it aint so funny when the umbrella is stuck into your wheel when you go over the bars and land teeth first or crack your head open. What if that was your kid and now he's in a coma or have damage just because some ******* think its funny of want to keep you off a bike or hiking path? Not too funny anymore is it. I had to put up with that kind of crap a few times years for the past 25 or more years on the road. The early years, back in the mid 80s were almost none, by 92-2000, I see it often.

I was refering to the very start of this topic and someone complaining of Mr. carbon fiber weaving thru the tourist at the wharf or whatever his beef. Lighten up and get some humor. Read your replies and knowing your passion into cycling, myself was once a very avid cyclist albeit not road racing, still enjoy the off-road. I think we could all agree on seeing both numbskull riders and drivers but I certainly don't have any compassion for the arrogant riders turned idiot who is the cause of giving other cyclist a bad name. I could go on but some of the worst was recalling while riding and as I stopped at an intersection, another rider nearly rammed me and b1tched me out! The idiot blew thru the traffic and I surely was hoping he would've been hit. Do you wonder why I have this sic humor?

Don't want to jump off topic but the sharing of a road or trail is a problem in just certain parts of the country. From touring around the country, it seems the problems arise in and around large metropolitan areas. Some of the most friendly riding I've experienced is the upper east coast states. Maine is fantastic and a great example. Amazing how often drivers will pass respectfully and wave friendly. I've never seen that anywhere.

Now for something that really boiled me and about 'sharing' a trail. Some years back on a peacful Sunday, I decided to enjoy some dirt bike riding on OUR FAMILY property. So down a particular trail I spot someone riding a horse. No biggie so I shut the bike down, parked off the trail so as not to spook the horse. As the rider approached, this clown actually TELLS ME ITS PRIVATE PROPERTY and I SHOULDN'T BE OUT HERE ON A DIRT BIKE, for HORSES ONLY! I kept my cool, let him move along and then went my way.

Let me continue how many @ssh0les exist. While on an ATV quad, I survived FALLING in a deep hole that purposely was made and dug by a backhoe. I was coming around a fast corner during an early morning ride while leading a group of others on a authorized trail. Took some time to sort the cobwebs out and straighten a few things and was lucky surviving with minimal damage.

Another time while on a snowmobile, blew thru a temporary barbed wire single fence line AT NECK HEIGHT. This was at night on a MARKED trail in Wisconsin. I noticed it in a last moment and let go of the bars, the wire scathed thru my windshield, clean sliced the padded foam on my bars, caught my neck while I bent back and left a clean cut on my suit and teeny cut to the skin of my neck. The wire was just tacked on some trees and when I went thru it, most of it went down, the other riders behind me blew over the top, just missed me and obviously shaken up.


Happy trails....

Have you ever noticed that the hard core, tell everybody about it runners and cyclist never played any real sports as youths? They seem to think running and cycling at 40 makes up for their inablity to throw or catch a ball at 12.

I carry a bike bell in the car. With all the rude cyclists here I've noticed that when a car is behind them that they will "Assert their RIGHT to the road" (read: ride in the lane middle) BUT, if the cyclist believes that they are going to be overtaken by a faster rider, all courtesy is extended, and they move to the shoulder. ...PingPing - On your left. --zoom :)

I wonder if bike bells ever startle anyone into losing control and dumping. --that's sad.

Not sure if this generalization has been thrown out yet. In the 90's I noticed a growing body of cyclists that disregarded basic rules of the road - triathletes. These folks started dropping in on the weekly ride from La Jolla to San Clemente and back and were a danger to everyone involved because they would blow stop lights/signs and insisted on riding with their aero bars. Aero bars and pace lines don't mix. For the most part these guys were arrogant and undisciplined in group riding and road awareness. Again a huge generalization against the tri folks but - that was my experience.

San Diego is a year round cycling hotbed.

Well, played little league baseball from age 8-12, was on the all-star team as a 2nd baseman age 11 and 12, was all-conference in HS water polo, played four different sports intramural in college, and played on tournament softball teams (shortstop and pitcher) on and off until I finally retired at age 47.

Then again, I know guys who were great particle sports athletes when they were young and at age 50 are 30 lbs overweight and don't do much of anything other than watch sports on TV. So that ability to throw is helping them a lot now...

