Manners are something that one doesn't think about until they are woefully absent. Common sense is a good rule of thumb to us in day to day circumstances...take your turn when in traffic, acknowledge a sales clerk or open the door for someone carrying a load of packages. Simple right?
So why, I wonder, is it often so difficult for ordinarily courteous people to behave with some manners while saddled upon a road bike?
Some rudeness is more than just rude, it's dangerous! Last Saturday, while on a 60-mile ride with my husband, we were toiling up a hill at about 16 mph in a bike lane. Without any warning, a gaggle of six cyclists rolling at around 18 mph came upon us without a single word. No 'on your left'; no good morning; NOTHING. What's worse is they couldn't say ON YOUR LEFT, because they came up on us ON OUR RIGHT! We both fought the urge to yell a number of names or even to offer them the typical one-fingered salute. If we had been beginners, this passing on the right without any sounds could have startled us to the point of causing an accident with any of them or worse, falling into the lane of automobile traffic.
I have also noticed that some impudent cyclists are more clueless than rude--these folks are easier to turn around because it may simply be a training issue. For example, signalling other cyclists before one stops or begins to slow down. It may seem like common sense to do this because if you are walking in an airport and you slow down, the people behind you will trip. But, new cyclists are often thinking of multiple things. If they are new to clipping in, they may be trying to remind themselves to clip and unclip. Or if they aren't used to riding yet, the simple act of contemplating taking a drink of a waterbottle could fluster them. In any case, a new rider can be sidetracked and forget to signal others. It's probably best if they refrain from riding in a group until some of this training becomes second nature.
Have you ever been out riding in a group that may be more social than competitive and a pack of testosterone-laden cyclists--male and female--come zooming by without a warning like a Mack truck along the I-10? It's intimidating not to mention frightening. Some might argue that their focus or meditative hunger for speed basically crowds out all other thoughts or objects. I would argue that these folks wouldn't forget to look for traffic at intersections or ignore speedy sportscars that hang dangerously close to them on a narrow sidestreet. For God's sakes, yell those three small words: "ON YOUR LEFT!"
It may sound whiny or cranky but safety really is at the center of these complaints. It is not, however, at the center of this one: failure to return a greeting. I think it's unforgiveable. So it's springtime, you are feeling like the world has opened up just for you this morning. The sun is shining, the air is cool and not cold, traffic is slight and you are feeling strong because you said no to another glass of wine at dinner and slept like a baby. Travelling along with your friendly riding buddies at a comfortable speed, you happen upon a two-some or a four-some of cyclists. "Good morning!" you cheerfully call in an almost lilting voice. To which you receive a great big hollow silence.
What the heck is that all about? I just don't get it. I have always seen golf as an elitist sport but I never dreamed the sport of cycling could be so populated by individuals who have lost the art of casual exchange of greetings.
Once they learned how to change their own flats on the road, these folks somehow decided they were in the same league as Lance Armstrong or Levi Leipheimer and that it had become socially acceptable to ignore their fellow human race. Or perhaps they just aren't human...and that explains it.
