Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Art of Making New Friends

After a very long day in the Dakota Dome working a track meet, a guy who didn't look all that familiar to me, and may not have been from here, walked up as I was unlocking my bike, putting my helmet on, and had the following brief conversation:

Dude: "Why do you wear a helmet, are you that bad of a cyclist?"
Me (quite tired and now agitated): "No, but I've seen people like you drive, so therefore I will continue to wear it"
Me: *Staring at the guy waiting to see where this was going to go*
Dude: *Dumbfounded look*
Me: *Smile and pedal happily away*

Okay, it wasn't my finest moment, but it sure felt good!

4 comments:

SD_pedalpower said...

Love it. My boss asked me yesterday if I'de been racing. I said no, no I'm not a racer, it's a lifestyle for me. He still does not get but that's ok.

gad2357 said...

I've used these responses to similar questions:

Re: Helmet use, "I value my head/brain. You yours?"

Re: Bike riding in general, "I'm decreasing my dependence on foreign oil."

And, sometimes I just agree with whatever they say: "Yes, you are absolutely right!"---with nary a drop of sarcasm in my voice, if possible.

For the most part, as SD_pedalpower says "He (they) still does not get it, but that's ok."

gad2357 said...

I ran across this on the internets. If you had had the visor, you would have one less "friend" now.

bikingbrady said...

That's beautiful right there.