Cycling Weekly - "What cost a friendly wave?"
Pebbles93
Posts: 21
in General Chat
Yesterday I purchased a copy of Cycling Weekly, Thurs 11 March edition (the first time I have bought this magazine) and was dismayed by the Editor's letter (see below).
It starts off well enough, but when I got to the last sentence I was appalled! Why is it considered a mistake by many "proper" cyclists to acknowledge anyone who is considered to be a newbie? What makes these people so superior that they feel it beneath them to be courteous? Surely newbies are the very people who should be encouraged into the sport and not made to feel like something on the bottom of your shoe. This attitude is what discourages many new cyclists from joining a club in the first place and who's to say that anyone new to the sport isn't the next Bradley Wiggins or Lance Armstrong given the right encouragement?
Perhaps these "proper" cyclists just have such low self esteem that they feel threatened by everyone else - personally I think they are just plain RUDE!
I hasten to add that I am not implying that ALL cyclists are like this, but this attitude in a popular publication will do nothing to improve the perception that cycling is a sport which is elitist and cliquey (is that a word?).
There must be something about multi-sporters that appeals to friendlier people. I find triathletes on the whole to be a very friendly bunch and the same can be said of eventers in the equestrian world, so what is about single disciplines e.g. cycling, swimming, show-jumping or dressage that leads to this "superior" attitude? Perhaps multi-eventers don't have the time to have "attitude" as we are too busy trying to decipher the statistics on the latest gadget we have just purchased
OK, rant over - I feel a letter to the editor coming on...
It starts off well enough, but when I got to the last sentence I was appalled! Why is it considered a mistake by many "proper" cyclists to acknowledge anyone who is considered to be a newbie? What makes these people so superior that they feel it beneath them to be courteous? Surely newbies are the very people who should be encouraged into the sport and not made to feel like something on the bottom of your shoe. This attitude is what discourages many new cyclists from joining a club in the first place and who's to say that anyone new to the sport isn't the next Bradley Wiggins or Lance Armstrong given the right encouragement?
Perhaps these "proper" cyclists just have such low self esteem that they feel threatened by everyone else - personally I think they are just plain RUDE!
I hasten to add that I am not implying that ALL cyclists are like this, but this attitude in a popular publication will do nothing to improve the perception that cycling is a sport which is elitist and cliquey (is that a word?).
There must be something about multi-sporters that appeals to friendlier people. I find triathletes on the whole to be a very friendly bunch and the same can be said of eventers in the equestrian world, so what is about single disciplines e.g. cycling, swimming, show-jumping or dressage that leads to this "superior" attitude? Perhaps multi-eventers don't have the time to have "attitude" as we are too busy trying to decipher the statistics on the latest gadget we have just purchased
OK, rant over - I feel a letter to the editor coming on...
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Comments
Roadies get bad press and its not difficult to see why, you just have to try and overtake a bunch of them taking up the whole road to know how ignorant they can be to other road users not just "other" cyclists. Not mentioning any names Weaver Valley Cycle Club!!
I wear my MTB gear when out on the road bike so I have no doubt that has everything to do with it. Pure snobbery and little else. I can't wait until I actually overtake a roadie just to see what reaction that gets
23. One shall NEVER, under any circumstances, acknowledge the presence of a cyclist riding a bike costing less than 2000€ in ANY public place. This may be severely detrimental to one’s image. If such a situation cannot be helped, it is CRITICAL that the Euro Cyclist regard his “acquaintance” with a patrician mixture of disdain and SEVERE condescension.
24. One shall NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, associate with triathletes. This cannot be overemphasized! It is FORBIDDEN to have any number inked onto one’s body before a race.
25. Any physical activity other than cycling is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. This includes any form of running or swimming and their derivatives (this includes walking). The ONLY TWO other sports with a recognized degree of euro are: cross-country skiing and long track speed skating.
See the full rules here http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2258201150 - they're a good read (so long as you're not too sensitive)
By suggesting it seems better to avoid mistakenly acknowledging a "newbie" and just getting your head down and riding can't be seen as anything other than endorsing rude and ignorant behaviour. Just look at the words and phrases he uses... "outsiders" and "infiltrating our ranks" and "one of us". Its nothing more than elitist drivel if you ask me and putting a message across that "newbies" are to blame!!