I’ve always offered help and given a few inner tubes and patches away. Only time I’ve needed help was when I came off at Cutgate. Broken ribs, cuts and grazes and not one cyclist offered help but some ramblers did.

Mattbee- Slightly off topic but I didn’t realise they had named sections at QECP which is the bit you are referring to? Been out of it since August so have probably missed some changes.

Always slow down and check if I can help if I see someone having a problem. I’d be no practical use to anyone, but I offer.

Was walking home last week after another puncture debacle, most people asked if I needed a tube/patch, which cheered me up a bit. (Was easier to walk than faff with a thorn magnet of a tyre and risk another tube)

After the singletrack parallel to the A3, called Hard Shoulder, you do a rooty climb then a fire track climb. At the top of the fire track you used to go straight over into a descent to the Velocity switchbacks, Snakes and Ladders is the loop that drops off to the right at the top of the climb. It drops and climbs a few times and brings you out about 50m further up the fire track.

Ahhh the bit where you drop off the fire road straight into a left hand berm and then you have the humpy bits a bit further along?

Yep, second berm was where I binned it…

Yup, know where you mean now. Hopefully by the time I am fit enough to get ground there again things will have dried out and it will be a little less challenging.

Still a shit experience based on the original post. Sorry for moving off topic.

Long winded post to boast about being awesome on a ss

50/50 with me a fair few people around Cannock seem to be totally unprepared and just sponge off the good nature of passers-by. If I stopped to help them all I would never get anywhere. Exceptions are solo females I would never ignore a woman in need of help and other folk on their own who make eye contact in a ‘help’ kind of way

Always stop and help, though it’s been tainted slightly by the time I stopped to help a guy with broken collarbone and thumb on the north downs. The guy’s mates were somewhat non-plussed when I told them to call an ambulance rather than argue over who had to cycle back with him to his car. They were all STWers so hello if this sounds fammiliar. I strapped him up, saw him to the ambulance and left whilst they were still arguing.

That’s it! I am riding in a skirt from now on to ensure assistance.

Club motto, “A friend in need is a pain in the arse”

Pack stuff to be self sufficient wherever possible.

Nice motto – Which club? I hope to never have badly damaged myself when they are around.
This isn’t about self sufficiency. If someone has had an off and damaged themselves like the OP seems to have done, why on earth would you not stop to help.

In reality, best guys ever. And if things aren’t trivial, couldn’t wish for better backup

Fair enough then, possibly could have less appropriate places to put that though.
🙂

Check ok even if it’s a yelled query as I pootle past. It’s not too late to stop and walk a few yards back to help. and in real terms it costs me little and might make a real positive difference to some one else’s day. if I recall the thread correctly, it wasn’t long ago someone on here stopped their car to assist someone who looked ill and gave them a fighting chance of survival that they would otherwise not have had. Scraping one’s self off the deck is not evidence of being ok.

Probably a priest and a Levite who passed you by.
There’s a parable here somewhere surely?

Why do posts like this always end up with some bore commenting on ‘southerners are rude, northerners are salt of the earth’ etc etc.

Entirely predictable and in my experience widely inaccurate.

Asking ‘you got everything you need mate?’ or ‘need a hand’ when seeing someone struggling with a puncture is surely par for the course for most cyclists, north of the Watford Gap or not.

I always stop, always offer help and always carry a first aid kit. And am trained to use it. Basic courtesy, isn’t it?

Southerner with ginger hair. After the social stigma, some even accept!

Slightly off topic but I didn’t realise they had named sections at QECP which is the bit you are referring to?

Trail sections named here

Always ask “All ok” while passing riders who look down or are repairing.

Had 2 instances recently, snapped chain (no chain tool!!!) and guy just cycled past me no acknowledgement of my existence. Poor form IMHO. 2nd one, trashed my rear hanger and was pushing on the road and a guy in a car turned around and stopped to ask if i wanted a lift, top bloke 🙂

Guess riding it on a ss when they couldn’t with gears had pissed them off….

