Just as train riders have their own commuter slang, so too do cyclists. BikeHacks.com offes a vast glossary of biker terms.
To wit:
Basket Case: This is the rider that is rocking a front basket with all sorts of stuff in it, most often including a helmet. The Basket Case must believe that as soon as s/he starts to fall or gets hit by a car, that in the split second before hitting the ground s/he will be able to, in one swift motion, reach down into the basket, scoop out the helmet, fling it up on to the head and snap the buckle before his/her dome meets the ground.
Yup. That’s me. Big Dork. Basket Case. Mr. Rogers.
The Bike Salmon: When a rider “swims up stream” by riding the wrong way down a one way street.
Gerbil (or Hamster): A rider constantly in the lowest possible gear, on flat ground, spinning madly and who looks like a gerbil spinning on a wheel.
Racing Stripes: Seen on wet days, the line of mud/rain spatter up a rider’s back whose bike lacks fenders.
Back in the time of the Sniglets, that last one was known as “backspackle.”
Sherpa: This rider is a commuter, but likely could be confused for someone making an epic journey across the United States. Dual bags hang from both the front and back rack, bulging with precious cargo, and huge mirrors adorn the handlebars.