Drivin' Riders: The worst bicyclists.

[Ike90]

As of May 4, I will have been commuting by bicycle full time for six consecutive years. As another late spring/summer season approaches, what I call the “fair weather” riders (those whom will only ride when there is no chance of rain and the temperature is at least 70 degrees F.) are beginning to re-appear. These riders tend to clog up the bike cage at my workplace and to overrun the paths and trails that are basically all mine for the other nine months of the year, and a few of them even sneer at me because I don’t wear all the “proper” Spandex cycling gear that they spend thousands of dollars on every season.

Don’t get me wrong though, I have no problem with fair weather riders at all. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who rides a bicycle in place of driving a vehicle even once per year is at least putting forth some effort, and that’s terrific.

It’s what I call the Drivin’ Riders that really irritate me. These are the people that pack their so-called “mountain bikes” onto their cars or into their pick-up trucks, and then drive anywhere from 10 to 120 miles one-way in order to “commune with nature” on a two to three hour recreational ride in the forest.

The simple truth is, Drivin’ Riders are no better than dirt bike or snowmobile riders. They vastly increase their carbon footprint so that they can feel “athletic” or “environmentally conscious” by adopting a supposedly Earth-friendly sport. Never mind the accusations of erosion damage and other environmental problems caused by mountain bikers, these people are typically spewing double the amount of pollutants they normally would just so they can pedal in the woods for a little while. It’s BS!

I ride past the major trailhead of large mountain park everyday, and as the weather improves, I see more and more of these people, often arriving in separate vehicles. They unload their several-thousand-dollar bicycles and strap on all their overpriced Pearl Izumi lycra gear, then pedal away as though they’re some wonderful advocates for a clean, green planet. It’s disgusting, and ultimately, I guess I’m embarrassed for them.

Thanks for reading my rant.

 

[TheDarkLord]

Are these mountain bikers really professing to decrease their carbon footprint by riding 2-3 hours in the woods? If yes, they are tools. But I don't think most fall under that category. They just want to bike for a short time in the woods, and since the trails they want to ride are far from their home, they have to drive there. Don't see anything wrong with that. Mountain biking has very little to do with reducing carbon footprint (as opposed to commuting in a bike). It is an activity done for recreation.

 

[Ike90]

Are these mountain bikers really professing to decrease their carbon footprint by riding 2-3 hours in the woods? If yes, they are tools. But I don't think most fall under that category. They just want to bike for a short time in the woods, and since the trails they want to ride are far from their home, they have to drive there. Don't see anything wrong with that. Mountain biking has very little to do with reducing carbon footprint (as opposed to commuting in a bike). It is an activity done for recreation.

That's a decent point, but judging by the typical bumper stickers on their vehicles (Think Globally, Act Locally; Free Tibet; Greenpeace; etc.) I suspect there is, at least for some of them, a sense of smug self-satisfaction in their chosen hobby.

Also, I live in an area where trails and paths are commonplace, and very few people really have to drive at all to find good off-road riding. I have no problem with people camping in the forest for a couple of nights and taking their bikes along. I do it several times every summer. It's the daytripper kind of MTB riding that I find ludicrously energy intensive.

 

[Trekhead]

If you've ever rode a serious trail for a few hours there's no way you'd have enough energy to ride 10+ miles back home.

 

[threaded]

If you've ever rode a serious trail for a few hours there's no way you'd have enough energy to ride 10+ miles back home.

Pah! I intend to ride, as a warm up, 30 km to a 12 hour MTB race on the 3rd May, race around it solo for 12 hours, and assuming the bike is still rideable at the end, ride the 30km back home again.

Kids today.

 

[Ike90]

Pah! I intend to ride, as a warm up, 30 km to a 12 hour MTB race on the 3rd May, race around it solo for 12 hours, and assuming the bike is still rideable at the end, ride the 30km back home again.

Kids today.

Threaded, you are a frickin' role model!

As for "serious trails," I can't imagine that Georgia comes close to the kind of climbing and/or decents the Pacific Northwest offers, but I'll take Trek's word for it. In any case, that's why I made a deliberate choice to live near those trails, so that I don't have to drive 2-1/2 hours to ride on them. They're four blocks from my house.

 

[Trekhead]

North GA has plenty of trails that you can call serious. Around where I live it's mostly flat.

