Last year, Mike Magnuson mailed out a lengthy survey to more than 250聽cyclists. His goal? To gauge what he describes as the 鈥渟ocial behaviors of the various branches鈥 of the sport. The resulting book, (Rodale, $19), distills the results into a field guide to pedal pushers. Even more, it鈥檚 an entertaining catalog of two-wheeled snobbery.
What kind of rider are you?
I come from a roadie background. I did centuries first, and then I raced. Now I鈥檓 more into cyclocross.
Are the most serious bikers the most snobbish?
It鈥檚 embarrassing but true. The best cyclists are usually these tiny dudes with Napoleon complexes. They train all the time, and they鈥檙e always underfed, so they鈥檙e pissed off.
Are there any bike tribes that 补谤别苍鈥檛 pretentious?
The original vibe of mountain biking in the ’80s was hippie and cool鈥攅veryone was happy to have you there. That same vibe exists in triathlon. People are just glad you showed up.
Any gripes with triathletes?
They鈥檙e not real cyclists. Some of them don鈥檛 even own a bike with regular handlebars.
You must have received a fair bit of grief while reporting.
A bit. People in the cycling community, especially the ones who read, are kind of a bitchy group.