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OK, New Year's Resolution firmly out the window (if it wasn't already), I'm gonna have a good rant on here...
Seriously, why are roadies (particularly road clubs) so full of themselves and so elitist and non inclusive?!?!
So... Confession time, I own a very nice road bike, I dress up in full lycra to ride it (though I am not a FPKW thank you very much!), I did Ride London recently and at 36, 5ft10 and 13st, I definitely fall into the "slightly overweight MAMIL" category when on a road bike rather than looking at all like I know what I'm doing, but whilst I won't be troubling BC any time soon I can more than hold my own for a fat(ish) lad.
Ride London... Did no training (no time, and it's just a few hours in the saddle after all and I've done that before!) and surprised myself turning up and doing it in 4hr37, a 21.6mph avg. Met a LOAD of overly serious wannabe racers on the way round though, most of them in their local club kit, most of them grumpy as f*** (if I spark up a conversation, and you can't even grumble back, then you're not doing yourself any favours!), but one guy took the biscuit... Me and my GF were riding at roughly the same pace as about 6 guys all in their "team" kit, after doing my bit on the front I tried to get into the line, to be greeted by this guy trying to knock me off my bike. After 30 seconds or so of me standing my ground, he proceeded to tell me to f off and ask me "who the f do you think you are, can't you see we're riding as a group"... My point was we were all travelling at the same speed, there was about 4 or 5 others in the group that weren't in their "team" and that as I was doing more than my fair share on the front why should I not be able to ride with their group. He proceeded to call me all sorts of names. So I just dropped the lot of them at the next climb and didn't see any of them again, but it left a very sour taste.
Fast Forward to today. GF and I have been on holiday for a few days, got both our MTB's and road bikes with us and taken in a few nice rides so far. Looking for inspiration, we contact both the local road and MTB clubs for inspiration and to see if we could tag along... You can see where this is going!
Local MTB club website has the ride leader's phone number listed, so we give him a call... Long and the short of it is he's extremely friendly, has invited us out on their ride tomorrow morning, and is more concerned about slowing us down than us gatecrashing their weekly jaunt. We were at pains to explain we were just visiting the area and won't be back next week, and his attitude was "the more the merrier". Really looking forward to the ride now even if it is just a low paced social one.
Local Road club lists facebook as best point of contact, so we send a message asking about their mid week "fast" group ride (they call it a chain gang but by all accounts its not) asking if it would be OK to come along. The initial response was that they wouldn't normally allow anyone who isn't a member to come, but "after consultation with the committe" we could allow the 2 of you to come along if you pay to join as a member (£15) up front to cover their insurance requirements. We then responded, apologising as we should probably have stated that we were already BC members (and therefore fully insured, and quoted our membership numbers) and that we're both very experienced cyclists, members of our local club, both did Ride London recently in more than respectable times and that we were happy if for whatever reason that we couldn't keep up to look after ourselves and find our own way home... The response was along the lines of "having consulted with our committe again, can I ask you both please not to come on our ride tonight as we have decided we are keeping it for members only."
Seriously? WTF!?!? This is cycling, not Golf! They were more than happy for us to join their ride if we ponied up £15 each for the privilege of their company for 90mins, but having demonstrated we already have the level of insurance to cover us to ride with them anyway as a one off they gave us the royal F.You and told us not to come! I really don't get this at all, it sends out totally the wrong message. Don't get me wrong I've had people asking me to join our Thursday night fast group ride, and I've had to politely suggest that it might be a bit too quick for them just yet (we tend to avg 19-20mph over 30 miles) but if they don't mind finding their own way home if they get dropped then the more the merrier. Sometimes it's not easy, but I'm never rude and I try to be as inclusive as I possibly can be. Is that just cos I'm a mountain biker that rides a road bike from time to time though, cos my local road club (that I'm also a member of) is mostly a bunch of miserable see you next tuesday's that couldn't even musted a grunt once in a while if you turn up for a ride with them! For balance, I can think of only one MTB ride in 20 years of riding offroad where I've ridden with a group that I didn't know previously and been made to feel anything other than entirely welcome. This forum is always full of people offering to show others round their local trails on various threads too, which leads me to conclude that those of us that prefer to ride the knobbly tyre are intrinsically far more social and inclusive creatures, and those that prefer the skinnies are all a bunch of miserable gits!
