Cycling hates

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i hate drivers who just won't give way, when you want to turn right, left if your in usa and also broken glass

[/QUOTE]Cops who pull me over for going fast - got pulled over while drafting a dump truck. cop let me go after a stern warning. another time a cop pulled up to me to yell at me but then she recognized me - we used to work together at a bike shop! she told me she was about to pull me over for speeding but that it's okay, just slow down a bit. ok honestly I don't mind it but it does scare me because I keep thinking they'll ask for my drivers license and my insurance will go up.[/QUOTE]
I got pulled over for speeding once in a school zone. I was let off with a verbal warning, but that is one ticket I wouldn't mind having... :cool:

In hind site, I must agree that speeding through a school zone isn't the smartest thing to do when kids are getting out of school :rolleyes:

1. Eliteist road bikers who think they are someone special

2. Crazy animals (squirrel, chipmunk, birds)

3. Falling branches

4. Pothole roads

5. Cars

The other day I was doing my usual evening ride, when I catched another rider who was infront of me. When he first saw me, he tried to pull away by sprinting and he did get away. however, I kept my on tempo and catched him again and again he tried to sprint me away. He tried to do this two more times until he gave up. He let me catch him and told me on a quite rude manner "can you come up and let me draft now." I never even got the chace to do draft him on the first place! But I didn't complain I came up a drafted him for about 7 miles. by the way his little sprints went on for about 7 miles to. Anyways, the wind started to pick up and I couldn't hold the 23 mph rythm that I was holding. We came up to some corners and I started to take them wide, so that he could pass me and help me out, he never did so. After 2 more miles the wind reduce my speed to 20 miles. Finally I made up my mind to brake and ask him if he could draft me now. As soon as I let my guard down and brake, he took off on a sprint, to which I try to catch up to but he seem to be pretty good at sprinting. I went back to my technique and paced my self back to my tempo. He relized what that I was going to catch him, so he suddenly stopped. I was terrified! I didn't know what he was going to do or what was it that i was suppose to do, so I slowed down. As I passed him he yelled at me "Get away from me." Terrified I sprinted away as fast as I could. Now, what the hell is someone to do when something like this happens? I didn't even have a cell phone to call someone (police) nor do I know self defense!

After 28 years of road riding, I've seen pretty much everything you can see on the road and most of my peeves are mentioned.

I guess the biggest one is ignorance. By that, I mean by motorists for a myriad of reasons and by other cyclists for a plethora of reasons. I don't like riders who feel their fitness gives them special status, or riders who think what they ride gets them into a special clique.

The one thing that pisses me off consistently over the years is the spoiled brat rider. Get a fricken' life a-hole! Funny cuz I had a racing club reunion, 10 years after the club broke up, and a couple of these spoiled brat a-holes turned up... still aspiring to hit the pro ranks. Um guys... you're in your early 30s now, no significant wins to speak of and no major showing at nationals... GET A LIFE!

Yes cycling elitists do suck, but if you want to become one have a look at this
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/?id=2005/nelson_bike_snob
;)

The ultimate cycling hate happenned to me two weeks ago and unfortunately it happens to often here in NYC, my Lemond Poprad stolen!!:mad:

I am now on ebay seeing what I can do to put another cyclocross together...I have given up on new bikes for my daily work and grind. Thank my lucky stars I was not riding the Trek Road bike that day.

-js


After 28 years of road riding, I've seen pretty much everything you can see on the road and most of my peeves are mentioned.

I guess the biggest one is ignorance. By that, I mean by motorists for a myriad of reasons and by other cyclists for a plethora of reasons. I don't like riders who feel their fitness gives them special status, or riders who think what they ride gets them into a special clique.

The one thing that pisses me off consistently over the years is the spoiled brat rider. Get a fricken' life a-hole! Funny cuz I had a racing club reunion, 10 years after the club broke up, and a couple of these spoiled brat a-holes turned up... still aspiring to hit the pro ranks. Um guys... you're in your early 30s now, no significant wins to speak of and no major showing at nationals... GET A LIFE!

Injuries
Getting hit by cars and not having a bike for 2-3-4 weeks.
Components that rattle/squeak when tightened/lubed.

Everything else dosnt bother me much. :)

Snakes are not great either.
Apparently it is better to go straight at them and lift the front wheel and hit them with the back one. Better then swerving and crashing.

All of the snakes I've hit - 5 or 6 - have already been roadkill - and pretty small. I've never lived near any of the really big, fat ones. Nonetheless, always a bit of a shock to feel the bump.

Originally Posted by John Knees
As I ride rarely these days (I'm a fat 72, wife has Parkinson's, I'm her carer). I don't have any pet hates these days, but thought this might cheer some of you up - I posted it elsewhere in May of this year.
******************************************
My sweetest moment was about 17 years ago - I was 55 at the time.

I'd been over to Mike Perry's "Wielersport" lightweight shop at Bognor (Sussex, U.K.) for a coffee, a "training doughnut" and a new saddle, and was riding back to Worthing - about 16 miles.

As I was going East out of Bognor, two Hell's Cherubs on "trail bikes" (look like scrambling machines, nobbly tyres, big clearances, make a lot of noise but totally gutless) barged out of a side turning in front of me.

I easily chipped onto the back wheel of the second one, and once out of the urban area, they opened it up to about 38 m.p.h., flat out, sitting well forward with their nuts (testes) rattling on the fuel tank.

For the next 5 miles or so, I had a comfortable and effortless ride on 52 x 13 and neither lad knew I was there - they didn't look behind once!

