With the holidays a-comin' you're likely to find yourself making the rounds of "festive" gatherings, making small talk with people you barely know. Many of them are those poor, unfortunate souls, who do not yet know the perfect existance of being on a bike. Since you will not be in a situation to simply get on your own bike at that moment and ride away, the Fat Cyclist, a columnist for Bike Radar named Elden Nelson, offers some helpful tips on conversing with a non-cyclist.

Here's an excerpt:

I am sad to say that there are people out there who rarely - if ever! - ride bikes at all. It's possible you even know someone like this. A coworker. A family member. You'd be surprised at how common non-cyclists are, actually. You probably encounter them several times per day and simply don't notice them, because they aren't interesting.

Mostly, you can safely ignore these people, simply by riding away from them. Sometimes, though - at a company party, say - it is impossible to avoid non-cyclists. Surrounded, you have no choice but to communicate with them.

Here are the tips you need to communicate with non-cyclists.

Image: Matthew Hickey/Flickr