I have never heard the term Fred to denote a racer type persona.   It has
been used since the mid80s in person and in magazines to describe what now
is a BoB.


On Mon, Jan 2, 2017 at 2:01 PM, George Schick <bhim...@gmail.com> wrote:

> The term "fred" seems to have morphed into a myriad of meanings nowadays
> (according to a look-up in the Urban Dictionary, anyway), but the way it
> gets used "locally" implies someone who portrays him/herself as a racer,
> decked out in the some of the priciest gear from head to toe, rides an
> expensive professional-class bike, and goes out on the MUP's instead of the
> street where he probably belongs, to seemingly prove to everyone else out
> there how great he is.  There are lots of riders in this area who depart
> from an LBS just down the street from me most every evening during the
> regular riding season in a large pack; but they ride and carry out their
> training entirely on the streets and roads.
>
> As far as attire is concerned, I wear lycra and have sub-35 tires, too
> (though not by much), and it's all fine.  But the freds seem to like to
> take things to the extreme even where it's impractical.  Most of the MUP's
> in this area are surfaced with compacted "limestone screenings," the fine
> and often powdery stuff that's left at the bottom after all the other sizes
> of crushed limestone rock have been sorted.  How anyone can ride on the
> stuff with something like 25's is beyond me, but you see 'em out there.
>
>
> On Monday, January 2, 2017 at 11:47:25 AM UTC-6, Steve Palincsar wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> On 01/02/2017 11:14 AM, George Schick wrote:
>>
>> Agreed (and also with Lum Gim's comment).  And BTW, those "in lycra with
>> skinny tires" are usually known by the slang term "freds."
>>
>>
>> Are you sure?  When did that happen?  When they first started using the
>> term, it applied to us, not to them.  Googling the term, I retrieved this:
>>
>> *Fred is a derisive term used by “serious” road cyclists to describe
>> other cyclists who do not conform to serious road cyclists' norms with
>> regard to dress and equipment, and appear amateurish to them. The term is
>> generally reserved for men, while the female Fred is sometimes called a
>> “Doris.”**Apr 2, 2011*
>>
>> Sure sounds like a "roadie's" view of us...
>>
>>
>> --
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