Help me understand behavior during organized rides

[cast4321]

OK. I need your help. I am constatly amazed at some of the behavior I see at organized rides (NOT races), like your average weekend century. Help me understand so that I can be more calm and less agitated. By way of disclaimer, my wife and I are moderately serious road bikers and do about a century a month.

An example: My wife and I recently completed the Salt Lake City Marathon (road bike) course ride. It's only a 26.2 mile ride, of course, and the course was overall downhill. There were 1,350 people riding and needless to say the skill/fitness level spectrum was wide and the roads crowded.

I guess my main question is this: why are people so aggressive in these events? I was clipping along at 25+ mph on several downhill stretches and was being passed by mountain bikers, beach cruisers piloted by some generously proportioned individuals, a dad towing his kid on one of those attachable kid frames, even a guy changing his playlist on his IPod. (The new trend towards people using headphones on rides has got to be a safety hazard - but that's another topic). Honestly. I guess I could sorta understand if it was a few people trying to catch up or a paceline of a well-organized club ride, but it was everyone. It goes without saying that the behavior was bad - lots of passing on the right, nobody talking, no hand signals, blah, blah, blah. We went very easy on the throttle, stayed right enough to block right passing and survived rather than enjoyed the ride.

My whining aside, it will give me peace of mind to understand a little better. So help me. Am I alone in being half ****** and half terrified in these situations? Why do people do this? Is it just amped up people? Inexperience? Inappropriate competitiveness? The riding of people who haven't yet left some skin on the pavement? I witnessed several near-accidents and saw more than one person down on the side.

Thanks for reading my vent. I'll hang up now and listen to your response.

 

[wilmar13]

I guess my main question is this: why are people so aggressive in these events?

Because speed and pushing your limits is fun to many people, that is why we ride bikes as opposed to sweating in a gym. Like you said the ability level of these large rides is all over the map, but that is why you get in thr front and drive the pace so hard that all the yahoos and riff-raff get spit out the back to crash each other ... but if you are a fast recreational cyclist I can see how frustrating it would be to not be able to (or want to) keep up with the racers, yet not want to go so slow as to get out of the way of the squirrelly riders. Most people like to push themselves whether that means breaking 4 hours in a century or riding 25mph down a hill on a beach cruiser. Rather than having contempt for others, just stay out of their way as best you can (easier said than done, I know). I imagine that a 26 mile organized ride will attract a lot of folks that aren’t cyclists per se and will bring the yahoos on beach cruisers out in droves…avoiding rides like that would be a start.

 

[jhuskey]

Try one like The English Mountain Challenge this Saturday. 109 miles and 9000' of climbing 15 to 22% grades.
Not for the faint if heart by any standards.They run a couple of optionional courses. but not too many beach cruisers to be seen.

 

[Wurm]

You should have been encouraging the freds on to even greater feats of speed and mayhem. Maybe there'd have been fewer of them left at the end of the day.

 

[darkboong]

I guess my main question is this: why are people so aggressive in these events? I was clipping along at 25+ mph on several downhill stretches and was being passed by mountain bikers, beach cruisers piloted by some generously proportioned individuals, a dad towing his kid on one of those attachable kid frames, even a guy changing his playlist on his IPod.

Yikes !

I had a couple of near misses with a pillock on a short ride a while back. He seemed to believe that he should overtake at highspeed on the left or right with 3"-6" to spare down hills chock full of potholes into on-coming traffic. Eventually the girl he was with bollocked him royally for nearly killing her and someone else and he quit being moronic.

The answer is pretty clear to me : They think it impresses people they want to shag.

Needless to say that guy didn't have much in the way of credentials when it came to actually turning the pedals. After the final near-death experience I took a random bloke on a hybrid with me for a fast climb and a 7 mile burn into a headwind. The pillock arrived 15 minutes later looking completely dead on his bike. How on earth can you be THAT slow, I was running cross-country faster than that as a kiddie ffs...

 

[cast4321]

Because speed and pushing your limits is fun to many people, that is why we ride bikes as opposed to sweating in a gym. Like you said the ability level of these large rides is all over the map, but that is why you get in thr front and drive the pace so hard that all the yahoos and riff-raff get spit out the back to crash each other ... I imagine that a 26 mile organized ride will attract a lot of folks that aren’t cyclists per se and will bring the yahoos on beach cruisers out in droves…avoiding rides like that would be a start.

