Mountain Bikers Love Us / Hate Us??
Comments
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An idiot is an idiot whether they ride a bike or not (and most people don't give a **** if it's mtb or road). A "hey" is nice but if not - so what.
The only time I've used my first aid kit was to help patch up a horse riders leg (the blood is on the side of the leg not visible). I think she likes MTbers
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Cat With No Tail wrote:
Sir you are a bleedin GENIUS! Now fox hunting is banned, they do the drag hunts don't they, why not get them to chase a MTBer instead of someone on a quad? So long as we get a fairly decent head start, I'd be WELL up for that. (Just so long as the hounds dont try to eat me/my bike of course)
Finally maybe horsey types and MTBers can get along and share some common interests.
that would be the biggest adrenaline rush ever, being chased by a pack of dogs and horses! Some one needs to invent this!0 -
When someone wont move out of the way or deliberately moves in front of me I really go out of my way to say "Thankyou lovely day" with a big cheesy grin it totally throws the miserable sods.Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap0
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Northwind wrote:TimesLikeThese wrote:Why cant horse riders be legally enforced to pick up their horses crap after them like dog owners?
We have this conversation about once a month- horse poo is mostly just grass, it doesn't really attract pests, and it's almost completely nontoxic. Also, it decomposes fast. Dog poo on the other hand attracts all manner of pests and carries toxocara canus, and toxocariasis is not a nice disease- it's one of the most toxic animal wastes you'll find in the UK (the toxocara canus larvae can remain viable in the soil for months even after the poo is gone). Dogs have specific laws passed because of this, horses aren't a health hazard.
Thanks for the info - I've missed those threads.... Not quite so bad in that light.0 -
Surf-Matt wrote:spark1479 wrote:Its a shame that walkers don't give way and expect you to get off your bike even if you have right of way. I've been training up at Ladybower reservoir using the route around the reservoirs and constantly find groups of walkers blocking the way refusing to move even though they are clearly marked for walking, cycling, horses etc. Some blokey even let go of a spring loaded gate on me when I was halfway through it.
Ironically I do a lot of walking and hiking and always get out of the way of bikes. I've decided that the way to combat this is to be polite and say hello to everybody including walkers. Its pretty funny to see some of their expressions.
That has the most feared man made thing (I HATE anything under the water that's man made for some reason - locks, ships, wiers, etc) ever - just thinking about it makes me cringe...
Angry rude people have lost before they even start. Let them stew in their own rage and indignation while we all have fun.
You probably won't want to google about this one then... Monticello Dam, largest spillway in the world.
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I have good days and bad days when out cycling. I try and smile at everyone and slow down so as not to runover doggies. Most people are fine.
But aren't most people like me, sometimes I drive, sometimes I walk, sometimes I am on a bike. The only only thing I dont do is walk a dog or ride a horse. When I walk some cyclists are rude and when I cycle some walkers are rude.
Few weeks ago I went out early on a Sunday down a local track. Two farmers came running over to me hurling abuse and threatening to call the police. I am certain that if I had not turned back they would have given me a hiding. The good thing about cycling is that you can have a good ride and by the time you finish the aggression and anger caused by these 2 plonkers had almost abated. Of course they were right it wasn't a bridleway. The local council are trying to get it changed into one though. I am not sure what damage I would have done though. Its a rough farm track wide enough for a tractor covered in old hardcore/builders rubbish.0 -
I used to go out on my bike with a couple of girls who rode horses, they would nail me on the flat and up hill if they galloped off but I would nail them on anything downhill.
So on this basis give me a half hour head start on the south downs way and its game on !!
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I think you would have an advantage if you stuck to rocky sections and tight single track0
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Also to those who have (rightly) pointed out that walkers and horse riders have right of way, yes it's true but they DONT have the right to block off the whole lot, especially if they see you coming or they have heard your approach warning !!
That is just obnoxious and they should be tied to trees and horsewhipped until they see the error of their ways !!!
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Ignorance in all its forms is rife I'm afraid, as most of us have witnessed and complained about in many a thread.
