Chuck M 

It would greatly sadden me to give up group rides due to me not fitting in with the group any longer due to pace or distances that I could no longer endure. But I've never been a group rider, I've been a solo rider all my life. I did not have anyone to ride with as a teen, and into adulthood the possibility to join group rides did not present itself either. I know nothing different and have no desire to change now that I'm nearly 60.

The points given in post #2 pretty well sum up my thoughts on how I like to enjoy this hobby. Some of the suggestions that threads like this are a crutch for people to prop themselves up on as their performance may decline over the years are preposterous.

Trakhak

As I said: projecting.

And you're too early. Waving threads usually start showing up in March.

All the MTB people I rode with in Maryland starting in the early '80's were also road racing guys. Except for a couple of dirt bike riders. They could handle their bikes on trails like nothing I'd ever seen. Unbelievable.

Yes, MTB guys have a tendency to sneer at road riders for some reason. (Have, or had; I doubt that it still happens much.) Again, I've never understood it, unless it's the usual human proclivity for seeing another, slightly different group as a monolith of subhuman alien outsiders.

Whenever any American male congratulates himself on being independently minded (I include myself), I remember, in Charles Portis's True Grit, Rooster Cogburn saying to LaBoeuf, the former Texas Ranger, "If I ever meet a Texas Ranger who doesn't say he once drank water out of a muddy hoofprint, I'll shake his hand and buy him a five-cent Daniel Webster see-gar."

big john

With hobbies/sports that involve buying things there is always going to be a certain amount of snobbery. It's a very small percentage in bicycling partly because you can't buy your way to the front. Anyone who has been riding long enough knows the bike is only a small part of the equation. I've been in the mountains when a friend on a 28 pound bike dropped everyone on their sub-17 pound bikes.
A pro mountain biker used to come on our Sunday rides and hang with the fast guys while riding his mountain bike.

I've never had the latest gear, always a bit overweight and fredly with my baggy jerseys and non-pro look. Yet nearly everyone has always been friendly to me on the road, including pro racers and former Olympians. I've seen a continental pro stop and help a stranger fix a flat. I've been encouraged by many strangers while I am struggling on a climb. I almost always wave or smile or say hi to other riders, regardless of what they are riding. If someone doesn't wave back I get over it quickly.

It's like when I rode dirt bikes. I couldn't ride with the fast guys, never had the latest stuff, and probably looked a bit out of place. Still, others were always supportive, helpful, and friendly. If anyone ever knocked my bike or gear or ability I sure can't recall it now.

john m flores 

Whatever.

t2p

even though I became a roadie - I still yell ‘DAMN ROADIES’ at almost every opportunity when I drive past road riders lol

I will display a grin or smile so they will realize I’m joking - but the last time I did this I could determine it was not well received so I slowed further and identified myself as a biker … (then received a smile in return) … and this particular time it paid huge dividends as I met some new area bikers that showed me the connections and links to marry the nearby out-and-back bike path to the area roads and dirt/gravel roads to create some great multi-surface loops

seypat

It took 4 pages, but the OP is finally getting his answer to why people don't post more. As my grandmother used to say, "Same old 6 & 7."

shelbyfv

Lycra, conformity, expensive, ignored waves.... Inverse snobbery has forever been a staple of BF.

big john

What do you mean by this? People are posting and much of the thread has been interesting and even entertaining.

seypat

Here is the OP and the follow up from the thread starter. As usual, the thread is devolving into a "us vs them, your wrong I'm right" thread. People can't help themselves. They have to try to correct others and set them straight to their way of thinking time and time again. It gets old. Opinions are like Aholes. Good or bad, everyone has one. Just let it go and enjoy the discussion.

[QUOTE]

big john

Funny, I didn't see it that way at all. I will admit to posting some snark earlier but it had nothing to do with the way people ride.

jackb

I generally ride alone. Sometimes I ride with a friend or with some older members of a local cycling club. I like cruising along at whatever speed suits me. I'm never trying to "improve" my cycling skills, which really means going as fast as I can. Nothing wrong with riding as fast as you can, it's just not for me.

David_Harris

I mostly ride alone. My friends who also ride either don’t want to go the distances I go, don’t want to go the speed I go, prefer to ride alone, or (in the case of one very competitive triathlete) I can’t go the speed *they* go - but she will actually ride with me, so there’s that.

I ride a couple of times a month with a local veteran’s group who do no drop coffee shop rides twice a week. Very slow, casual rides. That’s my only regular group ride - We sponsor an annual charity ride to benefit mental health.

Otherwise, I’m working out, training for a goal/aspiration race or ride, or just getting my head straight before/after work.

rsbob 

Besides all that, time flys by way too quickly when riding with others. No time to analyze aches, pains and distance to go.

rsbob 

People see what they want to see. It makes life less complicated. See?

PaulH

First of all, I dislike the phrase, "casual cyclist." Would you like to go for a drive with a casual motorist or a flight with a casual pilot? "Casual" has some unfortunate connotations. Aside from these, I certainly would not call someone a "casual motorist" just because he or she does not own a 1961 XK-E or go racing on weekends. There has to be a better term for the non-sporting transportation participant, which is what I am. The bicycle is often less hassle than driving, and convenience is important. I can park the bike in places where I would have to circle the block for fifteen minutes to find a parking space. I'm OK with using it when the roads are too salty or icy (can't get studded car tires for my car, but can for the bike.) And, of course, it is fun. I live and work inside and riding somewhere helps me reconnect with nature. I'm hypercompetitive at work so like to chill otherwise. Using the bike to commute, shop, or go to a restaurant, sporting event or theater is less of a hassle than driving. It's interesting to read about cycling for sport, but is not something I'm interested in. I do drive for recreation, so maybe I have just flipped the usual valences on car and bike. Basically, it's all good.

PeteHski

A “recreational rider” or a “utility rider” in your case perhaps?

rsbob 

Ya-butt, would you like to be driven by a recreational driver or utility driver? How about a Sport Utility driver?

I remember a thread that this subject to death last year. I would think that anyone that is not a categorized or professional cyclist would be - and I agree with you - a recreational cyclist. I know I fit that description. Serious cyclist versus humorous? Ok, I am more of a serious recreational rider, with a sense of humor.

SpedFast

Well... If we're not pro's, does that make us amateur cyclists? I know I've experienced my share of amateur car drivers

PeteHski

A recreational driver might be someone out for a Sunday morning drive in their sports car. Not unlike a recreational cyclist going for a ride just for fun.

A utility driver might be a taxi driver or delivery driver, or just someone commuting to work. Basically driving primarily as a means of transport from A to B.

We can also be multiple types of rider/driver.

Jughed

Or Avid cyclist, runner, fisherman...

Not that anyone needs to be classified - but many of us fit into the Avid arena.

jon c. 

I consider myself a casual cyclist. I also consider myself an avid cyclist. It's all semantics.

I ride as fast as I can without working too hard. And I'm no longer a young man. So by roadie standards I'm pretty slow. Having no desire to work hard enough to get much faster I consider myself "casual."

But I ride as often as I can and love to be on the bike. So I think I'm avid and casual at the same time.

big john

Cavid? Asual?

terrymorse 

Intensely casual.

Indifferently avid.

rsbob 

Oh now it’s getting way too complicated, owning a sports car, SUV and sedan. I feel like Sybil; a sporting, recreational, utility driver.

Butt-then, I have a racing, mountain and endurance bike.

Maybe that’s why I am an ENTP. Argh!

rowerek

finally, a thread that conforms to all the rules and biases of the forum admin