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Pet Peeves, let's hear them.
- Thread starter Number27
- Start date
I regularly cycle to work and to places I want to go, and there's a few that really annoy me about this:
- BMX bikes on roads. Seriously, you look stupid riding a tiny little bike like that.
- Overweight guys in pro-cycling kits. Seriously, the irony is so obvious, it's not funny.
- Riding on the pavement. Not only is it dangerous, illegal and inconsiderate, it makes the rest of the cycling world look like jerks.
- People cycling in the wrong gear. Call me a bit of a snob, but it's not that hard to learn how to cycle properly, using gears properly. It also causes issues when you're stuck behind some idiot who is going far too slow.
- People with expensive bikes who then act like jerks towards anyone else on the road. Owning a Trek Madone does NOT make you any better than the rest of us.
- People with iPods in their ears when out on roads. Seriously, it's stupid because you won't hear cars, but you're also not going to hear anyone else for that matter.
- People who go out on club rides without basic kit. Seriously, I used to do a LOT of charity and fun rides, usually doing the longest routes, and the number of people who had to call for help simply because they didn't take a tire pump or puncture kit was staggering. Usually it was the older and more experienced riders who did this too, which is strange.
- Motorists.
As a former avid cyclist, I have a few questions. Clearly, I was not riding at the level you do as you use a few terms I'm not familiar with. when you say "cycling kits" are you refering to the outfit (shorts & jersey)? If so, I understand where you're coming from. Shamefully, I've put on a few extra pounds, and I woudn't dare try to get back into my kit(?) till I'm back to a proper weight.
Regarding "riding on the pavement", what do you mean? Are you refering to riding in the traffic lane? Around here, riding on sidewalks (where you can find them) is dangerous and illegal. IME, riding a road bike in even a small amount of dirt is dangerous. We also have "bicycle lanes" on our roads here.
If it's a kid (under 17) riding a BMX in the street, I'd give them a break. That may be all they have. Anyone else, I'm with you.
Not sure what you mean by "wrong gear", though I have an idea. In my experience, if it's too easy or way too hard to pedal, I'm in the wrong gear. I like having to push a bit to get up to & keep the speed I want, but that's only to try and get stronger. I used to climb hills in 1st gear when I was in sufficent shape to do it (at least I think it was 1st gear, the chain on both big sprokets? Or is that 6th?).
When I ride, I carry a "flat kit" that, for me consisted of at least one spare tube (usually two) a spare tire, my pump (which each of my two bikes has one on the frame), a patch kit, and the tools to remove and replace the tires. My rims are quick-release, so I don't need tools for those.
I'm with you about the riders who wear earphones. Just looking to get killed.
In closing, if you're going to criticize people for what they're doing wrong (and you have every right to), perhaps you should take the oppertunity to explain what would be right. Just a thought.
Yes, that's the type of kit I mean.
and I have a tendency to assume people are familar with some terminology I use.
Yeah, I mean the sidewalks and I would be rich if I got a penny from the number of near misses I've had with idiots trying to beat the traffic/be lazy on bikes.
The laws says that you can be fined for this, but in reality it just doesn't happen.
To my mind, BMXs are not road bikes. I don't have a problem with anyone riding them, but when you see idiot teenagers diving in and out of traffic for a dare, it narks me RIGHT off. I've had to slam my brakes on in more than one situation otherwise there'd have been blood on the windscreen.
When I say wrong gear, you get it right. I've seen too many people pedalling like an idiot only to get nowhere fast, and on narrow cycle lanes it's just dangerous- no room to overtake without going into traffic.
You've obviously got more sense then than some riders I've been with. I've got a small pack under my saddle with most of the same gear in (thank whoever invented quick-release wheels) plus a small first-aid kit (no good repairing the bike if you can't repair yourself!).
The charity club riders were the worst for this. they seemed to think 'a flat tire/puncture/injury isn't going to happen to me'.
Over here there's been a few deaths caused because too many people cycle with iPod headphones or mp3 headphones in, only to not hear traffic and be killed/injured.
Yeah, noted and done!
Why would you assume I live in the US based on my comment? Regardless of what country you live in, if you're turning one way, you do NOT need to drift 'way over to the opposite side of the road to make a turn.
Also, the US is NOT the only country to drive on the right side of the road, so...
Desensitized kids who use LOL and JK in normal sentences who have facebooks and phones, but are 8 years old
drummers who drum while im talking to guitarist/singer at rehearsals
rush haters
atheists who think there right about there atheism even though there not
drummers who drum while im talking to guitarist/singer at rehearsals
rush haters
atheists who think there right about there atheism even though there not
People who don't understand the difference between there, their and they're.
Oh, the delicious irony of this sentence popping up in a pet peeve thread
HOF there/their/they're fail.
I love this post. As a person who has been a competitive cyclist (albeit xc) for about 5 years, riding for 10+ and used to train on my road bike daily, +10000 to it all. There's something about getting on a road that turns some people (drivers and cyclists alike) into road raging ********. It's silly.
Lemme add:
-Other riders who are not aware of what's going on around them and don't know trail/riding etiquette. The worst is getting blocked on single track because they guys ego won't let him let me pass. So I'm stuck coasting behind him while he spins in 1-1 going 5mph and is completely winded. Then scowling at me when I cut off the trail to get by. Dude...
-People who set up too close to trails to watch an interesting section and risk being hit.
[non cycling peeves]
-My phone auto correcting you/your/you're and always getting it wrong.
-People who try to convert me to christianity at 8am at my front door on Saturday morning. ge'tha **** outta hea.
-Sheetz billboards (a gas station/food stop). The poster boy for them is a fat dude. "Look it's ok to eat this fast food and get fatter and develop diabetes America, really it's ok!" OTOH at least they're honest.
-Young metal fans, usually female ones.
"Oh I love metal too!"
"Awesome, been to any shows recently?"
"YAH OMIGAD Parkway Drive, Bring Me the Horizon and Asking Alexandria."
"oh.
"-Drivers who don't check blind spots, nor signal. Then look at you like you're crazy for blocking their lane change.
-Passengers in my car who check my blind spots for me and look both ways for me when I'm about to turn or switch lanes. Relax dude I got it.
When my TB membership expires and my avatar goes away.
Looks like a lot of you guys are in the same boat!
Looks like a lot of you guys are in the same boat!
Oh, the delicious irony of this sentence popping up in a pet peeve thread
HOF there/their/they're fail.
Wow. I came to resuscitate this thread...in order to bitch about the very same thing - specific to my experience on TalkBass. And here I find it all teed up for me, ready for me to unload:
There - an adverb, typically referring to a physical place or a point in a process
Their - an adjective used to denote possession
They're - a contraction of "they" and "are"
It sometimes seems that nearly half the people who post on TalkBass are semi-illiterate...
wikiHow: How to Use There, Their and They're
MM
I didn't know this was a pet peeve until this week.
Of being used in place of have.
"I could of typed have, but I chose not to."
It's a "me" thing, I know.
Of being used in place of have.
"I could of typed have, but I chose not to."
It's a "me" thing, I know.
No, not just you. I can't believe the amount of really poor grammar on the nightly news - the smaller the market, the worse it is.
