Home Forums Bike Forum I could pretend this isn't a rant but it is… gnaaaarly enduro muppet

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 94 total)
  • I could pretend this isn't a rant but it is… gnaaaarly enduro muppet
  • manderson
    Free Member

    AIBU to be hacked off at the following…

    Descending stretch of singletrack at a well known trail centre and aware of being caught up over the course of about 400m. No shout from behind but the definite buzz of some gnaaaarly wheels under the control of no doubt some gnaaaarly enduro wannabe. No room for overtaking unless I stop and get out of the way so I carry on with said gnarly dude so close to my back wheel that the buzz of our wheels and sound of braking is literally in sync. After leaving the section of single track I genuinely and politely suggest being so close to the back wheel in front could be off putting to some people. Said gnarly dude (not before riding off up the next hill) suggests I could have moved out of the way. So no shout, nowhere for me to go and he seemingly expects to pressurise people off the trail in front?

    I guess it’s inevitable but the more trail centre rides I do the more I seem to come across people with zero trail etiquette who think they own the place. Back to the peaks next week I reckon.

    So mr enduro-I think I own the trail but actually I’m no more than an average rider, p#$$ off and learn some manners. Next time you’ll cause an accident although you probably don’t give one.

    Rant over.

    iolo
    Free Member

    Its nearly as bad as using acronyms instead of typing words people actually understand.

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    Descending stretch of singletrack at a well known trail centre and aware of catching someone up over the course of about 400m. No look from infront but the definite buzz of some skinny wheels under the control of no doubt some xc trail warrior wannabe. No room for overtaking unless I barge him out of the way so I carry on with said xc dude close enough to my front wheel that I can get past when the opportunity arises . After leaving the section of single track he grunts and sarcastically suggests being so close to the back wheel in front could be off putting to some people. I suggest (not before riding off up the next hill) he could have moved out of the way. So no shout, nowhere for me to pass and he seemingly expects me to ride at walking pace?

    I guess it’s inevitable but the more trail centre rides I do the more I seem to come across people with zero trail etiquette who think they own the place. Back to the peaks next week I reckon.

    So xc trail-I think I own the trail but actually I’m no more than an average rider, p#$$ off and learn some manners. Next time you’ll cause an accident although you probably don’t give one.

    Rant over.

    amedias
    Free Member

    I get how that could be annoying and off putting to some, which is why I wouldn’t follow someone I don’t know that closely, but me and my mates are quite happy riding like that, giving him the benefit of the doubt he might have not realised he was too close, you mentioned that he didn’t shout, but then neither did you, a friendly “would you mind leaving me some room please” might have worked, he might not have even wanted past an was just happy being behind you and not realising he was too close for your comfort.

    Not wanting to pee on your chips but just trying an alternative explanation, if your prefer I can get ranty too and tell you about much ruder behaviour I’ve experienced on the trails?

    aracer
    Free Member

    There is of course an alternative to that for you.

    Del
    Full Member

    2/10 no random caps and punctuation deployed. rant fail.
    personally i’d either go quicker in an effort to drop them, or ask them if they want to go by, and if so pull over for two ticks. then i can chase them. why spoil both your runs?

    manderson
    Free Member

    Interesting point amedias. I’ve always understood that it’s the rider behind who is entirely responsible for communicating with the rider in front if they want past and for ensuring their safety if/when they overtake in the same way as it would be with skiing. Worth bearing in mind for the future tho as no harm in a shout backwards.

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    Is it pudding?
    (by the way it was’nt actually me.I was rephrasing his post to show an alternative yet equally valid point of view…I’ll mark further posts as such for peoples benefit).

    whatnobeer
    Free Member

    There is of course an alternative to that for you.

    Well then you wouldn’t be riding at all!

    No shout from behind but the definite buzz of some gnaaaarly wheels under the control of no doubt some gnaaaarly enduro wannabe.

    Did you look to see how close he is? My flatemate has the loudest wheels in the world and it often sounds like he’s right on your tail (including all the other noises) even if he isn’t. Although it’s never fun to stop when you’re in the zone it sounds like your descent was ruined so why not stop and enjoy the rest of it? Seems that might of been a better option?

    Oh and the sneering enduro basing isn’t very becoming.

    deviant
    Free Member

    AIBU to be hacked off at the following…

    No room for overtaking unless I stop and get out of the way

    I guess it’s inevitable but the more trail centre rides I do the more I seem to come across people with zero trail etiquette who think they own the place.

