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serves you right for not being on a bike 😉
Can I join in if I pay my £15?
[quote=warton ]when I'm at the front of the chain gang, people are very friendly, pointing out hazards etc.
How does that work then or is it helpful chipper pedestrians pointing things out as you pass?
The thing I find most difficult to believe in the original post is the bit about the OP having a girlfriend. On the other hand the stuff, about him (and others) being dicks was all too believable.
I see just as many miserable sods on MTB rides as on the road. I'm probably one of them.
And I am another. I don't even acknowledge other cyclists most of the time and would hate to go out in a group and have to put up with other people.
The thing is I am enjoying myself and love cycling.
@DanW Certainly not a willy wave- I was referring to the start line 😀
Said characters barged in late swearing and muttering about 'barely being bothered to turn up'.
The thing I find most difficult to believe in the original post is the bit about the OP having a girlfriend.
And on the off chance that its true, where do you go to find one that can average >21mph.
I love road bikes. I like looking at them. I would love to have one on a wall mount at home.
But... I simply cannot understand why people would want to deal with other traffic when they could ride on a car-less bus-less truck-less path. Not a cycle path I mean, I mean a hardcore gravelly/ dirty/ bumpy path.
And you can't really do wheelies or skids. Madness. You will never get the girls roadies.
I simply cannot understand why people would want to deal with other traffic when they could ride on a car-less bus-less truck-less path
Road riding has continuity, and you can concetrate on the effort without stopping for techie bits, unrideable bits, gates, dog walkers, family walkers, etc etc. Lets you get in the zone nicely. And you don't need to deal with traffic either - I reckon 99% of UK traffic is on 2% of the roads. There's thousands of miles of deserted roads in your area, most likely. Unless you live in London 🙂 Even when I'm in the crowded South East I can do a 50 mile ride on an evening and see a handful of cars.
@DanW Certainly not a willy wave- I was referring to the start line
Damn it! Can't even do a holier than-thou post on STW without looking (more) like a tit 🙂
You will never get the girls roadies
Seemed to work out OK for Cav 😉
And you can't really do wheelies or skids. Madness
warton » when I'm at the front of the chain gang, people are very friendly, pointing out hazards etc.
How does that work then or is it helpful chipper pedestrians pointing things out as you pass?
Not just me who read it that way then!
But... I simply cannot understand why people would want to deal with other traffic when they could ride on a car-less bus-less truck-less path. Not a cycle path I mean, I mean a hardcore gravelly/ dirty/ bumpy path.
Hate traffic. Luckily I have a large network of great back roads and country lanes not too far from my door that are mostly traffic free 🙂
Edit... or what molgrips said.
I'm sure if you were to do some sort of study, you'd probably find that 90% of the traffic uses 10% of the roads. Or something like that.
Road riding has continuity, and you can concetrate on the effort without stopping for techie bits, unrideable bits, gates, dog walkers, family walkers, etc etc.
you just have to stop for junctions, lights, etc.
depends where you ride but I can ride for much longer sections of effort offroad than I can onroad, and then when you factor in that, with the increased rolling resistence offroad, I can get more of a workout in as well before stops.
You don't get to see/ smell so many dead sheep on the road either.
And as for the outfits......
(roadies not sheep)
You don't get to see/ smell so many dead sheep on the road either.
You can't beat a decent sheep carcass. Where the eyes are gone and a cloud of flies chases you up the track.
Still take that over fumes and punishment passes any day.
you just have to stop for junctions, lights, etc.
Again - plan your ride. Back lanes don't have traffic to stop for or traffic lights. Definitely far more consistent effort for me on-road, that's one of the reasons I do it.
with the increased rolling resistence offroad, I can get more of a workout in as well
That's a misconception - you put in the power you put in, and the rolling resistance (and air resistance) dictates the speed you go at.
Still take that over fumes and punishment passes any day.
Let me stress this - [b]road riding does not need to include those things[/b]. If it does you either live in London or you're not planning rides well.
