Commuting Etiquette

[ichops]

Last Thursday afternoon cycling home on the cycle path running thru Paaden Island I was almost hit head on by a roadie-arse cyclist riding 3 abreast chatting to his 2 mates on his left. It happened where the path goes over the bridge over the waterway - nowhere to go to take evasive action due to the concrete walls either side of the path. I see this group of Lance Armstrong wannabees - normally 6 or 8 of them all dressed up in yellow and black lycra kit quite often. Guys 2 abreast on the cycling path is bad enough - but 3 ???? and the 3 were behind two other riders which more than likely blocked their vision of anyone comming the other way. All I have to say to this bunch of plonkers dressed like girlie bunble bees is - if you insist on chatting next to your mates, at least have the decency to look out for cyclists coming the other way, you only think you own the path !

[CAAD4]

Head up, defend your line...

[ichops]

Head up, defend your line...

 

84kg rider on an old 15kg mtb over a weenie roadie-arse on a sub 8kg bike will always win !

Now this is critical mass !!!!

[splat]

So how did this play out?

 

Was there a near crash and fruity language or did everyone get past each other with minimal fuss?

[Kranswurm]

Ring your bell

[LeTurbo]

Roadies actually using the cycle path? This is unheard of!

[Iron]

Hold your line , he who blinks first, looses

[ichops]

Only a near miss - this time - with a quick frantic ringing of my bell - yes I have one - and a hurried shout of choice words. I was surprised as all of you - roadie-arses using the cycle path - what next ? Maybe they will great when passing and ride single file or sensibly ?? - yea right - dream on !!!

[2wheelsgood]

Man you don't understand nuthin about etiquette. If you are blessed enough to encounter a Roadie*, you should firstly stop and climb off your bike; call yourself and your bike "Unworthy bastards" until the roadie is out of sight; bow and curtsy a few times as he goes by; walk home, while lamenting how much cooler roadies are than everyone else on the road.

 

Jeez, you had the nerve to expect them to get out YOUR way?!

 

 

 

 

* If they're dressed up like they're on the Tour de France, don't even try make eye contact - the cold stare you'll receive in return may cause shriveling of testicles.

[zeabre]

We must realise that in the cycling food-chain, us commuters are lowest...if you carry a back-pack or have a bell, there is no hope for you. PS, as far as greeting goes you may be missing the Vanilla Ice cool greeting that is the finger lift...the index finger lifted ever so slightly, as breathing a "morning!" is mostly not even considered when passing commuters as this may negatively affect their Polar stats. As an eternal optimist I've searched high and low for greetings, but unfortunately, sometimes they're just not there.

[DavidE373]

- roadie-arses

 

Is the name calling from the get go really necessary?

 

So a group of roadies upsets you and now you feel you have the right to insult the entire road bike community.

 

I really don't think that's going to give you much of a sympathy vote from those of us that agree with you.

[Hairy]

Those guys are cyclists from the Sunflower Foundation (Started a good couple of years ago by a couple of cyclists to source bone marrow donors for kiddies with cancer following one of them experiencing this on a personal level).

 

I have come across the group before, but they have always pulled in behind each other in order to only take up one lane when a rider is approaching.

 

These guys will mostly greet out on the road, and have, on the couple of occasions that I have seen them on the road, always obeyed the rules of the road.

 

Lets give them another chance. Did the riders appologise after this or just keep riding?

 

They can't be all that bad either as they show a good sense of humour when you catch them while riding with a nice big commuting bag on your back and say things like "hey you old men on a Sunday afternoon recovery ride" to them.

[2wheelsgood]

Is the name calling from the get go really necessary?

 

Yes. Maybe if roadies stopped being such arses they'd stop being referred to as such. (I realize this brush is painting quite broadly, but my experience so far justifies it completely. Still waiting for the day I meet a friendly roadie)

[TNT1]

Is the name calling from the get go really necessary?

 

 

Yeah, the name calling and making fun of the guys' clothes does seem a little infantile.

 

Maybe next time it'll be a truck on your precious path.

[Hairy]

So I had a certain individual squeeze past me on the lane yesterday after I had slowed down to a near stop to wait for the rider with the mindset of riding together.

 

I was on the far left of the left lane with a sliver of tar between me and the landscaping.

 

Mr Chop comes and squeezes through there without greeting or announcing his presence and keeps on riding .... with a whole lane on my right clear of any traffic I would have thought this the logical route for him to have taken.

 

Anyway I caught him and passed him without a greeting and after a few minutes he stopped trying to keep up and fell off the pace. I did however meet up with another rider and he proved to be good company.

 

H

[mojopup]

I started life as a mountain biker, became a roadie, started commuting and ran back to being a mountainbiker / commuter / tourer. Much friendlier on this side. We stop for people with flat tires, laugh and have fun. And: we dont ride 3 abreast. Not cool.