Being that my trip begins in less than a month, and being that today was the warmest day of the year so far, I went out for my longest bike ride of the year so far.  The roadies were out in full force.  I had not been familiar with the term "roadie" until I heard it used by my son and his urban cycling buddies in Seattle last year.  And they used it in a rather sarcastic way, i.e. "I loved passing teams of roadies in their lycra uniforms on the Seattle to Portland Bike Classic."  I secretly took some offense to that because, upon self-examination, I was a roadie, though I have never been part of a team or club.  The main thing that distinguishes me from most roadies, however, is that I am a FRIENDLY rider.  I have always noticed that the majority of those highly-driven cyclists couldn't be bothered to wave or smile to a biker on the other side of the road, and that is exactly what I experienced again today.   Out of an estimated 20 riders I encountered this morning, exactly three returned my wave.  The other 17 were probably thinking, "What a hick!  Go back to your island, Gilligan!"

I honestly believe that those young bike messenger dudes, who continually fly up and down the steep hills of downtown Seattle, are just as dedicated to bicycling as the average roadie, yet they ride while joking and laughing, while wearing skinny pants and button-down shirts and no helmets, and after inhaling a couple of one-hitters.

I am not going to judge which group's approach is closer to the true spirit of bicycling.  All I know is that in 29 days I will begin my Quest for Fun.  I'm not sure if I even have a solid biking philosophy, but if I do, it's all about fun.  Certainly roadies are having fun--it just doesn't LOOK like they are.

Anyway, if you are out riding your bike sometime between June 1 and approximately July 15 and you see a rider with panniers on his bike and a silly smile on his face, and you happen to be somewhere between MN and MA, feel free to wave back at me. 

Heart

1

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply