[Willy Vanilly]

This is a bit of a rant and a bit of a question so here goes:

Driving back from Montana de Oro after riding. The road is quite narrow, twisty, trees on both sides and hilly. So basically visibility sucks.

I come up on two road riders riding double. Okay fine. No problem. I've ridden a road bike and I respect the desire to chat with your riding buddy and assert your position on the road. As I start to pass, the guy on the left pulls out into the middle of the lane, pushing me clear into the lane for oncoming traffic. The rider on the right stays right where they are (no dead squirrels to avoid or anything like that or any other reason to swerve that i saw).

I don't get it. What was the point? Was he trying to keep me from passing? Fantastically unskilled bike rider? Asserting his male dominance over me? What? Is there some other road cyclist etiquette that this is a part of?

Seems like a bonehead maneuver to me but maybe he had a reason. What do you guys think?

 

[Sghost]

Just cause they are on road bikes doesn't mean they are hardcore roadies, and a lot of roadies who don't ride mountain bikes suck for bike handling. Its not true in every case, but a lot, just the way it is.

On quiet roads. pause behind them for a few secs so they know your there. I appreciate it when people do for me, sometimes just cant here quiet cars over the wind and being in the middle of nowhere for a while.

 

[Rip]

He did it to be a dick.

 

[Sghost]

Yeah, a lot of roadies are dicks too

 

[Rip]

Yeah, a lot of roadies are dicks too

Yes, there is a bunch of them that are dicks, but there are also some that are nice.


What I find alarming is the number of people out there that don't know notice a cyclist signaling a left or right turn. While riding on the road today I signaled to make a left and with plenty of time ahead to let anyone behind me know that I was going to be turning left, and about as soon as I am going to make the left there is this dumb ass brunette in her SUV trying to go past me while talking on her folding box of stupidity(cell phone).

 

[jdcamb]

nope sounds like he is a jackass....

 

[Ironjunk]

I hate it when im forced to ride over loose rocks, salt and dead cats on the shoulder for extended periods of time because the car behind rides my ass afraid to pass. I gave you tons of room just go! I guess its for the better though.

 

[sanjuro]

Well, I hate to tell you this, but if you want to call their bluff, just drive next to them and slow down.

Don't swerve into them or do anything threatening, but I know if a car pulls along side of me, only bad things can happen.

 

[maddog17]

sounds like they were just being dicks. unfortunately roadies are like beaten dogs... after being beaten for so long they just don't trust anyone. probably have had bad experiences with drivers on that road in the past and just assumed you were going to be another one. it's happened to me in the past, but i'm not going to do anything to provoke a driver like this guy did. all he really had to do was to file in behind his buddy, wait till you passed then go back to where he was. pretty simple but some people don't think like that which is too bad. all that does is continue the roadie/car fear.

 

[sam_little]

My buddy (blong - no longer on here) used to rally that road in his little Mazda truck so hard that anyone with a 10 year memory probably doesn't trust a single automobile, no matter how polite, on that road. Given that I'm alive to tell about it, I somewhat fondly remember the screeching tires around each corner through the eucalyptus grove. However, it was about as dumb a thing as we could have done, especially with a pile of DH bikes in the (small) bed. Way to form a reputation...

I do really mis MDO, though. So fun.

 

[Leethal]

Why did you pass without going into the other lane?

 

[Da Peach]

I don't get people who think they can be "assertive" on a bike when up against a car or truck.

I'd think a healthy sense of self preservation would make you want to get the hell out of the way. If not, well, I guess you read the odds differently than I do. And you are stupid.

 

[jonKranked]

Sit behind them for a few seconds. Then shift to neutral and rev your engine to about 4,000 RPM

 

[Willy Vanilly]

Haha. I love it. That's exactly the section I was coming out of when I came upon those guys. Maybe memories of your buddy made them do what they did.

Leethal: I was going to give them as much space as I could safely but the guy forced the issue by pushing me entirely into the oncoming lane.

 

[jonKranked]

Another idea: mount a PA system in your vehicle (not unlike what was done in Blues Brothers). Sit behind them for 10 or so miles and just heckle them. "damn you have a huge a$$. are those hemmoroids?"

