[Closed] Little things that make your ride less good than it could have been

When I saw your thread title I thought along the same lines.

Other one is finding a local trail that's been horsed.

Other people.

Horses may outdo dogs in quantity but it's nowhere near as toxic.

Riding to the top of my favourite trail to find that the area has been felled and said trail is more 😥

It's not the horse poo, it's the hub deep gloop. A dozen horses passing through can turn some of my local clay based trails into a quagmire.

Finding a trail across a field that has been ploughed over. Result, hike-a-bike with clagged up shoes and cleats

The rustic peace and sense of being at one with nature being somewhat undermined by a persistent and intensely grating squeak or creak emanating from parts unknown.

I lifted my cx bike over a gate yesterday and lent it against the fence as I went through the gate the bike did a slow motion topple onto mud and grass which managed to snap the rear mech hanger, because Planet X apparently used cheese rather than metal on this particular part. That was a less than optimum ride

Just don't mention the P word.

For about half a km I had a trail dog of my own.....it was ace 😀
Then we caught up with the owner and off he went 🙁

I lifted my cx bike over a gate yesterday and lent it against the fence as I went through the gate the bike did a slow motion topple onto mud and grass which managed to snap the rear mech hanger, because Planet X apparently used cheese rather than metal on this particular part. That was a less than optimum ride

To be fair, most mech hangers are made of softer metal than you'd think, because they are supposed to break - the reason being that it is far easier to carry a spare mech hanger, than it is to carry a spare mech (and a hell of a lot easier to fit, at the side of the trail)

Children...... (my own ones)

Grumpy trail rider.

In fairness, this person I met today on the trail is the only negative instance of trail hogging I have encounter.

Beginning of a descent and there are three riders in the distance, I begin to catch them up on the descent, not hand over fist, but steadily.
So, being a considerate old duffer that I am I keep riding behind them, at a sensible distance, but I'm close enough that he can hear the trail clatter etc.
He's on a full sus bike, I'm on my hardtail ( for the haters it's an ebike , and a fat ebike at that).

Trail turns to a level / flattish section so I politely ask if he could let me past.
He ignores this.
He ask again, he pulls over , and I say thanks.

Next thing he starts swearing at me, and grizzling about killing his momentum.

So I stop and ask him what's the issue.

Complains that by stopping he lost his momentum.

So I tell him to. Chill, and I'll let him and his buddies ride down the next section and wait.

Looks at me guilty and forlornly, probably cursing being caught up my an aging old duffer on a 21 kilo monster truck.

In the end I just carried on down the trail,

Never had any issues with anyone ever, people going faster than me are always asked if they want to pass, no issue, no fuss.

Nails hammered into the soil.

Litter, particularly energy gel wrappers and inner tubes. 👿

tomd - Member
It's not the horse poo, it's the hub deep gloop. A dozen horses passing through can turn some of my local clay based trails into a quagmire.

Thinking my bottom bracket is creaking ,or is the quick release tight enough,or is it the seat post ?
Then ,after stopping ,tightening quick release,stopping again,checking cranks I remember that the cable on my lights ,vibrating on the frame , cause the creak. grrrrrr.
That ,fox shite And! returning to civilisation chilled and relaxed and some cockwomble in a car attempts to murder me.

For me it's usually sheep.

The South Downs, particularly the actual SDW, is quite a large area, loads of fields around either side of the SDW nicely fenced off, but NO they have to put loads of sheep actually ON the SDW. It's the poop they produce, loads of it and it sticks like, well you know what. Sprays up your legs, in your face, has to be scraped off my frame, dug out of tyres and leaves green stains on my kit.

And, and, the stupid ****ers actually run in front of you when you pass them, not away from you but actually right across your path.

So, to suddenly find 5 miles of sheep infested trails ticks me off!

Nails hammered into the soil.

Around this area (Chilterns) the LBS owner ran into a crow bar thrust into the ground at just the right angle on a downhill track to catch unsuspecting and unwanted cyclists.

Nice. Definitely not as good as it could have been but no one was killed this time.

Burnt out cars. Obnoxious people on crossers.