The key, in my experience, is to break that cycle (no pun intended!) of negative attitude towards others. So if next time your faced with a potentially negative situation, don't draw on your experience of the last time you encountered x doing y, instead be incredibly cheerful, polite and positive.
Unless of course it gets physical, in which case kick their a*s! us mtb'ers are well 'ard 0 -
Had this a few weeks ago at Sherwood Pines when a small group of walkers had a go at me and the mrs. This was at the very start where it is a shared trail
They said we should have slowed down and been more corteous.
We had to move onto the grass at the side of the trail because the decided to walk in a line taking up the whole path.
I told them we had slowed down and to stop being arsey and wished them a good day0 -
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projectsome wrote:The best thing to do is stop and say good morning or something before they have a chance to say anything. If they reply with insults and stuff lke "you shouldn't be riding here." just ignore them and ride off.
Alternatively, if you have earlier passed some horse riders and the inevitable 'fallout' pick some up and keep it in a bag to fliing at the arsey sods!0 -
^^^^ Now that's the best idea of the lot 0
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I haven't been mountain biking for long, but am a keen hill walker also.
Recently when MTBing on a dual track bridleway I encountered a group of 20 or so walkers who had stopped for a break and were blocking the route, with rucksacks dumped all over the place. Some of them seemed reluctant to clear a passage, which annoyed me. But I've had the same thing as a single walker when encountering a large group of walkers. So I think there's a common problem with large groups of walkers.
Otherwise I've never had any problems and usually get a 'good morning' as I've passed.
I have noticed that when cycling dark glasses can be a barrier to getting a pleasant greeting - as people miss eye the contact.0 -
Must have been Imperial Walkers.0
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onlyonearrow wrote:I encountered a group of 20 or so walkers who had stopped for a break and were blocking the route, with rucksacks dumped all over the place. Some of them seemed reluctant to clear a passage, which annoyed me.
As you are legally entitled to attempt to remove any temporary obstruction from a public right of way I know exactly what I would have done... :evil:0 -
v23 wrote:Surf-Matt wrote:spark1479 wrote:Its a shame that walkers don't give way and expect you to get off your bike even if you have right of way. I've been training up at Ladybower reservoir using the route around the reservoirs and constantly find groups of walkers blocking the way refusing to move even though they are clearly marked for walking, cycling, horses etc. Some blokey even let go of a spring loaded gate on me when I was halfway through it.
Ironically I do a lot of walking and hiking and always get out of the way of bikes. I've decided that the way to combat this is to be polite and say hello to everybody including walkers. Its pretty funny to see some of their expressions.
That has the most feared man made thing (I HATE anything under the water that's man made for some reason - locks, ships, wiers, etc) ever - just thinking about it makes me cringe...
Angry rude people have lost before they even start. Let them stew in their own rage and indignation while we all have fun.
You probably won't want to google about this one then... Monticello Dam, largest spillway in the world.
I shall send you my therapy bill... 0 -
Hi Guys!
Long time mtb'er here, but new to these forums. Have to say firstly its lovely to talk to and hear similar feelings amongst fellow riders as regards the whole pedestrian/cyclist relationship or lack there of I always naturally say hello and please and thankyou etc when out on my bike and am mostly met with a blank expression but dont care as I enjoy being polite and no one can take that from me. I am always nearly being forced into canals off hillsides etc by people who refuse to move an inch, I always either confuse them with my patience or blast past so fast I cannot hear the tirade of abuse behind me, lol. One point I also have to bring up is the idea that anyone with an uber expensive bike is a 'weekend warrior'. I have just bought a 2010 trek fuel ex 8 to replace my trek 4300 and I ride nearly every day, however extreme the weather and lack of natural light, I rode all through the winter and on sheet ice on days when I had to. A bike is a tool, this is simply a better tool to do something I love all the more....not everyone is a poser, thanks. 0 -
monkeyboy85 Welcome to the forum.
Now, admit that you didnt really want to make a point, you just wanted to tell everyone you have just bought a nice new bike
Though I dont think anyone here has ever said that everyone on an expensive bike is a weekend warrior. Just that some weekend warriors with expensive bikes tend to look down on others, see MTB snobbery threads (there are lots of them).
