No matter how anonymous I attempt to be I am forever seen, labeled and refereed to as a bicyclist. Not that it is bad to be as such. Maybe if bicycling continues to increase as an activity and a transportation option bicyclists will not appear to be so odd. Maybe it is people desiring to have interpersonal contact. We are a social species, albeit some are sociopaths. However, there are times I'd rather keep to myself and not interact with others. I'm not anti-social its that it is often more comfortable to be invisible and to ones own thoughts.
Usually it is at work.
"Hey, ain't you the dude that rides the bike?" Actually there are 3 or four of us in cold weather, 8 in good weather.
"Hey I saw you riding to/from work today/yesterday" If in the morning I ask them how visible I was. Important to be seen when riding on the street.
"Gonna do some riding this weekend?" I rarely drive, of course, depending on the weather.
"You do the Ragbrai?" Hard to explain to them that Ragbrai official sucks.
Today it was a man at church who saw me pulling in on my Soho commuter.
"I saw you yesterday by Easter Lake. You was moving FAST!" yes, tailwind.
"Oh yes, I was riding to the winery. Should have seen how slow I was on the return trip. Strong wind."
I think he would have been more impressed with my destination which was just shy of 20 miles from the lake. But that did not register with him. At least people see me and do not run me over. Grateful for that.
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