Favorite bystander comments
 

Not sure why this came to mind today, but last spring, when I was passing through Philadelphia, Mississippi on a tour, I went to the library to check my email. There was a sort of terrace out front, and I carried my bike up there rather than leave it on the street. When I was carrying the loaded bike back down to the street later, an old man (I guess I'm sort of an old man at 65, but this guy was in his late 70s or 80s) was watching me. He started to cackle.

"It's supposed to tote you," he said. "You're not supposed to tote it."

I loved that.

Anyone else have a favorite bystander comment?

I was carrying a freshly painted '85 chrome lugged Cinelli, done with Enzo paint, hand-polished Super Record, new decals, cleared, the whole shebang.

It was almost 7 o'clock on a Friday evening, at a bike shop across the street from the restaurants and nightclubs of downtown Greenville NC.

It was not a bystander comment. A nicely dressed couple came the other way, the guy saw the bike, turned to his lady, and said "you go on, and if I'm not there in 20 minutes, order and eat. I gotta look at this bike."

It took 40 minutes to talk about it, easy.

At a criterium, watching the Novice/Cat 5's.
"That's going to leave a scar." over and over and over.

One day our group ride got a little turned around. As we past a church getting out I peeled off and approached an elderly lady to ask directions. After telling her we were lost she pulled herself fully upright and said “ If you were in Church, you wouldn’t be lost! “.

I thanked her and went back to the group...

Riding an old Schwinn Twinn tandem past a dad and kid on a corner I heard a little loud voice, "It's a two-sickle bike!"

"Oh, dude, you just messed up. You might want to run."

My roommate, watching a guy put me and my Ironman Carbon into the bales at the same crit.

yesterday, I caught a guy on a clapped out road or hybrid of some origin. A useless rear centerpull brake, as I pulled along side, "is that bike fast?"
"It was for me 45 years ago". He then took off, looking back as I turned for the coffee house.
I think he wanted a race. I don't have a high enough testosterone level to care anymore.

Otherwise, it is only when on one of my Colnagos do I get any attention.
Oh yes, once on a Masi, "hey is that a Breaking Away bike?"

"Scraper Bike!!!" as I rolled by on a bike with Nimbus Crosswind wheels.
(I had to google the video.)

Riding up a gravel and rock forest road on a very frosty morning near Charlottesville VA on MTB's years ago, we passed by several exceedingly "redneck" pickup trucks (I kid you not, they had platforms on the front for their hound dogs) and multiple flannel and heavy boot clad hunters. We had to get off and walk around an extremely bad & muddy part of the road, and as we passed by one of them he looked rather embarrassed, but managed to ask us "Do them little bike pants really keep you warm enough?"

I went to an outside BBQ place and had with me a neon orange Gary Fisher. I was sitting next to it while waiting for my food when a guy comments on the color then asks if my name was Gary Fisher.

Nice A$$
“Lance”

"Get the hell off the road."

:(

I've gotten awesome, cool bike (numerous times) and you don't know what this means to me can I take a pic of y'all, all for my Ironman (s).
But the best was from my Dad. I just bought my brand new '86 Panasonic DX 3000. He asked how much it cost me, when I told him 350 bucks, he said "for that price it should've came with a motor".

One more (I've got plenty). Screaming down a long descent in the Blue Ridge Parkway near Wintergreen Ski Resort, I passed a sport motorcycle - he shot past me again, so I let it all hang out and used every single bit of descending skill I ever learned. BTW, I learned how to descend from Davis Phinney back when he was still riding for Coors Light and I was on Team Richbrau. I passed him again and then railed every turn, sprinted up to speed and carved the next bend. I got to the bottom with about five seconds on the guy. The moto rider pulled alongside me and said "If anyone told me that had happened I'd have called them a bare assed liar -and I still don't think I believe what I just saw!"

Hey, good lookin', what's cookin'?

"You're my hero!"

From a 65-year-old Guamanian visiting his daughter for the summer. He was out on a modern bike, I was on the Colnago Mexico. He was impressed to see someone riding vintage steel in the manner in which it was intended.

Made my day :)

DD

"Get the **** off the road!" from a woman in an SUV stands out.

A very forward offering of intimacy from a very large woman driving a beat up pickup truck while I was riding downtown with my wife still makes me laugh.

My favorite? "Whoa! Nice bike!" directed toward my Ironman a few weeks ago.

From a passing young cyclist with a fine Irish accent, directed towards my wife/stoker as we were riding our tandem, "God bless the work!"
Made her day.
Brent

I was riding one of the local hills on my 84 Bianchi and I passed a small group on new bikes. They tried to stay with me but could not.

At the top of the climb they came up to me and asked how old the bike is. I told them it was a 1984 model.

One of them said “that bike is older than we are”

From a young lady who attempted to cut me off when she was entering a traffic circle ( I was IN the circle with the right of way): "Get on the sidewalk!"
To which I replied: "Go **** yourself!"
Not proud; it was a long day, and I was just enjoying the evening.

She's right you know..

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...72943a374f.jpg
I was at the local commuter rail station when a group of cyclists got off the train. One gentleman lingered behind to admire my 1959 Capo and shoot this picture. He had never encountered the marque before and was interested in its history.

My best comments are when I'm with a group of riders who don't know me. They ask what I ride and I say a "Schwinn"... They all laugh until I pass them on my Paramount a few after the start of the ride. Yeah, the argument could be made, is it "really" a Schwinn?, but it's still fun.

I often hear "Holy ****!".... from behind me.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...59af83f221.jpg

"you sure you wanna do that?"