Discuss...
Popcorn anyone?
This thread smells of cabbage
Discuss
Why?
Seems you've already made you're mind up.
If it upsets you that much just walk away, it's not really that hard now is it...
Yep your probably right just send me your road bike and stick to the mtbing.
What did your Golden Ferret make of it all?
🙂
Surreal
I enjoy riding my road bike - mainly by myself, sometimes with a couple of mates. I have no intention of joining any road club
Sounds like you've just bumped into a few bellends recently, tbh. I've rode with very friendly and accommodating road clubs. And I've encountered people that I've wanted to punch in the face on MTBs. It's got nothing to do with that bikes they ride. Just the diversity of folk.
Insurance required to ride a bike? I did not know that.
I'm going out for a ride tomorrow around the FoD, no insurance, I'll have to stay off the roads to avoid being caught.
Every MTB ride for me is solo because I can't stand the company of other people. Does this help? 🙂
I've consulted the committee and I have to tell you that on this occasion, your rant has not been rated particularly highly.
Roadie club riding is far more disciplined when actually out on a ride (because for the most part it works towards the safety of the group when they are in the zone ) and I think that rule adherence spills over beyond the ride itself and into the group personality . . . . Hence they can become stuffy and less open.
Mtb group riding is far less disciplined when in the zone . . . It's your line to pick and ride . . . And that freeness spills out to the group personality and being more welcoming.
I did notice the other day that when out on the road bike, other roadies came across as miserable b's not even acknowledging you, yet when out on the mtb, others were far more friendly.
There's an old Chinese proverb: "Near to rivers, we recognize fish, near to mountains, we recognize the songs of birds. It is very important to make on-the-spot investigations."
[quote=DavidBelstein ]I've consulted the committee and I have to tell you that on this occasion, your rant has not been rated particularly highly.
You must have left before the end, when we agreed that if he paid us £15 we'd give it a 5* rating
I was once ambushed by a stereotype,it was horrible,they smelt of dispair.
"who the f do you think you are, can't you see we're riding as a group"..
The correct response to this is:
"Don't be a dick mate", join the back of the group then stay there.
I can kind of see where the club is coming from though. Something goes wrong, it's a club run, club gets sued as it's an easy target, added complication of non club members on the ride. Should be OK as you are BC members but i can see why a club might be hesitant. Shame really that clubs have to worry about this sort of thing.
can you name the club in RideLondon and the local club you tried to join the ride of?
Hang on....
is "fattish"?5ft10 and 13st
Insurance required to ride a bike? I did not know that.
In organised groups, it's expected to be fair. But having met the criteria, to be told "it's ok if you pay the £15 to join, but even though you have the right level of cover anyway, you can't ride with us cos we're a bunch of elitist pricks anyway" really put my back up. The irony is I just went on Strava, found their ride from this evening, and it was up and down a stretch of flat road repeatedly at about 19mph avg!!! Maybe they did us a favour... Would be upset if the GF and I couldn't avg 23mph up and down that stretch of road working together.
Sounds like you've just bumped into a few bellends recently
This isn't just recently. This was the straw that broke the camels back! Yes, I've come across exceptions to the rule, but in general, the seasoned roadies (and especially those in long established clubs) are especially antisocial and go out of their way to stifle any new riders joining them. I run my own shop and have sent lots of riders to our local club to join their rides, most have come back and told me they won't be joining them again as they made them feel most unwelcome, which is the absolute antithesis of what I go out of my way to achieve as a bike shop owner!
I enjoy riding my road bike - mainly by myself, sometimes with a couple of mates. I have no intention of joining any road club
I've got a number of customers just like yourself, and all of them a lot more sociable than the local road club members!
Seems you've already made you're mind up.
If it upsets you that much just walk away, it's not really that hard now is it...
