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Road etiquette

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  • May 5, 2013 at 1:51 pm #18689
    Cycle_Jim

    I passed a local group of cyclists today and as I was passing them I was wondering what is the ‘social rules’ as far as passing/saying hi and any other etiquette/rules etc are concerned.

    I passed a few on a climb said hi to a couple but didn’t want to be that dickhead who says “Hi how are you” completely not out of breath 👿 whilst your slugging it out and dying a death. (It’s happened to all of us admit it) All that you think is “what a knob” X( .

    When we got to the descent I sat on the wheel of a person as I didn’t deem it safe to pass, when we got to the bottom of the road straightened out I picked up the pace, as I was alongside said hi how are you and other pleasantries, complemented a couple of them on the bikes (a nice cannondale in team colours and a steel framed model that was very nice) and then got up to my usual speed, leaving them behind.

    So…are there any other rules? 😕 What do you do when you pass an older gentleman on his sunday social ride who is dying on a hill? Is it ‘rude’ to put the hammer down?

    The local group are more of a beer club that likes cycling than a cycling club that likes the odd beer (nothing wrong with that obviously)

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  • May 14, 2013 at 5:36 pm #732475
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    wwfcb

    lball9 wrote:That escalated

    lball9 wrote:
    That escalated quickly…

    Don’t know what would happen if someone threw in a Rapha comment 😀

    The so called ‘The Rules’ as per Velominati, are to be taken as a bit of fun.

    The Rules

    Keep at your usual speed, be polite and say ‘hello’.

    May 14, 2013 at 3:44 pm #732473
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    lball9

    That escalated quickly…
    That escalated quickly…

    May 10, 2013 at 9:11 am #732471
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    Simon E

    bashthebox wrote:I hate to

    bashthebox wrote:
    I hate to put a downer on your argument, but it all your refutations sound a little smug and superior in themselves ;)

    Confused :/

    If you knew me you’d know I’m not in the least bit smug or superior.

    May 10, 2013 at 9:01 am #732469
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    bashthebox

    Simon E wrote: I fucking

    Simon E wrote:
    I fucking despise cliques – they exist only to make pathetic, weak individuals feel smug and superior.

    I hate to put a downer on your argument, but it all your refutations sound a little smug and superior in themselves 😉

    I don’t think I’ve ever heard the Velominati Rules quoted with any degree of seriousness. They’re a fun thing to have a giggle with. Let’s be honest – those of us who put a decent number of miles in know that we’ve earned the right to take the piss out of ourselves and the other lycra clad berks we overtake or get overtaken by.

    So, Bash’s rules for the road:
    1. Seriously, if you’re a bit out of shape, don’t squeeze into XXL pro team bibs. Please. Just don’t.
    2. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    May 10, 2013 at 8:42 am #732467
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    Simon E

    abudhabiChris wrote:And you

    abudhabiChris wrote:
    And you think Audax doesn’t have rules ? They have exactly the same shorthand. Turn up on a Roberts or a Mercian with 28mm tyres, full mudguards, a Carradice saddle bag etc and you will be immediately recognised as someone who has consumed their fair share of peaches and rice pudding.

    But no-one will be disparaged if they arrive on something else or eat curry and rice cakes instead.

    If you take it all seriously then the joke is on you.

    No, it’s YOU that appears to have missed the point. I have no issue with someone who creates a website and has a laugh. Unfortunately gullible individuals take these things as standards to dress and behave by. They think that following (and quoting) those ‘rules’ give them access to some kind of inner circle or clique. It’s a bit pathetic, really.

    May 9, 2013 at 5:33 pm #732465
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    KirinChris

    And you think Audax doesn’t
    And you think Audax doesn’t have rules ? They have exactly the same shorthand. Turn up on a Roberts or a Mercian with 28mm tyres, full mudguards, a Carradice saddle bag etc and you will be immediately recognised as someone who has consumed their fair share of peaches and rice pudding.

    How do you tell an extroverted audaxer… he looks at YOUR shoes when he’s talking to you.

    And just to be clear, in case you had a bit of trouble understanding, there are rules with a small ‘r’ which are the general expectations of a group, and what the OP was asking about.

    The sort of examples I gave were just rules about riding in groups, but maybe you don’t do a lot of that if the only thing you care about is the highway code. I would offer to show you but I doubt I could keep up, because I just pose my way through 8,000 miles a year.

    As for your idea about who created The Rules, you are so far off the mark. The guys behind it are neither young nor idle and they have a genuine passion for cycling and riding. If you take it all seriously then the joke is on you.

    May 9, 2013 at 9:40 am #732463
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    Simon E

    abudhabiChris wrote:Really,

    abudhabiChris wrote:
    Really, you don’t think cycling has any rules ? It must be a unique human endeavour then, because I’m struglling to think of anything that involves groups of people which doesn’t have some sort of rules or expectations, whether codified or not.