Pinch flats in the middle of a ride and it dawns on you that you haven't got a spare. Nice six mile walk home pushing the bike 🙁

Needing to crank out a number two. Halfway up a mountain. On a hot day. No long grass in sight 😯

That and creaking BB/cranks.

When your mate gets a flat with a tube and you have to cut 15-20 minutes off the end of the ride to accomodate the repair time.

When your mate gets a flat with a tube and you have to cut 15-20 minutes off the end of the ride to accomodate the repair time.

Don't stand around chatting for 10-15 minutes after he's repaired it then?

15-20 minutes

Midges.

Mystery creaks and moany walkers do it for me. And meeting Kankku off-roaders halfway down what feels like any descent in the South Lakes!

He's on a full sus bike, I'm on my hardtail ( for the haters it's an ebike , and a fat ebike at that).

Denis, you're not the bloke I chatted with at Afan this summer, are you? Can't think there's that many fat e-bikes out there...

Another vote for boring yapping chasing dogs.

I got bit on the arm by a Sheep Dog last year, it chased me down and bit my arm whilst I was probably doing 15mph on the NCN2. Clever Doggy.
The owner was typically useless until I threatened to both kick its teeth in and report her.. I took a photo just in case of her her dog and my arm pissing blood...

Grrrrrr

In Hong Kong we've currently got grass seeding on most of the trails. Your ride is fine in every respect, but at the end of it you've got thousands of seeds to pick out of your clothes and gear. They're difficult to remove completely, and very slightly scratchy.

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🙂

Wow Denis, imagine being to able to catch up riders on your electric powered motorcycle?, have some respect for people on real bikes.

Things that ruin your ride(apart obnoxious ebikerz) ...your car breaking down on the way to the trail. If anyone passed a white Hyundai on the hardshoulder, South bound M74, Saturday... That was me.

martinhutch

[i]Denis, you're not the bloke I chatted with at Afan this summer, are you? Can't think there's that many fat e-bikes out there[/i]

Hi Martin,
Yes, that'll be me around Afan

Hi! Did you get the Lauf forks in the end?

Oh, and have you been overtaking Dumbbot? He seems a bit miffed.

dummbot

Think you're missing the point here.

Generally it is a tad slower downhill, so I thought I would stay at the back , to my surprise I was a little faster but thought I would wait until the terrain got a little flatter where I would obviously have more speed.

Just be a little considerate not wanting to disrupt someone's enjoyment riding downhill on a full sus vs me on the fat ebike ( doesn't give any advantage on the downs).

Once on the flat, I thought I would ask to move over when convenient, ignored, then swore at and loads of grumbling.....

Doesn't matter about the jibe for the electric motorbike, I genuinely don't see what this has to do with the situation.

If I had been on either of my two human powered bikes then he would definitely have held me up.

Just out riding having a bit of fun.

Yep, Lauf forks.

But they tend to be fitted to the Vir Fortis Carbon fat bike these days.

Fat bike must weigh about 12 kilo now

dumbbot.
I feel the same about people overtaking me when I'm on a real bike and they're on a high horse.

Head winds, or more specifically, head winds that seem to turn around when I reach the half way point so I have one on the way back too.

Faffing. there is a good reason I do most of my rides alone.

Stupid over the bars and landing in the rest of the puddle, because the previous 20 puddles that I rolled through didn't have 3 inches of mud in the

Needing a poo.

The wind. Subtly and imperceptibly chipping away at your morale till there's none of it left. 👿

Then you turn round and head home with it in your sails. 😀

Inconsiderate people - people with children, people with dogs, people on horses, people rambling.

If you have a dog then call it back, don't let it zig zag across the pathway
If you are rambling then don't spread your group across the full width of the pathway and then tut when someone wants to pass
If you have children keep them on a lead
If you are a horse rider - well I won't say anything here...

BigDummy - Member

In Hong Kong we've currently got grass seeding on most of the trails. Your ride is fine in every respect, but at the end of it you've got thousands of seeds to pick out of your clothes and gear. They're difficult to remove completely, and very slightly scratchy.