 

[bigpedaler]

OK, the environmental bumper stickers are a symptom of a deeper problem than posing as a 'green' cyclist. How hypocritical is it to post such things on a gas-hog to begin with? MAYBE -- just maybe -- put 'em on a Prius.

Now, not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to live that close to a good trail system. The premier system in my region is 30+ miles (not k's) away, not exactly cake for a 50-y-o clyde. I've been there once, when a buddy took me there in his econobox car three years ago. Love to go back, but I'm car-free, and it's not worth the expense (that buddy's in Iraq right now, btw). When it comes to a car, pretty much NOTHING is worth it to me.

On the face of it, I won't fault anyone for riding, regardless of how they get there to do it. If they're posers, they'll be posers in every facet of their life. If this is what brought it to your attention, okay.

Oh yeah -- been a bike commuter now for 7 1/2, myself; way to go!

 

[Chavez]

As of May 4, I will have been commuting by bicycle full time for six consecutive years. As another late spring/summer season approaches, what I call the “fair weather” riders (those whom will only ride when there is no chance of rain and the temperature is at least 70 degrees F.) are beginning to re-appear. These riders tend to clog up the bike cage at my workplace and to overrun the paths and trails that are basically all mine for the other nine months of the year, and a few of them even sneer at me because I don’t wear all the “proper” Spandex cycling gear that they spend thousands of dollars on every season.

Don’t get me wrong though, I have no problem with fair weather riders at all. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who rides a bicycle in place of driving a vehicle even once per year is at least putting forth some effort, and that’s terrific.

Well, as someone who fits that description for the most part (I'll pass on the commute when the morning temp is getting down around mid-30s F or in a monsoon; a little bit of rain doesn't bug me), I think anyone who chooses to commute on a bike is doing a good thing on SEVERAL levels - most guys I work with (a mannish collection of manly-men doing a he-man job) think I'm a bit weird for it but seem to respect it. When they ask "why?" I usually say "why not - it is good exercise for my tubby ass, saves gas $$$, and oh yeah, it's doing a slight bit of good for the planet as well."

Now being a condescending douche about "proper" gear is another matter. I guess in terms of the general public I may qualify as "Joe Cyclist" but I'm pretty much just a dabbler; but even so, if someone says they ride a bike or want to start riding, I try to encourage them no matter what their bike is, whether or not they're wearing a jersey and spandex or a t-shirt and cutoffs, etc etc.

It’s what I call the Drivin’ Riders that really irritate me. These are the people that pack their so-called “mountain bikes” onto their cars or into their pick-up trucks, and then drive anywhere from 10 to 120 miles one-way in order to “commune with nature” on a two to three hour recreational ride in the forest.

One nice thing about my family (and in-laws) living in what Wisconsinites call the "Up North" is that I have a good excuse to strap my bike onto my car and hit trails that are 100+ miles away.

As a matter of fact, we're going up to my friend's place next weekend and I hope to stop in Boulder Junction - which is about 10-15 minutes away from their place - and do some riding. Not to mention a nice little 15-20 mile mtb loop 15 minutes from my mom's house, where we're also visiting.

 

[tfstrum]

OK, the environmental bumper stickers are a symptom of a deeper problem than posing as a 'green' cyclist. How hypocritical is it to post such things on a gas-hog to begin with? MAYBE -- just maybe -- put 'em on a Prius.!

Why do people put stickers all over everything anyway? For every one you see I wonder how many make it into the landfills. Stickers on cars are for braggers and tools.

 

[Warwick2x]

Carbon footprint. China ****. Driving riders.
Meh.
I thought you guys were here cos you loved MTBing?
The nearest place I can ride is 30 minutes drive from here. I will ride it til my legs dont work properly tomorrow. I drive there in a V8 X5. Who cares. I will come home happy.
I'm with you DarkLord.
Happy days!

 

[chn68b]

Don't know what the issue is here really, most people mountain bike to...mountain bike, not to save the planet.

The fact that personal vehicles contribute to something like 0.1% of all carbon emmisions is another indicator that the driving cyclist isn't really the problem, its industry.

People should always be encouraged to cycle anyway, even those driving cyclists will improve their fitness and as a result start cycling more than they would do which is a good thing.