General Cycling Discussion - Breach of cycling etiquette?

I was riding the bike path yesterday (please don't razz me for 'bike path riding' :) ) and on my way home there is a sizeable hill to climb. The only way to make it to the top is to get a solid start on the flat area at the base.

So, I was cruising along at about 14 mph and came upon another cyclist ahead of me who was moving at a much slower pace (maybe 7 or 8 mph?). I slowed and matched his pace for a maybe a minute when I realized that there was no way I'd reach the top of the hill at that speed. There was probably 2 bike lengths distance between us and I had plenty of room to pass. As usual, I called, "On your left," and passed. (I still had enough time to get up to speed to tackle the hill.) No problem.

Well, as I rode by him, I heard him say, "Showoff," which took me by surprise since he was just noodling along and the last thing I was doing was showing off. My reply was, "No, I just need the workout," said with a smile. Total truth there. I couldn't see his face to know if he was joking around or not and I was rather intent upon getting up the hill. I successfully reached the top. I don't know what happened to the guy.

What gives? I don't think that I did or said anything wrong here, but I still consider myself a newbie. Opinions? :confused:

Don't worry about it Julie. You did your part by shouting, "on your left". If he doesn't like others passing him then he has a problem.
Some people who ride bikes are just stupid.
One way to distinguish a "real" cyclist from a "fair weather" cyclist is by their speed. I don't know of many cyclists who ride that slow unless they bonked or are having bike problems. In either case they wouldn't respond as he did.

My reply would have been "slacker!"

Showoff???? Hell yeah dawg!!!! Everytime I pass someone on the trail and their happens to be spot where I can bunny hop over something or jump off a small ramp, I do it to show off!

Originally posted by bikerider
My reply would have been "slacker!"

I'll second that! :D

Well, the hills where I live is too crazy for most riders, so I seldome see them climbing along side me.

It's funny cause on weekends, I can see all the weekend warriors in their colorful jerseys going down at blinding speed, but I never see them coming up. Heh :p

Only this one time, this hispanic looking dude passed with an awesome looking yellow roadie caught me pretty good and left me in the dust pretty much... I never saw him again, but damn, I can't consider myself the king of that hill anymore.

Whether it was meant as such or not, I'd have taken it as just a bit of comradely ragging. It pays not to read too much into this kind of thing. My reply probably would have just been 'Jealous!', although he might not have heard it due to the doppler effect.

Julie, You did all that is expected, or required for etiquette. The problem is HIS not yours. Ride YOUR ride and let guys like him suffer from testosterone failure. In other words...ENVY!

Some guys hate being passed by women.

They are neanderthals.

They deserve to be passed.

You did fine!

Maybe he was joking - just wanting to start a conversation with a fellow bicyclist.:rolleyes:

It's funny cause on weekends, I can see all the weekend warriors in their colorful jerseys going down at blinding speed, but I never see them coming up. Heh

Only this one time, this hispanic looking dude passed with an awesome looking yellow roadie caught me pretty good and left me in the dust pretty much... I never saw him again, but damn, I can't consider myself the king of that hill anymore.

I can relate to that comment. Some days I see plenty of riders coming down the hills but never see any going in my direction. There is a hill near my house that is about 5km/3ml at about 7-8%, I have ridden over this hill hundreds of times and have never been passed until recently. Two guys on very nice Treks pass me like I'm standing still, I kept up for a while but they gradually pulled away, the only consolation is that they stopped at the top and I kept riding, hoping they didn't get back on and drop me again.:D

There is always someone faster.

As for the show off comment, you did what most of us would do, pass him and drop him, don't give the comment any thought.

CHEERS.


Mark

I get people like this all the time. I remember one guy on a $3,000 road bike who had been about 500metres in front of me. I had gradually hauled him back on my $600 MTB, and as I was catching him we both hit a red light. I tried to make conversation, but the guy point blank refused to talk to me. When the light changed he even tried to drop me.

I decided to be an @$$hole myself, so I just drafted for a few km, waiting for the next hill, but of course the wuss turned off before then didn't he? Funnily enough, I never see too many of these people riding the hills of the Hinterland either.

My point is, the guy you met was either joking (in which case there's nothing to worry about) or has small penis syndrome (in which case, he deserves to be ignored). Either way, who cares?

Just a final rant. Ettiquette is evil, disgusting, and should be avoided wherever possible :mad:

Here, you give a ding on the bell. Every bike is required to have one (though I suspect that some racing bikes do not). And the bells are just as suggested - a single ding, not the brrrriiinnnggggg that I used to hear on bikes as a kid.

