Mountain bikers, why do they do it?

Was out for a road ride yesterday and had to stop to refill our water bottles. Saw a group of mountain bikers cycle past, acknowledged them with a nod and a hello.

5 minutes later we set off up the road, a fairly gradual climb. My mate was 50 yards ahead of me and he ended up passing a couple of the mountain bikers at a fair lick of pace.

So one of them thinks its a good idea to have a go at giving chase. He stands up and pulls into the middle of the road just in front of me and starts mashing away on the pedals, bobbing about in his 130mm of suspension.

I ended up having to brake hard as there was a car coming the other way so I couldnt pass safely. After about 10 seconds he’s had enough and decides to sit back down and carry on at his previous pace.

Im not quite sure what he was trying to achieve. Obviously one of the ultra competetive types, fair enough if he had the speed and athletic prowess to go with it but whats the point if you’re just an average bloke on a bike. It was embarassing.

If you’re on the road on your mountain bike then you should be tucked into the side so as to let road riders/motorcyclists/cars passed, you shouldnt be floundering about all out of breath in the middle of the lane. You’ve picked the wrong tool for the job.

Just made a fresh cafetière of the black stuff. Time to settle down and see how this one pans out.

If you’re on the road on your mountain bike then you should be tucked into the side so as to let road riders/motorcyclists/cars passed, you shouldnt be floundering about all out of breath in the middle of the lane.

Very good 😀

3/10
will pop back in an hour to see how this is developing

I was driving my car yesterday and there were a bunch of roadies floundering in the middle of the road. They should have kept tucked in to the side of the road, but being ignorant roadies they still decided to ride in the middle of the road.

Its not fair

Maybe he’s trying to get fitter and having a faster “target” to aim for gave him the motivation to push himself a bit?

If you’re on the road on your mountain bike then you should be tucked into the side so as to let road riders/motorcyclists/cars passed

Not always. Ride assertively. You were behind and couldn’t see what he could. He was in front so had the choice. But credit to you for braking rather than doing a dangerous overtaking manouvre.

Surely you realise, writing as a roadie on a mtb forum, crticising mtbers, you’re not going to do very well?

Sounds like he was having fun, the OP should try it sometime…

Surely you realise, writing as a roadie on a mtb forum, crticising mtbers, you’re not going to do very well?

Im also a mountain biker, but I’m not a ultra competetive sunday warrior. If a road cyclist passes me when Im on the road, I say hello, give them some space and accept the fact that I’m on the slower machine.

Sounds like he was having fun, the OP should try it sometime…

It didnt look like it, I passed him and he didnt have anything left in the tank to give chase. My mate who was behind said that he’d slammed his hand on the handlebars in frustration.

Its this kind of post that just ends up with cyclists alienating each other.

There are rules of the road, and on top of that manners and politeness. OP, you need to observe them as much as everyone else – you are not a rung above mountain bikers as you seem to imply.

FWIW I’ve had roadies shout at me as I’ve passed them on the road, yet also yesterday a polite word of thanks was issued to me by two roadies at some traffic lights, when I invited them to sit in front of me as I knew they’d be off down the road in front of me.

Seems to me you have a chip on your shoulder.

Sometimes when a roadie goes past you think “What must it be like doing that sort of speed? If I can get up to 20mph will I be able to keep it up with no extra effort.” You try. You find out. You slow down again. It was fun.

Maybe he really didn’t want to see your shaved arse in tight lycra.

Mountain bikers, People why do they do it odd things?

Because they’re weird?

Because they’re weird?

+1

At least he didn’t steam past you after being overtaken, then quickly slow down again so you have to pass him once more, shaking your head.

Folk do this to me all the time on my commute, you think they’d recognise me or at least learn from the experience.

Oh Yunki my guitar arrived on Saturday. Sounds mint. May take a while to learn, seems 5m to learn the intro to “Anyway anyhow” was ambitious.

Maybe he really didn’t want to see your shaved arse in tight lycra.

That could have been it, he’d have seen what he was missing out on.

Instead he had to settle back in behind his hairy, over weight mate and continue with his grunting and gurgling.

I’ve just got my first road bike and was zipping down a big hill at nearly 40 mph last week, madly yelling “Hi” to all the roadies coming up. Not even a smile….

Why? MTBers would have been shouting “Have it!”

Just made a fresh cafetière of the black stuff. Time to settle down and see how this one pans out.

Biscuit Flashy?

Maybe it was one of our very own trying to improve themself? He might even have been listening to the New World Disorder soundtrack and not been able to hear the AWESOMENESS of a roadie crreping up on him.

the MTBer prob got home and told his friends how much fun he had burning himself out trying to keep up with a roadie for a little bit, failing miserably, but still enjoying himself 🙂

i dont understand why a friend always burns himself out on the last stretch before we get back to his, no warm down, just full on muscleburning effort until his door. he enjoys it though so that’s all that matters 😀

Maybe it was one of our very own trying to improve themself? He might even have been listening to the New World Disorder soundtrack and not been able to hear the AWESOMENESS of a roadie crreping up on him.

