hogger453

It's nice and reassuring to read some of your posts.

StanSeven

I think it's related to Facebook. Maybe we haven't been cycling long enough

silversx80

Charity is simply the act of giving to someone in need. In your case, being someone in need, it would be an act of charity for a fellow cyclist to give you aid. It is not something you deserve, nor is it owed to you.

As far as human kindness is concerned, I expect none. I was once stranded when my pump failed and I walked 15 miles to the nearest bike shop. Not a single person stopped to offer help in those few hours walking in cycling shoes. This was in Albuquerque. On the flip side, a couple months later and I had gone through 2 tubes, and by some freak accident I had broken 3 presta valves. So I was down to one tube and a fellow cyclist gave me another one, which got me back home.

I I am still grateful for that act of charity, and try my best to replicate it when given the opportunity. Hell, one time I stopped to help a fellow cyclist and he happened to own a local micro brew. I got an invitation to some tasty brew and their weekly Sunday beer ride.


My point is that you will always be left disappointed when you expect charity for yourself, and I believe that expectation is an entitlement attitude. In which case, you deserve nothing and should be given nothing. Pay it forward, offer help, expect none in return. That is true etiquette and class.

hogger453

I'm sorry but I think you're clearly confused and please stop with the psyc. lessons.

StanSeven

I had a flat in the peak summer heat. I stopped and moved to the shade to cool down some. My hands were covered in sweat running down my arms. In ten minutes maybe ten people asked if I needed help. It was annoying but nice they did.

As far as unexpected acts of kindness, I was checking out at the grocery store. I got a little annoyed because the guy in front didn't pay and kept talking with the clerk. Then the clerk started running my items through. When he finished he told me to wait a second and ran the other customers card. I started to pay but the clerk said the other guy paid for me - random acts of kindness.

silversx80

Yet I'm not the one with the undies in a wad because nobody wanted to help.

hogger453

Yet, I don't wear undies and don't know what a wad is.

Doug28450

Riding on the MUP one day with my daughters we ran across a fellow with his bike upside down on the path. We stopped and I asked if he need help. He said he had a flat and was stuck. He said he didn't have a tube, a patch or a pump and told me where he was parked, it was a long walk. As he told me his story, I observed that he had no provisions, not tube, no patch kit, no pump, no saddle bag, and nothing in the pockets of his jersey. I gave him a tube and a pump. He quickly changed the tube and pumped the tire, like this was nothing new. He offered me $20. I refused and tole him to buy a tube and a pump.

After riding off, I got the feeling that this was the guys mode. He carried nothing and when he ran into a problem he expected someone else to help.

mercator

Well, I've learned something from this thread: places to avoid include SC, western PA, and where ever the OP is from.
Keep em coming!

hogger453

As have I.

Maelochs

To both you and the OP I have to ask ... What about you looks so scary?

I am about the scariest-looking guy I have ever met (little children start crying when I come near, even before they see me---they can sense my scariness) but I have had people stop and offer help----even a soccer mom with a bike rack who offered me a ride (on second thought, maybe She was a kidnapper.)

But seriously, OP .... if you have watched all the antics of the human race up until now, and Now because of this you decide we are all doomed ....

Maybe you were passed by ten riders who got dissed by that other guy the last time they offered to help.

CliffordK

If I'm busy fixing a flat, then I probably don't need any help.
If I'm walking the bike with a flat tire, then an offer might be nice.

RollCNY

It is interesting that the OP who cites a lack of etiquette insults the posters who don't agree with him.

DXchulo

Learn your lesson and carry enough stuff next time. Being mad at the world won't solve anything.

kbarch

There's a little irony there.
People need to give help as much as they need to receive it at times, but they can't immediately tell when it's most needed, so they tend to offer it when things appear most wrong. When you're off on the side of the road fiddling with your bike on the ground, it looks like something is wrong and help may be necessary. If you're walking steadily along in town or a more or less settled area and not obviously injured, walking a bike may look a little pathetic, but it looks like you know what you're doing and have things under control. There are a few steps one has to take, mentally, to conclude that the person walking is more likely to need the help than the one messing with his bike on the side of the road, and those steps are not always quick to occur.

hatrack71

Only the younger generation. Don't worry, we 40+ ers stay together. Alot of us still were born at the time of good Christian morals. I think I was lucky to miss the fascination with Facebook and selfie narcissist crowd. I'm not liking how society has "evolved." Technology and political correctness has made the millenials a bunch of turds because they are the ones who keep buying into the BS and then pushing it on everyone else. Or they get offended.. Good Lord, I hope I wasn't that naive when I was in my 20's. But since I was a raging alcoholic for many years, thankfully I don't remember. I think I'm gonna go throw up.

texaspandj

Good Christian morals? What is bad Christian morals? What does Christianity have to do with etiquette? You don't have to be a Christian to have etiquette or compassion.
Perhaps my definition is different than yours. Christian to me is to be Christ like and in that definition we all fail. Others will define as followers of Jesus Christ, either way.
Political correctness? What the hell? Pretty sure Jesus Christ would be sensitive to others plight.

silversx80

The millennials are turds because their parents, baby boomers and early gen-xers, were bad parents. And to that end, the millennials are much better people than their parents.

hatrack71

Very funny... but political correctness has absolutely nothing to do with being sensitive to other's plight. It's a tool to create separation and censorship. Discernment my friend. There are many false Christians. Those who wish to twist and change the word of God in the name of social justice. So maybe good wasn't the right word.

billyymc

Crotch phone seems like it would cause chaffing on a ride. And be pretty inconvenient for making calls, but maybe ok for texting depending on one's personal circumstances.

hatrack71

Good point on the first. The second point, I can't agree on at all.

texaspandj

I'd rather be called a alcoholic than a drunk. Just based on it conitations. Is only one example.
Once again, being sensitive to one's plight is the right thing to do even if it's not currently in fashion.

1Mule

When I see another cyclist looking over their bike I always ask if they need help. Had a flat a few months ago and several passing cyclists asked if I needed a hand. This in Portland Oregon.

hatrack71

I agree. Trendiness shouldn't dictate whether or not an act of kindness is a good deed or a punishable crime. Such as feeding the homeless in some places.

indyfabz

Just yesterday I rode by a commuter who in the middle of changing a flat. His tire was off, his tube was out and he had a pump. I didn't offer assistance because he didn't look like he needed any. Despite your rant, I am still a cyclist. Moreover, I don't own a smart phone, and I never have, Mr. Stereotype Generalizer.

Almost forgot: ****