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AIBU?

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Original poster

How can this be fun?!

40 replies

Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 16:14

I love mountain biking and happy to do it in the rain! I even commute to work on the road in the nicer weather. So I’m not against road bikers.

But how can riding your bike in the pissing rain with 15 other people be fun? Esp due to there being soo many of them, it means that they end up having a good line of cars behind them and in between them.

How can this be fun?!
OP posts:
willingtolearn · 08/01/2023 16:15

It's fun when it's over.

Original poster
Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 16:15

This particular road is so windy and can have some idiot fast drivers on it.

To me it just looks dangerous!

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 08/01/2023 16:16

They'll probably stop at the pub and have a good chat at the end and it's good exercise. I'd enjoy it.

Original poster
Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 16:16

willingtolearn · 08/01/2023 16:15

It's fun when it's over.

Ah, type 2 fun… The type when you earn your cup of tea!

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 16:18

girlmom21 · 08/01/2023 16:16

They'll probably stop at the pub and have a good chat at the end and it's good exercise. I'd enjoy it.

Really?! Worth it for the risk involved? A zwift works just as well… But you don’t get the type 2 fun I guess!

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 16:20

It’s just the cars that terrify me!

When I’m mountain biking I chat with friends on the uphills… But we’re usually on forest tracks or single track with no cars so it’s dead chilled out and sociable. This doesn’t look sociable, despite them all riding as a group. Heads down and concentrating

OP posts:
SnuggleBuggleBoo · 08/01/2023 16:21

I agree, I don't understand it at all. But then I don't understand a lot of people's idea of 'fun' and I'm sure they wouldn't get me.

JimHensonWasAGenius · 08/01/2023 16:22

That's MAMIL's for ya!

It's a pissin up the wall contest.

Straycatblue · 08/01/2023 16:23

So something is only fun if it's done the way you think it should be done ?

The way you do it is fun but how can it possibly be fun for them cos there's more people ?

What a weird post

Different people find fun in different things why not try it & see, maybe you will have a laugh, maybe not but that won't make it any less fun for them.

Unless of course you're actually trying to start an argument about riders on the road & being stuck in traffic behind them??

GyozaGuiting · 08/01/2023 16:25

As a mountain biker I agree, it is very sociable! I’m sure these guys will stop for a coffee though. Maybe they have radio headsets?!

AGoodDayForSomebodyElseToDie · 08/01/2023 16:26

Doesn't look like much fun to me - but then, most people wouldn't choose to stagger around in the mud looking after horses in the pissing rain either, so each to their own.

Roseelane · 08/01/2023 16:32

Maybe what they get from it is feeling like they've proven themselves to/in front of other men? Not fun in the traditional sense, but it scratches that itch.

ComtesseDeSpair · 08/01/2023 16:41

It’s like most outdoor activities, isn’t it? You don’t do them for the parts where it’s pissing down with rain and you’re cold and fed up and hungry; you do them for the parts where you reach the summit of a mountain with barely a breath left to take and then the clouds break and the view is as if from an illustration; or where you get to the end of a winding trail and realise you broke your PB for a segment; or for the moment when you suddenly realise that the rain has stopped and you can no longer only hear the white noise of the wind through your ear mufflers rand what you can here is the rush of a stream and a hovering bird of prey calling for its mate; or as others have said, for the camaraderie en route and the pub at the end where you reflect on the journey and laugh at your friend who fell in the bog / got soaked by a puddle.

CMOTDibbler · 08/01/2023 16:43

I go out with a road group, and though there are places you have to spread out, it is very sociable unless you end up in a group too fast for you, or in the summer who want to chain gang. Theres always a coffee stop unless on the serious rides. Now admittedly I am a fair weather cyclist and seeing soggy cyclists out today does not fill me with joy, but I'm sure they look at me swimming in the river and feel the same

RightsHoarder · 08/01/2023 16:46

Sometimes doing something hard is an accomplishment. It feels good to be outside your comfort zone. Lots of benefits.

