Ride Etiquette....

Headhuunter

....So yesterday I went out for a ride. I was hoping to join my local club's Sat run, I usually catch it as it flies past a spot near my home rather than go all the way to the start and then head back. This is usually fine, however as I waited yesterday I saw a bunch of riders, about 7 or 8 I think come past. I assumed it was the club and joined them. About 10 mins into the ride I realised that I didn't recognise anyone and that no one was wearing club kit so, also they made a turning off the usual route so I asked and was told that I had joined a bunch of friends out on a ride! I asked if they minded me joining them and they said no, so we headed out together....

A little further into the ride I thought that may be I should take a turn on the front, however as I tried to drop back to let the front guy take my wheel, he seemed to drop his speed quite significantly as though he didn't want me taking the lead. So I dropped off a bit and let him pass me and fell to the back of the pack again. Further into the ride we hit some hills. The ride pace dropped quite significantly, so I decided to head off a bit faster up the hill, with the intention of dropping back at the top and letting them catch up. I did this on a couple of hills.

Suddenly towards the end of the ride, the lead guy accelerated hard on one of the hills and really hammered it up a hill. He left me behind, I tried to keep up but couldn't. Fair enough, he's a strong rider! Then it happened. As we reached the top of the hill, he pulled over and unleashed a torrent of abuse which to mee seemed to come from nowhere. He called me a c*nt and used the "f" word more than I think I've heard in my life! Apparently I had ruined the ride and apparently he had shouted at me along the way at some point (didn't hear a thing - there was a fair amount of wind and my ears were covered to keep them warm).

I think he was basically saying that I shouldn't have "attacked" on the hills, however I wasn't really sure what he was telling me as the point was lost in the torrent of abuse. Apparently he is a far f*ckin stronger rider than me and has been riding for twenty f*ckin years and he could f*ckin well leave me for dead if he wanted.... He said that I should take my f*ckin turn on the f*ckin front or stay at the f*ckin back... You f*ckin c*nt....

I was pretty shocked at this, I thought we'd all been riding fine together. I genuinely didn't know I had done anything wrong... It would've been nice if he had just explained to me calmly what exactly it was that I had done to offend! I'm left wondering why there seem to be some utter @rssholls in the cycling fraternity. So what does everyone think I did wrong?

thegreatdivide

He has a small p*nis.

cougie

Of course there are some rude people in cycling. There are everywhere.
How many miles did you do with them ? I'd join in with other riders for a small stretch but not a whole ride - if I didn't know them.

lef

You should maybe have said that you were going to go up ahead and then you were going to drop back, just so they didn't try and match your pace as they were probably putting in some slow miles. Either way, from what you describe, an overreaction by him is an understatement...a grade A weener for sure.

Headhuunter

cougie wrote:

Of course there are some rude people in cycling. There are everywhere.
How many miles did you do with them ? I'd join in with other riders for a small stretch but not a whole ride - if I didn't know them.

I did the whole ride with them... Well up until a few miles after he told me I was a f*ckin c*nt then I thought may be I wasn't welcome anymore....! I didn't see any reason til that point not to stay with them, I talked to a few of them as we were pootling along, you know, made social chit chat. Also to be honest, they took a route I wasn't familiar with and I didn't have much of an idea where I was...

Headhuunter

lef wrote:

You should maybe have said that you were going to go up ahead and then you were going to drop back, just so they didn't try and match your pace as they were probably putting in some slow miles. Either way, from what you describe, an overreaction by him is an understatement...a grade A weener for sure.

Thing is, they didn't try to match my pace, not until the hill where he burned off ahead and then a few of the others tried to follow. On the other hills, they just stayed together and then I dropped back to them at the top of the hill

Zoomer37

His reaction does seem a little OTT. If you'd kept charging it up the hills with the group I ride with you would of just had the p*ss taken out of you.

jim453

Presumably you intimated that you thought he was being somewhat unreasonable?

nhoj

Who cares what he thinks you did wrong. Maybe he was having a bad day - no excuse for such rude behaviour, I know, but maybe an explanation. Try to forget about it - easier said than done!

