last had a grumpy roadie thread.

is there a secret nod or somat?

It can be very subtle.

I give a nod, a smile and a hello to everyone, reckon I get about an 80% or 90% response rate - got a hello back from a guy in full Garmin kit going up a hill like he really was David Millar on Saturday, not even a look from a guy going through Cleobury the other way on the same ride. Some people do, some people don't. Ain't no thing.

[img] [/img]

[i]Binners at the weekend ,with some (not Greggs) projectiles[/i] .

Some good tips here ... Rule 71 may be what some folks experience hence getting blanked 😉

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

Why oh why do these threads keep appearing.
Who cares if someone riding a vaguely similar bike to you doesn't wave and start a conversation with you when they are just out ridig.

Why are middle aged male mountain bikers so needy.
Do you need a kiss on the cheek before you can get to sleep.

Just get over it and enjoy the weather and your own riding.

I thought some roadies were being ignorant when I rode passed them and said hello, until I realised that they had ear warmers on (or they may have been headphones 🙄 )
Think it is just down to individuals what ever mode of transport, used to live in Dorset whether walking dog, running, cycling would always say Hi to people out on the trail and would get a high number of blanks, moved up to Wiltshire and found people tend to respond more and more inclined to respond 😀

Out yesterday on the road bike for the first time in six weeks most people were friendly and said hello or gave the usual nod.

I did take offense to two that passed me though on the opposite side of the road, one commented on the fact I was wearing a lotto belisol team jersey from a few seasons ago. Then continued to say something about 'if you wear team kit...' within ear shot. Thought it was overly rude and the person in question just seemed a total bell**d. Other than that was a good day out.

I find that when on the mtb, I sometimes get ignored by roadies. When on the road bike, I sometimes get ignored by mtbers. The one group guaranteed to give a cheery wave or hello is CTC types on ancient Dawes Galaxies.

As I overtake other riders whilst wearing lycra I tend to subtlely clench my buttocks as an acknowledgement of their presence.
Passing in the opposite direction I find a subtle thrust of my lycra clad groin generally elicits a wtf reaction.
8)

I find keyboard warriors to be more sour faced.

As I overtake other riders whilst wearing lycra I tend to subtlely clench my buttocks as an acknowledgement of their presence.
Passing in the opposite direction I find a subtle thrust of my lycra clad groin generally elicits a wtf reaction.

I so much wish this were true!

I did take offense to two that passed me though on the opposite side of the road, one commented on the fact I was wearing a lotto belisol team jersey from a few seasons ago. Then continued to say something about 'if you wear team kit...' within ear shot. Thought it was overly rude and the person in question just seemed a total bell**d. Other than that was a good day out.

were both parties track standing? walking with your bikes? one going up a steep hill the other hard on the brakes going the other way? only with a combined speed of 20-40mph i wondering if this exchange actually took place? 🙄

I saw loads of people out on Sunday, I was leading a group of 10, we mostly rode double pace line, chatting away, regrouping at the tops and bottoms of hills. I did the gentle head nod to people coming the other way, I don't worry if they don't reply but most do. Except on Box Hill which was full of people riding an iconic climb 🙄

got lost clicking links on velominati and had to laugh at

CYCLING SHIT SANDWICH // A triathlon
Also referred to as the CSS, the Cycling Shit Sandwich is characterized by an event which begins with prolonged near-drowning and ends with trying to outrun the slowest person in your vicinity. May also involve a conclusive demonstration of a lack of motor skills.

They may be sour-faced, but they can be funny!

I ride a road bike, MTB, drive a car and occasionally walk. Sometimes I forget which prejudice to have.

Why do people always have to find excuses to be prejudiced? Just because you'd like other people to be friendly to you doesn't mean you have to insist on it like some bloody dictator!

To the OP - I'm not going to go around waving like a lunatic to every other cyclist (or anyone in any form of transport come to that) just because you have this idea we should all be sooper-friendly to each other!

Not least because with the state of the roads and generally low standard of driving you need to have your wits about you if you're travelling at any speed so keeping hands on the bars is a pretty sensible strategy.

To be honest I'd rather you thought I was grumpy than be taking my teeth home in my pocket 😯

A guy I know got overtaken while on a sportive and took great offence at one other competitor who shouted "Come on Fatso" at him as he rode past. Only later did he realise the guy was referencing his Liquigas kit and had actually shouted "Come on Basso!" 😀

Are people so desperate to feel like they belong to a group that they get upset by this sort of thing?

If you're such a precious little flower that your feelings get hurt when someone doesn't say hello, I don't think cycling is the sport for you!

I love the idea that some people go out and get all sad faced just because someone they don't know doesn't wave back at them; are you on a date or a bike ride?

