Miserable riders!

[NeilM]

I understand that on the road not every cyclist I see is going to give me a cheery wave, and lets face it in most woodland at the weekend there are dozens of mtb'ers doing whatever it is that we do, and there will only be the occasional 'hi' or nod, as there are so many other cyclists around it would be impossible to say hello to each and every one of them... plus you'd end up looking like a nutter.

However, on this particular trail, certainly when we set out and it was reasonably quiet, it stood out to me that the casual riders all said hello and a number of riders, all on some form of drop bar bike and all clad in team / club gear chose to ignore us. I didn't take offence, I didn't shout abuse after them, I just thought, 'what a miserable bunch of ....riders'.

 

[Kerplunk]

Some people acknowledge you some don't, I get it when I'm out on my scooters too. If I'm out on my Lambretta I'll get waves from other vintage scooter riders and from some bikers. When I had a Gilera Runner for commuting that looked like I could be a kid on a 50cc I got shuned by everyone (and cut up by everyone in towns). Now got a bigger commuting scooter and some bikers nod.

 

[troje]

Last month I rode back home at a relaxing pace, returning from a very satisfying few rounds on my local mountainbike track. The ride back is around 15 miles and is over paved roads. 5 miles away from my house, I was waiting at a traffic light when a roadie stopped next to me, only to look at my dirty old bike with a face of disguise, and not even the slightest intention to return my joyfull "Hello, are you enjoying your ride today?".

Light turned green so we took off. He blasted away and thought he would never see me in life. I thought, it's only another 5 miles, why not have some fun with this fellow. For a while we rode at top speed with only a gap of 50 metres between us. He was trying to get rid of me, but failed. After a few miles, literally around the corner where I live, roadie decided to pull over, step off his bike and fiddle with his ultralight pedal.

Even under the shower I had a grin from ear to ear

 

[pigman]

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed by this thread. The OP's post was fair - he simply reported what he saw and questioned it. The thread then degenerated into almost the land of bigotry with the anti-road theme. Thankfully hamster came along and put things in perspective with some common sense.
I ride several bikes on the road in several guises - a steel mtb, teeshirt, jeans & trainers with no helmet and almost every cyclist ignores me, be that racer, tourer or mtber. I'm just not sexy or trendy on those days.
If i ride my carbon bike with all the kit, its only the seasoned roadies that acknowledge me ... and you can see who is seasoned simply by the way they sit on their bikes.
On every occassion I see a cyclist of any sort I wave or say hello, so I'm doing my bit.

to answer a few specifics on the thread...
I ride with a roadclub (a hardcore racing club too) in all the uniform team kit etc and we make a point of always saying hello or asking if someone is ok if they're not actually riding. Maybe those not getting acknowledged are displaying some anti-road tendencies at the outset.

the roadbike and peaked helmet smacks of all the gear, no idea. A peak detatches so easily and prevents neck pain when youre riding lower ... common sense really

the shaved legs making you go faster ... again no actual know-how there. Shaving legs is not about speed. its do with easier application of wound dressings, embrocation etc. Granted, some do it for aesthetics, but much in cycling is about aesthetics

so come on fellas, lets have less anti-road stuff for the sake of it and find some other group that you don't belong to to have a pop at.

 

[Tazio]

Some people acknowledge you some don't, I get it when I'm out on my scooters too. If I'm out on my Lambretta I'll get waves from other vintage scooter riders and from some bikers. When I had a Gilera Runner for commuting that looked like I could be a kid on a 50cc I got shuned by everyone (and cut up by everyone in towns). Now got a bigger commuting scooter and some bikers nod.

In a similar vein many years ago I sold my Mini and replaced it with a black BMW 5 series. All of a sudden people responded differently. No more being flashed out of junctions and allowed into gaps on the motorway when merging to single lane at roadworks.