What did his pals make of his wee tirade?

andy46

This is the reason why I ride alone.

MattC59

Perhaps he'd got sand in his vagina ?

lyn1

[quote="Headhuunter however as I tried to drop back to let the front guy take my wheel, he seemed to drop his speed quite significantly as though he didn't want me taking the lead. So I dropped off a bit and let him pass me and fell to the back of the pack again. Further into the ride we hit some hills. The ride pace dropped quite significantly, so I decided to head off a bit faster up the hill, with the intention of dropping back at the top and letting them catch up. I did this on a couple of hills.[/quote]

Why did you need to drop back to allow the next rider to take your wheel? He should have been on your wheel if you were riding at the group's pace. On the front does not include off the front. When you are on the front you provide shelter to those following. You don't do that if you are 50m in front. Same thing applies on the hills. You joined a group who were happy to have you, but by the sounds of it, rode your own pace at times, not the pace the group wished to travel at. On club rides, its often accepted that everyone climbs at their own pace and regroup at the top. That may not have been the agreement in this group and presumably you did not check.
They probably misunderstood you intentions, ie you were not suggesting they were too weak for you, but its understandable that you may have inadvertantly given that impression......but irrespective of that there's no need for the foul language, a quiet word on the first occasion should suffice.

jim453

I wondered about that paragraph also. I assume the OP means he made his way up the side of the group and then settled back in at the front and anticipated the last leader taking his wheel.

Whatever, I really would not have tolerated that kind of a reaction for what was, at it's worst, a misunderstanding. The guy involved may be reading this thread and feeling like a bit of a dick. I hope he is.

Headhuunter

jim453 wrote:

Presumably you intimated that you thought he was being somewhat unreasonable?

I couldn't make get a word in edgeways! He basically went off on one and when I tried to speak said "I don't want to fckuin hear it" and rode off...

Headhuunter

nhoj wrote:

Who cares what he thinks you did wrong. Maybe he was having a bad day - no excuse for such rude behaviour, I know, but maybe an explanation. Try to forget about it - easier said than done!

What did his pals make of his wee tirade?

After he blew up no one really said anything... We just rode off. The whole group wasn't there when he let rip, there were about 3 of us at the top of the hill, the rest were still climbing behind us....

Headhuunter

jim453 wrote:

I wondered about that paragraph also. I assume the OP means he made his way up the side of the group and then settled back in at the front and anticipated the last leader taking his wheel.

Whatever, I really would not have tolerated that kind of a reaction for what was, at it's worst, a misunderstanding. The guy involved may be reading this thread and feeling like a bit of a dick. I hope he is.

Yes that's what I did... I tootled up the side and took the lead... Thought I was helping but apparently I was a fcukin cnut...

nunowoolmez

What a feckin douchebag! Also why i ride alone. Too many wonkers out there. I reckon he would have git back home & realised what a tool he'd been. Hope so anyway. If the tool in question is reading this thread then...You sir, are a complete a*se!!

Duffer65

andy46 wrote:

This is the reason why I ride alone.

+1 (apart from an old friend on Sunday mornings) I always ride alone. When I first got back into cycling I thought it would be nods, smiles, and pleasantries from other cyclists as I merrily cycled along...wrong! Ok, very occasionally you exchange a nod or a smile, but all too many cyclists are as divided, unfriendly, and up-themselves as 'normal' people.