Thanks for the response. I think you make some good points. I appreciate that people like to go fast, I do too. I guess I've seen enough people get hurt that I always err on the side of safety. Going downhill at 30mph in a pack of a hundred not knowing what people around you are going to do is, for me, more nerve-racking than fun. I don't mind the obviously faster, more experienced people zooming by me - they act better and don't make me feel nervous. I guess I'll just have to do longer events and position myself near the back so the beach cruisers can play bumper cars in front of me. Or get strong enough to hang with the big boys.

cheers.

 

[cast4321]

Yikes !

I had a couple of near misses with a pillock on a short ride a while back. He seemed to believe that he should overtake at highspeed on the left or right with 3"-6" to spare down hills chock full of potholes into on-coming traffic. Eventually the girl he was with bollocked him royally for nearly killing her and someone else and he quit being moronic.

The answer is pretty clear to me : They think it impresses people they want to shag.

Needless to say that guy didn't have much in the way of credentials when it came to actually turning the pedals. After the final near-death experience I took a random bloke on a hybrid with me for a fast climb and a 7 mile burn into a headwind. The pillock arrived 15 minutes later looking completely dead on his bike. How on earth can you be THAT slow, I was running cross-country faster than that as a kiddie ffs...

I'm from the US, so I don't know what a pillock is but I don't think I'd like to be called that. I think that overblown testosterone is a big part of it - impressing the ladies, impressing your fellow club riders even though you're 50 lbs overweight and absolutely red-lined to hold the back wheel of the paceline, etc. Who is he fooling? You know that guy - throws the $5000 carbon bike in the back of the Hummer, goes to grab the 3000 calorie supersized McDonalds lunch to 'recharge' after an 1:15 on the bike, and goes home to put on a pair of Dockers with a waistband about 10 inches too small, making him look 7 months pregnant. That's the guy that bothers me. And his chubby sisters pedaling hybrids while wearing headphones and makeup. 30 mph downhill and about 7mph up a 2% grade. I'm convinced it's the same people who jack up the eliptical machines at the gym to like 800 rpm and then spend 60 minutes leaning on the handrails because they can't keep up.

Ah well. If only my smugness was a cure for their disease.

 

[darkboong]

I'm from the US, so I don't know what a pillock is but I don't think I'd like to be called that.

pillock

n : a person who is not very bright; "The economy, stupid!" [syn: stupid, stupid person, dullard, dolt, pudding head, pudden-head, poor fish]

I'm all in favour of these folks getting out of their cars and using bikes instead. Given the choice of being hit by them riding a bike vs being hit by them driving a SUV I would take the bike option everytime.

All we can do is to avoid places where we are likely to run into those clowns. If you find yourself stuck with those clowns, I suggest simply letting them go ahead - keep at least 25-50 yards behind them to give you a chance to avoid the mess should they unload their blubber onto the road. When it comes to a long climb, just pull past them and don't let off the juice until they are out of sight. It's worth keeping in mind that their bikes might simply fall apart on them too - few of those folks know how to look after their bike.

It is also a good idea to stay business like and not make fun of them.

 

[jhuskey]

I'm from the US, so I don't know what a pillock is but I don't think I'd like to be called that. I think that overblown testosterone is a big part of it - impressing the ladies, impressing your fellow club riders even though you're 50 lbs overweight and absolutely red-lined to hold the back wheel of the paceline, etc. Who is he fooling? You know that guy - throws the $5000 carbon bike in the back of the Hummer, goes to grab the 3000 calorie supersized McDonalds lunch to 'recharge' after an 1:15 on the bike, and goes home to put on a pair of Dockers with a waistband about 10 inches too small, making him look 7 months pregnant. That's the guy that bothers me. And his chubby sisters pedaling hybrids while wearing headphones and makeup. 30 mph downhill and about 7mph up a 2% grade. I'm convinced it's the same people who jack up the eliptical machines at the gym to like 800 rpm and then spend 60 minutes leaning on the handrails because they can't keep up.

