Grumpy Old Men

I've been cranking out a lot of miles lately; some around the city, some for errands, but mostly on the Monon and Fall Creek trails, and an observation that I read in a touring journal a while back keeps flashing through my head.

In this journal the author was talking about a short three-day self-supported tour he rode near his home.  On this tour the author spent a lot of time on established trails and he made some quick observations about the people he came across on these trails.  The part of the observations that stood out to me was a short casual remark about how the least-friendly people he ran into were middle-aged men.

Now-a-days the term "middle-aged" can mean different things for different people, but to me it is the age group of around my age (46) to just before traditional retirement age.  I took no offense at his remark, because I consider myself rather friendly and have noticed that my age group can be kinda grumpy.  But, lately this "grumpiness" has begun to bother me a bit.

No doubt due to the tour writer's comment I have been paying a lot of attention to who returns my greetings when I am riding, and it seems that the writer and I have been seeing the same people.  I say this because, by and large, the least friendly group of people I run into are middle-aged men, and this gets to me for many different reasons.

The first reason these guys bother me in one of selfishness.  I am a middle-aged man, and these guys are making all of us look bad.  When they snub people, or give curt insincere replies to well wishes they reinforce negative opinions that younger people already have of us, and this hurts me.

Then there's the negative effect that the Buzzkillingtons have on the people they come into contact with.  People use these trails for many different reasons: some for exercise, some to walk their dogs, some to get from point A to point B, some just to get some fresh air and get out of the house for a while.  Whatever the reason, people are on the trail as part of their life, and coming across some grumpy old bastard who can't take the time to say "good day" or smile puts negativity into their life, which is not what a jaunt on the local trail should do.

But, I think the biggest part of why these people bother me in the sense of entitlement that they exude.  By far, I have run into the guys most on the Monon north of 54th street.  For those of you who aren't from these parts, this is the part of the trail which runs through some of the more affluent sections of Indianapolis: Broad Ripple (my neighborhood), Carmel, Fischers, and others.  In Indianapolis, the farther north you live (in general) the better off you are financially, and I have noticed that this clique of grumpy old men starts here in my neighborhood and expands with northern progression.  I have also noticed that they are riding nice (i.e. pricey) bikes and not the "lesser quality" rides seen farther south on the trails, which by the way are what the nicer folks seem to ride.

This combination of latitude and expense leads me to believe (possibly unfairly I admit) that this group of grumpy guys is not on the trail due to a need to get to work cheaply, or to save money on gas by riding to the grocery instead of driving, and I never see them with dogs.  Yet, they seem to be on the trail against their will--which runs contrary to their station in life.  So I have come to the conclusion (once again possibly unfair on my part) that they are just being snobs with the attitude that us lesser folk shouldn't be addressing them, or possibly tainting them with our presence on their trail.

Regardless of the reason for their crappy disposition, these guys have become an irrational irritation to me.  I have realized that this irritation has begun to spoil a part of my life that I otherwise thoroughly enjoy, so I have started taking steps to alleviate the problem.  I have begun to ramp up my geniality as a way to contradict the negative opinion others may get of my generation from these grouches, and have noticed that my increased friendliness has made me (if not others) happier in return.  I am especially exuberant in my greetings to those who seem to belong to the group who bother me, in the hope that my cordiality may in some small way rub off.

While I would never begrudge anyone the joy of a bike ride, especially in the lower stress environment of an automobile free trail, it seems to me that these grumpy old men would be better served emotionally and physically by exercising in an environment more suited to their disposition like the stationary bike section of their country club exercise lounge with others of the same disposition and status.

I know that these ramblings have little to do with touring or serious cycle training, but give me a break, I am part of the Grumpy Old Man demographic.