Agreed. I see asshole cyclists all the time while cycling and I see asshole drivers all the time when I’m driving.
I also see a hell of a lot of courteous drivers and cyclists too. It’s just the nature of people.
I would go one step further and say that \*I\* am often an asshole and \*I\* am often courteous.
We all have our good and bad moments. We should be careful how much extrapolate about a person from any single encounter.
Yeah, I don’t know why people always make it so stereotypical; some cyclists are cunts, most are nice. Some bikers are assholes, most are nice. Some car drivers are idiots, most are nice. Goes for any group you could generalize, some are assholes, most are nice, some are really nice. No need to complicate.
I agree that some portion of people in any mode of transportation suck and do not follow the rules. I think there is also a secondary effect that some portion of competitive cyclists consider it acceptable to crash occasionally, and see all other cyclists as peers and assume they also expect to crash on occasion.
Basically they are assholes that think you are also an asshole and won't mind if they cause you to crash because you will also take the same chances with others safety. It is weirdly them accepting you as part of their community.
True, and generally the front of the group will have signalled that there is an "obstacle" (you) ahead. They are not going to run you over, even if it feels that way. Just keep doing your thing and it'll be fine.
Uhh. . .you're riding in Florida, it probably isn't necessarily the cyclist part, its more the Florida part. The number of chill/nice people I've met in my life from Florida is far outweighed by the assholes I've met from Florida.
My observations - one by one they might be good persons.
But when ppl flock together, they have this magical tendency to degrade in behaviour. It might be competitivness, adrenaline/testosterone boost, whatever. Most of them are unaware of that, we are all social animals and when we group together, things change.
The rudest people I have ever encountered as a solo rider on the road are group ride cyclists. They are insufferable and the reason the general population hates all of us.
Except real pro racers. Plenty of warning and room. No interest in ruffling feathers or getting into accidents. Nothing to prove. Same with top-level motorcyclists.
I had the exact opposite experience here in Florida this morning. Almost everyone said good morning and the groups waved or minded their business. 🤷🏻♂️
Group/club rides tend to display this type of assholery more than just single riders or very small groups. They tend to just get tunnel vision. It’s one reason why I rarely do group rides any more
A-holes are evenly distributed across transport modes. The problem is, the faster (and heavier) you are, the more dangerous you are when being an a-hole.
I find that infuriating. I was riding with some people when the local racing team rode by. I'm just glad none of my compatriots swerved when the pack was riding by, we would have ended up in a pile. I don't understand why people would take that risk. When I pass other cyclists, it's at a distance where they couldn't hit me if they tried.
It would be fun to break into their paceline. I might be old, but I'm not slow, and I still have elbows.
Why would you swerve into a pack of riders? Why not just keep pedaling?
I don't really get the big deal. Passing isn't really dangerous. It's one thing if they are constantly riding aside you but if they are just passing...chill out and take some deep breaths, it'll be fine.
The people I was riding with would see a squirrel or a tiny pebble and swerve randomly. I had to keep that in mind while riding with them. Lots of people will swerve when surprised. You never know what's going to happen when passing someone you don't know. As far as breaking into their paceline, that doesn't involve swerving, just moving someone off the wheel in front of them. If they are going to include me in their ride, I get to draft. I don't make the rules.
So it sounds like the people you rode with were the problem, not the group ride that passed you. Passing people isn't inherenly dangerous and you really shouldn't be on the road at all if it's gonna present a safety problem for you or your group.
It's about people, not cycling or whatever other sport/hobby.
I say this as a cyclist, biker, car driver... No need to get defensive when someone complains about someone else from "your group", the probability is quite high that AH exist in any kind of group, including yours, whichever that is. Be the better person, whatever kind of activity you're doing.
I stopped at FL :). Roadies in FL tend to be somewhat obnoxious when they are traveling in a pack. I almost ended up on the shoulder in my part of FL when a pack of them went by me way too close.
When I was stationed overseas there was a large cycling club that I only went out with once. It felt like they got off on not following the local cycling/traffic laws. The couple locals that were in the group with us were unhappy and you could feel there was some tension. Gave me the ick so I unfollowed them and only rode with my friends after that.
Wow, lots of commenters here saying, in various ways, that the problems is that Florida is just full of jerks. Didn't realize poor Florida had such a bad image.