You can't beat a decent sheep carcass. Where the eyes are gone and a cloud of flies chases you up the track.
Saw a sheep's skull up in the Pentlands once and made the mistake of telling my wife, who's a Biology teacher. She made me go back up and get it as she wanted it for her classroom!
Ahh but you do get dead badgers on the road. And *nothing* smells as bad as a dead badger.
True. Had misfortune to come across dead badger and deer in last road ride. Bloody dangerous too as the bodies were lying on the inside of tight bends.
'You can't beat a decent sheep carcass'
LOL! Very good martinhutch. Oh that made me chortle. Thank you.
I hope you are a professional comedian and aren't wasting your time cycling.
True. Had misfortune to come across dead badger and deer in last road ride. Bloody dangerous too as the bodies were lying on the inside of tight bends.
What is the correct call to the rest of the chaingang in these circumstances?
I'm hoping it's something like this:
What is the correct call to the rest of the chaingang in these circumstances?
Left hand raised as if with a sock puppet making talking motion = dead badger on the left.
Right hand raised as if with a sock puppet making talking motion = dead badger on the right.
Fodgers.....fox badger hybrid.Viciouser than Al,rarer than Jamie.
Had misfortune to come across dead badger
Was he lying in a pool of Stan's sealant by any chance? 🙂
RIP Badger...
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[quote="turnerguy"]depends where you ride but I can ride for much longer sections of effort offroad than I can onroadyou'll have to let the entire professional mtb world know where you live then. They all train on the road, almost with our exception, as you can't do lomg enough sustained efforts off-road anywhere. Unless by much longer you mean 1 mile Vs 1/2 mile.
FFS i can't even do longer sustained efforts off road than on and I've got hundreds of km of dirt tracks/paths with no gates or stiles.
It's always worst the first weekend after the Tour de France. Everyone is trying to look pro.
Btw,Quality d taylforth input on page 2.
Back in the room.:-)
Ahh but you do get dead badgers on the road. And *nothing* smells as bad as a dead badger.
Saw a dead badger on my ride tonight - fortunately too fresh to start smelling though.
Surely the reason the folk at the front end of a hard ride / sportive aren't very communicative is they are riding proper hard. You wouldn't be very chatty while blasting a downhill run either.
People are people and more of them are riding bikes. I don't expect people to smile and wave at me whilst walking down the street and I don't see why cycling is any different.
Any quick drop into a London road cycling cafe/shop is enough to confirm the OP's experience that roadies are cockbags.
The stereotype is true, lots and lots of them are sociopath managers who cycle instead of playing golf - who need Cervellos and Rapha to match their Macbook Pro's, 2 grand espresso machines, Audis and Christmas in the Alps.
Whenever I see them out in groups I get violent thoughts of gunning them all down with an MG42.
Any quick drop into a trail centre or popular off road spot is enough to confirm the OP's experience that MTBers are cockbags.
The stereotype is true, lots and lots of them are sociopath managers who cycle instead of playing golf.
My answer to that is that the majority of arseholes in MTB are roadies in disguise....
I think the main problem isn't road vs mtb so much as just the formality of some clubs. There are many in the MTB world too. Membership fees, formal club wear expected to be worn, vetting process, code of conduct and expected behaviour within a group ride, committees and generally a load of stuffy judgemental people.
Pretty much run by these types...
The stereotype is true, lots and lots of them are sociopath managers who cycle instead of playing golf.
😛
Anyway, as for badgers. I've never seen live badgers out around the trails, even at night, despite Brian May's best efforts. All I ever see is dead ones beside the road. They never look particularly run over though and neatly at one side. I suspect farmers kill them at night and drag them to the side of the road to avoid suspicion 😉 😀
I bet a lot of clubs seem a bit stuffy or elitist on the surface but I'd hope that's generally not true and that the "rules" they lay down are usually there for a reason.
