Drivin' Riders: The worst bicyclists.

Ike90

As of May 4, I will have been commuting by bicycle full time for six consecutive years. As another late spring/summer season approaches, what I call the “fair weather” riders (those whom will only ride when there is no chance of rain and the temperature is at least 70 degrees F.) are beginning to re-appear. These riders tend to clog up the bike cage at my workplace and to overrun the paths and trails that are basically all mine for the other nine months of the year, and a few of them even sneer at me because I don’t wear all the “proper” Spandex cycling gear that they spend thousands of dollars on every season.

Don’t get me wrong though, I have no problem with fair weather riders at all. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who rides a bicycle in place of driving a vehicle even once per year is at least putting forth some effort, and that’s terrific.

It’s what I call the Drivin’ Riders that really irritate me. These are the people that pack their so-called “mountain bikes” onto their cars or into their pick-up trucks, and then drive anywhere from 10 to 120 miles one-way in order to “commune with nature” on a two to three hour recreational ride in the forest.

The simple truth is, Drivin’ Riders are no better than dirt bike or snowmobile riders. They vastly increase their carbon footprint so that they can feel “athletic” or “environmentally conscious” by adopting a supposedly Earth-friendly sport. Never mind the accusations of erosion damage and other environmental problems caused by mountain bikers, these people are typically spewing double the amount of pollutants they normally would just so they can pedal in the woods for a little while. It’s BS!

I ride past the major trailhead of large mountain park everyday, and as the weather improves, I see more and more of these people, often arriving in separate vehicles. They unload their several-thousand-dollar bicycles and strap on all their overpriced Pearl Izumi lycra gear, then pedal away as though they’re some wonderful advocates for a clean, green planet. It’s disgusting, and ultimately, I guess I’m embarrassed for them.

Thanks for reading my rant.

TheDarkLord

Are these mountain bikers really professing to decrease their carbon footprint by riding 2-3 hours in the woods? If yes, they are tools. But I don't think most fall under that category. They just want to bike for a short time in the woods, and since the trails they want to ride are far from their home, they have to drive there. Don't see anything wrong with that. Mountain biking has very little to do with reducing carbon footprint (as opposed to commuting in a bike). It is an activity done for recreation.

Ike90

That's a decent point, but judging by the typical bumper stickers on their vehicles (Think Globally, Act Locally; Free Tibet; Greenpeace; etc.) I suspect there is, at least for some of them, a sense of smug self-satisfaction in their chosen hobby.

Also, I live in an area where trails and paths are commonplace, and very few people really have to drive at all to find good off-road riding. I have no problem with people camping in the forest for a couple of nights and taking their bikes along. I do it several times every summer. It's the daytripper kind of MTB riding that I find ludicrously energy intensive.

Trekhead

If you've ever rode a serious trail for a few hours there's no way you'd have enough energy to ride 10+ miles back home.

threaded

Pah! I intend to ride, as a warm up, 30 km to a 12 hour MTB race on the 3rd May, race around it solo for 12 hours, and assuming the bike is still rideable at the end, ride the 30km back home again.

Kids today.

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Ike90

Threaded, you are a frickin' role model!

As for "serious trails," I can't imagine that Georgia comes close to the kind of climbing and/or decents the Pacific Northwest offers, but I'll take Trek's word for it. In any case, that's why I made a deliberate choice to live near those trails, so that I don't have to drive 2-1/2 hours to ride on them. They're four blocks from my house.

Trekhead

North GA has plenty of trails that you can call serious. Around where I live it's mostly flat.