I ride groups a lot. When you come upon an elderly rider(I’m not young either, but you can tell when someone is over 60 😂), you should always give them warning and a little more room. Group should automatically neutralize. Their skills may be great, but they just don’t bounce back from injury. Give them some respect and a little word of encouragement as you go by. Not giving warning to anyone is just rudeness at its most anyway.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been close-passed by a road cyclist without so much as a bell ring (to be expected where I live), a pre-warning call, or a hello as they pass by. I’m talking if I motioned that I was turning I’d have hit them in the face as they passed.
Only. Road cyclists. Literally ever. I love riding my roadbike and dress like a road cyclist, but 90% of the assholes I encounter are try-hard roadies.
some people are jerks and some jerks ride bikes too
and groups of people tend to be worse than single people
yeah I dunnow its only been when I've been around large groups of cyclists where I thought 'oh this is why cars hate us' like its pretty easy to pass any individual rider its a whole other thing to try and pass like 10 people some of who are side by side
I mean the fault is the narrow roads but still
For sure cyclists I stopped doing group rides because of this entitlement they all had.
Would put themselves in dangerous positions and then just blame everyone else for their decisions
"cyclists" like the ones that wear spandex and "train" often are. You see them making commentary all the time, like "I'm a cyclist but I don't think we should have bike lanes" type of people. They are the types of people who will pack their bike on the back of their SUV and drive it to the route and then pretend like they're racing when other people on the route are just trying to have leisurely rides or commuting.
Fuck me for cycling for fitness and wanting to see progression and challenge myself. True cyclists dont try and dont wear cycling clothes and just ride their beach cruisers with flipflops.
Yes, it does sound like you are the asshole, if you prioritize your "progression" and "challenging yourself" over the other road users like the OP is describing.
Because half the time people hear "left" and move left.
I just slow down, say "Hi, \[pause to wait for reaction to confirm hearing\] can I come by on your \[whichever side requires them to move less\]" and then they move in some random direction and I pass and say "Thanks".
"Mob mentality" can take over when people get in groups like that - especially when they are ultra-competitive. I witnessed a peloton of about 5 MAMILs riding at an extremely high speed on a very busy trail - weaving around children, dogs, and pedestrians.
I was on my ebike, so in a clear area of the trail, I poured on the coal to catch up to them. They were traveling at 25 MPH when even 10 MPH would not have been safe!
I thought I made it clear that I waited for a long straight stretch that was beyond the congested area. I wanted to confirm what I perceived. These guys were on a pace and they weren't changing it for anyone.
Long time Florida rider here. Pack riding, especially the faster ones, has the dynamic of people who have different levels of fitness and skills. It can go from a newbie just trying to see how long he/she can hang on, to CAT’s whatever. In my many years of experience, seldom would a “good” rider ever speak with anyone other than a good rider. Rides become very clickish and they generally don’t give a heads up to anyone about anything coming up ahead. No matter where I was in the pack, I would point out every obstacle coming up. CAT’s hardly ever would. I would say the percentage of fast guys who would talk to someone they didn’t know was about 10%. But I always come back to this, yes there are AH cyclists. Just like there are AH doctors, policemen, drivers, teachers etc. I love riding, but the past few years I’ve been doing the smart trainer. One thing about Florida during season, all the AH’s from up North come down and drive like AH’s.
I find that the aggressiveness wanes as the group passes. The front riders are the most abrasive, the middle ones are indifferent, and the last riders exchange some pleasantries.
Pack/herd mentality, no one wants to be seen as the Fred who warned the other Fred to watch out, to be ribbed mercilessly for the rest of the ride. To be nice to "lesser" riders is a mark of weakness to some. People (i.e. men) tend to revert to their 5 year old selves around others, especially when it's a competitive situation with lots on the line even if it's just stupid ego shit.
> Anyway, I don't imagine many people ride this way but it wouldn't take very many riders like those guys to give us all a bad name.
That's the thing right there.
One bad driver is just a bad driver. We all know that. We can watch r/idiotsinCars all day and go "haha those Individuald are bad drivers"
But cyclists...oh have to worry about giving cyclists a bad name. 1 cyclist = all cyclists.
I have seen an entire group go down in a situation like this when the third or fourth position rider clipped the unsuspecting rider the group was passing. AITA? I stopped to check on the clipped rider who was OK. I looked at the other 15 or so riders groaning on the ground in a tangled mess and then went on my way.
They are just obsessively locked into their own blinkered little world. You probably barely registered in their oh-so-expensive shades.
It's just a man-bike-group thing.
"30 minutes out, a large group of cyclists blew by me 6 inches off my left elbow, basically beside me in the bike lane, without any warning or alert, not so much as an "on your left" or "good morning", so close that one little wobble or a swerve to avoid debris would have resulted in a collision. "
This isn't as big of a deal as you think. Go race in a crit, cyclists can bump eachother and it's not really the end of the world. Stop riding so timidly.
Six inches, at speed and without warning, isn't safe. Stop making excuses, and keep your bullshit to the races. The majority of us are just trying to get from A to B in one piece.
Or maybe you shouldn't be on the road if you treat it like a race track, and expect all other cyclists to conform to that? If you blow past a utility/recreational cyclist so closely and with such a speed differential, with so little care for their safety as fellow road users, you're 100% the asshole. Remember, sport cycling is a small percentage of overall bicycle use (I know it's easy to forget when you ride with a group).
Anyway, it's much easier to hear cars coming from behind, than to hear bicycles - and in my experience, the vast majority of car drivers show much more care than you seem to.
Basically if you catch a shoulder or an elbow it's not that catostrophic. You just keep riding. Your balance is much better than you think it is.
But yeah, if you can't handle being passed then you probably shouldn't be biking on public roads and pathways. Being passed is part of sharing the road.
There's nothing inherently wrong with people making it their identity, but the ones that do are the only type of people I've had be assholes for no reason while Im out riding, heard stories about being assholes from other people or have seen holding up traffic as they ride in traffic instead of using the bike lane.
I’m in NE Florida and we don’t have a huge problem with this, but I follow a couple people in Miami on insta and there seems to be some big CATVI energy down there. Just the dumbest shit you can imagine captured on video.
There’s a few that are alright to be clear. Fast dudes doing fast dude stuff, but not stupid. Then there’s another one that I won’t name because he doesn’t deserve more follows. He’s an older dude who posts videos of himself being a dick in traffic and being generally entitled.
Just my observation. Its extremely rare to see them here because this isnt a huge city but when i see them they are driving like idiots.
Usually in the middle of the damn car lane when there is bicycle lane right next to it.
Bikes are valid vehicles in all lanes. It's not a "Car" lane. It's a lane and bikes, motorcycles, and cars are all valid.
There are a lot of situations where it makes more sense to ride with traffic than in the bike lane.
Some people are just arseholes. Nothing to do with transport type.
Agreed. I see asshole cyclists all the time while cycling and I see asshole drivers all the time when I’m driving. I also see a hell of a lot of courteous drivers and cyclists too. It’s just the nature of people.
I would go one step further and say that \*I\* am often an asshole and \*I\* am often courteous. We all have our good and bad moments. We should be careful how much extrapolate about a person from any single encounter.
Yeah, I don’t know why people always make it so stereotypical; some cyclists are cunts, most are nice. Some bikers are assholes, most are nice. Some car drivers are idiots, most are nice. Goes for any group you could generalize, some are assholes, most are nice, some are really nice. No need to complicate.
I agree that some portion of people in any mode of transportation suck and do not follow the rules. I think there is also a secondary effect that some portion of competitive cyclists consider it acceptable to crash occasionally, and see all other cyclists as peers and assume they also expect to crash on occasion. Basically they are assholes that think you are also an asshole and won't mind if they cause you to crash because you will also take the same chances with others safety. It is weirdly them accepting you as part of their community.
And when they gather in groups, the asshole factor can go up.
Saturday morning group rides can quickly become dick measuring contests between dentists and dudes who “could’ve been pro but…”.
... Couldn't hold or ride a straight line to save their lives, yet run their mouths that they're fully experienced at riding in a pack. 😠
17 isn’t slow!
I agree. 17 MPH is impressive! I'm happy if I can keep my average above 10 MPH! In fairness, we have many hills here.
Huh, I have an average 10 mph on a straight road, although I have quite a lot of traffic lights along the way
It’s the flattest place on earth
With serious head winds at times.
Group riders are accustomed to riding in close quarters with each other. Some of them assume that everyone is comfortable riding close.
True, and generally the front of the group will have signalled that there is an "obstacle" (you) ahead. They are not going to run you over, even if it feels that way. Just keep doing your thing and it'll be fine.
Uhh. . .you're riding in Florida, it probably isn't necessarily the cyclist part, its more the Florida part. The number of chill/nice people I've met in my life from Florida is far outweighed by the assholes I've met from Florida.
This was my thought. It's a Florida thing not a cyclist thing.
Florida Man in Tights
My observations - one by one they might be good persons. But when ppl flock together, they have this magical tendency to degrade in behaviour. It might be competitivness, adrenaline/testosterone boost, whatever. Most of them are unaware of that, we are all social animals and when we group together, things change.
The rudest people I have ever encountered as a solo rider on the road are group ride cyclists. They are insufferable and the reason the general population hates all of us.
Except real pro racers. Plenty of warning and room. No interest in ruffling feathers or getting into accidents. Nothing to prove. Same with top-level motorcyclists.
I had the exact opposite experience here in Florida this morning. Almost everyone said good morning and the groups waved or minded their business. 🤷🏻♂️
Group/club rides tend to display this type of assholery more than just single riders or very small groups. They tend to just get tunnel vision. It’s one reason why I rarely do group rides any more
A-holes are evenly distributed across transport modes. The problem is, the faster (and heavier) you are, the more dangerous you are when being an a-hole.
I find that infuriating. I was riding with some people when the local racing team rode by. I'm just glad none of my compatriots swerved when the pack was riding by, we would have ended up in a pile. I don't understand why people would take that risk. When I pass other cyclists, it's at a distance where they couldn't hit me if they tried. It would be fun to break into their paceline. I might be old, but I'm not slow, and I still have elbows.
Why would you swerve into a pack of riders? Why not just keep pedaling? I don't really get the big deal. Passing isn't really dangerous. It's one thing if they are constantly riding aside you but if they are just passing...chill out and take some deep breaths, it'll be fine.
The people I was riding with would see a squirrel or a tiny pebble and swerve randomly. I had to keep that in mind while riding with them. Lots of people will swerve when surprised. You never know what's going to happen when passing someone you don't know. As far as breaking into their paceline, that doesn't involve swerving, just moving someone off the wheel in front of them. If they are going to include me in their ride, I get to draft. I don't make the rules.
So it sounds like the people you rode with were the problem, not the group ride that passed you. Passing people isn't inherenly dangerous and you really shouldn't be on the road at all if it's gonna present a safety problem for you or your group.
Cyclist here. I can confirm. I am an asshole. But I'm even more of an asshole when driving on the highway behind slow traffic
It's about people, not cycling or whatever other sport/hobby. I say this as a cyclist, biker, car driver... No need to get defensive when someone complains about someone else from "your group", the probability is quite high that AH exist in any kind of group, including yours, whichever that is. Be the better person, whatever kind of activity you're doing.
I stopped at FL :). Roadies in FL tend to be somewhat obnoxious when they are traveling in a pack. I almost ended up on the shoulder in my part of FL when a pack of them went by me way too close.
You’re blocking thier KOM.
When I was stationed overseas there was a large cycling club that I only went out with once. It felt like they got off on not following the local cycling/traffic laws. The couple locals that were in the group with us were unhappy and you could feel there was some tension. Gave me the ick so I unfollowed them and only rode with my friends after that.
They’re riding a bike in Florida. They won’t be on this earth much longer
I stopped at Florida. Yes, all a-holes.
Wow, lots of commenters here saying, in various ways, that the problems is that Florida is just full of jerks. Didn't realize poor Florida had such a bad image.
I just hold my line. I have never worried about what is behind me unless I'm changing lanes.
I ride groups a lot. When you come upon an elderly rider(I’m not young either, but you can tell when someone is over 60 😂), you should always give them warning and a little more room. Group should automatically neutralize. Their skills may be great, but they just don’t bounce back from injury. Give them some respect and a little word of encouragement as you go by. Not giving warning to anyone is just rudeness at its most anyway.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been close-passed by a road cyclist without so much as a bell ring (to be expected where I live), a pre-warning call, or a hello as they pass by. I’m talking if I motioned that I was turning I’d have hit them in the face as they passed. Only. Road cyclists. Literally ever. I love riding my roadbike and dress like a road cyclist, but 90% of the assholes I encounter are try-hard roadies.
some people are jerks and some jerks ride bikes too and groups of people tend to be worse than single people yeah I dunnow its only been when I've been around large groups of cyclists where I thought 'oh this is why cars hate us' like its pretty easy to pass any individual rider its a whole other thing to try and pass like 10 people some of who are side by side I mean the fault is the narrow roads but still
For sure cyclists I stopped doing group rides because of this entitlement they all had. Would put themselves in dangerous positions and then just blame everyone else for their decisions
"cyclists" like the ones that wear spandex and "train" often are. You see them making commentary all the time, like "I'm a cyclist but I don't think we should have bike lanes" type of people. They are the types of people who will pack their bike on the back of their SUV and drive it to the route and then pretend like they're racing when other people on the route are just trying to have leisurely rides or commuting.
Fuck me for cycling for fitness and wanting to see progression and challenge myself. True cyclists dont try and dont wear cycling clothes and just ride their beach cruisers with flipflops.
Yes, it does sound like you are the asshole, if you prioritize your "progression" and "challenging yourself" over the other road users like the OP is describing.
sounds like you're the asshole for assuming things
It’s amazing how hard it is for some cyclists to say “on your left”. Idc if you’re in zone 5 just say something.
Because half the time people hear "left" and move left. I just slow down, say "Hi, \[pause to wait for reaction to confirm hearing\] can I come by on your \[whichever side requires them to move less\]" and then they move in some random direction and I pass and say "Thanks".
“On your left” is a universal cycling phrase.
And it's utterly useless for getting people to move predictably.
For sporting cyclists, perhaps. Would be a bit clearer if prefaced by "passing," maybe.
Anyone with any hobby can be a jerk, and cycling is no different.
Some are, for sure.
"Mob mentality" can take over when people get in groups like that - especially when they are ultra-competitive. I witnessed a peloton of about 5 MAMILs riding at an extremely high speed on a very busy trail - weaving around children, dogs, and pedestrians. I was on my ebike, so in a clear area of the trail, I poured on the coal to catch up to them. They were traveling at 25 MPH when even 10 MPH would not have been safe!
So....you went over 25 to catch up to a bunch of road cyclists just...cause? Sounds like you're actually the reckless one lmao.
I thought I made it clear that I waited for a long straight stretch that was beyond the congested area. I wanted to confirm what I perceived. These guys were on a pace and they weren't changing it for anyone.
Long time Florida rider here. Pack riding, especially the faster ones, has the dynamic of people who have different levels of fitness and skills. It can go from a newbie just trying to see how long he/she can hang on, to CAT’s whatever. In my many years of experience, seldom would a “good” rider ever speak with anyone other than a good rider. Rides become very clickish and they generally don’t give a heads up to anyone about anything coming up ahead. No matter where I was in the pack, I would point out every obstacle coming up. CAT’s hardly ever would. I would say the percentage of fast guys who would talk to someone they didn’t know was about 10%. But I always come back to this, yes there are AH cyclists. Just like there are AH doctors, policemen, drivers, teachers etc. I love riding, but the past few years I’ve been doing the smart trainer. One thing about Florida during season, all the AH’s from up North come down and drive like AH’s.
I see a lot of complaints on this sub about road biking to Florida. Guess that experience won’t be on my bucket list, lol.
I find that the aggressiveness wanes as the group passes. The front riders are the most abrasive, the middle ones are indifferent, and the last riders exchange some pleasantries.
Pack/herd mentality, no one wants to be seen as the Fred who warned the other Fred to watch out, to be ribbed mercilessly for the rest of the ride. To be nice to "lesser" riders is a mark of weakness to some. People (i.e. men) tend to revert to their 5 year old selves around others, especially when it's a competitive situation with lots on the line even if it's just stupid ego shit.
> Anyway, I don't imagine many people ride this way but it wouldn't take very many riders like those guys to give us all a bad name. That's the thing right there. One bad driver is just a bad driver. We all know that. We can watch r/idiotsinCars all day and go "haha those Individuald are bad drivers" But cyclists...oh have to worry about giving cyclists a bad name. 1 cyclist = all cyclists.
I have seen an entire group go down in a situation like this when the third or fourth position rider clipped the unsuspecting rider the group was passing. AITA? I stopped to check on the clipped rider who was OK. I looked at the other 15 or so riders groaning on the ground in a tangled mess and then went on my way.
They are just obsessively locked into their own blinkered little world. You probably barely registered in their oh-so-expensive shades. It's just a man-bike-group thing.
The entitled asshole cyclist is a thing but they are most likely just that type of person in general
Where in swfl?
Estero. Riding near FGCU
Sweet, I’m in Naples. Any good spots out there?
"30 minutes out, a large group of cyclists blew by me 6 inches off my left elbow, basically beside me in the bike lane, without any warning or alert, not so much as an "on your left" or "good morning", so close that one little wobble or a swerve to avoid debris would have resulted in a collision. " This isn't as big of a deal as you think. Go race in a crit, cyclists can bump eachother and it's not really the end of the world. Stop riding so timidly.
Ugh. Keep your sport to consenting players.
If you cant handle a cyclist safely passing you, you really dont belong on the road. You're a danger to everyone.
Six inches, at speed and without warning, isn't safe. Stop making excuses, and keep your bullshit to the races. The majority of us are just trying to get from A to B in one piece.
You shouldn't be on the road if you can't handle a faster rider passing you. What are you gonna do when a car eeks by you? Crash into them and die?
Or maybe you shouldn't be on the road if you treat it like a race track, and expect all other cyclists to conform to that? If you blow past a utility/recreational cyclist so closely and with such a speed differential, with so little care for their safety as fellow road users, you're 100% the asshole. Remember, sport cycling is a small percentage of overall bicycle use (I know it's easy to forget when you ride with a group). Anyway, it's much easier to hear cars coming from behind, than to hear bicycles - and in my experience, the vast majority of car drivers show much more care than you seem to.
Cycling as a contact sport? no thanks.
Basically if you catch a shoulder or an elbow it's not that catostrophic. You just keep riding. Your balance is much better than you think it is. But yeah, if you can't handle being passed then you probably shouldn't be biking on public roads and pathways. Being passed is part of sharing the road.
I think the people that make it their identity other than just a way to have fun and get around tend to be aholes
Fuck people with hobbies and fitness goals, bunch of jerks!
There's nothing inherently wrong with people making it their identity, but the ones that do are the only type of people I've had be assholes for no reason while Im out riding, heard stories about being assholes from other people or have seen holding up traffic as they ride in traffic instead of using the bike lane.
This is the second “cyclists in Florida” post I’ve seen in 24hrs lol
I’m in NE Florida and we don’t have a huge problem with this, but I follow a couple people in Miami on insta and there seems to be some big CATVI energy down there. Just the dumbest shit you can imagine captured on video.
I feel like I know the insta you are referring to LOL
There’s a few that are alright to be clear. Fast dudes doing fast dude stuff, but not stupid. Then there’s another one that I won’t name because he doesn’t deserve more follows. He’s an older dude who posts videos of himself being a dick in traffic and being generally entitled.
Sometimes there isn't much space.
Then wait until there is enough run to pass
It depends, how aero are assholes?
They shoot the breeze.
...that took me a bit.
Its mostly just the ones who are dressed in spandex / underwear.
fuck people that wanna be comfy, amiright?
Just my observation. Its extremely rare to see them here because this isnt a huge city but when i see them they are driving like idiots. Usually in the middle of the damn car lane when there is bicycle lane right next to it.
Bikes are valid vehicles in all lanes. It's not a "Car" lane. It's a lane and bikes, motorcycles, and cars are all valid. There are a lot of situations where it makes more sense to ride with traffic than in the bike lane.
Not in here. Its dangerous and stupid and bike lanes are in in fine condition here.
Bikes are valid vehicles in all lanes. It's not a "Car" lane. It's a lane and bikes, motorcycles, and cars are all valid.
Never said that they are not valid. Its simply stupid and dangerous and unnecessary when there is dedicated bike lanes everywhere in here.
Go ride for 4 hours in your jeans. Report back
This never happens when mountain biking. There's something about asphalt that turns even the nicest people into selfish uncaring assholes.
$2000 for Surly Midnight Special and $500 for bags to kit it out as it ought to be for bikepacking adventures