I've raced, repaired bikes at an LBS, travelled far and ride under all types of
conditions, and ride to work daily on my 15yo lugged steel bikes. (Bridgestone
and Bianchi - saving up for a Riv.) It has been rare that I've encountered
among cyclists uncouth behavior such as you describe. I attribute this good
fortune, in part, to the general Zen of cycling, and also in part to Grant
and others who help publisize through their writings the importance of
politeness and helpfulness. Their musings help educate the cycling community
and add enjoyment and longevity to the individual and the planet.
As for your encounter, this type of behavior is ignorant and rude - wouldn't
matter whether it came from a cager, a bystander, or anyone else. That the
culprit was a fellow cyclist might be particularly hurtful, but there are rude
and selfish individuals in every bunch. While we generally expect better from
cyclists, we will sometimes be disappointed. Don't worry about it. Ride on.
The Saint
________________________________
From: Esteban <proto...@gmail.com>
To: RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:57:06 PM
Subject: [RBW] Re: triathlete road rage?
Aaron, I loved your story. And having ridden with you, I can testify
that your equipment is spartan and relatively racy, and I'll also
volunteer that you are quite a strong rider.
Here in San Diego (aka Tri Center of the World), most training riders
I encounter seem very, very unhappy. Never a hello, never an "on your
left," never a glance at the stoplight, head always down, earbuds in,
heart-rate monitor on, bike carrier on the Range Rover. Now,
everybody has their thing, and that's fine. Your experience does not
seem out of the ordinary.
Its the opposite of the riding/living I like to do. Complete
opposite.
On Jul 15, 11:21 am, Aaron Thomas <aaron.a.tho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> This may be an unconventional "ride report" for the Riv group -- I
> have no photos to share or exotic places to describe -- but I think it
> is a story worth telling, if only because it is so bizarre, and I
> wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences on the road or any
> insight into the phenomenon.
>
> Yesterday I went on an urban ride near my apartment, a loop traveled
> by countless cyclists simply because it is one of the few places on
> LA's westside where you can open it up without being detained by too
> many stoplights. The ride starts out with a gradually rising false
> flat, which I treat as a warmup, spinning at a relaxed 18-19 mph.
>
> I came up behind a woman crouched over the aero bars on a time trial
> bike. I maintained a distance of 6 feet or so, waiting for a break in
> the automobile traffic to our left in order to pass her. Before that
> happened, however, she looked back and yelled, "are you out for a free
> ride today, mister? Go do your own training ride!"
>
> Perplexed, I asked her to repeat, which she did, this time peppering
> her phrases with a few F-bombs and an injunction to stay away from her
> because she doesn't even know me and doesn't want me drafting off her.
>
> What? Drafting? Come again? I wasn't drafting, I explain, but rather
> was at least 6 feet behind and waiting for a safe moment to pass. And
> what does it matter if you don't know me? I don't get it.
>
> More insults and F-bombs followed. And at this point she pulled to the
> side and waved me by, cussing at me as I passed. Letting her rage get
> the best of me, I lost my cool and returned an F-bomb or two, upping
> the ante with that special C-word women generally don't like to hear.
>
> With adrenaline rushing, I hammered away angrily in order to put a
> healthy distance between myself and someone seemingly so unstable. But
> the separation didn't last for long, as we both eventually were
> detained by a stoplight.
>
> As she pulled up behind me I turned around and asked, with the most
> polite voice I could muster, what her problem was and what she thought
> I was doing wrong.
>
> Again she unfurled a chain of expletives. But aside from the
> unmistakably unambiguous F-bombs she was dropping, I could not
> entirely understand her rant through her rather thick German accent.
> (For all I know she may have been lacing English and German together
> into a linguistic hodgepodge of insults.)
>
> At one point, however, I was able to make out the following: "I don't
> want to get in an accident because you don't know how to ride a bike."
>
> I ask her what makes her think I don't know how to ride a bike. And
> she says, "just look at you, I can tell. And look at your bike. It's a
> joke. You are not a serious rider, you can tell from your bike. And I
> don't want to get in a crash because you don't know how to ride a
> bike." And for good measure, she punctuated this assertion with a
> couple variations on the F-bomb. Just how I would cause her to crash
> by riding 6 feet behind her was not clear to me, nor did she succeed
> in explaining whatever rationale she was following.
>
> Now, mind you, neither my attire nor my Romulus are what might pass as
> standard Rivendell equipment. I wear lycra bibs, a cycling jersey, and
> Sidi road shoes. My bike has skinny tires, Campy Ergo shift levers, an
> outboard bearing double crankset, a racy titanium-railed saddle,
> Speedplay pedals, and has no fenders or luggage. To my eyes, it is a
> road bike more than a "country bike," and if I swapped out the frame
> for something carbon, there would be virtually no distinction between
> my equipment and that of your typical club rider. But apparently to
> her eyes, the fact that my frame is lugged steel and has a quill stem
> is indication enough that it isn't a "serious" bike and I am not a
> "serious rider."
>
> I am certainly accustomed to gentle ribbing from the carbon crowd on
> the club rides I go on. But their comments are more often than not
> underhanded compliments, e.g. "if you're keeping up with us on that
> old bucket of bolts, just imagine if you had a full carbon rig!"
>
> But no one could mistake this triathlete's comments for a compliment,
> underhand or otherwise. As I rode away on the green light, adrenaline
> again rushing, a few similar encounters I've had with triathletes came
> freshly to mind. None of the previous incidents were so abrasive or
> abusive -- F-bombs were not lobbed. But they were unpleasant
> encounters nonetheless, in which the triathletes went ballistic at the
> thought that I might be drafting off them (which I never was in fact
> doing) and commanded me to get away from them immediately.
>
> Is there something in the triathlete's water that makes them so
> patently nutty when it comes to sharing the road? Has anyone else
> experienced some form of triathlete road rage? Are there any
> triathletes on this list who can lend some perspective to what seems
> to me to be utterly inexplicable behavior?
>
> Aaron
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