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Agree with "elite rider on your left" comment, had someone at Ashton Court yelling "move over", then cut in tight enough to almost clip me. We were riding across a trail in an open field at the time.
People who take " 'morning" as a cue to join you and talk constantly about themselves for the next hour/until you let them take a left and sneakily go right.
People who don't take the hint, catch you later and resume the incessant jabber.
2hottie - How do you get involved with trail building?
Litter annoys me, I've yet to see anyone throw a wrapper away intentionally. I've never seen an innertube, I keep looking as I want to make a crud catcher and chainstay protector.
People walking their dog on at a trailcentre on the trail and not the walkers path.
I fall in the "all the gear, no idea" look and use it to my advantage 😉
People that don't ride with helmets, I find that plain stupid.
Braking bumps on a nice fast flowing section.
"are you objecting to people peeing near you, or near the trail ?"
both
"lack of mechanical ability (grinding gears...)"
are you including people who ride singlespeed bikes?
people that moan about mtbers that have all the gear but no idea, "who cares" there probably just jealous Cu's they cant afford it.
Why do others actually care about what others are buying, wearing, or riding, surly its just a good thing that your just out on your bike for what ever rezone your into it?
Litter is the ultimate cardinal sin
laughing or sneering at people that have cheep bikes
"A chain that's screaming for some oil"
I always say hi to others I meet out and about, it really bugs me when I just get ignored.
The no helmet thing really gets to me to, I saw a guy cutting about with his 2 year old on one of them bike seat thingys that sits above the back wheel, he had a helmet on but his kid didn't, what was he thinking it's just plain crazy!!
Litter really annoys me and not just mountain bikers dropping it. What bikes people ride doesn't bother me and i've seen the girlfriend syndrome while out riding.
one that leave me at the back................
Ton - Nick and I assumed the 'rear gunners' position so well (well, so far off the back........) in the Dales that I think your days of being 'off the back' are gone 😉
Litter - inner tubes and gel wrappers, especially.
People who are impolite and inconsiderate to others (other riders, walkers, equestrians)
"Excusers" - i.e. people who blame their failings on anything but themselves. Wrong tyre choice/ pressure, not having the big bike, anything other than them being not fit enough or not skilled enough.
People who spend loads of time on MTB forums, mostly telling other people to "just get out and ride".
Some posters above seem to be annoyed at other riders for not being up to their own god-like standards and having to use chicken runs - which seems a little harsh to me.
2 things for ,e
1. people over the age of 15 who persist in using words like rad to describe themselves or anything to do with mountain biking.
2. People who are so obsessed with MTB's that they know everything about everything and are more than happy to tell you this. These people also tend to be able to give you a biog of every rider on the MTB dvd you are watching. Who would have thought ROAM could beso tedious!
Some mtb'ers can come across as VERY smug and middle-class (I am as middle-class as they come btw, but you know what I'm getting at). When I went to a bike demo day when I first got into biking I wore trackies and some people def looked at me funny because of it.
Litter and being inconsiderate/unfriendly to other trail users etc is very annoying.
When I went to a bike demo day when I first got into biking I wore trackies and some people def looked at me funny because of it.
I get the same looks when wearing Lycra, I think it's the sight of a beached whale in skinshorts causing fear.
ignorant ****s who dont acknowledge you when you move out of the way
Helmet nazis?
Downhillers going down the XC descent at Cwm Carn. Too scared to go over the jumps???
Those that seem to think other forms of cycling are worse/less than mountain biking - e.g. road biking, touring.
Those that think mountain biking is entirely based at Glentress or any other trail centre and can't be done "in the woods/fields behind your house".
Those that think other people in the outdoors are in the way (walkers, horse riders etc.). We're all out there for much the same reasons...
People who think that just because they happen to only see some one on certain kind of bike riding what they deem to be unsuitable for that bike that the rider must be too scared/pathetic/unfit to ride the"proper" stuff. You have no ideawhat that rider may have, or be about to, ride.
Joxster,
Links to the trail building at Gisburn Forest:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/03/gisburn-forest-gets-180000-for-mountain-bike-trails/
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/03/gisburn-forest-trail-building-this-sunday/
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/02/singletrack-trail-guide-gisburn-forest/
http://www.forestofbowland.com/cons_volunteering.asp
The next dig is on the 17th may
Helmet nazis?
In Oz , the helmet nazis , are the Police . Just keep paying those fines 8)
Fixing braking bumps to then watch a Rider come through and lock up the back brake for no real reason, usually get an 'I cant help it' when we shout for them not to?! yes you can, you don't have a problem with the front brake ffs?!?!
litter, especially inner tubes etc. in trees, that took ****ing effort to get it there, why not use the effort to put it in your bag/pocket..
TJ - Helmet nazis, nice one 
Trash
Bad manners
Cr@p trends
Grumpy driving instructors on the Innerleithen to Walkerburn road.... 😀
Had a great time in Innerleithen tho...
(and I told my mates that you'd definitely come on here and moan about it!)
huge groups of riders all out together.......sorry but there you go........
being told what is 'rad'/cool/or not acceptable.........without people understanding...........i use riser bars with bar ends at times due to injury but i get the comments.
People who take " 'morning" as a cue to join you and talk constantly about themselves for the next hour/until you let them take a left and sneakily go right.
I was interested in this, because I'm not a very sociable person. I enjoy group rides and random chatting, but prefer not to engage in tedious conversations - and biking is perfect for this, as all you have to do is take a different line, flub an obstacle, or speed up and the person is gone :o)
If someone were to continue bending my ear I would just say "Please stop talking to me, I'm not interested". But usually just ignoring them works fine.
huge groups of riders all out together
yeah, there IS such a thing as being [b]too[/b] friendly 🙁 Any more than 40 really does my head in.
