CroMo Mike 

A small group of us were riding a century on the Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After about 85 miles of climbs, descents, rain, wind and clouds, we had pulled into an overlook to catch our breath and wipe our glasses during a brief break in the weather. An older couple in a big Buick pull in at the overlook and got out to see the view. The wife said to the husband "look dear, they're riding bikes up here." He said "well there's nothing to it, all they have to do is roll down these hills."

I thought sure, easy, but we had to ride up all those hills, too.

obrentharris 

Thanks. Great sentiment, nicely written.
Brent (a lifelong atheist)

dualresponse

True story.

I once rode to the top of Mt. Mitchell, which is claimed to be the highest climb east of the Mississippi river 6600+ ft.
At the top, sweaty and exhausted, I placed my bike next to the Mt. Mitchell sign to take a pic.
Up walks up a motocyclist couple. They smiled, walked over from their Harley, and motioned me, pointing to their camera.
"What a nice couple" I thought. Even though they were leather clad motorcyclist, and I, a spandex clad biker, we, after all, were kindred spirits, and as such, it was nice of them to offer to take a picture of me and my hard earned accomplishment. Surely, as two wheeled bretheren, they would appreciate the ride to the top, and that I actualled pedalled every inch of the way. Since my bike was against the sign, they would take a pic of me and my bike at the summit.
They walked up, offering me their camera.
"Do you mind taking a picture of us?" they asked.
I obliged, moved my bike from the sign, let them stand in front, and took a picture of their victory.
They thanked me and rode off.

Several years later, I climbed to the top of Mt. Mitchell again.
Again, tired and accomplished, I parked my bike against the same sign.
Again, another biker couple walked up.
Again, riding a Harley.
Again, they asked "Will you take a picture of us?"
I chuckled, I took the picture, they thanked me, and they rode off.

jonwvara 

Thanks for that--I didn't get it, and you're right, it was worth getting.

Digger Goreman

Nah, I'm with the muppets... not the puppets... try hare krishna!

Did have a pair of dudes ask me, looking at my legs, if I was a bike courier?

KenCT

During one of our shop group rides this spring we were nearing the top of a long climb. A car stopped at a stop sign to the right and the driver said to us “ that’s a steep hill”, I replied “that’s why we’re riding it.”

Drillium Dude 

"Commands on the oblique". From an Ebay auction; seller was in Italy.

DD

gugie 

Scene: Climbing up the steepest section of Limantour Road in Pt. Reyes on a tandem with my girlfriend, in granny gear, both standing on the pedals, close to stalling.

A Porsche 911 convertible with a posh yuppie couple pulls up next to us. The driver asks directions. I can't talk, breathing too hard.

My girlfriend yells out "NO WE DON'T HAVE ANY GREY POUPON*!"

*link for those not old enough to remember the commercial.

curbtender

My 4:30am commute included a nice downhill with a T intersection at the bottom. If I didn't see any lights at the stop, I'd blow through and jump a couple of speed bumps in front of a school on the other side. One morning I fly by a cop parked near the stop, jump both bumps and shoot through a park farther down the road. I can hear an engine revving and tires squeal as I exit the park and a really pissed off law man cut me off and jumps out exclaiming "You were doing in excess of 35mph" ...was I? "AND, you ran a stop sign!" Well, I was going 35mph. I took my fatherly lecture from the guy half my age and went on my way...

CV-6 

We knew it was. You didn't start with TINS.

gearbasher

This thread is jogging so many memories.

I was on a ride with a friend and there were a bunch of halfway decent climbs. I was a good climber, but a wussy on the descents. So I'd bury my friend on the climbs and he would pass me on the descents. We get to the base of the final climb and my friend tells me to wait for him at the coffee shop. So, I take off and halfway up I pass a small group of riders. I reach the coffee shop and while I'm waiting for my friend, one of the riders in the small group comes up to me and says: "You know you were riding uphill? Right?" I still smile when I think of that.

Two more stories that really don't fit in. But, they're ones I love to tell.

Many, many years ago on one really hot summer day, I'm riding with a friend through a small beach community. He gets a flat and we're fixing it on someone's lawn. A convertible pulls into the driveway and a woman in her mid to late 40's gets out, wearing a bikini and a small see-through cover-up. My friend and I start apologizing for being on her lawn. See says not to worry about it. Then she says: "It's really hot out here, would you guys like to come in for some iced tea?" Me, being very young and very naive, and my friend, being very married and very religious, both declined the offer.

After many years and maturing a little:

I'm riding on a boardwalk and I see a storm out over the ocean. So, I start slamming to beat it home. I come upon a man and a woman with bikes and he's attempting to pump up his tire. He waves me down and asks if I had a pump, because his isn't working. I stop and try to pump his tire and get nothing. He said he had a flat and put in a new tube. I pull out the tube and show him where he pinched it. I take one of my spare tubes and put it in. I start pumping. He's an older gentleman and I didn't look at the woman. I just assumed they were a couple. He's insisting on paying me for the tube and I'm refusing. I'm telling him I just want to beat the storm home. When the woman hears this she says: "Don't worry, I live nearby. If it starts raining you can ride out the storm in my house." I looked up at her and realized she wasn't his wife and was, most likely, his daughter. And, she was a doll. So, I started to pump the tire at a snail's pace and thinking to myself: please rain, please rain. Of course it didn't.

curbtender

Off the bike, but a friend asked if I was still riding. After a yes from me, she says that she's lucky not to fall over putting on her underwear. She now rides a cruiser, lol.

