WheelsDoHeal

On a recent weekend day, I rode my gravel bike alone for about 4 hours, on sub-rural to suburban roads and was now very hungry, so decided to get a meal, before heading back home.
Pedaling to a nearby diner, that serves decent food, I lock up my bike to a nearby wooden picnic table, and just before entering the door, an elderly man accompanied by a woman, exiting their car, stops me and asks...


Man: “How is the food here ?”

Reply: “It is fair-to-fine, and if you like fresh food, you could do a lot worse.”


Man: “Could you suggest something on the menu ?”

Reply: “Yes, the vegetable omelette is tasty”. I thought my answer sufficient and was about to open the door, but the man continued to ask more questions, while the woman took down notes on a tablet. More questions followed, and another and another.... I was getting more hungry by the minute, and as customers were entering, the restaurant was getting busy and I also found answering the mans questions, tiresome.


Man: “Do you come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner ?”

Reply: “Yes”.

...And Knowing that my response could be confusing, Just as it was intended to be... I started for the door.
By this time, however, the diner had become too busy for me and, as I prefer a quiet setting when eating, I decided to leave and ride my bike to another local restaurant, instead.



Man: “Could you give me more specific answers ?”

Reply: “Yes, but I am hungry and have decided to eat at another restaurant, instead. So long and I trust you will enjoy your meal here.”



Man: “Oh, we are not eating here, just needed some quotations for my restaurant review column. I’m late with writing my review this week, so I’m just asking around”. “By the way, I noticed you were riding a bicycle today... what brand of bicycle do you ride”.

Reply: “I’m not spending any more time talking to you, as you are keeping me from having a meal”.



Man, now apparently insulted by my remarks... “Just because you ride a bike doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want”.

Reply: “I agree with you. But that doesn’t stop me from trying.”

Decision time: I’m not going to let this over entitled person bother me any longer. I unlock and hop on my bike and ride off to my new destination, but now with an extra bit of knowledge, just learned from this episode...

The man apparently thinks riding a bike is something liberating; something that free loving people do.

If so, He is absolutely correct.

hillyman

Far out man, righteous, right on!

shelbyfv

Cool story....

burnthesheep

Thanks for sharing!

It's a sentiment (not even bicycle specific) that I really don't understand. Folks have a tendency to see somebody doing something they either never would do, never want to do, or feel they don't have the time for.........then get all judgmental and nasty about it. I've seen a similar scenario happen at local "Cars and Coffee" meetups. People come park their project cars at a local restaurant they have a deal with, chat, talk cars, then go eat. Never fails somebody comes to look at the cars, but isn't really "in the group". They try to chat somebody up, and when the person tries to go do their thing.........the person gets all indignant. Almost like you're to be treated like a museum or zoo exhibit.

Paul Barnard

I am sorry my friend, but I have burned some calories this morning and am feeling hangry. Y'all have a great day."

Reflector Guy

Yes! The "overly clingy spectator".

I always seem to run into the guy who wants to tell me a) why my car is slow, unsafe, ugly, or a failure in the marketplace, or b) how I should change to a different engine, wheels, upgrade the seats or suspension, get a bigger stereo, or whatever. I think some of them just like to hear the sound of their own voice so they say the most outlandish stuff just to get a reaction.

indyfabz

Try going on tour and being asked about your trip multiple times a day. “Where are you going? Where did you start? How many miles do you ride in a day? How many flats have you gotten? Where do you sleep?” It can get old fast, but I always try to be accommodating.

ClydeClydeson

Find a recently posted review of that café, possibly one that mentions the veggie omelet, and you have found the D-bag who was harassing you, and likely have also found an outlet where you can post a comment about his (lack of) manners. Also you can describe in your comment his strategy of asking randos about the food then passing it off as his own opinion.

skidder

Drive-by 'windshield' critic, maybe he's an independent reporter getting paid by the number of reviews he submits so he doesn't want to stop there too long. If he's a restaurant critic,

* Why is he 'dissing' you about your bicycle riding; he should be concentrating on the restaurant and its food, not yor bicycle selection (we on BF do enough of that!).
* Why aren't he and his companion inside sampling a few of the menu offerings.

If it was me he asked I would have answered the first few questions (How's the food here? Can you recommend something?), then politely declined anything more so I could go in and eat, and mention they should come inside and try it themselves, too.

rsbob 

OP you are a better man than me not becoming totally exasperated by being used for so long by this fraud of a critic. I would have been so pissed off, I probably would have told him off.

Have been to a few cars n coffees and tearing down other people’s cars seems to be the predominant pass time. Thick skins or I could care less attitude is in order. Haven’t been to one in years since I would rather spend my time on the bike.

indyfabz

Harassment?