What's a "Skidiot?"

On Sun, 2 Oct 2005 23:06:13 -0700, x1134x wrote
(in article <[email hidden]>😉:

Quoted message said:

I think I might be one w/out even knowing it. where is a list of
mountain biker "ethics" or "do's and don'ts" so that I can know which
ones I may be and which ones I just don't give a flying Vandeman about.
. . .

An idiot who can't/won't control his brakes and ruins the trails by skidding
around turns and down steep sections

Paul

"x1134x" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think I might be one w/out even knowing it. where is a list of
mountain biker "ethics" or "do's and don'ts"

http://www.imba.com/about/trail_rules.html

x1134x said:

I think I might be one w/out even knowing it. where is a list of
mountain biker "ethics" or "do's and don'ts" so that I can know which
ones I may be and which ones I just don't give a flying Vandeman about.
. . .

A skidiot is someone who thinks the front brake will "throw me over the
bars". Relying solely on the comparatively weak back brake, s/he/it
ends up skidding constantly in a vain, marginally controlled attempt to
maintain a safe speed down hills and around corners. This person is
annoying to ride with (and soon lectured by me and others) and
frightening to be seen coming down a steep descent toward you.
Alternatively, its a young male rider who can control his bike fine, but
loves locking up the rear wheel and crossing the bike up at every
chance. This person is just an immature doof.
Both types are hazards on the trail and cause considerable trail damage.
I truly hope you're neither, but if your the first form, get out and
start experimenting with your front brake. It's phenomenally powerful.
With practice you'll find it even works better on sketchy, loose steep
descents...with practice!
If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

Shawn

Shawn said:

x1134x said:

I think I might be one w/out even knowing it. where is a list of
mountain biker "ethics" or "do's and don'ts" so that I can know which
ones I may be and which ones I just don't give a flying Vandeman about.
. . .

A skidiot is someone who thinks the front brake will "throw me over the
bars". Relying solely on the comparatively weak back brake, s/he/it
ends up skidding constantly in a vain, marginally controlled attempt to
maintain a safe speed down hills and around corners. This person is
annoying to ride with (and soon lectured by me and others) and
frightening to be seen coming down a steep descent toward you.
Alternatively, its a young male rider who can control his bike fine, but
loves locking up the rear wheel and crossing the bike up at every
chance. This person is just an immature doof.
Both types are hazards on the trail and cause considerable trail damage.
I truly hope you're neither, but if your the first form, get out and
start experimenting with your front brake. It's phenomenally powerful.
With practice you'll find it even works better on sketchy, loose steep
descents...with practice!
If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

Shawn

Very good summary! Spot on.
The second type of skidiot is almost always sure to have one of those
silly "No Fear" or "Tough Guy Club" stickers on their vehicle too. That
makes them easy to spot at trailheads.

Matt

MattB wrote:
about. . . .

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Very good summary! Spot on.
The second type of skidiot is almost always sure to have one of those
silly "No Fear" or "Tough Guy Club" stickers on their vehicle too.
That makes them easy to spot at trailheads.

Matt

some people skid out of ignorance or lack of skill, it's not always a matter
of attitude.

Penny

"MattB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Shawn said:

x1134x said:

I think I might be one w/out even knowing it. where is a list of
mountain biker "ethics" or "do's and don'ts" so that I can know which
ones I may be and which ones I just don't give a flying Vandeman about.
. . .

A skidiot is someone who thinks the front brake will "throw me over the
bars". Relying solely on the comparatively weak back brake, s/he/it ends
up skidding constantly in a vain, marginally controlled attempt to
maintain a safe speed down hills and around corners. This person is
annoying to ride with (and soon lectured by me and others) and
frightening to be seen coming down a steep descent toward you.
Alternatively, its a young male rider who can control his bike fine, but
loves locking up the rear wheel and crossing the bike up at every chance.
This person is just an immature doof.
Both types are hazards on the trail and cause considerable trail damage.
I truly hope you're neither, but if your the first form, get out and
start experimenting with your front brake. It's phenomenally powerful.
With practice you'll find it even works better on sketchy, loose steep
descents...with practice!
If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

Shawn

Very good summary! Spot on.
The second type of skidiot is almost always sure to have one of those
silly "No Fear" or "Tough Guy Club" stickers on their vehicle too. That
makes them easy to spot at trailheads.

Matt

ROTFLMAO They are the ones that also have a hat on backwards.

TJ

small change said:

MattB wrote:
about. . . .

Quoted message said:

Very good summary! Spot on.
The second type of skidiot is almost always sure to have one of those
silly "No Fear" or "Tough Guy Club" stickers on their vehicle too.
That makes them easy to spot at trailheads.

Matt

some people skid out of ignorance or lack of skill, it's not always a matter
of attitude.