    Yes you are being unreasonable.

    If there is no room to overtake and he’s been behind you for the best part of half a kilometre then stop being selfish and let him past.

    Your last comment i quoted was surely tongue in cheek?!…you talk about other riders thinking they own the trail but cant seen the irony in you wanting to pootle around at your own pace holding other people up?!….sounds very much like you think you own the trail actually.

    I had a few fast guys behind me at FoD last week, just pulled over and waved them by…they said thanks and i could then get a clear (and much slower!) run in without anybody around me….easy isnt it?

    aracer
    Free Member

    His reply would suggest otherwise. The actions of the chap behind could just be unthinking right up to that reply – which implies that the aim was to bully the rider in front into stopping as he clearly didn’t actually care about the issue.

    The thing is, I’m not the fastest rider on the downhills (and I try not to hold anybody faster up where possible), but still occasionally catch other people up. In which case I’ll hang well back or maybe stop and leave a decent gap if I want to go faster.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    So why did you spoil your descent for yourself by not pulling over and letting them past?

    aracer
    Free Member

    Hmm, it seems the alternative isn’t as obvious as I thought (and yes I got that Rorschach, and thought it easiest to continue the acting)

    Why is it more selfish for the person in front to want to have an uninterrupted run than for the person behind?

    ebennett
    Full Member

    Is it really required to shout if you want past? I’d have thought that if someone has caught up with you it’s fairly safe to assume they want through, so why not just let them? I’m not excusing him sitting right on your tail, but surely you’d both have enjoyed the rest of the run more if you’d let him past.

    manderson
    Free Member

    I’ll always do my best let people past who are quicker when it’s safe to do so and when I know they want past and importantly when they think it’s safe to overtake. Just for clarity though not on my wheel for 400m but it took about that to catch up the 40m or so back that he was so rough maths tells me he was about 10% quicker than me so I was hardly pootling. No intention to offend, upset or anything of the sort.

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    Ah, trail centres……

    whatnobeer
    Free Member

    Hmm, it seems the alternative isn’t as obvious as I thought

    In which case I’ll hang well back or maybe stop and leave a decent gap if I want to go faster.

    This isn’t what you meant?

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    Ah,trail centres….on sunny weekends.
    (I’m just about to ride through one now to get to the trails….I doubt I’ll see a living soul there now).

    p#$$ off and learn some manners. Next time you’ll cause an accident although you probably don’t give one.

    I dread to think what you say when you are trying to offend people 😉

    amedias
    Free Member

    His reply would suggest otherwise. The actions of the chap behind could just be unthinking right up to that reply – which implies that the aim was to bully the rider in front into stopping as he clearly didn’t actually care about the issue.

    On the face of it I agree with you, but as always in these situations we’re trying to work it out with less than half the information, we have one side of the story and a bias in reporting. It’s entirely possible his reply wasn’t sarcastic at all* and only prompted to reply at all because of the original complaint.

    *Not calling you a liar OP, just for balance!

    As I said, it’s not the way I would behave, and there’s certainly more polite and friendly ways to deal with this situation and it does sound like he was a bit of a nobber, but I always like to keep an open mind.

    Interesting point amedias. I’ve always understood that it’s the rider behind who is entirely responsible for communicating with the rider in front if they want past and for ensuring their safety if/when they overtake in the same way as it would be with skiing. Worth bearing in mind for the future tho as no harm in a shout backwards.

    You’re right OP, it would be considered normal for the rider behind to announce themselves, and that’s certainly the rule when racing, but there are no ‘rules’ on the trail, he might be a nobber, he might be shy, he might not know what ‘the rules’ are so no harm in having options and ways to deal with it for situations like this in future.

    All in, i’d probably have been mildly irked to begin with, but I also probably would have spoken up and either asked if he wanted past, or asked for some room, or even just made some friendly banter with the chap, anything that turns the situation round is a win for both of you.

    m360
    Free Member

    Why is it more selfish for the person in front to want to have an uninterrupted run than for the person behind?

    This.

    iolo
    Free Member

    When I was fit I always politely asked if I could pass. If not I would start to sing, loudly. Some awful song like yellow polka dot bikini or agadoo. My singing is bloody awful so usually after ten seconds the person in front would pull over.
    its nothing to do with gnar or enduro or being rad or such frivolity. Its sharing the trails so we all have a good time.