I have always been a mountain biker first and foremost, but for various reasons over the last few years, I've done more and more road riding. We have a good social scene based around our shop, with 2 weekly rides out, and it's all good. But it seems if you make it a club, add a committee, decide on an agenda and how you're going to achieve it that, well... Everybody gets pretentions of grandeur and acts like they're some kind of goes on the local scene! Last Thursday, us bunch of rag tag riders on our normal Thursday night bash smashed past one local group on their "chain gang" ride, they couldn't keep up even though we weren't even really trying, yet to ride with those guys you have to be invited before then buying the right kit to show allegiance to their group every time you ride! I just don't get it...
As for the riders at Ride London, there are dicks everywhere on all sorts of bikes. E.g. Mtb riders shouting at other riders at trail centres because they got in the way of their Strava charge.
I just love that you dropped your girlfriend on a climb to try and put the guys in their place.
Also
I've had people asking me to join our Thursday night fast group ride, and I've had to politely suggest that it might be a bit too quick for them just yet (we tend to avg 19-20mph over 30 miles)
So not actually a fast group then?
The correct response to this is:
"Don't be a dick mate", join the back of the group then stay there.
I said exactly that to him with "all your life" on the end, joined the back, then 3 miles later destroyed them on the next climb!
Roadie club riding is far more disciplined when actually out on a ride (because for the most part it works towards the safety of the group when they are in the zone ) and I think that rule adherence spills over beyond the ride itself and into the group personality . . . . Hence they can become stuffy and less open.
I get this... You don't want to end up herding sheep if you're trying to do a 20mph avg for sure. But... They were happy enough for us to join them if we paid £15 each there and then. The "give us your money and you can ride" attitude, despite us presenting the facts to them (insurance cover already up to scratch, more than capable riders and happy to do our bit on the front etc.) was what got me angry! It should never be about the money, especially not 15 measly quid...
You must have left before the end, when we agreed that if he paid us £15 we'd give it a 5* rating
Genuine 😆
RideLondon and the local club you tried to join the ride of?
I'd like to tell you my memory is that good, but it's not. At a guess from the accents somewhere in Hertfordshire/Essex but I'm probably wrong.
Hang on....
5ft10 and 13st
is "fattish"?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have any ambitions as a cyclist, then yes it is I'm afraid! I know cos I am said demographic...
It's not life's rich tapestry, it's life's dull rug.
I just love that you dropped your girlfriend on a climb to try and put the guys in their place.
What is it they say about the word "assume"? It makes an ass out of you and me! 😉
Don't fill the gaps with your own assumptions. My GF is a stronger rider than me on the road, she was 20 yards ahead of me and I was doing all I could not to lose her up the climb!
So not actually a fast group then?
Quite... But in the context of our other group (that does 15/16 avg) the 19/20 avg group is the fast one. I have no illusions of grandeur...
My MTB group has a public Facebook page and a whatsapp group open to anyone who comes back a second time!. No club, meetings, rules (actually, first one to the pub gets the beers in!) or bullshit. Rock up at Robertsbridge station at 7PM on a Tuesday night and everyone is welcome!
you can't ride with us cos we're a bunch of elitist pricks anyway" really put my back up. The irony is I just went on Strava, found their ride from this evening, and it was up and down a stretch of flat road repeatedly at about 19mph avg!!! Maybe they did us a favour... Would be upset if the GF and I couldn't avg 23mph up and down that stretch of road working together.
I said exactly that to him with "all your life" on the end, joined the back, then 3 miles later destroyed them on the next climb!
Everybody gets pretentions of grandeur and acts like they're some kind of goes on the local scene! Last Thursday, us bunch of rag tag riders on our normal Thursday night bash smashed past one local group on their "chain gang" ride, they couldn't keep up even though we weren't even really trying
*Swoons* Not bad for such a fat Fred who can't even drop his GF like a pro 😉 🙂 Maybe you should do a proper race some time 😉
I have no illusions of grandeur...
Oh ok. 0/10 for the [s]rant[/s] troll
*Swoons* Not bad for such a fat Fred who can't even drop his GF like a pro Maybe you should do a proper race some time
What gives you the impression I'm in the slightest bit inclined to race, or that I have any pretensions thus?