Oh, and you DO realise that by bringing this old thread up again, you have just sent poor Matt back into therapy. Hope you can sleep at night.0 -
Just curious, those sinkholes, should you ever get sucked in by one im assuming right you're dead?
If so they're freaking me out, wouldn't be a nice way to go at all........
As for snobbery it's a mixed bag im afraid, saw a lad on the trails yesterday going fairly quick yet refused to acknowledge me lol meh sod em i say.
It's not the bike that's the problem more the plank that is sat on top of it. The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Giant Anthem X0 -
Have you heard of the 'wilderness effect?'. It has been studied (by me amongst others) but basically people from urban or suburban areas go to the country (usually as walkers) to have to experience the wilderness & sublime landscape. They 'sometimes' have a kind of poetic outlook and expectation which is often not realised, as the countryside and especially other trail users doesn't always fit in with their expectation. Horses are fine - they fit in with this romantic view. However large parties of other walkers and especially mountian bikers don't. Many see MTBing as an intrusion on their romantic image - we interfere with their wilderness perception. Of course they won't say that - people aren't even aware of it most of the time - it's sub-liminal. It applies to other groups too - windsurfers & sailors, especially when windsurfing started, for example. So, the legal access & danger stuff is a front, they are justifying to themselves why the don't want you there. Hard to prove this stuff of course but it 'may' be useful to countryside/leisure planners and the like... I must say though that most walkers, especially those without rose tinted on, are fine & polite. I have had few problems - just a few sarcastic comments for the most part. Personally I think MTBers are less precious about rights of way but equally as rude in all other ways.
Anyway - have you lot experienced the wilderness effect? I was brought up in the Lakes and I'm pretty realistic about the rural tourism economy BUT I still don't like too many people on 'my' trails!'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0 -
There are a couple of ladies on horses, that I see regularly, that I'd like to nail too...downhill, uphill, either way I'm not bothered! 0
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Hi all and thankyou for the welcome! I see your point that not everyone thinks people on expensive bikes are weekend warrior snob types, I guess im just scared of people thinking i fit into that category when I couldnt be further from that image. I also empathise with the people who enjoy a pretty girl on a horse when out on the trails, although its a little too rare a sight if you ask me.
On the whole with horse riders I find them a very polite and accepting bunch, they seem to be more aggresive when off the horse! lol, altough my only run in with an angry horse rider was when I was on the previously mentioned icy trails and I was ordered to stop a huge distance away as the cracking of the ice under my tyres was scaring the horse, since then Ive escaped agression free.
p.s- does anyone ride in the Lancashire area??0 -
monkeyboy85 wrote:
p.s- does anyone ride in the Lancashire area??
Yes there are loads of Lancy riders on here you cant miss us out on the trails we are usually taller and better looking than people from other less blessed counties. It must be the healthy diet of chip butties Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap0 -
stubs wrote:It must be the healthy diet of chip butties
You posh bastard! It's lard pies and black puddings where I come from, none of your la-de-da chip butties!!0 -
Ive always found that the further away from parking hot spots ie Fairholmes(Ladybower Res), the friendlier people are. You can get all the conflict youve ever wished for on the resevoir roads, once your off them and gained some height people tend to be fine, Im including all people in this too bikers, walkers the lot.
If you want to be grumbled, moaned at or ignored, try the Porter Valley bridleway at the weekends. Here you can meet the serious walker out for their 400yd epic, the free-ride superstars who cant possibly even nod at at you for fear of losing their concentration on the super smooth surface, the horse riders who will tell you that it wasnt built for the likes of you, the dog walkers oh the dog walkers, and the flamming mp3 joggers.
Thats assuming you make to the bridleway in the first place and some idiot hasnt knocked you off !
And breathe................................................. Yes its been a smashing weekend.0 -
Pardon my naivety but why go where it's crowded if you don't want conflict?0
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dave_hill wrote:stubs wrote:It must be the healthy diet of chip butties
You posh bastard! It's lard pies and black puddings where I come from, none of your la-de-da chip butties!!
I can only dream of lard pies. In Preston our only nourishment comes in the form of air pollution from satanic mills. Eee it's grim.'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0
