Go First !
During these uncertain times a type of social weariness has infected people. You pass someone you know on the street and because you both are wearing facemasks there is a moments hesitation before acknowledging each other. Sometimes the chance has passed before you realise that it was someone you knew. You passed each other without saying hello.
Out on the bike the same is true, although a type of coolness has been creeping in for a while now. I remember when I started cycling you knew every other cyclist that you would pass on the road by name, so it was easy to acknowledge each other. Over time as the popularity of the sport grew there reached a point where I no longer knew everyone that I encountered. Initially it was a bit disconcerting, but I quickly realised that we were all part of the same tribe. We are all cyclists. No matter if you had ridden 16 Tours de France, or if you are out for the very first time doing a lap of the by-pass. We all shared a common interest and that created a small bond that deserved to be acknowledged. We waved, saluted, nodded our heads or just said hello. We did what came naturally.
Over time though, an aloofness crept in. It was not confined to any particular type of cyclist. It could be a first cat racer or a guy who had just completed his first 50k. Days came when I was on my own, out on some backroad and would see a fellow cyclist approaching. As we passed within 2 meters of each other I would give a little flick of the wrist along with a ‘Howaya’. In reply I sometimes received a stoney stare as my fellow cyclist passed by without the slightest hint of acknowledgement. It pissed me off for the next few kilometres. Did they not realise that the oakleys only hid their eyes and not their entire bodies?
For some it was just rudeness, for others it was a form of shyness. I like to give them benefit of the doubt and put it down to shyness. In which case the key to saying hello or acknowledging your fellow cyclist is to give them enough time to get over their shyness and respond. To this end I now always go first in plenty of time. Going first means not waiting for the other person to do anything. You see a cyclist and as soon as they get within 10 – 15 meters of you the greeting begins. Try it, especially now with the 5k restrictions, even with a face covering they should always respond, just in case they do know you.
Greenways and Blueways are another very important place to go first. These can be real battle zones so before I get into this too much here are a few good rules to follow when cycling on any greenway or blueway.
- Use a Bell. 60% of walkers will have headphones in and won’t hear you but for the other 40% you can let them know well in advance that you are coming up behind them. If you don’t have a bell you can do like my friend does and sing a song. His song of choice is Leonard Cohen’s Alleluia. It might not be everyones cup of tea but it definitely lets people know he is on the way.
- Give space. When passing a walker, runner or a dog, think how you feel when a bus or a truck passes within centimetres of you out on the road. That’s what it feels like for a walker when you pass too close on a blueway or greenway.
- Slow down. These aren’t the places for Strava KOM’s. If a low number on your bike computer is going to ruin your spin, or mess with your average speed just pause it or turn it off altogether.
- Go, first and be really, really friendly. The reason for this is coming up now:
Our local Blueway is a fantastic amenity for everyone. Walkers, families, runners, dog walkers and cyclists of all shapes and sizes get to enjoy it together. The scenery along the river overlooked by two mountain ranges is truly spectacular. The traffic free environment is incredibly peaceful. But and there is a but, the percentage of scowling faces is pretty high. There are a percentage of people out there whose conversation has general air of complaining, moaning and criticising about it. I’m not saying that its’ right or wrong, it’s just the way it is. These can be people who have a lot of time their hands and with not a lot to do. That’s why Joe Duffy can find so many people to ring in to his show in the middle of the day.
Someone with a lot of time to kill (that’s another issue) may like to go for a stroll along the blueway or greenway to put down some time and maybe get a bit of exercise along the way. When a jogger or runner goes past it can annoy them but when a cyclist goes past then they have just encountered a speeding maniac that they are obligated to tell everyone they meet for the rest of the day all about. They have the time to tell a lot of people and also have the time to contact and write to local councillors. This leads to council meetings where local councillors raise the issue of cyclists tearing along the blueway at 40mph (60kph) This is about the same speed that Sam Bennett was doing when he won the sprint on the Champs Elysee at the Tour de France. Nothing close to this is possible on a narrow blueway. The local papers then love to run with sensationalist headlines and articles to stoke this fire.
You will never, ever talk someone with that type of outlook into changing their opinion. But there is something that you can do. Go first, and kill them with kindness. Give everyone you meet on a Greenway or Blueway a big hello. Comment on how nice the day is, how lucky we all are to have this to enjoy, how friendly their dog looks (even if he is trying too eat the tyres off your bike) and then bid them an enjoyable rest of the day.
Will it work? Well, I have been trying it out for a while now and the results have been pretty good overall. You still get a few encounters with faces made from stone who try so hard to ignore your greeting everyday but it’s amazing how many you can actually crack. Try it yourself and see. As a wise man once said ‘ It’s better to be kind than to be right’
On another note, tomorrow at 3pm we are launching the IndoorVelo screen mount on Kickstarter. I’ll put up a link as soon as we go live. It’s been a very interesting past few months as we developed many prototypes before finally arriving at the finished product that Sean, Stephen and I are all very happy with. Here’s a sneak peak at how it turned out : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/359209801/indoor-velo?ref=3nogvx
All the best,
Barry
12 COMMENTS
James lonergan
Nice read Barry well said
Barry
Thanks James
Barry Fitzgerald
Great read as always Bar, put me down for an indoor velo screen please.
Barry
Thanks Bar. I’ll send you on the link as soon as we go live.
John Dowley
Nice read Barry a bit of curiosity on everyone’s part and some common sense would go a long way, can you send me on the link whenit Available.
Barry
Will do John, thanks a million
Peter McGuigan
Great read Barry ☺️ and some sound advice
Barry
Thanks Peter
Eoin Burns
This bit, ‘If you don’t have a bell you can do like my friend does and sing a song. His song of choice is Leonard Cohen’s Alleluia’ cracked me up, very funny!
A lot of what you said in your above excellent blog resonated with me.
I believe in making the first step and if it doesn’t pull off, at least you tried that kind of thing. One of our most success fly halves for Ireland and Munster, Ronan O’Gara always said every time he missed his kick, where the ball failed to go in between the posts, he would quickly draw a line over it and move on, instead of dwelling.
When I relocated to the UK I had worried myself wondering could I wave at cyclists like I do back at home in Ireland without sour feedback and I was pleased and happy cyclists here do wave back which is nice. That feeling when one acknowledges each other is a nice warm feeling and is one of the beauties of recreational cycling.
The Indoor Velo thing looks fab. I’m shopping for a turbo trainer and your project interests me, please drop me a line when it’s ready – wishing you and team success with it.
Barry
Great insight from Ronan O’Gara, Eoin. That’s one I am going to file away.
As you suggest all bike riders are the same no matter where they come from, and acknowledging each other costs nothing but means a lot. Thanks for your good wishes re. IndoorVelo too. I’ll send you on the link later today as soon as we go live.
Ian Purcell
Great stuff Barry. Send on link for indoor velo ASAP
Barry
Here it is Ian https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/359209801/indoor-velo?ref=3nogvx