    The so-called ‘rules’ you mean, made up by some young men with time to kill, have no bearing on how you should behave while riding on the road. It’s a silly game that you can choose to play. The rules you need to obey while cycling on the road are in the Highway Code.

    Do unto others is a little bit non-specific IMHO.

    With good reason – it applies everywhere. There is no time or place where it is inappropriate.

    When people ask me why road cyclists shave their legs my response is always that it shows you are part of a culture.

    Some roadies shave their legs because they race (they copy pro racers, they don’t really know why it’s done). Others like to imitate racers because they think it’s cool. There is no reason for most cyclists to shave their legs. If you shave because you like smooth legs that’s fine; if you do it to ‘comply’ with some made-up rule and join a clique then it suggests you are gullible and easily led. I fucking despise cliques – they exist only to make pathetic, weak individuals feel smug and superior.

    If you turn up to a ride and you and your bike would pass Velominati inspection, it’s just shorthand for saying “I know how this all works, you can probably trust me.”

    If your bike is roadworthy then it’s perfectly adequate. It may have drops, flat bars, fat tyres, thin tyres, panniers, mudguards, tatty bar tape…. You don’t need 23mm tyres at x psi, matching (but non replica) jersey & shorts, colour-coded bar tape or the other bollocks in those ‘rules’. Audax riders, for example, do loads more miles than most roadie poseurs but they couldn’t care less about those stupid ‘rules’. They ride. Lots.

    May 9, 2013 at 7:35 am #732461
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    KirinChris

    Simon E wrote:Rules? They’re

    Simon E wrote:
    Rules? They’re in the Highway Code.

    Otherwise just be polite, treat others as you’d wish to be treated yourself. It’s no more complicated than that (except for morons that worship Velominati’s silly ‘Rules’).

    Really, you don’t think cycling has any rules ? It must be a unique human endeavour then, because I’m struglling to think of anything that involves groups of people which doesn’t have some sort of rules or expectations, whether codified or not.

    What about not jamming on your brakes when riding in a bunch.. calling out Passing… indicating turns and obstacles… not sitting in for 20kms and then sprinting ahead… are they in the Highway Code ? Do unto others is a little bit non-specific IMHO.

    When people ask me why road cyclists shave their legs my response is always that it shows you are part of a culture.

    This is why we have such rules – not just to dictate behaviour but to indicate compliance and membership.

    There is a large element of trust in riding with other people. If you turn up to a ride and you and your bike would pass Velominati inspection, it’s just shorthand for saying “I know how this all works, you can probably trust me.”

    That’s not to say that people who don’t choose to follow the rules are incapable of being good and trustworthy riders, but they don’t have the prima facie evidence to support them, and you have to work it out along the way.

    May 8, 2013 at 9:09 pm #732459
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    issacforce

    It’s simple jst be polite
    It’s simple jst be polite

    May 7, 2013 at 10:57 am #732457
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    Simon E

    Rules? They’re in the Highway
    Rules? They’re in the Highway Code.

    Otherwise just be polite, treat others as you’d wish to be treated yourself. It’s no more complicated than that (except for morons that worship Velominati’s silly ‘Rules’).

    May 6, 2013 at 1:45 pm #732455
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    Cycle_Jim

    I started off road cycling on
    I started off road cycling on a mountain bike, always got a little kick out of passing people on roadies!
    I once had a mechanical and a lovely chap stopped and gave me a hand, it was very early on in my cycling life and I thought what great comradeship!

    May 6, 2013 at 6:35 am #732453
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    skitza

    Lol this thread made me
    Lol this thread made me smile, im not in a club so have not learnt the ‘rules’ as such yet ,been on the roads on my MTB for just under a year now and generally everyone on the road is polite as they fly by me and im polite back whilst thinking ‘you wait till i get my road bike laddo!’ But as long as im overtaken safely its all good fair play to ya.
    Yesterdays 35 miles was an example single cyclist pulled along side up a hill said hello ,he realised my grunt was an attempt to say hello back to which he said’ i wouldnt wanna be lugging that weight up here! (presume he meant the bike!)before saying have a good day and motoring off.
    I then overtook 3 younger lads on racing bikes on my last mile said hello (they looked slightly embarrassed 🙂 )We had a quick chat before one of them said he needed the loo so they were stopping so again a pleasant encounter. I’ve yet to meet any knobs yet and like the kindred spirit out there.

    May 5, 2013 at 8:31 pm #732451
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    Cycle_Jim

    Maybe I should get point
    Maybe I should get point elbows and drive them off the road shouting “HARDEN THE FUCK UP”…

    May 5, 2013 at 6:10 pm #732449
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    Raleigh

    Normally I just give them a
    Normally I just give them a shove them off the road.

    Seems to work.

    May 5, 2013 at 5:39 pm #732447
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    Gkam84

    If I am catching a group of
    If I am catching a group of riders, I go out of my way to power through, up into the 52/9 and power up. Then I get some funny looks as my trike goes flying past, only for them to catch my up when I’m spinning 30/34 on a little uphill 👿

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