> I recently bought a road bike myself and found the entire sport obnoxiously pretentious, including the guy at the bike shop, who sneered at me because I didn’

> I recently bought a road bike myself and found the entire sport obnoxiously pretentious, including the guy at the bike shop, who sneered at me because I didn’t know what a “fondo” was. And that sucks, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. While I've met many lovely people in the cycling community, I've also run across similar attitudes, myself, from time to time. That's probably because the cycling community reflects people, and people are usually great and sometimes not so much. But ask yourself: is it good for you, personally, to return that sneering with sneering of your own? Does that make you feel better about yourself or the people around you? What do you gain by stereotyping a huge community based on the poor behaviour of a few individuals? My suggestion: Assuming you haven't been scared away from the hobby, leave an honest review of that bike shop owner (who legitimately sounds like an ass and isn't someone I'd want representing the cycling community), and then find a better shop. And if you want to join a cycling club, find one that aligns with your values and beliefs. Cycling clubs are just like people in that they're not all the same.