erik -
i have a question regarding riding etiquette. it absolutely drives me
nuts when i'm out training, whether it's easy or hard, and another
cyclist decides to latch on unannounced. you know the guy, he's doing
20mph and you pass at 22mph. he sprints to catch your wheel and
doesn't say a word.
now don't get me wrong, i train with groups sometimes, but when i'm
alone, it's always for a reason. i don't like the influence of an
unknown person when i'm doing a tempo ride or doing an easy spin. and
quite frankly, i don't trust that hairy-legged joe recreational rider
is not going to overlap my wheel and take me down.
if i'm riding hard, i can normally just up the pace slowly until they
can't hang on. if it's a recovery day, i stop pedalling. both options
have often resulted in insults and curses. almost always they result
in a very manly 25mph sprint, which lasts 1 block, and i end up passing
them again.
should road riders know better than to sit on someone's wheel without
announcing, asking, etc? or am i a dick? i'd be interested to see
what others on your website have to say.
michael
11 comments:
Don't be a dick. Offer the dude a gel, a pull off your water bottle, and any supplies he may be lacking. It's all about the love.
You are not a dick, fuck those guys. I hate that, too. Lots of times you pass them, they hop on, and then try to trade hard ass pulls with you, like they are stronger than you. WTF? I passed you, dude.
The only thing I hate worse is people who crash my ride like that and then start talking to me, "How do you like your powercranks?" "Where do you get your tattoos done?" Hey buddy, fuck off.
Word Chad! I had a guy latch on my rear wheel without me noticing while I was on my TT bike, I pod blaring, and mid interval. I stopped riding hard, stood up to stretch my back and he ran into my rear derailleur and then yelled at me for stopping! WTF?? Needless to say I gave him a full on NYC style berating. My point: you were once pushing your own wind, now you are not. Weak. People don't tailgate fast cars on the highway do they, so why hop on a wheel you don't know?
What if the dude who jumped on your wheel was a chick? Ha! From a "fan's perspective", the free-rider is probably giving himself kudo's and a hard on for being able to ride with you fast racer types. The closest I can ever get to that racer's tempo speed is when I motor-pace my husband...but then he's on my wheel! All nonsense aside, it's damn rude for someone to jump on your wheel without your knowledge. It is appropriate to tell them to fuck off. Even if they are a chick. Are there any other chicks reading this crap? Hey Erik...out here in Minnesota, you still make the racer/team/gossip circle. You have a big fan club....
This kind of thing bugs the shit out of me most of the time. Once a guy caught on after I had to stop at an intersection. I let him hang on and gradually upped the pace. He caught me again about 2 miles later then proceeded to ralph on the sidewalk! He said I killed him. We still talk today and laugh about it.
Even worse when it's a recumbent rider huffing and puffing on your wheel on your recovery day. That REALLY sucks.
I ask them to leave, next time ask, then hit it until dropped.
Unless, like NotMikeJones said, it's a chick.
erik remember that time that you were in carlisle mass and that guy latched on to you and you wanted to just slam on the brakes and let him crash?
k bye
the real mike jones
i think brake checking is just a thing that you should do sometimes if you are feeling mad inside...
what about this one: a dude passes me slowly on a climb. i drop in behind him since its easy enough and the winds up. he gets toward the top of the climb and must not know that i'm behind him since he 1) stops pedaling, 2)slows down & swings left into the road, and 3) takes out my front wheel.
i picked myself up off the road and shit for brains doesnt apologize and keeps riding up the road. i jump back on, catch him, and berate the guy for the slow down & swing left maneuver. it gets to the point where i am so pissed off that i'm yelling "stop your fucking bike and lets go little bitch...." which of course he doesnt do.
so yeah, lesson learned - dont ride on anyones wheel you dont know. but whats the opionion of the stop pedaling, swing left and take out the front wheel move????
i've been riding forever and if i did that to someone, i'd be apologizing all over myself even if the guy didnt let me know he was on my wheel. (back in the day, the aluminum brake lever was good to "snap" when you were behind or passing someone - not the same noises possible with carbon)
Dude, this is a MAJOR peeve of mine (oooh, you hit a nerve)! Did I mention I HATE THIS?!?! I'm tempted to put a patch or sign on my backpack which says: "If you can read this, either pass or fall back". I'm not a racer, but I commute to work (crusing about 22mph) and I get these dudes doing this about 1 out of every 8 rides. I TOTALLY think it's very rude to not ask. It actually puts me in jeopardy because I don't know their skills, and I'll brake/steer differently if I know there's someone back there. I've found if I turn and say "so are you going to leech the whole way?" they usually either fall back or pass (even tho I caught up to them). If it's "about the love", then if you're gonna leech say "yo, mind if I latch on?", you'll find with me you'll get an absolutely different reaction!
Good luck Michael and happy riding!
All this discussion has dealt with a single rider...what if it was a group of riders (a pace line), would sitting on the last rider's wheel be rude? What if the weather has turned poor and everyone is scrambling to nearest overpass/shelter? Would you not want to buddy up just to beat the storm? Your thoughts...
Post a Comment