Just curious, cos it seems to me that it's always those with delusions of grandeur and aspirations (of racing) above their station that are the ones busy looking down their noses at everyone else on group road rides!
Take it from me, someone who makes a living out of selling bikes, I'm about as all inclusive as I possibly can be! As long as we're all riding bikes and having fun, where's the issue? Seems that guys like yourself derive great pleasure from trying to drive the wedge into the social situation that is a group ride... Big Fish, small pond maybe? 🙄
My MTB group has a public Facebook page and a whatsapp group open to anyone who comes back a second time!. No club, meetings, rules (actually, first one to the pub gets the beers in!) or bullshit. Rock up at Robertsbridge station at 7PM on a Tuesday night and everyone is welcome!
This works perfectly well for informal groups, and it's how we manage our shop rides... The moment you add the "club" aspect into it, and membership etc. it becomes a lot more complicated. I fully understand that though, and had done everything to mitigate any issues we may have by riding with this club for a one off ride. But it seems they were only happy if they took our money, despite it not being necessary!
FWIW, I manage our shop rides excatly the way you do. A public facebook group that anyone can opt into or out of and that everybody gets the invite to. I make it as self selecting as possible by making sure the distance and average pace expected are displayed in bold, not to be rude but so that those who obviously wouldn't keep up or would be held up by the group understand that it's probably not the ride for them.
Maybe sarcasm and light hearted comments don't come across over the interwebz 🙂 I was making reference to your constant blabbing about how rad you are on the bike by managing to be faster than people who weren't aware they were supposed to be racing you... and in my defence you did already refer to yourself as an overweight MAMIL 🙂 If the irony of belittling those riders with your awsums while claiming to be all about inclusivity is lost on you then maybe it wasn't just a troll after all 🙂 Happy Trails!
I was making reference to your constant blabbing about how rad you are on the bike by managing to be faster than people who weren't aware they were supposed to be racing you...
You've lost my point. That being that I keep coming across people/groups taking themselves very seriously, worried that others may either spoil their ride and/or get in their way and/or slow them down. More often than not, they're nowhere near as quick as they think they are. Especially not if an overweight MAMIL such as myself is quicker than them, when in the grand scheme of things I realise that I'm distinctly average at best. I'll ride with anyone, slow or fast, old or young, fit or unfit, as long as they're smiling and enjoying what they're doing and not doing anyone else any harm, I couldn't care less! I do take umbrage with those taking everything far too seriously and/or going out of their way to exclude others from joining in the fun!
The main problem with clubs is it tends to attract people who are not very good at making friends...
4/10 - not enough use of shouty capitals! 😀
Got bored reading opening post, can anyone summarise?
Summary
Grumpy Roadies in being Grumpy Shocker
Roadies then explaining they are not Grumpy and that it's probably other roadies/OP's fault
Grumpy
Say what you like about mboy's threads, you can't accuse him of providing insufficient information.
🙂
Should have turned up to their club ride anyway, on a fat bike.
I did a similar ride London time to you.
Don't really feel that qualifies me to turn up to some club's "fast ride" and just join in.
Although, I would have just found a route, and ridden it, but then I am a social leper.
I recall my son once coming home most upset because the big boys wouldnt play with him.
In all fairness when I lived in that London I joined up with a cycling club to have something to do in the evenings when I was there.
Irrespective of ability you started in their inters ride and the ride leader assessed you from there and if you were good enough, could through & off properly etc you could move to the fast group; now they were proper fast.
The inters chugged along at 19-20mph and the fast group knocked on mid 20's for 2 hours at a time.
I also used to participate in a shop mtb ride back ooop norf and somehow inherited the somewhat dubious pleasure of leading the fast group, mainly due to knowing the trails and being quite nippy on the dirt.
We used to get noobs rock up giving it the big 'yeah I can ride with you guys easy' often responded to with 'have you ever ridden here before?' and more often than not the answer was no.
9 times out of ten that'd get dropped within 15 mins and then go complaining to the shop owner that the faSt ride was too fast, seriously!!
