Local Animosity
 

There is some severe issues occurring locally and I wonder if it is just a local problem or a national issue as well.

Here, there seems to be a large amount of animosity between pure cyclists and triathletes. The local club has decided to ban trial bikes from the group rides which means six of my favorite riding partners will not be joining the rides anymore.

This all stems from ONE person on a tri bike which has some issues shifting while riding in a pace line. Recently this same cyclist CRASHED while riding a road bike.

The cycling club decided to ban TT/Tri bikes despite the local triathletes asking them to handle things on an individual basis.

I just wonder, is this kind of bitterness a universal thing or purely local? I am a little new to the world of cycling. Please tell me how things work at your local cycling club.

This is a huge generality, but... Tri- athletes don't generally work out in pacelines, and so their pacelining skills tend to be sloppy at best. I think it should be decided on an individual basis, but it's entirely reasonable to bar squirrely riders from a paceline. I know I wouldn't want one two bikes up in front of me.

Don't some clubs ban tri bikes because the aero bars can cause problems when riders are close together?

I don't see how they could assuming the rider stays off the aerobars while in the paceline.

Pacelines are a crutch for weak riders to lean on... tri riders don't need them.

I agree completely with the banning on an individual basis, but the local cycling purest are being quite adamant about banning all triathlon bikes. I ride with the triathletes every Sunday. I have never seen them wreck.

Unfortunately, the cycling club has had frequent and devastating wrecks (none which have been related to people on triathlon bikes). Locally most of the triathletes seem to be the most stable riders, yet they are being singled out despite the fact none of the wrecks have been their fault.

That is true, but locally the triathletes are seeking out camaraderie, but time after time they are being insulted and treated like dirt by the local cycling club. They are only really wanting to socialize, but they are being kept out.

Damn triathletes!!! Get off my lawn!

haha Isn't that a tri bike in you avatar pic?

:roflmao2:

I hear what you're saying. Why don't the tri riders join, or start up, a tri club?

Finally! A news story of such importance to knock the Michael Jackson death/memorial circus out of the top spot.

Holy ****! It is! What is that doing there?!?! Some o' dem damn triath-uh-letes m,usta snuck it up to my house!

At the local non-drop ride that I ride on, two of the organizers are triathletes. They also ride in a Sunday ride which is faster. So I assume it's not a big deal around here.

They don't have aerobars- not sure if they use different bikes for the triathlons or what.

If the local cyclists are having problems with devastating crashes without triathletes involved, are you sure that's really the group you WANT to ride with? Maybe you should be banning them, instead of the other way around.

I ride all week outta our shop, well mostly mon-sat, anyway, we have some serious racers that ride and some triathelets too. They normall are only out on the sat ride and a couple hae made me nervous, but they usually get dropped when I do, or just before (I still getting some miles on my legs) and I have found myself pulling them back in or getting seperated all together. It might be no drop, but I gotta get back to work.

Well, the local running club has enough triathletes to ride on Sunday, but during the week there are never enough people due to diverse work schedules.

:roflmao2: I had not even thought of that.

FWIW this is what our bike club uses for guidelines for pace lines http://www.blueridgebicycleclub.org/bikingsafety.pdf

BTW...

If my easedropping is right, there is a problem between the runner's club and tri's, I think something having to deal with insurance and liability of possible sponserships or something like that.

I think they were helping to do clinics for riding and maintenance (ie. flat fixing etc.), but I could have misheard.

Tri cyclists are welcome to join recumbent group rides

Haha we're all cyclist. It's really funny to me that animosity exists like that in some areas.

And your favorite riding partners won't join the ride on road bikes... why?

Locally, the problem here is the cycling club and the tris. The runner's club LOVES the tris (several of them are triathletes).

The cycling club does not deal with insurance, liability or sponsorships. They are a loosely run club through the college with a lot of adhoc members from the local town.

Exactly. I don't get it. Around here the cycling purest are so stuck up. I'm glad this appears not to be a national issue.

They don't own road bikes anymore. Well two of them do, but since their son and daughter-in-law can't ride, they won't join in.