Your guy seems to be a prime example of one of these.

peejay78

this guy is an utter douchebag. there is no excuse for that kind of attitude and language.

in short, cycling is full of wannabees who think they can drop anyone like an anchor. they set out to prove this maxim as often as they can. it usually involves a late move, a bullying and sudden acceleration on the flat, a short burst, followed by sitting up. it's rubbish. most of these people do not race, or race very rarely. if they did race, the desire to constantly prove themselves in the most macho way possible would probably abate quite quickly when they realise they are actually pretty darn slow.

i once beat richard prebble in a time trial. does that make me richard prebble? does it buffalo. it makes me a hapless club rider who chanced across a 5 time, multi-discipline national champion, having a gentle spin on an off-day. richard prebble and mark lovatt - both of whom are monstrously gifted and successful cyclists - are two of the nicest guys you could hope to meet, and an example to total priks like this guy you met on the road.

there are no prizes for king of the club run.

StorckSpeed

I think he got the impression (rightly or wrongly) that you'd joined a group of friends on a ride and then tried to show them up by whipping their arses on every hill. I think this is what the "F*ckin stronger rider" comment was all about. His response does seem a tad OTT to say the least but obviously his rage had been brewing for a few miles before that.
I've never been in that scenario before, I'm a member of a cycle club but only cycle with them on a Sunday morning otherwise I'm out on my own. I have met other riders and rode along with them for a short period of time before waving my fairwells along with the comment "nice riding with you" or something similar.
Interesting story to read though, and certainly got me thinking. Perhaps we all need to think not just about ourselves when we're riding but how our riding or even our riding style is affecting or even annoying everyone else around us.
I'm no going to blast up any hills when there a 6'6 ex boxer cycling by my side from now on.

Monty Dog

Most group rides expect to break-up on the hills and regroup at the top - most people ride hills at their own rhythm and it's actually quite tricky to ride tempo all the way to the top - a bit of over-reaction and naivety on behalf of the other group. Mind you, you often meet strangers who ride like tw@ts...

rick_chasey

Pfft.

Honestly.

rick_chasey

Sounds like he was disappointed he no longer had the biggest dong in the group.

Headhuunter

Monty Dog wrote:

Most group rides expect to break-up on the hills and regroup at the top - most people ride hills at their own rhythm and it's actually quite tricky to ride tempo all the way to the top - a bit of over-reaction and naivety on behalf of the other group. Mind you, you often meet strangers who ride like tw@ts...

That's what I thought, when I'm out on club rides, we hardly ever stick together on hills and regroup at the top...

Headhuunter

Rick Chasey wrote:

Sounds like he was disappointed he no longer had the biggest dong in the group.

Yeah, well I'll make a conscious effort to stick with people I know from now on! It's a bit of a shame that as cyclists we can't all get along and join each other on rides...

rick_chasey

Headhuunter wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Sounds like he was disappointed he no longer had the biggest dong in the group.

Yeah, well I'll make a conscious effort to stick with people I know from now on! It's a bit of a shame that as cyclists we can't all get along and join each other on rides...

Indeed.

Coming from you it's quite surprising, since you're pretty affable.

It may come as no surprise I tend to rile people on the bike occasionally!

jim453

Just on the bike?

Zoomer37

The disappointing bit about all this is it does put people off going riding with a local club or group which is a real shame.

Nothing better than churning out the miles with a well organized group.

rick_chasey

jim453 wrote:

Just on the bike?

briantrumpet

I was grateful on my first club ride for the guidance given by the leader of the ride - being used to riding solo I gave it a bit of a burst up a slope following a descent, and the leader came up and said I could have given it more juice on the descent, but should have kept it steady on the up-slope, in order to keep the group together. Later in the ride there was a long hill where he let people know to ride at their own pace, but to regroup at the top. It comes down to the rule that in group riding the group formation is the default, and needs discipline from everyone.

But obviously I was happy to take the advice, as it was given in a polite way, and I was (and still am) learning about group riding, and the advice-giver was looking to help me.

DavidJB

Depends on the group really...On my club training ride I like to attack hills and do stints of a breakaway and wait at various points for the guys who like to ride steady. Theres a few of us who ride like me and some steady guys, we both ride together quite happy.