derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
Cycle Snobs
- Thread starter CycleD
- Start date
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Back in the early 80s i used to cycle many miles a week when i was a young whipper snapper. Because i was young and recovered quickly i never gave it a second thought as to how many miles or how fit I actually was. After my parents split up i became a bit of a loner and would simply disappear for hours on end covering countless miles on my bike. One summer day whilst walking my mad vicious corgi dog, this bloke came jogging by and my dog gave chase after him. After i gave him a big oppollogy for my dog nearly ripping his calf muscles out we became great friends and i would cycle with him whilst he trained for his up coming triathlon. I was only 13/14 at the time and in my eyes he came my sarogate dad.
One day he was running up this 1000 metre incline and as i paced him on my bike , When we got to the top he commented on that i didn't stop talking all the way up. I thought for a moment he was a tad peed off with me for it ,but what he was getting at was the fact i could manage to talk normally and not be out of breath whilst climbing this grueling hill.
Come with me to the next 10 time trail at the cycling club. I think you'll do really well he said.
It took a bit of persuading on his behalf because i had no self confidence and the fact my bike was a bog standard steel framed Peugeot..I had no proper cycling clothing either to make matters worse.
Anyway the following Thursday i turned up at the local cycling clubs 10 TT with this heavy bike and dressed in my PE kit from school.
The cycling snobs were having a right old field day with my presence.They all had the good bikes laced with campag gear and dressed to look the part and all smelling of relgex ,and there was me on a Halfords racer with chrome bars and simplex gears wearing a baggy pair on shorts two sizes to big for me. There were all looking down there noses at me but my new best friend just kept on giving me encouragement and told me to take no notice. We all set off in one minute intervals and i was about the tenth to go of around 20 .
I was half expecting the guys who set off behind me to eventually catch me up as the miles clicked by, but to my surprise no one did. In fact i caught up with a couple of riders and passed them.
When i crossed the line and our times were read out ,to everyone's surprisement i came 5th..The faces on some of these cycle snobs was like thunder and my mate was trying to contain his joy. You could see them and hear quiet mutterings amongst themselves about me. One guy even insinuated I cheated by turning back sooner on the course but a marshal quickly told him i was logged at all the key points. I will never forget that evening. After the race we stopped off at a local pub and he bought me my first ever pint of lager to celebrate ( it was the 80s lol).
If there was ever a classic case of cycling snobbery ,this was my story of it :-)
Johnny .
One day he was running up this 1000 metre incline and as i paced him on my bike , When we got to the top he commented on that i didn't stop talking all the way up. I thought for a moment he was a tad peed off with me for it ,but what he was getting at was the fact i could manage to talk normally and not be out of breath whilst climbing this grueling hill.
Come with me to the next 10 time trail at the cycling club. I think you'll do really well he said.
It took a bit of persuading on his behalf because i had no self confidence and the fact my bike was a bog standard steel framed Peugeot..I had no proper cycling clothing either to make matters worse.
Anyway the following Thursday i turned up at the local cycling clubs 10 TT with this heavy bike and dressed in my PE kit from school.
The cycling snobs were having a right old field day with my presence.They all had the good bikes laced with campag gear and dressed to look the part and all smelling of relgex ,and there was me on a Halfords racer with chrome bars and simplex gears wearing a baggy pair on shorts two sizes to big for me. There were all looking down there noses at me but my new best friend just kept on giving me encouragement and told me to take no notice. We all set off in one minute intervals and i was about the tenth to go of around 20 .
I was half expecting the guys who set off behind me to eventually catch me up as the miles clicked by, but to my surprise no one did. In fact i caught up with a couple of riders and passed them.
When i crossed the line and our times were read out ,to everyone's surprisement i came 5th..The faces on some of these cycle snobs was like thunder and my mate was trying to contain his joy. You could see them and hear quiet mutterings amongst themselves about me. One guy even insinuated I cheated by turning back sooner on the course but a marshal quickly told him i was logged at all the key points. I will never forget that evening. After the race we stopped off at a local pub and he bought me my first ever pint of lager to celebrate ( it was the 80s lol).
If there was ever a classic case of cycling snobbery ,this was my story of it :-)
Johnny .
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subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Wot works best is having a tourer with front suspension and panniers , mud guards n all sorts of uncool kit. Then leaving the " all the gear , no idea " peeps for dead on a commute . The bobbers hate that . Me . I am just riding my bike , and always will be
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Heard of that before, & also having the panniers fully bulged out, with Styrofoam chips, or screwed newspaper
When I worked in Leeds, a Cat 2 that I knew did just that
i hate hills
Its my day to be brilliant
We are ALL cyclists at the end of the day ..... " why cant we be friends , why cant we be friends , why cant we be friends "..........
Bryony
Veteran
- Location
- Ramsgate, Kent
I've never been bothered if other cyclists say hi to me or if they disapprove of my bike, but usually all cyclists I come across have been very friendly.
Yesterday I was out riding with my friend who is very new to cycling and owns a very old and very cheap mountain bike (I think she said it was £150 brand new) and every cyclist that went by said good morning which my friend was very surprised about!! Towards the end of the ride we pulled over to sort her brakes out as a bit of gravel got caught in her brake pad 2 guys stopped to make sure we were ok and they were both on very expensive carbon road bikes, I certainly felt there was no snobbery going on there!
Yesterday I was out riding with my friend who is very new to cycling and owns a very old and very cheap mountain bike (I think she said it was £150 brand new) and every cyclist that went by said good morning which my friend was very surprised about!! Towards the end of the ride we pulled over to sort her brakes out as a bit of gravel got caught in her brake pad 2 guys stopped to make sure we were ok and they were both on very expensive carbon road bikes, I certainly felt there was no snobbery going on there!
Blimey you must be clever to know why they gave you an imagined dirty look.
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
Other factors may have been at play though
S-Express
Guest
Pros and other Elite athletes tend to ride whatever brand they are contracted to ride. I doubt if the Brownlee bros are any different in that respect.
- Location
- London
My thoughts exactly on reading that.Other factors may have been at play though
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I sometimes play that at the roll-out of group rides... but more often, I play the Bicycle Waltz or Easy Riding.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB9VfwyGCGg
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Animals__Men/Where_Are_All_Your_Friends/Easy_Riding_1049
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Oh great(!) Just because someone rides a hybrid, you assume that they're "doing wrong on the roads, unaware"?!?! Of all the people I would have expected to be a bike snob, Pat wasn't one!
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
Can't speak for "folks", but it's the patchy levels of knowledge and service that make me reluctant to recommend them.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Website with lies about stock levels, click+collect system that sends you "ready" emails before the store's got it ready, somewhat bizarre approach to what lines are stocked in what branches (let's sell bikes with 26×1⅜" wheels, then not stock inner tubes or tyres in that size!), cycle parking installed so close to the wall you can't lock both wheels and frame ... in other words, I agree completely and the half-odds hate is not about the car spares.
- Location
- London
Don't know about that to be honest. Don't need their servicing or advice myself. They sell some decent stuff though.
