KCR – its just my experience. When I see road riders in full uniform they hardly ever acknowledge me and usually look really grim. I suspect its because I do not look like one of the “brotherhood” as I am not in lyrca and helmet and they are “suffering for their sport”

@tjagain they’re probably just scared of getting into an argument with you 🙂

w00dster

Subscriber
Poopscoop, I think we are similar. I’m 47, every time I ride
My bike, road, XC, trail or even just the wife’s shopping bike, I’m still like my 8 year old self on my old bmx, huge smile, loving being out in the countryside or where ever I may be.
I even think I fall off as much as you!! Embarrassingly I’m on holiday, did a “mtb ride” on old beaten up specialised rock hoppers, out of the group of 8 I was the only one to crash! Damn brakes being flipped to the other side!! Other the bars in front of some very novice riders! And none of them believed me that the front and back brakes are flipped in the UK!

Yeah, something wonderfully childish about riding a bike. To me anyway and I mean that in a positive way! Lol

Jeez…. No way would I even attempt riding a euro set up bike. I know a lot of people can adapt fast but I just know I wouldn’t be one of them.😆

When I see road riders in full uniform

I’m wondering how you can tell they are “roadies” and not mountainbikers on a road bike?

Nice sunny bank holiday ride today, exchanged a good number of nods, hellos and acknowledgements with people on a variety of bikes, and wasn’t snubbed by any grumpy riders. Just a normal day…

I think TJ should come and ride with some of us southerners around the Chilterns. He will get bored by waving and saying hello by the amount of happy cheery folk he will encounter. Most will be in full “uniform”, me included. I’d even promise not to gurn and keep smiling the entire ride.

Look guys – its just my observation. I guess its because lots of serious roadies use east lothian where I sometimes use bits of road but its very noticeable. Try riding without a helmet and in ordinary clothes and see how you get blanked.

You definitely get a different reaction when you don’t have a silly plastic hat on

That’s true ..

But…

WHO CARES!!!!

They ride like that ..but I ride in unpadded shorts normal shirts mtb shoes and enduro helmet in cx on the road with 35mm tyres on 9 speed with frame packs and seatpack…I have fun regardless.. and I honestly DONT CARE if people judge me for that..

Just ride fun and dont constrain yourself to ‘one of them’if that not your style..cycling is for everyone..just in there own style..

There’s something very wrong if a road bike is “grim” or “unforgiving” and requires “more concentration” than an MTB! I’d say spinning along the tarmac with the sun on your face and the wind at your back can be almost a meditative experience

Genuine LOL at this one, clearly you’ve never been on the roads up here. Just about one step from unmetalled in places.

Also, more like rain in your face and wind at your, um, face.

You definitely get a different reaction when you don’t have a silly plastic hat on

Is it cos I is helmetless?

So they’re not miserable as such, they’re being “non-helmet-ist”… The bigots!
I’m sure you can provide evidence of this being the basis for their slighting of you…

…clearly you’ve never been on the roads up here…

Fair enough. I’ve only cycled as far north as Caithness in recent years. I guess you’re talking about further north than that?

Cool, want a prize?

I was talking about SW Scotland FWIW, I just made the crazy assumption that like the majority of the population you resided south of that area.

Guess we found the miserable git at any rate.

I’ve got no idea who most of the people are on here, so I try not to make assumptions about where they are riding.

As I said above, I haven’t experienced the “miserable road cyclist” syndrome, and the argument that road cycling is so grim and demanding that riders are blind to everything else is just daft. Five hours on Scottish roads yesterday, lots of people out cycling with smiles on their faces, friendly acknowledgements all round, snubbed by no one.

I grew up cycling in SW Scotland. The roads have certainly deteriorated since then, but there are still miles of great tarmac there.