Eventually, where the road rises slightly to bridge the river Arun, they slowed, and my pacemaker started to turn to look behind him.

This was my cue. I moved out of the tow and swept past, beaming at him and calling out out "this wind makes it a bit hard, doesn't it?"

His face was a picture. Imagine, you and your mate have been hammering along on your Noddy bikes, grabbing another big handful of throttle every 100 yards or so, then some old fart comes swishing past on a push bike.

Only happens once in a lifetime, sadly.
:eek:
John
P.S. Sorry about the funny accent - it's Sussex English.

Swallowing bugs it happened twice to me last summer.

Your story does sound a little scary especially if he happened to be a "nut job". Luckily you did not have that problem exactly.

Whenever I have someone I feel may be trouble...I go into fitness mode. What I mean by that is for example we have a small hill here that everyone and I mean everyone trails you and than trys and speeds pass you on the climb. Sometimes if I find the guy annoying, I unclip one leg and start to pedal up with one leg. He passes, looks over and gives me that dumbfounded look, I never give him a glance and just do my thing. Or sometimes if I have someone on my butt or I keep catching someone, I decide to try and ride a few miles out of the seat or go into much higher harder gears than I need to on hills...still get my workout and benefits without having to worry about the crap around me.

For me cycling is more than just spinning and speed...I like to use it to build the muscles, endurance, stamina...I do not want to be those 6 foot or higher guys, weighing 150 or less pounds so you can count their ribs. I like to combine it with the weight room and pile on the plates...

I find being in your own zone is all that matters...achieve what you want out of the rides and that is all the matters.

-js


The other day I was doing my usual evening ride, when I catched another rider who was infront of me. When he first saw me, he tried to pull away by sprinting and he did get away. however, I kept my on tempo and catched him again and again he tried to sprint me away. He tried to do this two more times until he gave up. He let me catch him and told me on a quite rude manner "can you come up and let me draft now." I never even got the chace to do draft him on the first place! But I didn't complain I came up a drafted him for about 7 miles. by the way his little sprints went on for about 7 miles to. Anyways, the wind started to pick up and I couldn't hold the 23 mph rythm that I was holding. We came up to some corners and I started to take them wide, so that he could pass me and help me out, he never did so. After 2 more miles the wind reduce my speed to 20 miles. Finally I made up my mind to brake and ask him if he could draft me now. As soon as I let my guard down and brake, he took off on a sprint, to which I try to catch up to but he seem to be pretty good at sprinting. I went back to my technique and paced my self back to my tempo. He relized what that I was going to catch him, so he suddenly stopped. I was terrified! I didn't know what he was going to do or what was it that i was suppose to do, so I slowed down. As I passed him he yelled at me "Get away from me." Terrified I sprinted away as fast as I could. Now, what the hell is someone to do when something like this happens? I didn't even have a cell phone to call someone (police) nor do I know self defense!

Cars and mainly taxis that stop in the left lane forcing me to cross parallel tram lines the perrenial nightmare in Melbourne. For those not in the know perfect for slotting your front wheel into.

what do you do about ppl like me.........redneck cyclists?????????????

idk if its been said but i hate the headwind that comes along with oncoming cars, especially when theyres aboot 80 of those dump trucks pacelining at 100 mph and the wind forces you above zone 5.

glad i got that outta my system......

I hate it when I'm coasting down a hill, with a headlight on, and a car driver looks me straight in the eye and then pulls out in front of me anyway. There's one intersection where this seems to happen EVERY TIME! I swear, if someday I do collide with the car, and I survive, I'm going to pull the driver out and strangle him or her with my bare hands!

If someone wants an easy ride, they can slow down. It would have been different if the guy had come up to me and said something like, "I'm really tired, mind if I hang for a bit?" When I said hello as I passed the first time, he didn't even respond.
man, don't be so sensitive! At least the guy came up and said thanks!

Originally Posted by artmichalek
If someone wants an easy ride, they can slow down. It would have been different if the guy had come up to me and said something like, "I'm really tired, mind if I hang for a bit?" When I said hello as I passed the first time, he didn't even respond.

:eek: Why do you think God puts potholes in His roads?:eek:

I also really hate the typical redneck that seems to populate the area I like to ride in. My last encounter involved a guy backing his trailer out of his drive and completely cutting me off even though I was plainly visible. Not being an idiot when cycling alone, I simply said "hey, you need to watch what you're doing". He immediately called me a f*#*ing faggot and told me where to go. I forgot that I wasn't an idiot for just a second and called him a 'f*#*ing moron' as I passed around the cab of his truck. He must of really been pissed, because he pulled away and chased me down. As he passed me, he swerved enough that his side mirror hit me and forced me off the road. He then accelerated away from me. I was quite frightened, but pissed off at the same time. About three miles down the road I saw him pulled over at the side of the road changing a tire. What karma! I immaturely screamed some expletives at him as I rode past, got his plate number and called the cops. I'll admit I didn't handle the situation very well, and let my emotions get the best of me. I might not be so lucky next time.

I used to be a bit of a road-rager when it comes to idiotic drivers. The truth is that you never know what you're dealing with on the road. Could be some blue-haired granny, senescent, mind half-vapourized on medications, or it could be some steroid-saturated musclebeast who will literally stove your head in with his boots.

Case in point, guys:

http://www.citynoise.org/article/2770

This is in 'cosmopolitan' Toronto, where you might not expect to find violent intolerance.