stardognine

I agree about the beard making us more approachable. But I think if anything, even more women flirt now, than when I was younger. 🤔 Must be that ugly duckling thing. 😁😉 BTW, I'll be 58 this month.

Spoonrobot 

Regional variation for sure. In my location I am a magnet for middle-aged Southern Women. If I stop for any length of time invariably one will wander over to say hi, or stop their car to see if I need anything, or try to sell me something home-made. The men just seem like to tell me they've never seen a cyclist out this far, friendly just the same.

indyfabz

I think that’s your flare for the dramatic talking.

And having toured fully loaded in several areas of the country from my 30s into my 50s I can comfortably say that people approach me much more now that I am an older man rather than some “creepy guy” in his 30s with no friends. I’ve told the story before but some woman told me how a few days before she had creepy guy in a campground so she left. She didn’t realize it was me that she had seen, until I told her. Enjoyed watching her try to take her foot out of her mouth.

Papa Tom

AND the tattered underwear. (Sorry, folks. That's an inside joke between Fabz and me.)

phughes

Talking about, or engaging in?

phughes

I am not super social while touring. My job keeps me around a lot of people, who all want to talk to me, so being alone on tour is heaven for me. That being said, though I do not seek out companionship while touring, occasionally I meet people with whom I really click and enjoy talking to. Those meetings are some of my best memories, and some have remained friends of mine for years. I don't automatically shun people, but I do not cling to everyone who happens by.

On my ride from Pittsburgh to Washington DC one year, riding into Hurricane Irene, I was messaging my then fiancée, who was writing from Thailand, asking me to ride somewhere else since I was heading into a hurricane. As I was contemplating altering my ride, a man road out of the campground I stayed at the night before, we were the only two there, and said he was finishing a cross country and was headed to DC too as part of his trip. He said I could ride with him. I figured I would keep heading towards DC, but thought I would soon part company with the man, since I like riding alone, and spend time stopping to do photography. It ends up, we hit it off, and are friends to this day. He was at my wedding, videoed the wedding, and even stayed in our cabin the night of our wedding along with our matron of honor, best man, and my best man's wife. I am very happy I met up with him.

On my last ride across Indiana and Ohio, I met a few people, was drafted by a young Amish man who was riding his bike from work, and we struck up a conversation. A fleeting but great social moment. I also stopped to meet a woman I met through Instagram, and had lunch. There were a couple nights at campgrounds where I was welcome into the local fold as well, watching a movie in a pavilion with the locals at one campground, along with my wife, who had driven out to camp with me. The other campground was a godsend as the people there checked up on me and made sure I was doing well, since I arrived with a scratched cornea, and had to visit doctors in the area to get treated. I stayed two nights in that campground, and the people there were wonderful. At the same time I was able to have all the alone time I wanted.

I love solitude, that's why I tour, alone, but take those moments to enjoy real people who are genuinely decent...if you want,

indyfabz

MarcusT

Engaging in all 3 at once

phughes