 

[IH8Rice]

Another idea: mount a PA system in your vehicle (not unlike what was done in Blues Brothers). Sit behind them for 10 or so miles and just heckle them. "damn you have a huge a$$. are those hemmoroids?"

or make fun of them for being in the granny gear.....but i guess you would notice their ass first.

 

[jonKranked]

or make fun of them for being in the granny gear.....but i guess you would notice their ass first.

Hey I use my granny gear when climbing!

 

[IH8Rice]

Hey I use my granny gear when climbing!

if i had one..i might have to use it too actually.thankfully none of my bikes have them so i dont have to bitch out.

you see my buddy's new SX Trail i sent you a pic of?

 

[jonKranked]

if i had one..i might have to use it too actually.thankfully none of my bikes have them so i dont have to bitch out.

you see my buddy's new SX Trail i sent you a pic of?

yea well some of us do more than just downhill on the weekends 6 months out of the year.

and yea I saw the pic.

 

[BIGHITR]

Being a mountainbiker, I can't stand road riders. I look at them as big sissies that are afraid to get dirt on their shins. Which brings me to the question as to your comment that you had to go into the other lane.

The biker does have a right on the road, yes... but, is it to the right of the white line that marks the shoulder of the roadway? When driving a car, coming up on a road rider, what is the actual law? Does the rider have a right to ride to the left of the white line in the actual roadway, or does the bike rider only have a right to ride to the RIGHT of the white shoulder line? Any lawyers or cops out there that know the true answer, it would be nice to clear that up.

 

[jonKranked]

the laws vary from state to state.

 

[Da Peach]

If you hear a vehicle coming up behind you, you should probably just assume you're going to get smashed and move over.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Being a mountainbiker, I can't stand road riders. I look at them as big sissies that are afraid to get dirt on their shins. Which brings me to the question as to your comment that you had to go into the other lane.

The biker does have a right on the road, yes... but, is it to the right of the white line that marks the shoulder of the roadway? When driving a car, coming up on a road rider, what is the actual law? Does the rider have a right to ride to the left of the white line in the actual roadway, or does the bike rider only have a right to ride to the RIGHT of the white shoulder line? Any lawyers or cops out there that know the true answer, it would be nice to clear that up.

In general the law says that if you need the roadway you can take it. About the only reason that I know to do this is passing or setting up for a turn.

 

[Westy]

the laws vary from state to state.

In most states bikes are required to ride as far to the right as is safe, they are also required to follow the rules of the road. Often anything right of the white line is not a reliable road surface and riding past the line is not safe. Also in theory crossing the white line is illegal as cyclists must follow the same rules as cars. I will ride down the middle of the road when it is not safe for a car to pass because such as when entering a blind corner but will always move over when I can when it is safe.

 

[moff_quigley]

Being a mountainbiker, I can't stand road riders. I look at them as big sissies that are afraid to get dirt on their shins.

Irrational and/or ignorant.

 

[BIGHITR]

Irrational and/or ignorant.

And or opinion like yours? Just because someone's opinion doesn't mean ignorant or irrationality.

 

[BigMike]

I used to work at a shop, and and older man (65+) rode in one day with a big fanny pack on. We got to talking, and I found out he rides almost every day on back roads for miles and miles, and we started talking about what he takes with him on the road, in his fanny pack. The main item was a gun.

He started carrying it after he landed in the hospital when a group of rednecks in their pickup truck started giving him trouble. He was riding on an empty back road, they came up on him, he gave them room, and they started yelling at him anyway. Then they got out and beat him up, badly. This is an old man just out to ride his bike, and ended up in the hospital for a few days, for no good reason, just because he was riding his bike. Now he carries a gun because he feels everyone is a threat, and he doesn't want to be caught off guard again. I can't say I necessarily agree with it, but I totally see his reasoning and though process.

Some roadies are just dicks, some are actually threatened by drivers.

 

[skinny mike]

Being a mountainbiker, I can't stand road riders. I look at them as big sissies that are afraid to get dirt on their shins.

i would much rather fall in the middle of a dh race than i would during a leisurely road ride, and i don't wear much armor when downhilling.

 

[Serial Midget]

Its been a long time since I've seen so much asshattery displayed in one thread.

RIP Lounge.

