The Chainlink

1) Nu-Fred blows by me in bike lane; 2) Nu-Fred comes into corner too hot; 3) Nu-Fred crashes self in crosswalk. Must be Bike Month.

Tis the season for watching out for more riders now that winter has taken a break.

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Now more earlier than the Late Ride, is the Bike the Drive event marking off the Nu-Fred season of salmoning, sidewalk riding, no-light ninjas.

This new chapter, after BTD, should be interesting because people will feel a new granted power when they wear the "Sorry cars: now it's our turn" shirts.

Can someone comment on BTD in the light of these "Nu-Freds", "fairies", "spandicks", w/e?

Shoaling is something that's midly annoying (then I think about it a little bit, and I decide it's a bit funny) but something I can easily live with. But a particular variety of shoaling that I've experienced a number of times in the last couple of weeks is the cyclist who will shoal me/whomever, then gaze deeply into their iPhone/whatever, setting themselves up to be totally snoozing when the light goes green. The I/whoever pass them again; repeat at next light.

I take this intra-cultural sniping thing lightly (it's present just about everywhere.) I don't take it too seriously, and it (as Bitching About Other People) can be a bit of a stress reliever. Making fun of Freds is, well, a bit fun, as long as you don't take yourself too seriously and recognize your own Fredliness, whatever its degree. The first time I did the Lowell 50 in Michigan, there was the field full of guys mostly in brightly-colored spandex and such on a veriety of bikes, mostly CX and MTB; and then there I was, the guy riding a bike with a basket on the front and wearing knickers and rainbow-striped knee socks. That's pretty Fredly. If all of this gets to you too much, go visit the GIF thread or, better yet, go ride you bike. Just don't be That Guy.

It really doesn't matter who someone's trying to be as long as they're not putting anyone in danger. I almost hit a girl posing for an Instagram around the corner on that narrow bit of path by the aquarium. She and a friend set their bikes in one lane and were modeling in the other. Sure, some faster cyclists don't seem to respect the basic flow of the path, but many slower cyclists are just as dangerous. Weaving in and out of the lanes, stopping randomly and generally staying in the way makes for the worst congestion. There are certainly times when blazing through on one's aero bars is potentially disastrous, but if a cyclist is respecting space and playing nicely, I don't see the issue. I've only lived here a year, but the LFP seems to be the best place to get a few miles in before/after work or enjoy relatively car free rides. The stink about "Freds" makes little sense to me when things like bike cars and Segway tours crowd the path and cause accidents. (as an aside, signs clearly warning pedestrians of bike traffic on the path seem necessary, even though the consideration should be pretty self-evident)

If you still wear them and wear them on your bike then yeah, maybe :)

Mine were Smartwools (it was coldish) - I like colors.

For all that I make Fred jokes, I do it with some respect; My mom's husband lived in Athins (sic) for a long time, and was (is?) acquainted with the ur-Fred.

Mike F said:

Ok, I used to wear striped knee socks to my High School gym class, in the 1970's.
Does that make me a mature-Fred?

Mike F said:
I'm not a commuter, but I would find that practice extremely annoying. Like, does that person think his destination or agenda is really that much more important than everyone else's?

David P. said:

Shoaling is something that's midly annoying (then I think about it a little bit, and I decide it's a bit funny) but something I can easily live with. But a particular variety of shoaling that I've experienced a number of times in the last couple of weeks is the cyclist who will shoal me/whomever, then gaze deeply into their iPhone/whatever, setting themselves up to be totally snoozing when the light goes green. The I/whoever pass them again; repeat at next light.

I take this intra-cultural sniping thing lightly (it's present just about everywhere.) I don't take it too seriously, and it (as Bitching About Other People) can be a bit of a stress reliever. Making fun of Freds is, well, a bit fun, as long as you don't take yourself too seriously and recognize your own Fredliness, whatever its degree. The first time I did the Lowell 50 in Michigan, there was the field full of guys mostly in brightly-colored spandex and such on a veriety of bikes, mostly CX and MTB; and then there I was, the guy riding a bike with a basket on the front and wearing knickers and rainbow-striped knee socks. That's pretty Fredly. If all of this gets to you too much, go visit the GIF thread or, better yet, go ride you bike. Just don't be That Guy.



Jason said:



Zoetrope said:

How do you know they just haven't changed out of their lycra and are hidden under thermals and wool and such?

Jus sayin

Here comes the Divvy crowd...

No kidding! Divvy started before I got involved here, and I'd just gotten this impression (from my experience on the roads) that Divviers were oblivious and dangerous riders. It wasn't until I got involved in the bike community online that I saw how many committed Divviers were year-round commuters and totally respectable. But now the bad ones are out again. The other day I saw two of them riding on the sidewalk under a scaffold, side by side. I gave them my well-practiced bike-glare, though I don't know that they noticed...

Juan 2-8 mi. said:

Here comes the Divvy crowd...

I just read this entire thread as if I was doing data entry.  please don't judge me, my work habits don't reflect my cycling skills. 

If I got the meaning right, I practice "shoaling" only when I know I'm going faster than the guy in front of me and know that there is plenty of room for me to pass'm up and then pull in front of him/or her till the light turns green.  I have been the victim of shoaling as an act of vengeance, for having just passed the other person.  Its a way to get even if your the slower one.  Also, you can shoal someone to prove that though you are not faster, you know how to blow red lights and traffic better than they do, and you do it all slow and cool like, bike msgr style.

not sure if this is a nu-fred thing or not, (more of a lance pathstrong thing) but I don't care who you are, if you come at me in my lane on the LFP, I don't have to move, even if your riding in your Lancey pants attack pack.  that's really annoying, but it doesn't happen to me that often.  and my steel frame would crush your carbon fiber if we collided. just sayin.

I give Divvy riders the same break as cars with out of state plates.  They're not very sure where they are, where they're going, and are likely to hesitate or do something silly, so you just plan for it and don't expect to zoom by within a foot of them yelling 'on your left' then get all pissed when they panic and move left toward your voice.

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