Maybe they could sense your inherent AWESOMENESS and decided there was nothing they would be able to offer you?

some people are so ignorant and selfish…i think the OP saw 4 of them that day.

I always ask – I’m mechanically inept so more likely to make things worse, but it sems polite at least.

Thinking about it, whenever I’ve either had the bike upside down or we’ve both been parked in the scenery, people pretty much always ask if I’m ok.

I had my first fall since September on Saturday and the riders who passed as I was picking myself up asked if I was ok. I normally offer my help.

I had a similar experience to the OP at Swinley a few months ago – crashed over the top one of the berms at the bottom of blue 14. Although I’d got back on my feet, the bike was a few metres from the trail so it was obvious I’d had an off – 3 guys just sailed straight past without any acknowledgement.

I’d like to believe most people would at least shout ‘you OK?’, sadly I think it’s significantly less than 99%

I always ask people if they are OK and have given away a few tubes etc.

I even say hello to people stopped etc but I’ve noticed more and more that you just get an odd look back in return. There do seem to be a lot of grumpy so and so’s out riding these days.

Its very poor form IMO not to at least stop and ask if someone is OK when struggling with a flat or having had an accident…

I’ve been ignored when in trouble in the past, and I’ve had people go above and beyond to help me… I’m always grateful for the offer, even if its not required, it just shows someone is a decent individual IMO…

I suppose there is an element of that “Newbie” thing especially with MTBing, I default to being friendly and helpful, after years of riding bikes, Newer riders often seem to be a bit shy, stand-offish even aggressive to people they don’t know… If I can lend tools or give away a tube I will, hopefully helps them get into the “Community of cyclists” mindset rather than all being “Individuals on bikes”…

Its all Karmic too Innit, if you believe in such things…

I always stop and ask if I can help – whether I’m on the road or MTB. I think the VAST majority of other cyclists do too. An interesting point though that last time I was at Llandegla I somehow managed to lose my chain on the black run (don’t ask how/why) and despite rummaging around in the undergrowth for several hundred metres couldn’t find it, but had lots of fun with other MTB’ers playing ‘spot the missing item’ on my bike and trying to find said item and/or direct me the quickest way back to base via the firebreak trails rather than getting flattened staying on the trail.

I eventually, after getting very lost, popped out somewhere on the main road and had to push my bike a mile or so back to the cafe / car park. It was very quiet and little passing traffic except for a police car and a British Cycling van, neither of whom stopped / slowed to see if I was OK….

Its very poor form IMO not to at least stop and ask if someone is OK when struggling with a flat or having had an accident…

But what is struggling? If you see someone by the side of the road fixing the tyre they are fixing the problem so what is the point in stopping? IF you see someone riding along bleeding they obviously aren’t that hurt.

To give context I have before riden 10 miles on a rim because I forgot an inner tube. My fault lesson learnt, why expect someone else to sort my problem.

just thinking about it i remember last year at Llandegla when clamp on my seatpost failed. while i spent time trying to fix/bodge it back together no-one stopped to see if all was ok…but then i was with a group of riders and some of them were with me trying to fix the problem. anyway i managedto bodge a fix and carried on for a mile when it went again but this time i was on my own…about 5 or 6 riders went past without stopping. eventually i decided that the seat post would have to come off as there was no way the saddle would stay on and carried on for the rest of the red run(about 8.5 miles) minus seatpost and saddle. only then did other riders actually stop me and ask if everything was ok. it didnt bother me at the time and there was little they could do anyway but its certainly not something i would do…

Its been about 5mths since I last hacked QECP, I should pop back over there soon before the frost sets in 😀

Always offer help if passing a rider in trouble of any kind. Most the time, most people have got it covered but are grateful of the offer. I’ve fixed a couple of chains for people over the years ~ seems a fair few still ride without a chaintool to fix breakages.

gonzy – Member

some people are so ignorant and selfish…i think the OP saw 4 of them that day.4 Londoners out of town for the day… 😀