🙂

not read it all but only an idiot tries to race roadies on a MTB you have no chance unless you are world clas sor they are seriously unfit

don simon.those biscuits look lovely 🙂

When I ride my MTB to the trails I fairly regularly pass roadies on the climbs, just as if they were on an MTB and I on a road bike I give them a cheery ‘morning’, and carry on my merry way. I don’t really care if they reply or not. There seems no correlation between the type of bike being ridden and how friendly people are.

If I must make a sweeping generalisation it’s that the baggy and armour clad ‘weekend warriors’ are the least friendly of all, and are more likely to totally ignore you, whether I’m on the MTB or the road.

I don’t really care though. In the OP’s situation I’d have felt satisfied that I was quicker than than fellow on the MTB, greeted him, and ridden off.

I generally try to stay with road riders when they come past me. Not as in, get right on their tail & harass them, but just up the pace a bit & try to stop them disappearing quite so quickly.
I find on a ride that it helps me to go faster having a target, so I will try & keep someone in my sights for as long as possible, even if they are pulling away.

To be honest, you get a similar thing sometimes from roadies. I have had people on road bikes absolutely blitz past me, obviously going for all they are worth to show how fast they can overtake someone.
Once they are clear by 50m or so, they obviously can’t sustain that pace so slow down to their ‘normal’ pace. Once or twice I have started to gain on them as they, I guess, are having a bit of a recovery before they resume their ‘normal’ pace and start pulling away. And it’s not like they are doing intervals as their ‘recovery’ phase isn’t slow enough & they don’t resume their previous ‘overtaking’ pace.

We do similar things when mountain biking too, to be honest. Get overtaken on a climb by an XC mountain goat and then up the pace to try & stay with them……normally ends up with me collapsing in a lactic induced heap, but is good fun.

Is this a complaint about him giving chase? Being a mountain biker? Road positioning? or lack of observation?

It’s a personality thing (maybe even an illness) no point in analyising it. Happens to me regularly, I’ll be tootling along merrily in my own little world on my mtb or occasionaly road bike, when all of a sudden I either get passed or spot a rider in the distance and up pops Mr Jekyll (or is it Hyde?) and I crank it up a few notches and the race is on, and even if I do end up ‘grunting and gurgling’ there is usually a big grin on my face.
Oh and if in the process another victim / sorry rider has to brake sharply to avoid rear ending me (ooo err) then thats just a bonus

Onzadog – Member
Is this a complaint about him giving chase? Being a mountain biker? Road positioning? or lack of observation?

surely all 4 it being a troll and all dat

Everyone is missing the point here, quite spectacularly. The point is what were they doing on the road in the first place? Surely they should have been playing in muddy puddles? Leaving the tarmac for the shaven, lycra clad gayers 😀

Oh and if in the process another victim / sorry rider has to brake sharply to avoid rear ending me (ooo err) then thats just a bonus

Why is that a ‘bonus’? In what way? Surely anything like that only matters if it’s a proper competition or if the rider knows who you are thus boosting your standing in a particular social group? Can’t see how you gain anything from a stranger having to put their brakes on?

Hmmm, biscuits…..They look lovely, thanks!

shaven, lycra clad gayers

*waves at binners*

people can do what they want, deal with it

A roadie passed me the other day. I said hello and he did a really cool raising of his little finger off the bar. I thought about giving him a run for his money but realised that he was on a road bike and I was on a 30lb beast with knobbly tyres, he weighed 11st and me 17st so I would get my arse handed to me on a plate. To not lose face I crashed into the next kerb without even doing a wheelie or hop, I just let the suspension handle it. That showed him.

If I must make a sweeping generalisation it’s that the baggy and armour clad ‘weekend warriors’ are the least friendly of all, and are more likely to totally ignore you, whether I’m on the MTB or the road.

That’s because you are a

shaven, lycra clad gayer

I’ve had the same experience

I was out on the road bikes the other day.. with the girlf.

I cut her up so she couldnt beat me…

may be that is all he was doing to you!

I often chase roadies up climbs on my mountain bike. It’s a challenge and fun. And sometimes I pass them.

“but whats the point if you’re just an average bloke on a bike”

With that attitude you will always remain an average bloke on a bike. I really cannot understand what the OPs problem is. After 10 seconds he gave up, so you seem to think you were held up by less than 10 seconds. Imagine if you were driving a car moaning about some guy on a bike holding you up.

What is wrong with you davidtaylforth? You should have steamed past & stiff armed him into the gutter/ditch/wall in the process. What bikes you are on doesn’t matter you just have to be sure you can make the pass stick 😈

With that attitude you will always remain an average bloke on a bike

Chasing another cyclist for 10seconds wont transform you into a capable athlete. I would have given him some repsect if he’d spent hours on the bike and in the gym and had actually managed to catch my mate.

Rather, he’d actually spent too many hours in the pub or on the settee so he didnt have a chance. I think he just wanted to live up to the “rad” image of a classic weekend warrior/mtber and show the roadies a thing or two. He failed.

Junkyard

not read it all but only an idiot tries to race roadies on a MTB you have no chance unless you are world clas sor they are seriously unfit

I can’t even begin to tell you how carp I am on technical stuff and have no chance keeping up with a 1/4 decent mtber. – I know my limits.

However there’s nowt wrong with mixing it up a bit even if I did come last on this ere 10 mile TT, cos I rode my full suss set to bounce