Penny

Right. That's why I singled out the second group Shawn described for my
jab. He had already divided them into groups, the second of which has
the skills not to skid but does it anyway.

Matt

TJ said:

Quoted message said:

Very good summary! Spot on.
The second type of skidiot is almost always sure to have one of those
silly "No Fear" or "Tough Guy Club" stickers on their vehicle too. That
makes them easy to spot at trailheads.

Matt

ROTFLMAO They are the ones that also have a hat on backwards.

TJ

I have probably posted this before, but a good friend of mine states:
"Wearing your hat backwards is the international sign for 'you'll never
take orders from me'".

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado

Owner/Operator of the Pekingnese Ranch.

HMM. . . it appears as though I qualify. I *DO* wear my hat backwards.
.. . . but hey! I don't want it to get blown off by the wind and have to
go back for it. . . .

I set my brakes up VERY well, and yes the back one *WILL* lock up, if I
really reef on it, but the front one won't (because I don't want to go
over the handlebars, but it still grips well, and i can go from approx
25 mph, to slow enough to pass a family and their baby stroller safely
quite quickly without locking them up. I usually use both breaks
always.

I was envisioning a SKIDIOT to be someone who loses control of their
bike and it goes SKIDDING down the hill withouth them. (I've witnessed
a few of those in my few outings)

PS Hey paladin, I can make it to table rock's summit w/out stopping on
my BSO now! AND I found a shortcut from the penitentary to table rock
road.

They recently had a clinic for Dh racers and wanna bees at the local ski
lift hill. My gf helped out, and she had pretty good tales of the main guy
working with the mainly-teen group to break them of the skidding habit. The
more you could stop WITHOUT skidding on the Dh skills course, the cooler he
made you out to be, so the kids were soon working on a new kind of stopping.
Cool.

penny

well, I read the do's & don'ts and agree with all of them exept the
"Never Scare Animals." one. Sure, don't startle a horse cuz you'll
either get the rider bucked off, or get kicked in the teeth, but if
there's a sage chicken in the trail, I'm just helping it hone it's
fight/flight insticts. And if there's a bug on the trail . . .SQUISH!
I'm sure bug guts have some erosion fighting properties. . . <g>

In tucson AZ there was a problem recently with mountian lions coming
down out of the higher elevations in search for food, because of the
drought. Bleeding heart sierra club types saw the emaciated (starving)
animals and started putting out meat for them. Many had to be
tranquilized and relocated, and they were back within days, and had to
be put down. My point here is if you get wildlife used to the fact
that a predator as large as a human on a bicycle will stop and yeild to
them, this would be doing them a great disservice as they will become
less compelled to run from humans and other large predators.

Another item that I thought SHOULD be on the do's and dont's was:

7. Never wear spandex shorts. Your are riding a TRAIL not a tour
race. No one wants to see your large a$$. If you wear spandex for
support, wear gym shorts over them please! Its a matter of decency. If
you wear only spandex shorts, I must quote Jim Rome: "*You*, are a
LOSER!" There is *one* exeption to this rule: If you are female AND
you have a nice butt, go ahead and wear only spandex shorts with our
thanks.

The only excuse I can think of for a male to wear spandex only is when
you are actively participating in a race. you may need the reduced
wind resistance. When you are training for a race however, you should
train with additional wind resistance and save the people driving down
the road from having eye damage or worse, a wreck from wretching at the
site of your a$$ crack. Think of swimmers, they only shave their
bodies right before their competition, and train with the extra
resistance of hair at all other times.

x1134x

I must add that I only wear the hat backwards when going downhill, and
I wear it like a *white* man at all other times.

Quoted message said:

If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

I wonder if JD has ever been told to FO or STFU when he yells at
skidiots. Of course I have no idea of his physical stature, and it's
alot harder to tell someone off if they look like a professional
wrestler. Maybe he's been told that he's "number one" with the middle
finger and then been driven off on.

x1134x said:

I must add that I only wear the hat backwards when going downhill, and
I wear it like a *white* man at all other times.

No reason to make cracks like that, and you should be wearing your
helmet anyway.

Matt (it seems silly hat wearing transcends race and socioeconomic
status, despite stereotypes)

x1134x said:

well, I read the do's & don'ts and agree with all of them exept the
"Never Scare Animals." one. Sure, don't startle a horse cuz you'll
either get the rider bucked off, or get kicked in the teeth, but if
there's a sage chicken in the trail, I'm just helping it hone it's
fight/flight insticts. And if there's a bug on the trail . . .SQUISH!
I'm sure bug guts have some erosion fighting properties. . . <g>

In tucson AZ there was a problem recently with mountian lions coming
down out of the higher elevations in search for food, because of the
drought. Bleeding heart sierra club types saw the emaciated (starving)
animals and started putting out meat for them. Many had to be
tranquilized and relocated, and they were back within days, and had to
be put down. My point here is if you get wildlife used to the fact
that a predator as large as a human on a bicycle will stop and yeild to
them, this would be doing them a great disservice as they will become
less compelled to run from humans and other large predators.

