You would think that bicycling and surfing would be chilled out activities - out in the open, often in the sun and at one with nature. So why is it the cyclists and surfers are so aggressive and unpleasant? With cyclists it seems to have something to do with Lycra. Is it something to do with having your testicles trussed up in man made materials that turns normally decent and tolerant men (and it is men) into surly, V signing yobs for whom a smile is only for wimps? Maybe they think they are in a peloton and the only room for a smile there is wearing a yellow jersey on the way into Paris.
Surfing too. Try to go out to popular break and see how many waves of welcome you get. My son, Joe has an explanation. There are only a limited number of good surf spots and the sense of local ownership is very high. A newcomer is one more person to avoid or take your spot on the perfect set of waves. There really isn’t any excuse for the miserable cyclist.
I don’t care about the surf as my surfing days are over. But I’m going to carry on smiling (it’s difficult not to when it’s on an electric bike and you feel fourteen again) and I’m going to drive all those tossers mad with my inane grin at every traffic light.