I used to do motorbikes and the wave/nod is quite a big deal for some people. It's a nice touch but you can't get too uptight about it. (I got so into the habit that I still do it, it always makes me smile when I get one on back on a pushbike)

It's all about manners isn't it? Sadly, generally lacking these days, doesn't matter what bike you ride; if someone says hello or something it's generally polite to respond in kind.

Ignorance is bliss, the ignorant are dicks.

Chris

Some pretty mixed responses then!

Just be clear I'm not riding round gurning like the village idiot trying to hug roadies, just find there's considerably more socially inept roadies than MTBers as kinda proved in some of the posts. The 'they probably did'nt hear/see you' thing does not add up either.

Mr Smith, the croc dundee clip is a stroke of genius 😆

It's all about manners isn't it? Sadly, generally lacking these days, doesn't matter what bike you ride; if someone says hello or something it's generally polite to respond in kind.

Makes me chuckle when these threads come up. You can guarantee the first one of the year always comes up the Monday after the first sunny warm weekend of the year.

Personally I always raise my hand on the handlebars, more as a reflex action but it can easily be missed though, and if you think I'm rude or ignorant because you don't see it, well so be it. I'll cope okay with that!

Just be clear I'm not riding round gurning like the village idiot trying to hug roadies, just find there's considerably more socially inept roadies than MTBers as kinda proved in some of the posts. The 'they probably did'nt hear/see you' thing does not add up either.

doubt it, from experience, the key difference between mtbers and roadies, is as follows.

Roadies go for rides to cafes for tea and cake and a chat, mtbers drive to car parks to discuss the latest upgrade to their bike before driving home.

Regarding strangers, I find roadies far more willing to help others, mtbers tend to be too wrapped up in themselves, far too many cliques.

Roadies are more likely to offer help if they can. The acknowledgement you get isn't that obvious though, and when your arse is hanging out you do tend to get tunnel vision.

MrNice - Member

Mind you, some roadies don't respond just because they're trying so hard they have tunnel vision and can't think of anything but how much their legs hurt

Seems about right I would say.

Then again. A subtle nod whilst not even looking in your direction, a finger half raised off the hood .. it can be very very subtle.

i,ve been a club roady for 25 years .always say hi or wave .most club riders will return the wave .it's mainly the newcomers that dont understand ,can normaly tell them with there trade team clothing ,sky in particular.

mrmo - Member

Regarding strangers, I find roadies far more willing to help others, mtbers tend to be too wrapped up in themselves, far too many cliques.

Roadies are more likely to offer help if they can.

How did you come to that conclusion? Do you often need help when on your bike? Or do you cycle around offering help to random cyclists at the side of the road, with varying amounts of sincerity depending on which bike you are riding? And what sort of help are we talking about? I'm genuinely puzzled by this comment.

Mind you, some roadies don't respond just because they're trying so hard they have tunnel vision and can't think of anything but how much their legs hurt

A chap I've ridden with a few times tells the story of the time he had blown up completely and was dragging his carcass back home when he tried to nod to someone coming the other way, lost his grip on the bars and faceplanted the stem - ending up in the gutter.

I've no idea if it's really true but by god I hope it is.

Some pretty mixed responses then!

Just be clear I'm not riding round gurning like the village idiot trying to hug roadies, just find there's considerably more socially inept roadies than MTBers as kinda proved in some of the posts. The 'they probably did'nt hear/see you' thing does not add up either.

OP you are demonstrating both tribalism and confirmatory bias - as nicely illustrated in your post above. You have already decided that roadies are "socially inept" and you choose to "prove" this based on messages here. This is clearly false though as all the responders on this thread are mountain bikers - this is STW after all not Road Cycling UK or similar.

My first response was a little testy - and I have ridden mountain bikes for far more years than road riders. Cyclists of all types get enough abuse and prejudice from ramblers/horse riders/petrolheads without creating more divisive rubbish ourselves.

To be fair the 'socially inept' bit was meant as a sly dig/ joke, don't read to much into it.
Again in my experience MTBer's seem pretty friendly as do roadies, but I have been blanked quite alot by roadies and can't really understand it, hence the original post.
I'm not a needy person or massively upset by a few road cyclists poor manners.
Just wondered that's all.
I'm certainly not trying to create a divide.

@idlejon, when on the side of the road fixing punctures, i find i am more likely to get a roadie offer help than the same situation off road

Why do you feel the need to say hello to everyone who rides past on a bicycle? When you're Driving your car do you wave to everyone who drives past in a car?
For the record, I often say hello to walkers or cyclists on country lanes or in any circumstances where we're passing at close quarters, but almost never to other cyclists on busy wide A roads, town/city centres etc. What's the point?

There is always one road rider that will wave back