Would you say bicycles are suitable for people of all ages?

Any answers will help...People/public are afraid of me what can I do?

• I'm a guy in my late teens about 5'10", short hair but not buzzed, clean shaven, and a minority here in America and I can tell when out in public, people are afraid of me. This happens in the suburbs, the inner-city, basically everywhere I go. If I'm walking out in the streets, in a store, or a mall, I can tell they are afraid for some reason. For example people will keep glancing at me and if I glance at them they look away or they look down. If I see them in my peripheral they keep glancing at me or they just stare at me until we walk past each other. I can tell people feel uneasy and that makes me feel uneasy and it sucks. It's people of all ages from teenagers up to people in their 60s, some people will be friendly and give a nod or say hi but I can tell they just don't want me to hurt them and I don't feel liked by society. I wear slightly baggy/dark jeans and a simple designed or plain t shirt with running shoes or basketball shoes usually. It's just the most comfortable thing and I'm not that concerned about fashion but I keep myself wearing decent quality clothes. The only people who don't seem threatened by me are girls I hit on, girls that hit on me, my friends, and friends of friends. That's about it. In my opinion I'm a pretty laid back friendly guy and will talk about anything with anyone, and I'm not out to get people. Some of my friends say I always look bored, I guess that's just how my face is. But people seem to be so afraid of me for some reason like I'm some radical terrorist or predator or something. I can't walk to the gas station and have people not be on the look out. Why do people act like this around certain people? What can I do to make me come across as more friendly to strangers? (smiling doesn't help, tried it many times..)

• Answer:

  If it's everyone except for people you know, you might want to talk to a professional about it. It would be extremely unusual for everyone to be afraid of you. Perhaps it's not that they are afraid of you, but that it's just your perception that they are afraid of you. An objective, person who is neither family nor friend will be able to help you sort this out and lead you in the right direction.