Dh boy that are too lazy/unskilled to ride something else than a DH bike and that:
-Ride recklessly around pedestrian
-Trash the trail because these morons can't ride down around a switchback, they feel force to ride through it digging the trail and making the switchback useless.
****ing id10t
I don't see too much tubes around. However I can name a lot of places that have been close to bikers due to the mentioned DH boy such as Edwards and co.
I usually ride on my own and don't see many other mtb'ers, but what I do find annoying are those few I see that treat natural or Upland Path trails with no respect i.e. skidding, short cutting or riding with no consideration for the damage they might be causing to old delicate singletrack.
Go back to your trail centres.
left hand berms
<grumpy old git mode on> Where are all these inner tubes hanging on bushes, I'll have to get out to more popular places? I'm not poor but I'd never leave one behind, never mind the litter issue, by the time you've got it off the wheel it takes no time to slap a self sticky patch on, or put in a spare, take it home and patch it later. Even punctured and ripped to bits they have 101 other uses, I've got a stack of them in the garage next to the WD40 and the mole grips. <grumpy old git mode off>
yeah, there IS such a thing as being too friendly Any more than 40 really does my head in.
sorry Simon, but the damage large groups of riders do to the moors around the north west is shocking, plus not all groups are as polite but my worse experiences have been with large groups of riders who completely disregarded common decency, politeness and where very unfriendly.
sounds like someone hasn't got any friends or riding buddies
How would a large group of riders do more damage than a few smaller groups with the same total number of riders?
Young twenty something riders giving me grief, lets see how hot you are in thirty years time.
Agree with TJ about riders taking poor lines rather than get wet or muddy.
And riders that have only been going 30 seconds that tank past you when you've been out for five hours.
People who opose my right to use flat bars.
RichPenny - MemberHow would a large group of riders do more damage than a few smaller groups with the same total number of riders?
Apparently it does. something to do with the vegetation having time to recover between each injury / episode of damage
something to do with the vegetation having time to recover between each injury / episode of damage
here we go again 🙁 FWIW, in the Lakes I've seen far worse damage caused by sudden rain than years of bike passage (whatever the numbers)
SFB - this is undeniably true.
More damage is done by the passage of 50 people in an hour than by 50 people in a week
The reason you see damage from sudden rain is because the vegetation has been damaged leading to run-off that takes the soil away.
However it all depends on the terrain and path whether it is sustainable or not. I have no issue with sustainable and reasonable access even if its big groups. all it required is a bit of thought rather than head in the sand blank denial
The reason you see damage from sudden rain is because the vegetation has been damaged leading to run-off that takes the soil away.
I really do wish you'd confine your comments to places you know TJ. The incidents I refer to are on ancient roads surrounded by well established fellside vegetation. I've seen 5 foot deep trenches cut overnight by rain
So why has it not happened in the past? Something has happened to allow the runoff to rip the soil away. If its an ancient structure something must have changed otherwise it would have happened before. Very simple. It might have been further up the hill, it might have been a change in the structure but something has changed for this to occur
I wish you would show some concern for the effects you have. You may be right in this particular case but you refuse to acknowledge that your actions can be detrimental in any way - both in persistent refusal to stick within the laws about access and in persistent refusal to accept that you can and will cause erosion.
Simon - your attitudes appall many of us - I just am prepared to speak out about it.
People who don't consider the whole group when riding.
People who pop into Tesco/Spar/Sainsbury/Greggs rather than a independent local shop selling the same stuff.
So why has it not happened in the past?
for all I know it may happen every decade
I wish you would show some concern for the effects you have
and how do you know it's got anything to do with me, or any other bikers for that matter ?
but you refuse to acknowledge that your actions can be detrimental in any way
most of the places where we ride are much the same now as when I started 13 years ago. As I said above, by far the worst erosion has been by sudden rain. Also, for instance on Walna Scar, erosion has removed ill thought out sanitisation to return the track to its former exciting condition (bedrock with boulders)
I just am prepared to speak out about it
from a position of deep ignorance:o)
You're a strange bunch you mtb'ers. I think your foibles and insecurities come from the fact that cycling isn't really a team sport. I would/will have a lot of fun with those of you that take yourselves far too seriously.
I think your foibles and insecurities come from the fact that cycling isn't really a team sport
do you mean 'competitive team sport' ? When I go out for a ride, I think of us as all in a kind of team together.
Not to elbow in on someone else's argument. But prolonged periods of rain generally cause much higher degrees of damage than sudden down pours.
I usually acknowledge other riders when possible and a polite return is nice and vice versa but I really hate it when I get blanked or stared at as much as someone who had just raped their dog or something.
**** off you miserable bastrds.
On my local fell used by large groups of mountain bikers, I have seen the damage, complete mess caused by riders in large numbers avoiding the correct path and either seeking 'new rad' lines, avoiding the mud or cutting corners. Some of the paths are now non useable to anyone be they bridleways, footpaths or cheeky trails, 20 riders or so in one group create havoc on some terrain, sorry but you are wrong Simon on most terrain has altered in the last 13 years, look at Longridge fell, altered massively in the last 3 years alone, riders cutting the trail in large numbers is not good. The thread was about what annoys you about mountain bikers, this is my bete noir, the ignorance of the damage that can be caused by large groups riding inplaces where the damage will not repair easily.
People who get in their car to drive to somewhere to ride when there's plenty good riding on their doorstep, they just can't be bothered with a few miles of road riding to get there.
People who spend all weekend riding their £2 grand bikes then get in the car to go to work monday to friday when its only a few miles away.
I think more people need to become "cyclists" rather than just "mountain bikers", and realise that they can use their bikes to do really useful things as well as for fun, save time and money and help out the planet as well.