Ultimately I can't be bothered with organised group rides really if I'm honest. Big group rides o the roads round here aren't the best idea as there's a lot of tight country lanes and having been ridiculed (by a couple of regulars on non-rigid, non 29ers) for arriving on a rigid 29er in the middle of winter for a forest based group ride I gave up with that too.
This thread is a swoonfest...
i ride solo as I found other people regardless of bike preference are mostly a bunch of ****s.
Local bike shop does a shop ride and has three groups, they advertise average speed expectations and the race group states you will be dropped if you can't keep up. The other two groups have different average speed\distance expectations. They don't expect beginners to keep up with the fastest, they expect them to join the beginners on intermediate group.
My experience of roadies is that they are better than mountain bikers for being inclusive as they set the expectation for the group. Also roadies generally say hello and communicating when overtaking, rather than the Santa Cruz approach of buzzing your back wheel until the rider in front panics and falls off.
Mountain bikers can be way more snooty than roadies, been on "social" rides where it's been made clear I wasn't good enough or fast enough and was just holding people back.
Also roadies generally say hello and communicating when overtaking, rather than the Santa Cruz approach of buzzing your back wheel until the rider in front panics and falls off.
Does that actually happen? I've (SC owner) never buzzed a tyre apart from a few good mates who know it's me, and will always back off or self seed or leave a gap at the start of singletrack.
Roadies on the other hand in some of the events I've done (and on the road in general while riding uphill on MTB's) will just cruise on past inches from your shoulder trying there best to avoid making any kind of contact at all.
Did one local group ride and decided that the number of ego's in the group meant it was pointless and a great way to get hurt with the trains through lights and lack of awareness. Much prefer solo road riding these days or road rides with mountain bikers.
found their ride from this evening, and it was up and down a stretch of flat road repeatedly at about 19mph avg!!! Maybe they did us a favour... Would be upset if the GF and I couldn't avg 23mph up and down that stretch of road working together
Stalking up on their Strava and saying that riding that slow would be upsetting, that is obsessive, elitist, egotistical roadie behaviour don't you know 🙂
In MTB one prat joining in a group ride is likely to crash into a tree and provide group amusement. Conversely that one prat joining in a group ride is likely to cause a pileup which is injurious and expensive to the group. So to a certain extent road clubs do have to be more careful about insurance and experience etc.
However, I do have to agree that I tend to get more bad vibes from road riders than MTB. Maybe because people roadie types can get so obsessed and egotistical about speed, they want to rub it in your face when overtaking you, or get defensive when overtaken, or upset when a particular group ride is less than 70% of their FTP or whatever.
Hang on....5ft10 and 13st
is "fattish"?
It is for a cyclist. I am that height and 11st and would not call myself thin.
Does that actually happen? I've (SC owner) never buzzed a tyre apart from a few good mates who know it's me, and will always back off or self seed or leave a gap at the start of singletrack.
Enough that I've noticed in a completely non-scientific way and by buzzing I will clarify, I mean uncomfortably close rather than tyre contact.
It's possibly the same thing that means if someone is driving like a knob then there's a good chance it's in an Audi, but all Audi drivers aren't necessarily driving like knobs.
I always ride solo on road and dirt. Can't be bothered with all the club and group ride shite. It detracts from the riding part - the bit that I enjoy.
And yes, people are knobbers. MTB'ers for their being gimps with their super bright lights and roadies for looking grumpy.
Sod all of them. I'm ok on my own having fun.
Hang on.... 5ft10 and 13st is "fattish"?
It is for a cyclist. I am that height and 11st and would not call myself thin.
5ft10 and 13st is a BMI of 26 which is technically 'overweight' but surely how 'fattish' one is depends on how much of that weight is in ones belly fat vs quad muscles.
It sounds to me that you were trying to be a hero whilst riding with the group - and thus spoiling their ride by not keeping pace comfortable from all club riders. It sounds like they gave you an opportunity to ride with them, but you messed it up by surging.
As for joining their chain gang; things need to be disciplined for safety. If you described yourself to them how you have on here - they probably got same impression ... and decided your a bit too awesome.