Ah well. If only my smugness was a cure for their disease.

I love these people...why??? Because it is easier for me to look good in comparison.

 

[wilmar13]

You know that guy - throws the $5000 carbon bike in the back of the Hummer, goes to grab the 3000 calorie supersized McDonalds lunch to 'recharge' after an 1:15 on the bike, and goes home to put on a pair of Dockers with a waistband about 10 inches too small, making him look 7 months pregnant. se they can't keep up.

Yeah these are the f*cktards that drive their Hummers 5 miles from their home to the meet point for a 15 mile no-drop easy/beginner ride and then try to drive up the pace up to 18mph like they are neo pros .

Your imagery is dead on though, I laughed out loud when I read it.

 

[lwedge]

OK. I need your help. .

There is no help for you Cast. You are outnumbered by the F*cktards as Wilmar calls them, by approximately 27:1 and the odds are growing.

 

[montreal5]

You guys are a bunch of douches. If you're all such great cyclists and such awesome human beings why don't you stay away from short easy rides. It's a real shame not everyone can be as skilled and perfect as you.

 

[lwedge]

You guys are a bunch of douches. If you're all such great cyclists and such awesome human beings why don't you stay away from short easy rides. It's a real shame not everyone can be as skilled and perfect as you.

WTF..... ?

 

[darkboong]

You guys are a bunch of douches. If you're all such great cyclists and such awesome human beings why don't you stay away from short easy rides. It's a real shame not everyone can be as skilled and perfect as you.

ROTFL. I make a Hippo look tidy on the saddle. OTOH I have big thighs and an **** that you park a 747 on.

 

[jhuskey]

WTF..... ?

I personally am amazed that retard slow ass-wipes are not commiting suicide by the thousand ,out of shame,because they are not near my level of cycling.
It is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma.

 

[Wurm]

I personally am amazed that retard slow ass-wipes are not commiting suicide by the thousand ,out of shame,because they are not near my level of cycling.
It is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma.

...surrounded in mystery, encased in a paradox.

Laff My Yass Off!

You will all excuse me now while I go and douche...

 

[wilmar13]

You guys are a bunch of douches. If you're all such great cyclists and such awesome human beings why don't you stay away from short easy rides. It's a real shame not everyone can be as skilled and perfect as you.

Great reading comprehension montreal5! Yes this thread is about putting down slow riders while simultaneously touting our position at the pinnacle of humanity due solely to our far superior cycling skills. How can your value system be so screwed up to think cycling prowess is how your worth as a human being is measured… everyone knows it is by the size of your dong. And yes I am still superior to you.

Maybe if someone can translate in Française, monty could understand the OP and responses are not about putting down beginning/casual cyclists, but the reckless yahoos that are unaware of their inabilities and therefore put others in danger or difficulty with their lack of self awareness.

 

[Wurm]

Maybe if someone can translate in Française, monty could understand the OP...

I make a Hippo look tidy on the saddle. OTOH I have big thighs and an **** that you park a 747 on.

Per'aps montreal5 is upset because he knows he can't even keep up with darkboong.

 

[cast4321]

Per'aps montreal5 is upset because he knows he can't even keep up with darkboong.

As we all know, anonymous name-calling on the internet represents the high road in any case. Such nobility. Such eloquence.

I think douche-bag would be a better insult in any case. Is 'douches' the correct plural of douche? And is a clean na-na such a bad thing?

I wish more people would cycle, actually, so we'd all be safer on the roads. I'm happy to see people being outside, being healthy. Just don't want their efforts to result in a meeting of my ass and the pavement.

 

[Jeytown]

Im sorry

i cannot compare with the superhuman effort that is described here

ooops ithink i split my dockers

**** how ami going to cycle in italia gear now my $50000000
carbon kockmax doesnt have the latest wanker5000 componentery how will i be able to hold my head up at the coffee shop tommorrow morning

i will have to resort to watching reruns of american chopper with lance armstrong ................

hold on i could watch every lance armstrong race and drink my ****** sports drink on teh couch while i wait for my new strokemax100000 to arrive from the latest italia inspired wannabe online store that is just opened on the net


what happened to cycling being fun ??????????