Rabbitsandhabits · 08/01/2023 16:48

They won’t be on roads like that the whole
time. If you are cycling c50miles or something then you are bound to have some stretches of road that are a bit horrible.

ShinyMe · 08/01/2023 16:51

Please tell me you aren't taking photos while you're driving!

TooBored1 · 08/01/2023 16:51

How very odd of you. I don't like mountain biking, shall I start a thread criticizing your choice of hobby?

comeon2023 · 08/01/2023 16:52

ComtesseDeSpair · 08/01/2023 16:41

It’s like most outdoor activities, isn’t it? You don’t do them for the parts where it’s pissing down with rain and you’re cold and fed up and hungry; you do them for the parts where you reach the summit of a mountain with barely a breath left to take and then the clouds break and the view is as if from an illustration; or where you get to the end of a winding trail and realise you broke your PB for a segment; or for the moment when you suddenly realise that the rain has stopped and you can no longer only hear the white noise of the wind through your ear mufflers rand what you can here is the rush of a stream and a hovering bird of prey calling for its mate; or as others have said, for the camaraderie en route and the pub at the end where you reflect on the journey and laugh at your friend who fell in the bog / got soaked by a puddle.

This is poetry!

I need to find someone to leave the kids with for a long weekend so I can go hiking & wild camping on the moors again!

ComtesseDeSpair · 08/01/2023 16:52

Rabbitsandhabits · 08/01/2023 16:48

They won’t be on roads like that the whole
time. If you are cycling c50miles or something then you are bound to have some stretches of road that are a bit horrible.

This also. They won’t be riding like that for the entirety of the outing. We were trail running in the Peak District this weekend and I’m sure if you’d seen my friends and I trudging up the side of the mountain road in the pouring rain and mist with visibility at about six feet you have wondered why the fuck we were bothering. Because you wouldn’t have seen the rest of our day over the peaks and down trails and through bog and jumping from boulder to boulder all the while having an absolute ball talking and joking and laughing and just being outdoors. No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.

Ludo19 · 08/01/2023 16:56

@AGoodDayForSomebodyElseToDie that to me sounds like bliss!

daisychain01 · 08/01/2023 16:57

I'm on the couch in my PJs wrapped in my fleece blanket having been caught in the most evil rain, howling wind and freezing cold. When I was out there, I was definitely questioning my sanity @Gwdihooooo and today's ride was not fun, it was torture.

Most of the time I make sure I don't go out when the weather is that bad, so today's ride was the exception not the rule. That's the case for the riders you see, they go out in all weathers and sometimes get caught in a hoolie but very often when the day is dry, 10 deg C and no wind, it's an absolute pleasure.

Rough with the smooth when you're an outdoor cyclist or runner.

I don't do group rides though - I can't concentrate when I've got all those people around me, I much prefer a solo ride. I'm like one of those solitary bumblebees you see bouncing from one flower to another, happy in my own company under my own steam Smile

TiddleEePom · 08/01/2023 17:07

Pissing rain is fine if you're warm enough. Drivers are less likely to try bullying and intimidation if you're riding in a group, which makes it especially good for less confident cyclists. Peer-led groups are great for meeting people and learning new routes. The event will have been planned in advance, and kudos to them for getting out despite the weather.

Silverpining · 08/01/2023 17:22

This post boils down to someone not understanding people have different preferences and ideas of fun.

Lord help us

Original poster
Gwdihooooo · 08/01/2023 17:26

Straycatblue · 08/01/2023 16:23

So something is only fun if it's done the way you think it should be done ?

The way you do it is fun but how can it possibly be fun for them cos there's more people ?

What a weird post

Different people find fun in different things why not try it & see, maybe you will have a laugh, maybe not but that won't make it any less fun for them.

Unless of course you're actually trying to start an argument about riders on the road & being stuck in traffic behind them??

It’s not because it’s not the way I would do it…. I just think it’s terrifying in the rain, then as extra people means more cars lining up increasing the risk

OP posts: