Radish_legs

I went on a ride with some racers, a couple of them I knew casually. First time for me to be part of such a small "elite" group. It was a tempo ride, nothing too bad.

One of the riders really got on another one, for not choosing the correct part of the road to ride on. Then got on me about not being close enough to the wheel in front at times, etc. He was pretty rude about it and sarcastic.

I asked some of my friends later, who ride more than me, and they said "that's how racers are. Bicycle racing attracts more jerks than any other sport."

I've really had nothing but good experiences in cycling (I don't race). Is this true, that racers are their own breed?

(I'm all for getting instructions on how to be better, how to ride more safe in a group etc., but this guy was a little over the top).

dcbikeguy

yes



first

DMF 

Racer: testosterone overload (Alright, kill the jokes.)

Rec rider: testosterone deficit. (Rx = pie)


Seriously, you're calling an entire group to answer for the personality of one member. Isn't that just a little silly?

piper_chuck

I used to train with a race team. I found some of them to be overbearing, arrogant, SOBs who were always out to show how much better they were than everyone else. OTOH, some of them were extremely helpful and went out of their way to help less experienced riders improve.

timmhaan

both can be equally annoying.

cslone

This pretty much sums it up. As with everday life, there are a-holes and nice guys.

SDRider

Find another group to ride with. I've ridden with CAT1 & 2 racers who are the complete opposite of the guys you rode with.

SDRider

Man, that looks good.

timmhaan

no kidding...it's actually making my mouth water. i gotta get out of this thread.

ratebeer

He may have been trying to just share some pointers. Sometimes communication at speed comes across as blunt. It's best to assume the person on a bike "saying" something has your and the group's best interests in mind. Smile.

Racers are not all butt holes by any stretch. But butt holes sometimes excuse their own jerky behavior with their racer status. I think everyone here knows botto is a shining example.

Radish_legs

I'm not going to stop riding with these guys.

One of the other racer guys told me later "don't listen to a thing that guy says."

But I was more asking about what my friends said--they are the ones who were generalizing about racers.

bdcheung

is stupid. just ride. words are words, and 99% of them are ignorable.

ovoleg

the op is dumb

Portis

See my recent thread. Needless to say, i hate group riding. I went the other night just because i had been wanting to ride just out of curiousity to see how i would "measure up."

I've ridden one group ride, each of the last two years. So i've now done 3 group ride in the last 3 years. I had a very similar experience to yours. The guys that ride every year are mainly the same cast. They are all racers and fast, and they are proud of that. There were a few new faces but they were all very fit and everyone had expensive madones, colnagos, etc.

So here I come with my $520 Trek 1000, with a Brooks saddle and two HUGE water bottles. I'm sporting a major FRED mirror on my helmet. Everyone immediately looks down on me and nobody says a word. Anyway, we finally depart and here we are, all nine of us in a tight group as we head out of town.

I am very uncomfortable in this pack as i am a solo rider and have ridden nearly every day solo for the last 1500 days or so since i started riding. The first thing i find odd, is how slow the peloton is moving. I am having a hard time "keeping up" with the slow pace. There is NO wind resistance and that makes me want to GO.

We are only riding around 19 mph so everyone can stay together i presume. It wasn't long before a couple of the "leaders" started bossing me around telling me to keep the same pace etc. I was not bashful and took the lead several times mainly cuz i was frustrated.

I knew that there would be a break later on as i know a couple of the racers are very fast. I know their plans are to casually ride out and then a couple of them will hook up and dump me. So I played along till about 15 miles in and finally as we start on our return trip to home the leader breaks away. I thought, "what the hell, i'll go with him."

I know that he is faster than me in any sprint but I am eager to have some fun. So i hunted him down and he fell back in place with the peloton, probably a bit annoyed that none of his buddies went with him and that i did.

Finally a couple miles later he goes again and takes another fast rider with him. Then everyone else goes to. I was a bit caught off guard and fell back a bit but quickly regrouped. Soon i passed everyone except for three. The two fast guyz and an older guy who was ahead about 100 meters. I kept at it and caught the old guy on the climbs and left him behind. So long story short, i ended up 3rd out of nine. Not bad considering i had a way cheaper bike, they were ALL in good shape and they all ride together year round. Again, i never ride in groups.

Anyway the leaders finally waited for everyone to regroup at the end and we all headed to town together. ON the way back into town,the two leader guyz were pretty annoyed with me i think cuz they kept bossing me around telling me to stay on there wheel etc.

I really found the whole thing quite annoying but in retrospect quite amusing. I am sure a lot of them were pretty miffed to get dropped by a skinny dork on a Trek 1000 sporting a Brooks and a dorky mirror on his helmet.

Radish_legs

I think your case is a bit different, because I have done many more than 3 group rides. And I do think there is a lot you learn through experience. Group ride #10 is not the same as group ride #3 which is different from group ride #500.

caloso

Every racer was a recreational rider until he pinned on a number.

Radish_legs

so it's the number that makes one an #$(*(#$*?

okpik

not unless they are getting paid, if not, then they are still recreational riders

EventServices

I'm just going to sit back and watch this thread grow this time.

ovoleg

you are a skinny dork and you dropped a bunch of guys on a climb and basically for the rest of the ride you wheel sucked?

wow are you proud? Seriously if you dont see how ******** you sounded, I think you should go and reread what you wrote.

caloso

Does winning a prime count as getting paid?

wonderflee

lighten up, he's asking a question, don't overread his post.

John H.

The only group rides I don't enjoy are those in which I am stuck with people who can't tell the difference between a group ride and a race.

patentcad

Correct.

ovoleg

patent cad being the exception, he is a waterboy but he fills the racer persona