I give props to anyone middle aged or above who gets out and does some exercise.

I love touching the nerve......and then the resumes come out, funny stuff.
No, cycling and running is not a sport for 99.9% of the individuals who run and cycle ...its just exercise. Sports imply competition and entering a "sporting" event to earn a participation ribbon is just exercise. Oh yes its a great thing in all keeping fit, but don't think you are on par with competitive athletics or think we give a sh## you ran 26 miles or biked 100 miles for no apparent reason other than to tell everyone about it. Our view of you doesn't change. You are not raised to some higher status level....its just exercise.


PS cycling and running are real sports for anybody who is possibly competetive beyond the chamber of commere's 5K fun run.

So then golf and checkers are sports but cycling is not?

So if you were not a jock in school that makes you a non person/athlete?

Golf is not a sport, its a game. Golfers are not athletes. :p

My dad likes baseball, got me into little league. I didn't like it. Not the playing but the practice regimen after school. That made it feel like work. I was not really good. I guess I wasn't terrible, but certainly nothing special. So it wasn't any fun.

I never really liked team sports. I like having my destiny in my own hands. I got into cycling for exercise and for the fun of bombing down canyon roads. I am pretty good at climbing but I don't race. Many of the other cyclists say I should but I would not be competitive with the ones who take it seriously. And if I have to dress up and take it seriously I fear it won't be fun anymore. I am confident I could be pretty good at it if I worked more at it. But I have other things I'd rather do like work on my mechanical engineering degree.

But, I do like to compete against the clock. I try to do the best times I can with the equipment I have. So there is an element of competition even if I am not racing other riders. It is like autocross or time trialing rather than wheel-to-wheel racing.

baseball is not a sport, just a game - a boring game - luckily football season is here

or you could play golf on bicycles - call it polo

OK, you're right. You win.

People who are offended by this post: Middle aged wannabe/has been athletes falsely thinking that their extraordinary efforts at keeping fit is of any importants or interest to anyone else.

Keep making my point....You are all offended because someone questions the fact the what you are doing is just exercise......what is missing in your lives that you need this validation. I AM AN ATHLETE WHO PARTICIPATES IN SPORTS....YOU MUST HEAR ME, SEE ME.


In high school it did, or maybe it should be "in high school it did"

I fine that to be truth. I hate to say this, tri rider have no bike handling skills and knowledge of general group riding rules. I don't need to go down because of their over zealous ride. We always stayed away form them. Today, everyone and their mother with a bike want to do group rides and they all race.

thats not what you said above.

"Have you ever noticed that the hard core, tell everybody about it runners and cyclist never played any real sports as youths? They seem to think running and cycling at 40 makes up for their inablity to throw or catch a ball at 12. "

"It's just exercise" Yes? So? Someone who is exercising doesn't deserve to do so safely? Without being harassed? Romad you are a buttplug.

We had a group from the quad cities up here a while ago. They traveled 4 abreast on a two lane double yellow main highway and when they heard me apporach they looked at me but continued to ride in formation. If the sherrif or HP had been there they would have gotten a ticket for not riding on the asphalt to the right of the white line. They were riding stupidly but I just dropped down a gear to pass when it was clear. It isn't just cyclists though, at least Wisconsin allows you to pass on a double yellow if it is clear and it is safe to do so. The law cam about because there are so many tractors, gators, quats, skid steers and what not that traffic would be backed up for along time since they don't drive on the shoulder either. One Gator blew a stop sign to get in my lane in front of me as I was doing 60 on the main highway. He never looked, but went to the ditch when I honked as I had no way to stop in time and I had no where to go with oncoming traffic. Or the moron on the 3 wheeler swerving back and forth across the whole road so no one could pass and he knew there was traffic behind him. Had I been first in line on that one I may have let him side swipe me.

Not offended at all. The though of another middle age guy participating in sport just never cross my mine. I simple don't care unlike you. YOu seem to know what everyone's else is thinking just by looking at them so there's no need to debate with you on this very subject because you already know best.

That's Mr buttplug!
I never condoned harassing people who are exercising. Just emphasizing the point that many extremer exercisers have a superiority complex and want everyone to know they are extreme exerciser, which leads to the behavior in the original post.

And conversely, there are they guys who were good athletes as a kid and now are fat and out of shape. Which leads to behaviors like harassing bicyclists.