    Superficial
    Free Member

    I hate trail centres for this reason. So much aggro and bravado, and it’s often too busy. Unless people are riding at the exact same pace as you (not too fast, not too slow) they’re either getting in your way or harassing you.

    Options include chilling TFO or riding somewhere else. I prefer the latter option anyway.

    dirtydog
    Free Member

    I move over if I hear tyres behind, its annoying when others don’t.

    mildred
    Full Member

    I can’t be bothered reading all of this but you admit you knew he was behind you and catching you up. Instead of whingeing about it post event couldn’t you have simply pulled over and let him or her past? Seems daft to moan about someone else when you could’ve solved the “issue” immediately yourself.

    imnotverygood
    Full Member

    Why is it more selfish for the person in front to want to have an uninterrupted run than for the person behind?
    This.

    Not that this ever happens to me as I am usually the one being overtaken: Letting someone past involves stopping for a couple of seconds then continuing on your way . Stopping when you are faster means stopping for longer and waiting for them to get clear. Even then there is a risk of catching them again. To me it is a no-brainier that you should allow faster people through (& I do)

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    meh.
    Can’t be arsed to read all that shit.
    Some people ride faster than others.
    Some people get offended by it and some people don’t.
    I’ve been a passer and a passee.
    Neither have ever caused me to suffer from outrage.
    Wheel size on the other hand has caused me to fly into an uncontrolable rage for no reason what so ever. 😛

    kudos100
    Free Member

    Trail etiquette = if a faster rider has caught you up and you are slowing them down, pull over.

    You can enjoy your run without the pressure of someone faster behind, they can enjoy their run without someone slower spoiling their run. Everyone wins.

    You let your ego get in the way and spoiled it for both of you.

    Fail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

    cumberlandsausage
    Free Member

    So somebody caught you on a trail. Why does that make him a, “gnaaaarly enduro wannabe” ?

    Just because he was riding faster then you, doesn’t make him a bad person.

    You knew he was behind you, and perhaps passively aggressively stayed in his way to teach him a lesson?

    edward2000
    Free Member

    AIBU? WTF? MTFU

    oldtalent
    Free Member

    You failed, you were scalped, a sign of weakness.
    Move over next time please 🙂

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    I caught a bloke up 4 times down some hill at Afan – Afan’s not long, and I’m not fast

    Also once followed a rider for about a mile down a long mountain path. There had been 2 of them, then they stopped as a I caught them and the one at the back moved over to let me through. His mate set off in front and again I had to stop loads of times behind him to give me room to ride at my own pace. Could’ve tried to force past but it was narrow, loose and there were quite big drops at the edges.
    In the car park at the bottom his mate (who’d let me through) came over & apologised for him.

    There can be no way these riders thought they were going at a decent speed and they were both clearly aware that somebody was repeatedly catching them

    It’s pretty irritating so I think/hope I’d always move over if somebody had caught me

    nwill1
    Free Member

    People catch me up I move over (shout or no shout)…I catch people up expect the same, I hate holding people up and I hate them holding me up.

    When Ive made the effort to get to a trail centre then busted a gut to get to the top of a hill I just wanna reap the reward not follow someone slower than me!

    fallsoffalot
    Free Member

    Rider behind probably stayed close so all you have to do is slow down a little bit and move over slighly to the side and he goes past, been a passer and passee using this method and only ever had a problem with nervous or newby riders. allays give these riders lots of room

    br
    Free Member

    If he didn’t shout, he can’t expect to be let by. So don’t worry.

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    I’m not sure what so unsafe about someone “following you” especially to the rider in front? If you can’t hack the pressure of someone behind you, pull over for 2 sec and let ’em go. That’s what i do!

    chakaping
    Full Member

    So somebody caught you on a trail. Why does that make him a, “gnaaaarly enduro wannabe” ?

    Just because he was riding faster then you, doesn’t make him a bad person.

    You knew he was behind you, and perhaps passively aggressively stayed in his way to teach him a lesson?

    Just what I was thinking, sorry OP.

    Is this really worth shouting about on the internet?

    nick1962
    Free Member

    Let’s cut to the chase 😳
    Did having somone chasing your wheel down improve your Strava time on that segment?

    dirtyrider
    Free Member

    is this going the way you hoped OP?

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    No

    thegreatape
    Free Member

    It’s so easy to let a faster rider past I don’t understand why you wouldn’t.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 94 total)

The topic ‘I could pretend this isn't a rant but it is… gnaaaarly enduro muppet’ is closed to new replies.