JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
Well, it finally happened. I think I got banned from the Thursday night ride. So here's the (long) story, although I'm somewhat confused and may have been victim of discriminatory backstabbing. It is also depressing, since this was a holiday, the weather was great, I was out riding fast with friends, and everything was just perfect - or so I thought. I arrived at the LBS this morning before 7:00 AM (the starting time) for the Memorial Day metric century ride. I said hello to some of the guys I knew from the regular area rides. This is a normal ride that is on a different route and attracts many more cyclists than the weekly ride. The LBS owner was speaking to a very large group of cyclists before everyone rolled out. I won't name the LBS yet, because I still plan to give him a chance at dialog, in an attempt to reconcile any differences. It is always best to stay calm during confrontations, and I did so during this one - but I can't say the same for the LBS owner. So the LBS owner said that all recumbents must ride at the back of the group. I waved, because I was in my normally good pre-ride mood and I looked around, but I didn't see any other recumbents. Then I started to think about what he said. There was a large range of riders from really slow to really fast. So, apparently, I was supposed to ride behind the slowest riders, even though I regularly beat groups of A riders on good days. I was being singled out for some reason or reasons I didn't understand. I could make some guesses, but I would only be speculating. So we rolled out, and I was close to the front. The LBS owner was on the front doing an easy rollout pace, so I moved up beside him and asked him nicely about what he said. He was obviously angry with me, and spoke to me in a hostile manner. He told me to go to the back of the group. I asked why? He yelled, "Did you hear what I said?" I responded that I had heard what he said and I repeated it to prove it. He said he didn't want me riding off the front, or on the side, or passing anyone, because riding more than two abreast is illegal, etc. He said he received two calls about the "Thursday Night Ride". So there's a clue.
Let's rewind to the Thursday night ride. There were about eleven riders. One guy joined down the road a ways after we were moving (this guy later became a problem). Let's call him the green guy. I was just following a ways behind the group and not participating in the pace line. I know how to do a pace line, I have many years of racing experience, and I'm as stable and safe as anyone on a bike. More safe than many. But I know the uprights like to get a draft off of each other, so I usually just stay off the back (or off the front) on that ride until it's time to sprint or until it's time to drop the group. We got to the big sprint in the middle and a lot of people jumped. I followed the line and people dropped one by one. I kept going until it was just one strong sprinter and me. I was a little behind him trying to make up the difference, everyone else had dropped, and then he just gave up before we got to the sign. So I won the sprint. I don't know why he gave up, maybe he blew up. Just a guess. Then we went on for a few more miles to the uphill sprint. We were down to six guys or so and I was following in the back. I saw the strong sprinter was second in line and was drafting off of the green guy. I didn't know the green guy, but I could spot him by the distinct color of his jersey. So I jumped way over on the left almost to the yellow centerline, giving the group a lot of room so they could jump also. As I was going around the group to sprint uphill for the sign, the green guy, who was in front pulling, started to pull off, then looked (which he should have done before he pulled off), saw me way off to his left, pulled back right in front of the sprinter, and then I heard some complaining, probably because he almost caused a crash. I went on to take the sign. Then one of the guys rode up to me and asked me nicely if I would ride off the back of the group and not participate in the sprints for safety because I was "hard to see". So, the guy who had flinched had seen me, and then he had flinched, even though I was almost a full lane away. And then I was decided to be a safety concern because I was hard to see. Even though I was in a bright orange jersey and was in their field of vision. And even though he had seen me. I also learned that the guy did this two more times on the same ride when I wasn't even near him. So I responded by telling they guy who wanted me to ride off the back (and not participate in sprints) that we could talk about it later. But, no thank you to the suggestion. I mentioned that the problem guy apparently had no racing skills and maybe he should not participate in any sprints. Then I went on to take the final sign also. We got back to the bike shop and I talked to the guy (who had nicely asked me to not sprint) about what happened. He didn't have much to say about it, so I just let it go. We talked about some other things. There didn't seem to be a problem. Apparently I was wrong.
Back to the metric century. I told the LBS owner that we could discuss this later and that I was going to go ride by myself. After all, these were public roads and he really had no right to tell me I couldn't ride on my own (but I didn't say that). He also yelled something about not being welcome at the shop rides anymore, so I think I'm kicked out. I rode off the front by myself. I was way off the front minding my own business for a while and then I saw a group approaching from behind. It was a group of A riders. They had finally caught me, and then I just easily followed them because they were cramping my space as I tried to ride by myself. They didn't seem to care that I was there, not knowing anything about the situation. Along the way, I noticed they were riding four and five abreast at times, and half the group blew through a red light once. But riding more than two abreast was specifically mentioned by the LBS owner is his angry rant, and that is exactly what happened in the A group - but there were no reprimands. The LBS owner had gotten dropped miles ago. Apparently no one is calling to complain since no one is going to rat themselves out and get kicked off the rides.