Of course pretty much everyone speaks English, so on your left would probably work. But OY would probably work better. ;)

Cheers...Gary

I just yell out "coming past", seems to work OK. I used to yell out "excuse me" but people reacted like I was trying to ask them a question or something.

CHEERS.

Mark

Julie
I think it was meant as a compliment and trying to talk to you. That's what I would have meant by what ever it was that I thought of to say.
Joe
:beer:

I was riding the bike path yesterday (please don't razz me for 'bike path riding' ) and on my way home there is a sizeable hill to climb. The only way to make it to the top is to get a solid start on the flat area at the base.

I must question your premise.

What kind of gearing do you have? Going fast at the bottom of a hill gives only a little boost. With the proper gearing, you should be able to climb any reasonable hill. While I like to get a good fast start on a hill, I can also climb a hill well without that start. MOstly the boost is psychological, or it must be a short hill.

Anyway, I quess I don't fully understand the situation. If you can truly only make the hill with a run ahead of time, you need to consider better gearing.

It's funny cause on weekends, I can see all the weekend warriors in their colorful jerseys going down at blinding speed, but I never see them coming up. Heh Amir


Only this one time, this hispanic looking dude passed with an awesome looking yellow roadie caught me pretty good and left me in the dust pretty much... I never saw him again, but damn, I can't consider myself the king of that hill anymore.

I can relate to that comment. Some days I see plenty of riders coming down the hills but never see any going in my direction. There is a hill near my house that is about 5km/3ml at about 7-8%, I have ridden over this hill hundreds of times and have never been passed until recently. Two guys on very nice Treks pass me like I'm standing still, I kept up for a while but they gradually pulled away, the only consolation is that they stopped at the top and I kept riding, hoping they didn't get back on and drop me again.Dutchy

as an American currently in Europe i must say thankfully this (only riding downhill) is more of an American affection (Canadian a bit too)... in the US any time there was more than 1000ft of vertical most of the guys would car shuttle and only ride downhill - one of my favorite trails in Oregon (Dog River by Mt Hood) is like all uphill 2800ft vertical (900m or so) and i was usually the ONLY one riding up while 10 times more came downhill. one time i saw 2 guys park at the bottom and head off in a pickup with their bikes in the back and then i surprized them at when i reached the top while they were still there...

Europe has tons of climbers and quite a few times now i have thought i was alone only to be caught after 1000m+ of climbing (for me it's a good feeling and just encourages me to ride harder and faster next time) -- in Lake Garda Italy over Easter i was 2/3 up a 1200m climb at almost constant 20% and a group of 4 guys caught us on a water break and then my friend and i had to push to stay with them... that's cool!

i love both the downhill AND the climb!!! often the climb more... and climbing's definitely better for fitness and strength!

Well, call me chicken, but I am working on a strategy for after I finally climb Ventoux - how do I get a lift back down! I have no desire to ride down, especially after a 21 to 26 Km uphill slog. Of course my brakes will be cold. ;)

Cheers...Gary

Group Etequette is a funny thing.
on organized rides (i.e. R4R) most of the
casual/recreational riders were polite,
announced themselves (on your left etc.) and
seemed considerate of other riders.
Some of the teams represented (semi pro)
just blew by the group, muttering about Freds.
For me it was a safety issue also, there were alot
of inexperienced riders, very unpredictable as to where
they were going to be. A simple on your left ensured that
they would position themselves as far right as they could.
The showoff comment? I think it was someone just getting
into riding, and wishing he could keep 14mph pace. FWIW I don't
think it was intended to be a criticism.

Marty

Originally posted by joeprim
Julie
I think it was meant as a compliment and trying to talk to you. That's what I would have meant by what ever it was that I thought of to say.
Joe
:beer:
It was you wasn't it!!!

Quote**
Originally posted by joeprim
Julie I think it was meant as a compliment and trying to talk to you. That's what I would have meant by what ever it was that I thought of to say.
Joe

It was you wasn't it!!!

No sorry I wasn't there.
Joe
:beer:

I don't know, I guess if I had been the one saying it, it would have been a compliment. But I probably would have avoided saying it simply because I can understand how it could be taken wrong. And the last thing I would want to do is get into a fight with someone who is currently beating me up a hill.

andy

To his comment, the only proper response would be:
Fat@$$!!!
Next time you come upon this neandertal, yell:
Hey, LARDBUTT! Move Ovah!!!
:D