While I get some of your sentiment - your issue appears to be the £15. If the club has rules of paying to join and ride, that's only fair. Having been a chairman of an MTB club we did allow people to have taster rides but folk took the piss. You dont really have an argument if you weren't prepared to pay and suggesting that your BC credentials somehow circumvented this only made matters worse.
However in my opinion clubs are a pain, for lots of reasons. But I see why some people want to be in them.
The moment you add the "club" aspect into it, and membership etc. it becomes a lot more complicated. I fully understand that though, and had done everything to mitigate any issues we may have by riding with this club for a one off ride. But it seems they were only happy if they took our money, despite it not being necessary
But clubs are entitled to their rules. It's unreasonable as an outsider to take that to task.
If the irony of belittling those riders with your awsums while claiming to be all about inclusivity is lost on you then maybe it wasn't just a troll after all
Irony may be sometimes lost on mboy, as is apparent thru' this thread. There's also some considerable degree of public-forum-willy-waving-oh-but-I'm-not-willy-waving-because-of here
Nevertheless, I get some of this - not sure why it needed a 1,500 word essay on social meeeedia detailing recent exploits to get the point across though. But it was very interesting stuff.
Some of the roadie culture is elitist, perhaps exemplified by some clubs. Some of MTB culture is chilled out and inclusive - completely exploded by those Strava obsessives in our midst.
mboy seems to be somewhat into Strava, of occasion.. Just sayin' 😉
tl:dr
3/10
Fatty
Our club "rule" for non-members is: three rides then you are expected to join the club. This is for insurance purposes not artificially increasing club membership. Not fair to ask someone to join the club for a single ride if they then don't get on with folk. Also they might just be visiting the area and fancy a ride with local riders, not knowing the roads etc.
I've come across grumpy/miserable roadies, MTB riders, drivers and pedestrians, whatever, if they want to be miserable it's their loss.
Weight: One guideline I've come across for pro cyclists is to take your height in inches and change the units to kilograms, so a 6ft (72") tall rider should be 72Kg. Maybe add 5-10% for us regular folk.
It's up to the club to decide their own rules. It can't be described as unfair. Just find a club that suits your own values and/or aptitude.
My previous and only club experience was to let people ride for three rides. People are tight and can't seem to justify £15 so don't pay up and turn up whenever it suits. A bit of money like this certainly tests someone's commitment, which is a good thing my mind.
It can't be described as unfair. Just find a club that suits your own values and/or aptitude.
As the OP said he was on holiday
Fast Forward to today. GF and I have been on holiday for a few days, got both our MTB's and road bikes with us and taken in a few nice rides so far. Looking for inspiration, we contact both the local road and MTB clubs for inspiration and to see if we could tag along... You can see where this is going!
Round here if you post up on the MTB pages that you are around you will have a list of ride ideas & offers of rides, for free just to show you around and share what we have here, road you will probably find a group and somebody will point you in the right direction of the pootlers and the racers.
Down here in Oz you have the BC equivilent for insurance and all that which comes with a club membership. That means you can ride insured with any group/club/organised event.
I get all that and it may not be friendly but it's not relevant. If the club rules are as they are then it's just tough. The club may have arrived at that decision from all sorts of previous experiences. As a non-member you have no sway over their decisions.
Knocked out 170km last Saturday. Passed a few roadies who insisted on being friendly and talking to me. Bastards.
some people are idiots, most aren't.
I can see where the OP is coming from to be honest.
I'm currently: 75kg/190cm/344W FTP (at last test). Also a BMX rider and ex downhiller. So I'm pretty fit and an experienced bike handler.
But I'd never go out cycling with a road "group" - far too many serious faces and short, doughy looking men with chips on their shoulders.
I guess it's the competitive nature of road cycling, but that's what the race track/TTs are for. When out on the road, jsut ride your bike FFS.
I'll often catch up with some roadies easily, pass them and then have them jump on my wheel and follow me for, well I don't know how long, I usually just slow down and let them carry on.
