rider etiquette??????

[dru_b]

wtf????????

does rider etiquette change once one starts doing some bike path riding? i had a guy pass me today on the way home, no "on your left, passing, etc...." the same thing with the next couple he decides to pass that are walking two abreast. he just motors past, not even that quickly must i add. i threw the "on your left" out there for the walking couple for this fella. when he finally turns towards the arsenal bridge, i am coming up on him. he asks.. "what were you yelling back there....."


if you are reading this, i said you are a DOUCHE................thanks for the politeness on the trail. its those like you that give us all bad names on the bike paths. luckily enough they didnt decide to veer off in your direction..

GIVE A LITTLE F****N RESPECT NEXT TIME DOUCHE BAG!!!!!

its wrong to generalize and group all roadies together as im sure there are awesome ones out there, but in the woods, this would not happen. mountain bikers are usually generally good people willing to make nice and be polite. i have not seen this from my roadie counterparts. almost no reply from others that i pass and give a nod to or a subtle wave.

nice to know.........keep on keepin on.

[jimithng23]

/rant

[scoro3]

I seldomly get a nod or a wave out of a roadie on the bike path(s). I used to think it was because I rode my mtn. bike on the path. I even started wearing a one piece spandex bib. Still no waves or slight nods but, I was aerodynamic. So I finally purchased a road bike last fall in search of the mysterious head nod and....nothing. Roadies waving or giving a 'wa sup' head nod is much like sasquatch or the loch ness monster, I will believe it when I see it.
Don't get mad don't get angry thats just the way it is.

[dru_b]

not mad at the fact that nobody acknowledges each other as cyclists in general, just the fact that there was no type of notification system in effect for this fella. thats how others get hurt..... and how we get that tarnished reputation.

i shall continue to ride, just the same as always.... i always try to let others know i will be overtaking them.

btw, i ride a road bike too............

[Gunchie]

I make it a point to nod to each of every person eye pass when road biking. I look them straight in the eye so they can't miss me. Some nod back... even if it does look like such a unnatural act for them to be polite. It's almost like I'm their mom teaching them manners. When I'm running on the bike path and someone passes me without calling it I like to say "On my what!?". Just a friendly reminder that they aren't f***king special, and don't own the bike path. I've met a lot of nice road riders though. Just have to break the ice with them first.

[JamisXC]

An ass is an ass whether on a road bike, mountain bike, skis, bobsled or whatever. I've met some great mtbr's and roadies and to try and generalize one group as being better behaved than the other is misguided. In fact, the biggest ass on any bike that I have ever met was on a mountain bike in the DuPont State Forest in North Carolina. He almost went back to the trail head without his teeth if his girlfriend wasn't there to smooth the situation over.

[AG]

An ass is an ass whether on a road bike, mountain bike, skis, bobsled or whatever. I've met some great mtbr's and roadies and to try and generalize one group as being better behaved than the other is misguided.

Well put my friend, well put...

[scoro3]

My previous comments were tongue in cheek - meant to be a joke.
I can't agree more that a-holes are everywhere. There are even some in this club. (thats me trying to be funny which sometimes is taken the wrong way.) Something I notice while riding the bike path or some of the local trails is the lack of joy on people's faces when riding. Isn't this supposed to be fun. Isn't that why we do it. Anyway, I look forward to riding with some of you folks....as long as y'all wanna have fun.

[farmboy]

I am all in favor of jabbing roadies, just ask my friends that are roadies. There are a lot of cool dudes that ride road bikes. But there are a lot of douchebags too, on both kinds of bikes, there just tend to be fewer on the fat tired version, or so it seems to me. The line between roadies and mountain bikers is a little more blurry than it used to be these days. Seems like everybody's riding for some kind of team these days. What happened to sould riding? Just riding for the sake of riding. A person who owns a mountain bike does not necessarily make a mountain biker. So it goes for a person that owns a road bike. It's an attitude one chooses to portray. A real roadie doesn't ride on bike paths. And that's that.

