bruised

Gears that perpetually slip and crunch...on a new bike....after 3 companies have been paid to adjust/service, right after a new chain and cassette....slip, crunch....get up out of the saddle to climb a hill....crunch...back in the saddle with a thud.....puh. Took the edge off a beautiful sunset ride today along the Ahnapee trail and up the coastline of Lake Michigan....

Duane Behrens

Plastic dental floss holders discarded on the side of the road. Spent inner tubes lying on the side of the road. Spent CO2 cartridges discarded by the side of the road. Spent prophylactics discarded by the side of the road. Dead possums, raccoons, hawks, pigeons, ravens, squirrels and dogs lying by the side of the road. Nails, tacks and thorns lying at the side of the road. Lemonade stands are fine, though.

TGT1

Speaking of bike trails,

Why doesn't anyone on a bike know what TRACK means?

And when they want to pass they always say something unintelligible that gives no clue as to their intention.

Then there are the hazards.

We'll discount the family with kids, except to mention that on a 90 mi trail with only four blind corners, that's exactly where they will stop to deal with juvenile problems.

Then there's the informal club race peloton. The teenage as#@&%e drivers of the bike world. (But with a faster bike no longer a problem ;-)

The bike date;

The guy is always trying to keep alongside his intended prey chatting her up, our of shape enough that he's barely in control and completely oblivious to his surroundings.


Single hottie in the peloton;

The absolute worst!

She will attract an orbit of suitors like a uranium nucleus traps electrons, all swarming around her in testosterone fueled obliviousness, changing orbits with complete randomness.

I think I'd rather take my chances with MTA bus drivers.

(end of rant);-)

JimF22003

I don't believe there actually are any such people. Except in your mind.

rydabent

jimf2

Read the posts on several bike forums.

Biker395 

You know, I was going to say that my pet peeve is all of the people walking smack down the middle of bike paths.

But yesterday, I went to a memorial ride for a fellow cycling club member. He put his tire into a pavement seam on a club ride, crashed, and after less than a week in the hospital, died of a brain injury.

Then, last night, I read of another friend who had a nasty crash on Spunky Canyon. A fast and very experienced endurance rider. He has road rash on just about every side of every limb and on most of his torso. And a scapula fractured in two places.

So I think my pet peeve is that truth be told, cycling can be is a very dangerous sport. It's the ying to the yang, I guess.

RIP, Ed. This is from our memorial ride.

VACaver

Enlighten us...what does TRACK mean?

TGT1

In every other sport it means move right, get out of the line/track you are being passed.

Running, XC Sking etc.

One syllable word with an unambiguous meaning.

Gerryattrick

A big peeve is the unexpected but frequent things that stop me going for a ride.

Yesterday I had a morning ride planned and when I got into the kitchen for breakfast I found that I had to carry out emergency repairs on the kitchen sink unit U-bend which was leaking water everywhere. More than two hours and a trip to the hardware shop later I had fixed it, but I was so stiff from the bending & twisting, and so fed-up with the whole situation that didn't go for the ride. I hadn't even changed out of my cycling kit.

Frizlefrak

ROFLMAO!!!! Thanks guys.....gave me a chuckle I wasn't expecting today.

NVanHiker

I guess my peeve would be politicians who encourage cycling as a 'safe' alternative in order to burnish their own and their city's 'green' credentials. In fact, 50 years of riding and commuting has taught me that it's an exceedingly unsafe pursuit, and I'm actually glad my son, who supports a young family, doesn't cycle at this stage of his life.

NVanHiker

I also have a friend who cycles and runs marathons who put his tire into a pavement seam, fell (into traffic) and broke his hip. A reason that a few years ago I changed up to 700x28's. Makes a huge difference and may save your life on urban streets.

Chaco

What do you mean, "exceedingly unsafe"? In fact, in the US at least, cycling is about as dangerous as driving a car. It's far less dangerous than giving up exercise all together. Actually, the more people who are cycling on the roads, the safer it gets.

Zinger

That there is just poetry that is.

trackhub

The Y Chromosome is very much like The Terminator, in that:

-It cannot be argued with.
-It cannot be reasoned with.
-It absolutely will not stop.

Duane Behrens

:-) This. I bought a $270, 30-year old Raleigh Super Course earlier this year. I then spent maybe 40 hours and $800 upgrading components while doing my best to keep its original classic lines. I think I got close. And actually riding the bike is . . . well, okay - "orgasmic" is too strong. But it's really fun, enough so that my $5000 carbon bike sits in the garage most days including weekends . . . when all the warriors are out.

I'm amused when the warriors stroll up in their color-coordinated spandex, look at my bike, and turn away in disgusted annoyance.

THEY in turn are puzzled by the few who walk up and lightly touch the bike in reverence.

It's all fun. DB

Popeyecahn

My pet peeves are almost always induced by myself, I can piss myself off to no end. This weekend I forgot to put my shoes in the car only to find this out after unloading the bikes and prepping to ride (15 miles from home to the meetup), I'm sure everyone enjoyed the blue streak. I drove home and looked for crappy bikes at yard sales.

As for bike snobs, what would Sweet Brown say...

I-Like-To-Bike

Unambiguous to those conversant in cryptic jargon from unrelated activities; a big fat WTF to everybody else.

NoviceJohn

1.) Dog walkers with retractable leashes that stretched across the entire width of the MUP.
2.) Irresponsible parents who allow their kids ride their bikes 100 yds ahead of them and not have control of them while I approach their kids
3.) A group of walkers taking up the entire width of the MUP
4.) Cyclists who would still run a stop sign even though they saw a vehicle stopped at the intersection first. I almost ran over this dumbass (with my pickup) when he decided to run the stop sign. He's the group that makes drivers hate cyclists on the road.

mrodgers

I would say this is why I just use toe clips rather than clipless, but it happens often to me as well. I'll go out to my car after work and realize I didn't bring my tennis shoes. I'm not riding in heavy clunky steel toe boots and wouldn't be able to get into the toe clips with them anyways.

Kids riding 100 yards ahead of the parents does not automatically equal irresponsible parents. Nor does kids being 3 feet ahead of the parents equal having control of them. I teach my kids to always stay to the right no matter what, so you approaching them would be no problem whether 100 yards ahead or half a mile ahead.

BlazingPedals

I've been biking all my adult life, and I've never heard that term before. Coming from a road background, the idea that someone should have to make way for one or more passing is contrary to the concept that the one in front always has the right-of-way.

badger1

+1

I suppose this suggests a pet peeve of mine: the delusion some persons appear to labour under that when cycling on public roadways or public "bike trails" (including MUPs) they are "athletes" engaged in a "sport", and that conventions/rules that apply in a crit, in a pro peloton on closed road courses or on the track somehow apply, and ought to be known and observed by, everyone else -- cyclists, joggers, walkers, families and c.

EvilWeasel

In motorcycle racing it is the passer's responsibility to execute a safe pass. The passie only needs to hold to his own line. How did it get reversed with bicycles?

wphamilton

Alligators. I've never come across one, being a little out of their normal habitat, but I've seen pictures and they look cranky and sneaky. I think that a moose comes in second as my peeve, because they stand in the road staring at you and just dare you to try riding past them.

EvilWeasel

They move pretty slow when basking on land. You can usually just bunny hop the smaller ones.