Other times there'll be a couple that'll pass me and then slow right down a few hundred yards up the road. Obviously busting a gut to try and "out do" me. Then I have to slow down again to let them carry on as I wouldn't want to spend any length of time cycling "socially" with some nobbers who obviously feel so inadequate they have to race everyone they see.
Sometimes I'll drop the hammer though, just to see the look on their faces as I go past. Occasionally, if I'm feeling really mean, I'll pass them up a climb, then pretend to stop for a piss. They'll go grunting past and then I'll drop them again!
Irony may be sometimes lost on mboy, as is apparent thru' this thread. There's also some considerable degree of public-forum-willy-waving-oh-but-I'm-not-willy-waving-because-of here
He works in a bike shop apparently, that means STWers have to like him or something.
can see where the OP is coming from to be honest.
I'm currently: 75kg/190cm/344W FTP (at last test). Also a BMX rider and ex downhiller. So I'm pretty fit and an experienced bike handler.
But I'd never go out cycling with a road "group" - far too many serious faces and short, doughy looking men with chips on their shoulders.
I guess it's the competitive nature of road cycling, but that's what the race track/TTs are for. When out on the road, jsut ride your bike FFS.
I'll often catch up with some roadies easily, pass them and then have them jump on my wheel and follow me for, well I don't know how long, I usually just slow down and let them carry on.
Other times there'll be a couple that'll pass me and then slow right down a few hundred yards up the road. Obviously busting a gut to try and "out do" me. Then I have to slow down again to let them carry on as I wouldn't want to spend any length of time cycling "socially" with some nobbers who obviously feel so inadequate they have to race everyone they see.
Sometimes I'll drop the hammer though, just to see the look on their faces as I go past. Occasionally, if I'm feeling really mean, I'll pass them up a climb, then pretend to stop for a piss. They'll go grunting past and then I'll drop them again!
I love these posts. To sumarise, I am awesome but am really non competitive despite trying my hardest to be passively competitive.
FWIW I always try and catch other roadiez, I will always try to jump on the wheel of passing faster riders. I like the competitive nature of it and if I pass soneone and they jump on my wheel I will say I hi and pace them along for a while whilst in my head I am a team sky domestique. Sometimes I pass riders and then blow up and laugh as they come past again.
People on this thread are so keen to have a pop at miserable roadies they come across as real grumpy old men types.
I love these posts. To sumarise, I am [b]trolling[/b]
FIFY
Not all road clubs are equal. Ours makes no requests for a fee for riding. All riders enter as individuals for legal purposes. BC membership is encouraged because we are a BC affiliated club. New riders will be assigned to a beginners group for group riding training. If you turn up for a ride as a guest from an established club with experience of through and off riding, you can join one of the other groups.
Sportive riding does not count as group riding.
There are idiots everywhere, doesn't matter what type of bike they ride.
As has been said though, bunch riding on the road has it's own risks, one of which is people not riding correctly/safely. Should a club group be fine with you tacking onto the back in an event like RideLondon? Sure but I wouldn't be happy with someone I didn't know slotting themselves into the middle of the group - not because I'm elitist but because I don't know you therefore I don't trust my safety to you.
Even in the group I regularly ride with there's some people's wheel I won't sit on as they're too erratic or don't point out hazards, you can offer advice but at the end of the day it's usually easier just avoiding them.
As for club membership for rides - this is usually for legal reasons. If you lead an organised ride you open yourself up to claims if something goes wrong on the ride. Yes it's highly unlikely but why take the chance with a complete stranger? The club I ride with is very social and friendly (cake>miles) and we used to have an open "turn up and ride" policy but have had to move to a insisting everyone takes out their own insurance (BC, CTC etc.), although we do still allow people to turn up a couple of times before they have to prove they've taken out insurance. No one likes this bullshit but no one likes getting sued either.
Most of the people I know with MTBs also ride the road a lot so I don't really see a them and us thing either...
Also they might just be visiting the area and fancy a ride with local riders, not knowing the roads etc.
Precisely this...