I think it's already been mentioned but a lot of clubs, including ours will let you attend a couple of club runs before joining. Anything more than that and club's insurances probably won't cover them should they be sued for any reason. It becomes more than you having your own insurance via BC. And whilst it's always good to see new members out, I've realised how much more I trust following certain riders wheels on the road and hand signals more than others. It's a safety thing, perhaps not needed so much in mtb where there aren't any cars.
And with riders potentially representing a club when out in club kit, you generally want to stay on the good side of the general community you ride in? Or at least not offend people too much?......
But at the end of the day, I don't think you can just expect to rock up in town and have any club welcome you with open arms for a one off ride - especially when you're not even going to be a potential member. They might say fine, they might not. And they might not explain the reasons why quite as well as they could - but just cos we all ride bikes just doesn't mean we're all best buddies.
FFS i can't even do longer sustained efforts off road than on and I've got hundreds of km of dirt tracks/paths with no gates or stiles.
Yeah, know how you feel, 1000km off road sections just are doing it for me any more.
I started 'proper' cycling aged 13. Despite not actually having a bike.
The secretary of the local club brought his wife's bike round to my house, took me out for a 60 mile club run and deposited me a dribbling wreck back home. I was back the next week and was taught the art of bike riding. If you did anything wrong you were told immediately in no uncertain terms.
Years later, I was a member of an 'elite' road club, strictly invitation only. If you turned up and wanted to join the chain gang, you would have been very disappointed.
The common thread between the two was an expectation as to how people would ride, safely, and with good manners.
It's not golf, riding with other people on the road means putting your safety in their hands.
Try turning up to the local climbing club and say "I'll have a crack, go on I'll belay you' and see how much they trust you.
I find the road scene less snobby. My experience of mountain biking communities tend to be more elitist. I remember the first time I road my MTB in Surrey hills another rider told me how I could upgrade my bike.
Try turning up to the local climbing club and say "I'll have a crack, go on I'll belay you' and see how much they trust you.
This
ali69er - Member
I remember the first time I road my MTB in Surrey hills another rider told me how I could upgrade my bike.
That's just Surrey Hills for you, or Surrey in general 😀
Vast majority I ride with round there and many other places Surrey/Hampshire, are all very friendly and very tolerant. However most the group riding I do is social and very informal, at least the ones at the weekend (sometimes a bit too social but it's fun). Most formal it gets is with the Trolls and they're not a strict club. Only formality to it is set start times, less stopping and might get irritated if you want to stop and discuss each trail 😉 . Generally it's all just a laugh though, and everyone's on a wide variety of bikes. Low end or top end, retro bikes, doesn't matter (except e-bikes 😛 , unless there's a medical need for it 😉 ). Only times there may be advice on the bike is if it's clearly falling apart or they're asking what to get.
Been a rare few who turn up to our weekend socials who clearly are expecting a proper club ride. Tend not to see them ever again.
I think I have met m'boy already!
Our club rode as a group in a local charity ride, half way round we overtake two riders on the flat and one of them decides to JOIN in by turning right in the middle of the group ffs. I went up to him and politely guided him manually to the back of the group while he threw expletives of which I have rarely heard ! A week later the club chairman received notification of a rider being assaulted and British Cycling were now involved, really you cant make this up ! I wrote back and said he was a prick, end of, and BC agreed with me.
Go on it was you wasn't it !
Boring hell
Don't start hating on Triathletes, Triathletes are awesome and IME always super friendly.
wouldn't want them riding in a road group though.
Why is that? Do their manly swim sculpted shoulders make you body conscious? 😛
I love road bikes. I like looking at them. I would love to have one on a wall mount at home.But... I simply cannot understand why people would want to deal with other traffic when they could ride on a car-less bus-less truck-less path. Not a cycle path I mean, I mean a hardcore gravelly/ dirty/ bumpy path.
Despite all the above reasoning, still this +1. Just getting to the nice back roads can be a sphincter-twitching experience, and I live in the Lonely Planet's favourite place for cycling in the world, apparently. If it's not boy-racers up your backside it's pensioners with little spacial awareness creeping past at 2mph more than you, into oncoming traffic.