 

[moff_quigley]

And or opinion like yours? Just because someone's opinion doesn't mean ignorant or irrationality.

You do realize that road riding was around a lot longer before a few weed smoking hippies thought it would be cool to ride their bikes in the woods, get blazed and race down a mountainside, right? The whole "Us vs Them" mentality is ignorant. They like to ride bikes. They don't like to ride bikes the way you like to ride bikes. That doesn't make them Lance Armstrong wannabees, gay sissies, ad nauseum.

I used to have the same chip on my shoulder in regards to road riding. Then I broke my ankle. The only riding the Doc wanted me to do during recovery was on the road. I got an old road bike and fixed it up a bit. It's actually kinda fun in a weird sort of way. I have the utmost respect now for the guys on the pro tour etc as I have an inkling of what it takes to be fast on the the road.

 

[Westy]

You do realize that road riding was around a lot longer before a few weed smoking hippies thought it would be cool to ride their bikes in the woods, get blazed and race down a mountainside, right? The whole "Us vs Them" mentality is ignorant. They like to ride bikes. They don't like to ride bikes the way you like to ride bikes. That doesn't make them Lance Armstrong wannabees, gay sissies, ad nauseum.

I used to have the same chip on my shoulder in regards to road riding. Then I broke my ankle. The only riding the Doc wanted me to do during recovery was on the road. I got an old road bike and fixed it up a bit. It's actually kinda fun in a weird sort of way. I have the utmost respect now for the guys on the pro tour etc as I have an inkling of what it takes to be fast on the the road.

I do a little bit of every type of riding and I have to say it takes more balls to hop on a road bike than do anything else. I can take it easy on the MTB and never risk getting a scratch. Getting on the road, no matter how skilled or how hard you push it, there is a chance of ending up dead. Road crits probably have the highest injury rate of any bike related sport. Pro roadies have something like a 1 in 3 chance of suffering a season ending injury.

 

[TN]

MdO....awesome fukkin trails.
Have a glass of pinot & a tri-tip sammich afterwards & I could die a happy man.

 

[NuMexJoe]

But one constant, although the requirement reads differently from state to state, is that the driver of a vehicle (even one carrying DH bikes) must only pass a slower moving vehicle when it is safe to do so. Would you force a farm tractor off the road, or buzz him as you pull around? Then don't do it to a biker, either. That said, I assume all roadies are pricks until they prove otherwise. But when I'm driving, I still treat them the same way I'd like to be treated if it was me on the bike (and this time of year, sometimes it is me on the bike, out there on the road).
- Joe

the laws vary from state to state.

 

[BIGHITR]

I regularly see the same guy three feet to the left of the white line, out in the lane, and right next to a bike path one foot to the right of the white line and I have to go over the double yellow into oncoming traffic to go around him every time. That's what I'm talking about.

 

[sanjuro]

I used to work at a shop, and and older man (65+) rode in one day with a big fanny pack on. We got to talking, and I found out he rides almost every day on back roads for miles and miles, and we started talking about what he takes with him on the road, in his fanny pack. The main item was a gun.

He started carrying it after he landed in the hospital when a group of rednecks in their pickup truck started giving him trouble. He was riding on an empty back road, they came up on him, he gave them room, and they started yelling at him anyway. Then they got out and beat him up, badly. This is an old man just out to ride his bike, and ended up in the hospital for a few days, for no good reason, just because he was riding his bike. Now he carries a gun because he feels everyone is a threat, and he doesn't want to be caught off guard again. I can't say I necessarily agree with it, but I totally see his reasoning and though process.

Some roadies are just dicks, some are actually threatened by drivers.

Sadly, a friend of mine, a retired ex-police officer, got into a yelling match with a younger man driving a truck, and was killed in the ensuing fight.

I know my friend was a bit of a hot head, which is why murder charges was not filed, but it still saddens me to think a gun was necessary.

 

[Transcend]

And or opinion like yours? Just because someone's opinion doesn't mean ignorant or irrationality.

In this case, it is just pretty ignorant.

 

[Wumpus]

Being a mountainbiker, I can't stand road riders. I look at them as big sissies that are afraid to get dirt on their shins.

 

[Wumpus]

Next thing you know, those damn roadies will be riding on the trails.