So, what does it all mean? I'll try to open a dialog with the LBS owner to try to mend an apparently damaged relationship and try to be an ambassador for future recumbent riders. I suspect the two calls (and I'm assuming two callers) told the LBS owner a story. I don't know if my stomping them into the ground on rides had anything to do with it, but there are some big egos out there getting tweaked by little ole me, so it's possible. Then I'm guessing the LBS owner reacted emotionally to the story or stories he heard. He didn't appear interested in hearing contradictory information, he just made an unfair decision based on whatever story he had heard. And then he acted out in anger when I questioned his behavior. The thing that bothers me is that it just really feels like discrimination (specifically, bikeism). And that is the story I'm telling myself. I hope I'm wrong because being right is a real disappointment. I expect more open-mindedness from cyclists than I do from the general public. We recumbent riders are still being treated like the red-headed step children of the cycling world. It's an uphill battle (pardon the pun).
Let's rewind to the Thursday night ride. There were about eleven riders. One guy joined down the road a ways after we were moving (this guy later became a problem). Let's call him the green guy. I was just following a ways behind the group and not participating in the pace line. I know how to do a pace line, I have many years of racing experience, and I'm as stable and safe as anyone on a bike. More safe than many. But I know the uprights like to get a draft off of each other, so I usually just stay off the back (or off the front) on that ride until it's time to sprint or until it's time to drop the group. We got to the big sprint in the middle and a lot of people jumped. I followed the line and people dropped one by one. I kept going until it was just one strong sprinter and me. I was a little behind him trying to make up the difference, everyone else had dropped, and then he just gave up before we got to the sign. So I won the sprint. I don't know why he gave up, maybe he blew up. Just a guess. Then we went on for a few more miles to the uphill sprint. We were down to six guys or so and I was following in the back. I saw the strong sprinter was second in line and was drafting off of the green guy. I didn't know the green guy, but I could spot him by the distinct color of his jersey. So I jumped way over on the left almost to the yellow centerline, giving the group a lot of room so they could jump also. As I was going around the group to sprint uphill for the sign, the green guy, who was in front pulling, started to pull off, then looked (which he should have done before he pulled off), saw me way off to his left, pulled back right in front of the sprinter, and then I heard some complaining, probably because he almost caused a crash. I went on to take the sign. Then one of the guys rode up to me and asked me nicely if I would ride off the back of the group and not participate in the sprints for safety because I was "hard to see". So, the guy who had flinched had seen me, and then he had flinched, even though I was almost a full lane away. And then I was decided to be a safety concern because I was hard to see. Even though I was in a bright orange jersey and was in their field of vision. And even though he had seen me. I also learned that the guy did this two more times on the same ride when I wasn't even near him. So I responded by telling they guy who wanted me to ride off the back (and not participate in sprints) that we could talk about it later. But, no thank you to the suggestion. I mentioned that the problem guy apparently had no racing skills and maybe he should not participate in any sprints. Then I went on to take the final sign also. We got back to the bike shop and I talked to the guy (who had nicely asked me to not sprint) about what happened. He didn't have much to say about it, so I just let it go. We talked about some other things. There didn't seem to be a problem. Apparently I was wrong.
Back to the metric century. I told the LBS owner that we could discuss this later and that I was going to go ride by myself. After all, these were public roads and he really had no right to tell me I couldn't ride on my own (but I didn't say that). He also yelled something about not being welcome at the shop rides anymore, so I think I'm kicked out. I rode off the front by myself. I was way off the front minding my own business for a while and then I saw a group approaching from behind. It was a group of A riders. They had finally caught me, and then I just easily followed them because they were cramping my space as I tried to ride by myself. They didn't seem to care that I was there, not knowing anything about the situation. Along the way, I noticed they were riding four and five abreast at times, and half the group blew through a red light once. But riding more than two abreast was specifically mentioned by the LBS owner is his angry rant, and that is exactly what happened in the A group - but there were no reprimands. The LBS owner had gotten dropped miles ago. Apparently no one is calling to complain since no one is going to rat themselves out and get kicked off the rides.
So, what does it all mean? I'll try to open a dialog with the LBS owner to try to mend an apparently damaged relationship and try to be an ambassador for future recumbent riders. I suspect the two calls (and I'm assuming two callers) told the LBS owner a story. I don't know if my stomping them into the ground on rides had anything to do with it, but there are some big egos out there getting tweaked by little ole me, so it's possible. Then I'm guessing the LBS owner reacted emotionally to the story or stories he heard. He didn't appear interested in hearing contradictory information, he just made an unfair decision based on whatever story he had heard. And then he acted out in anger when I questioned his behavior. The thing that bothers me is that it just really feels like discrimination (specifically, bikeism). And that is the story I'm telling myself. I hope I'm wrong because being right is a real disappointment. I expect more open-mindedness from cyclists than I do from the general public. We recumbent riders are still being treated like the red-headed step children of the cycling world. It's an uphill battle (pardon the pun).
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