Their first response was all about "well we'd love you to come along, but if you don't pay the £15 to join our club, you won't be insured"... So demonstrated that we have the correct level of insurance through BC membership to join their ride and, the next response then became "sorry, we don't really allow outsiders to join in"... Moving goalposts! I'm well aware they don't know me from Adam, it's their club and if they want to be exclusive that's up to them. Don't make it all about the money though, that takes the piss!
say what you like about t mboy's threads, you can't accuse him of providing insufficient information
I would hate to be accused of missing out any pertinent facts, like, I dunno, where £350m was gonna come from or something! You know... The important stuff... 😉
Round here if you post up on the MTB pages that you are around you will have a list of ride ideas & offers of rides, for free just to show you around and share what we have here, road you will probably find a group and somebody will point you in the right direction of the pootlers and the racers.
Down here in Oz you have the BC equivilent for insurance and all that which comes with a club membership. That means you can ride insured with any group/club/organised event.
Which is all I was after... The MTB club couldn't have been more helpful, just off out to join them on a ride shortly!
Weight: One guideline I've come across for pro cyclists is to take your height in inches and change the units to kilograms, so a 6ft (72") tall rider should be 72Kg. Maybe add 5-10% for us regular folk.
's a good job I'm 7 foot 9 otherwise I'd be fat.
Weight: One guideline I've come across for pro cyclists
What kind of pro?
Road, Grand Tour, TT, Track, Sprinter, XC Racer, 4x, DH, Enduro or sportive?
TiRed if they'd have said exactly what you just said, I'd completely understand. Makes absolute sense.
My issue is the "we don't know you but you can join our ride if you pay £15, but you can F off otherwise" attitude...
Ride London
/thread
Is there something similar to not being able to win an argument with a stupid person because they're too stupid to realise they're wrong in that a cock can't tell they're a cock because they think everyone else is a cock?
I'm being so judgemental reading this thread. 😳
I can see where the OP is coming from to be honest.
a troll agrees with you...you must be so proud. 😆
I can see where the OP is coming from to be honest.I'm currently: 75kg/190cm/344W FTP (at last test). Also a BMX rider and ex downhiller. So I'm pretty fit and an experienced bike handler.
But I'd never go out cycling with a road "group" - far too many serious faces and short, doughy looking men with chips on their shoulders.
I guess it's the competitive nature of road cycling, but that's what the race track/TTs are for. When out on the road, jsut ride your bike FFS.
I'll often catch up with some roadies easily, pass them and then have them jump on my wheel and follow me for, well I don't know how long, I usually just slow down and let them carry on.
Other times there'll be a couple that'll pass me and then slow right down a few hundred yards up the road. Obviously busting a gut to try and "out do" me. Then I have to slow down again to let them carry on as I wouldn't want to spend any length of time cycling "socially" with some nobbers who obviously feel so inadequate they have to race everyone they see.
Sometimes I'll drop the hammer though, just to see the look on their faces as I go past. Occasionally, if I'm feeling really mean, I'll pass them up a climb, then pretend to stop for a piss. They'll go grunting past and then I'll drop them again!
Agree with AA, David sometimes you should keep the inner working of you mind to yourself, its not pretty.
If you described yourself to them how you have on here - they probably got same impression ... and decided your a bit too awesome.
+1
I don't know where to start....
You told us your average speed in your sportive, and boasted about "dropping" a group of mates out riding together on a non competitive bike ride. My Landrover isn't faster than a Ferrari just because it could overtake one.
Just to recap... YOU TOLD US YOUR AVERAGE SPEED IN YOUR SPORTIVE. Cringe.
And will people please stop saying 'Roadies'
Just to recap... YOU TOLD US YOUR AVERAGE SPEED IN YOUR SPORTIVE. Cringe.
Did I miss that page of the Rules???
Some days roadies do themselves no favours... nearly as bad as triathletes.
The club I am in has a pretty friendly road section, but then again it is not really focused on highly disciplined rides but more social rides - consequently they are often the mamil groups out on a Sunday clogging up the roads and annoying drivers.
But I think the OP has a point - you only have to visit the top of Box Hill on a Sunday and look at the riders - the roadies all seem to be standing around trying to look serious and pro-like, and the mtbers are just looking normal.
..come on mboy - do you think they're going to say "Well, we're cocks because... "?