[basebklyn1]

I think bike path riders in general fall into a totally separate category. Labeling people riding road bikes on the bike path's as "roadies" is just not accurate. I label these people as "bike path warriors." These are people that are usually only recreational riders, and are intimidated by actually riding on the roads. They also tend to be rude, inconsiderate, and rather inexperienced when it comes to all aspects of riding, besides of course, parking their truck/suv at the entrance of the bike path, riding to one end of the path, turning around, riding back to their car, and being total douche bags for the duration of that time. I rarely ride the bike paths here in town to avoid these types.

[Rage]

... I label these people as "bike path warriors."

Nice, I think you're on to something.

Rg.

[Byke Dood]

I don't let bike path bikers get me down , I have passed some of them for the last 10 years and they still don't nod or wave I just keep rollin wherever my wheels take me :-)

[Chuck Norris]

Had a very similar experience to Dru-b's original post. Three separate instances of groups of 'bike path riders" who couldn't say "on the left, passing...or anything."

Ironically, it is also amusing how many pedestrians don't know what to do when someone says "on the left". I love the ones that think this means they should walk to left - right in your path!

[dru_b]

i am supposing this becomes the exact reason for bike bells.......... maybe they should come standard. (brrring-brrring)

[Chuck Norris]

Ours should growl like a dog...

[Chief Illiniwek]

So I have to bring this topic back as I had a bad experience with a large group of roadies today. I'm out for a road ride due to the current weather conditions and heading north down Hubbert road outside of Hampton when on the other side of the road I see a large group of bikes headed my way. Now there are about 20-25 riders in this group and I'm thinking it's the tour or something and looking for Lance some where mid pack. So I get a little excited and as they go by I give them a big wave, big enough to show the yellow of my pit. Now you would think that at least one of those riders would have at least noded their helmet or something but not even so much as a smile from the whole group. So how does this help promote biking in the QCA? When you see two motorcycles pass on the street you almost alway see them give that down low type of wave to each other but when two roadies pass each other they both have their head down or looking the other way like they are training for the tour or somthing. So next time you'r out on the road because the trails are to wet and you pass a roadie or anyone else on a bike for that matter raise your hand high and show them the yellow of your pits, this will let them know you enjoy riding your bike!


JB

[Honestcox]

Not to sound like a broken record here, but I had a similar experience. Out riding the roads on my mountain bike near McCausland on a Sunday morning when the big road ride from Dubuque to the Quad Cities was going on. I was going the opposite direction. Every rider I passed I gave a hearty Good Morning to and a/or wave. I'd say about 75% percent gave no response at all! I will say this - most, if not all of the women riders did give a hello back. So is it just the dudes? At some point I turned around to head home going with the Dubuque rider traffic - got passed by some hardcore roadies and appreciated how fast they were going - I said "Way to go guys! How many miles ya' got in so far?" Absolutely no response and they were riding six inches from my left side as they passed. Maybe I was violating some rule of etiquette by even asking a question. On the brighter side, later in the morning a storm blew up and one of the road riders and I decided to take shelter in a ditch and he turned out to be a very nice fellow. I don't know if not acknowledging a wave or hello makes you an a-hole but I just don't get it! So as someone else said in this post, there are jerks everywhere - even on mountain bike trails, but dang, there sure seem to be a lot of them who ride road bikes! I will continue to greet any fellow rider I encounter out on the bike - on or off road. Maybe I'm the dork for even contemplating this subject. ;<)

[Vibrato]

I think the woman roadies have been infected by our own Bexter- on the womens rides she's been teaching them that saying "hi" to other bikers is ok and helping them recognize that not saying hi makes them come across as looking stuck up and rude.

For the roadies in general, I think riding the road is just SOOO boring, that they have to go to a fantasy world in their mind or they'd go crazy or quit riding after 10 minutes. (Just like I do when I run. Sheesh!) If they say "Wassup?!" it will break the trance they have to put themselves in and remind them that they spent a buttload of money just to be bored. Plus they wear their sisters leotards so, you know, maybe they're afraid saying hi would indicate an alternative lifestyle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

(this is tongue in cheek- if anyone's offended call me and I'll change it)

[Bexter]

When I first started riding with the ladies for our weekly road rides, they didn't often say hello to other cyclists and in fact made fun of me because I of course said hello to EVERYONE in standard Bexter style! Yes, they do say hello more often and I do think a positive, outgoing attitude is contageous. I have witnessed the standoffishness of some cyclists and God only knows what their deal is. I agree with people's suggestions in this thread. Lead by example -- be cordial, helpful and supportive to everyone everytime and maybe in time, attitudes will change. Not sure how the width of one's tire impacts one's attitude. Maybe it's a size issue...

