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Too many cycling twits!
Oh lordy-lord y'all what to do? On my daily commute back and forth into and out of the city of London I am encountering an unfeasibly large number of cycling twits and feel no love for them at all.
Not you obviously, you're alright mate, but you know who I mean right?
Yeah you do. You've seen em, I'm talking about the posers. The people riding bikes that cost more than my car and its a pretty damn-nice car too! Clad in team Sky colours, posing with energy gels at traffic lights - cutting you up and riding around at night, with no lights wearing all black thinking that they are invincible Ninjas. You're not f@ckin Ninjas OK!
Worst of all seems to be the growing number of people that get into daily slanging matches with car and bus drivers.
I've even seen and been on the recieveing end of arguments with fellow cyclists. Where's the solidarity brothers and sisters?. How many people have to die before you are going to understand the simple rule: Biggest Wins!
Dont fight cars you are going to lose. Surely deference is the key for all us road users to get along.
It never used to be this way. Will it ever revert or has the lid to Pandora's box fallen off its hinges?
What do people think?
Will the sea of cycling twittery eventually recede back and allow a return to good times?. Shoud I just get over it, grow a beard, drop a grand in Rapha and remortgage my house to buy a bike that I am too fat to ride properly?
Someone said to me recently "Cycling is the new Golf". The shock has worn off but the pain hasn't gone away.
Your answers on a postcard please.
Big Love
Uncle Badger (Trainee Old Git)
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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127 comments
Some people on this thread need to get out more or get laid, possibly both!
interesting this. In mainland Europe everyone wears the kit. In Britain it seems to be regarded as strange. Cultural difference?
Ah but stereotypes are such a timesaver though.... (JOKE)
Thanks to everyone who has commented on this post. I think the responses show a fantasic cross-section of views and different levels of wit. I am alarmed at how quickly the thread descends into L-C-D mud slinging and abuse but I'll get over it. Overall it has been really interesting to chuck in a verbal grenade, stand back and see what happens.
It is facinating that by writing something vaguely provocative it's actually possible to 'Out' one or two of the very people I was referring to. If you can't tell that my original post was said with tongue firmly in cheek then you know what - WHO CARES ?
OK I proably shouldn't have mentioned Sky. I love the Bernard Hinault Quote - anything the Badger says is alright by this Badger. As for Cycling becoming the new Trainspotting I love it! Weak Lemon Drink at the ready my hobby this month is going to be CYCLE-ING.....and I will be the best at it, not you Neil Petark!!
I should have been clear that I just can't fathom the sense in riding a £5K bike on a commute. I'd save it for the weekend. C'est moi.
By Biggest Wins I meant that as a cyclist if you get hit by car you are going to come off worse-FACT.
As such I don't see the point in antagonising motorists. That doesn't change my right to be there one iota but it makes me cautious. If you're not then that's cool, send me your address and I'll bring you some grapes in hospital.
I have been cycling for over 30 years. I used to work for a bike shop. I have raced but never highly placed with Mountain Bikes and switched to road cycling after injury. I object to what I see as the hooligan element bringing football-type tribalism and posturing into what should be a fun sport/hobby. On the continent, where I used to work and my extended family live, you just don't seem to get the bullsh!t. UK cycling was a bit of a Cosa Nostra pasttime but I suppose its inevitable that the nasties float to the top when something goes mainstream. Sad times.
So I'm waiting til 2022, thanks for the tip
. I look forward to buying some bargain second hand bikes in due course once the blow-ins have moved on to their next fad.
Ride it like ya stole it y'all*
*But obviously in a responsible, legal and eco-friendly manner, without upsetting anyone. Especially on Forums.
Quite a fair amount of kung fu coming out on this thread. I am fascinated to know where these stretches of London Road are where you can sprint ahead, drop back and repeat ad nauseum, in traffic ?
There are twits who choose all forms of transportation and treating your commute in London as a race to massage your own wafer thin ego doesn't really separate you from them.
Ride what you like, wear what you like but don't ride like a dick because it's dangerous enough out there without some wannabe Sagan behaving like a tool.
Seems to me that there's a fair amount of these cycling dicks right here, on this thread.
I'd rather ride with a FPKW than a guy that feels the need to 'orbit' someone he doesn't know.