BikeWonder

On my Calgary-Vancouver trip over the Rockies, I remember one comment made by a biwildered man from Australia while I stopped at an old Western Saloon type of museum at the top of a summit to fill my canteens with water.
As I finished topping them, the man came out from the museum and looked at me funny.

He asked me why I was carrying so much on my bike and I told him I was touring from Calgary. He looked shocked, shook his head and said, "You're, nuts mate. You Canadians keep weirding me out. Best of luck to ya."

I took it as a compliment and thanked him,laughed, and just went my away.

scarlson 

My Ron Cooper touring bike and my Colin Laing tandem are both pretty rare frames. I need them to be rugged and reliable, because they're my go-to long-distance tourers, so I use the venerable XTR M952 derailleur (which proved itself to me on a six-month tour) on the back of both (shifting friction, of course).

In spite of the framebuilder cachet, Binda gold-lettered straps, and Nitto rack and TA Zephyr bling, the comment I get most often is "cool, XTR!" from the mountain biker crowd. Usually followed up with a perplexed "why?" to which I respond, "because it's the best."

I guess this makes sense given the number of people who know what XTR is compared with those who know what any of the other things are. In spite of this, it leaves me scratching my head every time.

I'm scratching my head as to why it's a favorite bystander comment also, but it stays with me, more than anything else. I think it bridges a divide between types of cyclists who probably don't talk to one-another often enough, maybe.

non-fixie 

Thanks. And for future reference: Cyclists' Nicknames

Goosecheck 

This just occurred three nights ago, on Halloween. I was riding through my neighborhood, about three blocks from home. I was coming back from a friend’s house in the neighborhood; our boys had gone out with a group of friends to collect candy. Naturally it’s jammed with people; parents, kids, strollers, etc. Most of them temporary imports from other parts of town (better candy here I guess). It was about 8:30pm and dark. Nary a one of the pedestrians with a flashlight, just criss-crossing the street without looking, at the pace of leisurely stroll. Then my headlamp shines on two parents and their 10-12 year old son standing smack in the middle of street, in the dark, his costume down around his knees, making adjustments to the boy’s costume. As I get close I give them (admittedly) a slightly snarky “Heelllooo” to gently make a point about them standing in the path of travel. Mom replied, “Why don’t you go ride on a bike path somewhere?!” Yeah, she’s right! What the hell was I thinking...riding my bike on the road where they were standing? Shame on me!

easyupbug 

My favorite is also the most common, a simple "Nice old bike" as they blow past me.

speedevil 

During the summer I usually go to the local bike shop for their Wednesday evening ride. The new owner of the shop is a retired Army guy that taught hand-to-hand combat at Fort Campbell. A nice guy and a very strong rider. Jimmy and I rode side by side for most of the ride, and later another friend that was with us said "You were riding alongside Jimmy, well done."

I told him "I was riding beside Jimmy because he allowed it. If he didn't want to ride alongside, there is nothing I could do to stop him or catch him." He said "Yeah, I reckon you're right. I couldn't catch him either, if he didn't want to be caught."

Reality does make an appearance from time to time.

tgenec86

I used to commute from Duluth to Alpharetta GA (about 20 miles). One morning I was coming up to a major intersection that has a very long light for the crossing road and saw a dump truck with a trailer, so I hitched a tow through the intersection at about 45mph so I would not get caught out. After making it through, a short distance later I saw blue lights but didn't think anything of it, being on a bicycle in morning traffic. All of the sudden I heard "Young man on the bike - pull over!" I did, and as the officer approached me I was laughing noticeably and he looked at me very oddly as I told him - "You just made my day! I'm probably 15 years older than you are." We chatted for a few minutes and he told me to get going with the warning "I really don't want to see you do something like that again, but I can't wait to tell the guys back at the Department about this!"

Daytriker

Riding a bright yellow Recumbent Trike I was probably the first in my little town in BC. As I rode past a school, a young guy about 12 came riding up to me on his BMX all wide eyed & asked, "Is THAT the Corvette of Bikes?" He of course kept bugging me for a race to which I eventually relented & let him win. But damn I sure had to work at it. That kid was fast!

RobbieTunes

Sun Tzu would have used the moment of imbalance to attack. I did not.

gparr

With my sister on a multi-day tour. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and used a cable lock to lock our bikes to a small tree. As we were walking into the restaurant a guy walking by says, "Tree should be safe now." Took a second for it to register with us, but it elicited a bit of a chuckle.
Gary

kastigar

I've heard that a lot; so have most of us.

farnorth51

I get a lot of positive comments while on my recumbents, "cool bike", "I like your bike", "How much does that cost", etc but my most memorable one was when a 400lb+ lady was waddling across the parking lot when I pulled up on my recumbent, her young son said, "Mommy, look, what kind of bike is that?" "A lazy man's bike," she sneered! LOL!

ltokuno

I got caught in a pretty good headwind one day, and was having a tough time of it. One guy that passed me said, "Just keep going." Didn't make it any easier, but I felt better.