[Redleg]

If you have time to say hi then you're just not serious enough about your riding. Fun on a bike is for FORNcNewbies and they just have no business sharing the path with the 'real' riders. Anyhoo, I agree with Elsanto, keep waving, if they wave back that's great. If not, it's fun to annoy them. Crap! There I go trying to have fun on a bike again. I figure, as much as it rains here, I better get used to it.

[konabiker]

no waving
waving makes me less aero
no smiling, too much drag
riding is not supposed to be fun. it's supposed to be pain
no pain no gain

seriously though, don't know about qca but ic bike paths problem is the damn pedestrians who walk side by side taking the whole bike path. on your left doesn't work. bike bells don't work because they are busy yapping away on their goddamn cell phone or listening to their ipods. i need an airhorn or cow catcher or something. i want to be a bike path warrior! mad max beyond the bike path. i still ring my bell continuously though at least half a block away usually more just because i like riding my bike and ringing my bell!

[Howie]

This thread is cracking me up with all the stories about roadies and bike paths ! I"m one of those racers that like to talk while I'm racing if someone is close to me and I get all kinds of responses or nothing at all... I also say hi to everyone on the Rock Island Trail down here in Peoria( Love the R.I.T )but boy do I understand about the " Yeah what ever look "

Since I am race coordintaor with Tony I like to tell the riders at the start of the race about good sportsmanship while racing.If you notice we have been getting alot of road racers enjoying our Mountainbike races and that's my chance to tell everyone as I did this Sunday " none of us are that good and your not going to get rich so just have fun and let people pass,if you were any good you would being riding stag 8 in France right now ! " I got some nice little snickers and a few chuckles... But that doesn't just mean roadies it's MTB's too. The road teams have been great for our races and we really enjoy having them in our series !

By the way 80% of my training is on the road :)

[Russhole]

OK, so I was out being a bike path warrior tonight while waiting for my wife. I got two nods from other warriors...YES!!!

Later I caught up to some dude with QCBC tights. We were heading toward E. Mo. close to Captian's Table at about 4:00. He apparently thinks that if Canadian Geese don't get out of the way quickly enough, it's okay to plow 'em. There was no reason for him to hit the goose. It didn't change direction or screw him up in any way. He's just a D!CK!!! All I could think to say was "Way to go dude." wish I had something smarter to say. Maybe he was pissed 'cause I caught up with him.

[dru_b]

bike path warrior - n. - a rabbit for knobbies to chase whilist putting miles on the pavement.

they hate when we can keep up with/ leave them.....

40.34 miles tonight, 16.4 avg spd (solo, and not really pushing too hard)

[Gunchie]

they hate when we can keep up with/ leave them.....

They hate it even more when you pass them on a singlespeed... especially when climbing a mountain rode. When turn to say hi as I always do, they normal do respond though.

Since I am race coordintaor with Tony I like to tell the riders at the start of the race about good sportsmanship while racing.If you notice we have been getting alot of road racers enjoying our Mountainbike races and that's my chance to tell everyone as I did this Sunday " none of us are that good and your not going to get rich so just have fun and let people pass,if you were any good you would being riding stag 8 in France right now ! " I got some nice little snickers and a few chuckles... But that doesn't just mean roadies it's MTB's too. The road teams have been great for our races and we really enjoy having them in our series !

By the way 80% of my training is on the road :)

The funny thing is that in the races I race in there are PRO mountain bike riders, and they are always really friendly about passing. So why is it that the mountain racers who really are the best aren't smug, but the average joe road biker is? Still, I've met a lot of friendly roadies out here, so maybe it's a Midwest thing. We all love to pedal, so why can't we all get along.