Another item that I thought SHOULD be on the do's and dont's was:

7. Never wear spandex shorts. Your are riding a TRAIL not a tour
race. No one wants to see your large a$$. If you wear spandex for
support, wear gym shorts over them please! Its a matter of decency. If
you wear only spandex shorts, I must quote Jim Rome: "*You*, are a
LOSER!" There is *one* exeption to this rule: If you are female AND
you have a nice butt, go ahead and wear only spandex shorts with our
thanks.

The only excuse I can think of for a male to wear spandex only is when
you are actively participating in a race. you may need the reduced
wind resistance. When you are training for a race however, you should
train with additional wind resistance and save the people driving down
the road from having eye damage or worse, a wreck from wretching at the
site of your a$$ crack. Think of swimmers, they only shave their
bodies right before their competition, and train with the extra
resistance of hair at all other times.

x1134x

How about if you want to ride in the same gear you race in, so you know
how your junk will (or won't) be supported or chaffed. How about if it's
really hot outside and those are your coolest (as in temperature)
option? How about if all your other shorts are in the wash? What if your
baggies catch on the nose of your seat, giving anyone following more of
an eye full than spandex would have?

You were complaining about us being elitist because we don't think BSOs
are worthy of the trails. At least that argument was based on function,
though I imagine you might disagree. I'm not saying fat guys (or anyone)
should always wear spandex, but sometimes it's the right tool for the
job, even when I'm not racing (which is most of the time).

I usually wear baggies, but they're not always the best choice or
available and that's when I wear the spandex shorts. If you don't like
it then don't look.

Matt (I've been accused of making spandex look baggy too)

x1134x said:

Quoted message said:

If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

I wonder if JD has ever been told to FO or STFU when he yells at
skidiots. Of course I have no idea of his physical stature, and it's
alot harder to tell someone off if they look like a professional
wrestler. Maybe he's been told that he's "number one" with the middle
finger and then been driven off on.

I wouldn't.

Matt

x1134x said:

well, I read the do's & don'ts and agree with all of them exept the
"Never Scare Animals." one. Sure, don't startle a horse cuz you'll
either get the rider bucked off, or get kicked in the teeth, but if
there's a sage chicken in the trail, I'm just helping it hone it's
fight/flight insticts. And if there's a bug on the trail . . .SQUISH!
I'm sure bug guts have some erosion fighting properties. . . <g>

In tucson AZ there was a problem recently with mountian lions coming
down out of the higher elevations in search for food, because of the
drought. Bleeding heart sierra club types saw the emaciated
(starving) animals and started putting out meat for them. Many had
to be tranquilized and relocated, and they were back within days, and
had to be put down. My point here is if you get wildlife used to the
fact that a predator as large as a human on a bicycle will stop and
yeild to them, this would be doing them a great disservice as they
will become less compelled to run from humans and other large
predators.

Another item that I thought SHOULD be on the do's and dont's was:

7. Never wear spandex shorts. Your are riding a TRAIL not a tour
race. No one wants to see your large a$$. If you wear spandex for
support, wear gym shorts over them please! Its a matter of decency.
If you wear only spandex shorts, I must quote Jim Rome: "*You*, are a
LOSER!" There is *one* exeption to this rule: If you are female AND
you have a nice butt, go ahead and wear only spandex shorts with our
thanks.

The only excuse I can think of for a male to wear spandex only is when
you are actively participating in a race. you may need the reduced
wind resistance. When you are training for a race however, you should
train with additional wind resistance and save the people driving down
the road from having eye damage or worse, a wreck from wretching at
the site of your a$$ crack. Think of swimmers, they only shave their
bodies right before their competition, and train with the extra
resistance of hair at all other times.

x1134x

my, my, a little opininated?

x1134x said:

Quoted message said:

If you're the latter, you'll need to grow up. Just hope you don't run
across JD on the trail before you do.

I wonder if JD has ever been told to FO or STFU when he yells at
skidiots. Of course I have no idea of his physical stature, and it's
alot harder to tell someone off if they look like a professional
wrestler. Maybe he's been told that he's "number one" with the middle
finger and then been driven off on.

I'm sure it has happened on many occasions since he's such a scrawny
little twerp.

--
Slack

Wait a minute! I'm not saying that's what *I* would say, nor do I claim
to be a skidiot, because I'm not! (other than the hat backwards) I was
just wondering if it ever happened to him because obviously JD has a
reputation for confrontation, and I know alot of macho americans love
to beat their chests.

Do not include me in this group, if someone were yelling at me, and
they wanted to fight they would first be completely ignored, and second
they'd have to catch me because I would just ride off.

x1134x