Respect?

Apr 2, 2006 By Moe Ramirez Posted in The Archives Tagged with Commute by Bike

I’ve noticed that I get more respect by motorists when I commute by bike than when I ride my road bike with full ‘roadie gear’. My theory is that some roadies are just pompous asses and disrespect motorists AS WELL as other non-roadie cyclists. While most commuters do respect traffic and pedestrians, and we are not as concerned with wearing $300 SIDI shoes and ride with Nashbar Specials.

Do you agree or disagree?

0 thoughts on “Respect?”

RL Policar says:

April 3, 2006 at 6:44 am

I hate to say this but I do agree. I’ve ridden various of times and typically wave or say hi to roadies and they don’t return the gesture. Maybe its because they’re going super fast and the wind noise doesn’t allow them to hear people?

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Nick James says:

April 3, 2006 at 9:07 am

I think an otherwise casually-dressed person on a bicycle is more relatable than a full-on roadie, more likely to be seen as a chick on her way to work or a dude running some errands, and people aren’t as quick to hate on a person they can relate to. A decked-out roadie looks like a stereotype, and is less likely to incur sympathy from anyone with a grudge against cyclists.

But I have no patience for that attitude from decked-out, self-appointed roadie/racer/athletes. You can look down your nose at me as soon as I set foot in a velodrome, but these streets are mine, and the only thing separating you from the rest of us is a very expensive costume. Lose the attitude, and I might show you how to recalibrate your derailleur.

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Treadly and Me says:

April 4, 2006 at 2:28 am

Cycling in greener pastures?

The Beer Snob reckons cycling conditions are better in Europe than in Australia….

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SueJ says:

April 9, 2006 at 3:47 pm

I’m not sure it’s respect – when I’m riding my Schwinn one-speed with a couple of beer cans tossed into the baskets (they make a nice rattling sound so people hear me when I’m going through campus) people are often extremely solicitous.
People tend ot be solicitous to those much higher than them in social rank, or much lower; I’d reckon they figured I was doing the best I could and didn’t have a car.
People are still nice now that I’m on my Xtracycle, but not quite as solicitous. Nobody’s rolled down a window to say “would you like to go ahead” before the light changes (and I was the fool who’d landed in the right gutter of a right turn lane, intending to go forward), or shouted “shake, rattle and roll, baby!!” at me while they got their mail… but then, I have often been riding in darkness, so it’s a skewed sample. We’ll see!
I decided that I don’t mind if people think I’m homeless or pitiful, for whatever reason. Once I was practicing 180’s in a parking lot… and slowly at that, I’m just not confident with them, and Whoops! I look up and there’s a pickup truck… I apologized and he said kindly, “It’s okay, I was watching you,” as if I needed a guardian angel, or perhaps he thought I was autistic and stimming on the circles … but I figure if we treat people more gently for whatever reason, it’ll be a better world.

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Cycling in greener pastures? :: Treadly and Me says:

December 12, 2009 at 11:54 pm

[…] is there something in the view, recently proposed on Commute By Bike, that motorists show more respect to an average plonker on a treadly than to a slick dude kitted […]

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Respect?

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