Just ride your fucking bikes and stop crying about what other people ride, own, wear or do fellas.
I wonder how many people making derogatory comments ride in clubs or just ride alone or with a couple of mates.
I remember being out on a solo one day and pulling up alongside someone in team kit. We got chatting and it turned out that he used to race at a very high standard 25 years back. He was riding to work, the long way, as part of training to get back in to cycling.
We exchanged some details, particularly of the cycling club i am a member of and i was surprised to see him a couple of weeks later at the club run.
To cut a long story short this guy who i could have just buzzed past on the road for being a FPKW is now a valuable member of the club. He has trained and mentored a few riders and helped to build a framework for rider training.
Don't judge anyone just for what they are wearing, riding or how they ride. It may turn out that the wanker, minus the FPK, is actually the man in the mirror.
what a load of Bollox....
There are some right snobs on this forums. I welcome everyone who rides and who cares if they try to be like Wiggins and spend loads on kit. Surely the most important things is 1) they are cycling and 2) most important - obey the laws on the road ?
What do people say when they go past each other? All I've ever heard or said is 'good morning'.
Just what we need, another slagging match
Anyway, back to the OP, I'm happy to put up with 2 wheeled cretins any day over 4+ wheeled cretins. More cyclists is only a good thing in my book, the more cyclists out there the better.
'If I wear my Arsenal shirt to the pub to watch the game it's considered normal'
Only if you're under 12 years old, or have come straight off the pitch at Highbury. Otherwise it really isn't considered normal
Why do you have to be a pro or elite athlete to ride an expensive bike. I am no expert, far from it, but I have Di2 because of problems with my hands. If they can afford the bike be pleased for them.
I ride in partial team kit but only because it was on sale and they are the most comfortable shorts I have ever owned and the quality on them is superb.
You probably wouldn't like me either as I have lots of yellow and bright lights front and back.
As I understand it the laws of physics dictate that an object in orbit around another has simply been captivated by the gravitational pull of a superior body...
The thing about the OP's post is that it smacks of "look at me I pootled before 2012", I find some of the worst cyclists the older ones, they do no shoulder check, indicate, they just are covered head to toe in HiViz with a dozen cheap lights without a care in the world or thought for any other road user.
Sheesh - if you don't like argumentative, bad-tempered people and posers, you should consider finding another city to commute into. It's got nothing in particular to do with cycling!
I love cycling and hate cyclists. This thread is why.
Maybe it's because cycling is more ingrained in the culture of those countries whereas here the wearing of pro kit has a correlation with Froome and Wiggo winning the tour?
The cycle path between Hampton Court and Kingston usually.
Very simple,
Someone loves cycling and doesn't have a great deal of money so they've sold everything they have to buy that dream bike and are so proud of it they ride it everywhere. Not everyone can afford several bikes so they ride the one the have.
I have a £5K bike and ride it as often as I can including 1hr rides in the dark evenings. It's my dream bike, I love it, I ride it as often as possible. (Except when there's salt on the road then the winter bike is rolled out or when I'm riding off road, then one or the other of my mtbs is rolled out......) Well we can't have the paintwork being spoilt can we
I do, I only orbit the ones who feel they need to say something as I pass them (I'll let the "good morning" lot off, that's just polite).
The vast majority of the time, you're right, it's a bit of friendly piss taking at worst, or a hello, or good morning, or whatever. It's the douche bags who try and be the big man, for no reason whatsoever, that I play with.
The sort I play with are just deluded, I encounter all sorts on my travels (I ride some silly mileages over the year), the vast majority are cool as a cucumber. As with everything in life, you are going to happen across the odd Pillock now and again, it isn't about the problem, It's how you deal with the problem that counts.
I've encountered lots of these. They don't tend to mouth off in the first place, thus avoiding the issues raised.
I agree. The four wheeled knobbers can (and do) cause actual problems, on account of the fact their tin willy's have much more mass.
That's all good
Yeah, okay.
Yep, I can't stand this lot either, however, they tend not to be mouthy dickwads, so I'll forgive their foibles.
You shouldn't hate all cyclists, generally they're a decent people.
Not my experience in Belgium sorry. The only kit wearers I think I've ever seen were a bunch of British lads in Brussels one time.
Well maybe it's time to work on your endurance so you can stay in front for the full half mile stretch.....
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