Lifestyle

30 Things That Annoy Cyclists

We love riding bikes, all disciplines and in all weather conditions, but what are the most annoying things about cycling?

We’ll persevere through some of the wettest weathers, we’ll cycle through the busiest cities and we’ll tear it down truly gnarly runs. Cycling is more than just a hobby for a lot of us, and we’ll love it no matter what… even when the most annoying things happen.

Here are just a few irritants we’ve come across…

Forgetting to Start Your Strava

For all the Strava addicts out there. Setting off on your route and making it even just a few meters before realising you’ve forgotten to start the Strava, can ruin your ride. Do you go back to the start, or just carry on?

Are you addicted to Strava: Check here to find out

When You Forget to Un-Pause a Ride

Consequently when you stop for that well deserved break and re-fuel, there’s nothing worse than forgetting to un-pause your ride when you set off again. Losing those precious Strava miles makes it feel like it never even happened.

When your Computer Loses your Ride

Technical glitches do happen, and when you lose an entire ride, it’s as if a part of you died with it. Don’t worry, you know it wasn’t a dream.

Litter

Riding through a beautiful forest, or along a stunning mountain trail can be so easily ruined by litter. It’s one of the biggest pet peeves for all bikers. Please remember to pop your trash in the bin, or in your bag!

Booby Trapped Trails

This goes deeper than being an annoyance to riders, it’s a serious threat to safety. More recently, news articles have started to surface about fishing lines on the trails, nails embedded into branches and roots. This is so dangerous, and it’s a shame people can be so cruel minded, so please stay vigilant.

Pollution

Cycling through a bustling city, and riding your daily commute is a great way to stay fit, but pollution levels are at an all-time high and while you’re doing your bit for the environment, sadly not many others are.

Potholes with Chalk Outlines

You’re in full flow of a ride, and things are going great, until you come across a pothole. The chalk outline tricks you to believe something will be done about it, but every ride on that same route over time tells you otherwise.

“Do you Follow the Tour de France”

Regardless of your discipline, road or off-road, whenever you tell anyone that you enjoy riding bikes, you’ll get asked about the Tour de France. It’s a great race etcetc – but there’s more to cycling!

Being Asked How Much our Bikes Cost

There’s no denying it, cycling is an expensive hobby. But we love it! We can justify the costs with the amount of happiness it gives us, and how much use we get out of out beloved bicycles. We shouldn’t be made to feel bad for spending a lot on bikes and kit. Work hard, play hard!

What’s the point in Riding That Far?

Spending your day cycling 60 miles, getting fresh air and exercise appeals to us more than sitting on the couch and living life through the TV. There’s nothing more annoying than people putting down your efforts and achievements.

Horse Riders Vs. Bike Riders

Horse riders and cyclists don’t always get along, especially when you cross one another on a bike-specific trail. At the end of the day, we all need to respect one another and get along – especially on bridlepaths which we all use – but some people just aren’t willing to make friends!

Paddling Pool Shoes

A little rain is bearable, but when you feel your booties fill up with water, everything gets very cold and sloshy. Your waterproof socks can only hold back so much!

I’m not Crying, I Have Rain in my Eyes

It’s so frustrating when you can’t find that happy eye-wear balance in the rain. Glasses get dirty, so you can’t see. Without glasses, you run the risk of getting dirt and rain in your eyes, so you still can’t see. If only we could get windscreen wipers for glasses.

Wet Drains in your Cycle Line

Drains are slippery when wet, so approaching a drain in your cycling line is a nuisance. However, approaching a drain on a corner is a massive pain. You could risk cycling straight over it, or try and adjust your position to avoid it.

Wet Roots

Muddy off-road riding is super fun, but features become a lot more troublesome. Always take a line perpendicular to wet roots, any other way and you risk sliding out your front and landing on your face. It’s even more annoying when you approach a whole spider web of roots across the trail.

Cars Overtaking before a Left Turn

It can be pretty hairy when a car decides to overtake you, but even more so when they overtake before a left turn which causes you to brake and interrupts your flow.

People who Overtake you then Sit in Front of You

They make a big deal about you cycling on the road, and when they finally decide to overtake, they sit right in front of you. What’s all that about?

People who Don’t Overtake

It’s like drivers are trying to make more of a statement by driving close behind you, without overtaking, they just sit on your back wheel. Very annoying, and very intimidating!

Drivers who Squirt Windscreen Wash at you

It happens, and it’s frustrating. Impatient, and rude drivers find it funny to squirt their windscreen wash at you directly, or in front of you enough that you get the spray of it. I’m cycling, and saving you road space, here!

Drivers who Aim for the Puddles

Could these be the worst kind of humans? Aiming for the puddles to soak a cyclist may be hilarious to them, but certainly not for us!

Drivers not Allowing Enough Space

There’s a 1.5m distance that should be kept between a cyclist and a driver, but some cars love to challenge this and really get the hairs standing on end when they skim past you. Needless to say, it gets our blood boiling.

When your Hands go Numb

And you can’t unwrap your energy bars, or even feel the grip on your bars. It’s unnerving when you can’t feel the brake levers!

Fumbling around for Things in your Pocket

When you try to take something out your pocket and something else falls out, like your multi-tool, or your debit card! Especially when you have gloves on and your desperate to get that essential energy gel out.

Losing a Glove

I now understand why my mammy used strong to thread my gloves through my coat. Losing a glove is so annoying! You’ll pop it down for just a moment, and it’s gone.

Being 2 minutes LATE/EARLY for a Group Ride and Everyone Leaving

Because if leaving on time without you isn’t bad enough, sometimes group rides actually depart just a couple of minutes early. The insolence! At this point, you can choose to text a ride buddy for information, and play a game of chase, or basically give up and tootle of on your own. You always did like you own company anyway.

Organising A Group Ride

You spend a lot of time trying to organise a nice group ride to bring people together and have a social pootle, but some drop out, turn up late, and others are too impatient to wait and just head off leaving you to wait on the late comers.

Getting to a Café and Realising They only Take Cash

There’s nothing worse than seeing a café on the horizon, after a long bike ride and tasting the tea on your lips, only to be told that they only accept cash. Maybe it’s worth stuffing a secret £5 note in your Lyrca.

White Bar Tape That Gets Dirty

This can be for all things white, and all things new. Taking out a new piece of kit for a maiden voyage is exciting, until it starts to rain and get filthy. No matter how hard you scrub, or how much cleaning product you use, it’ll never get to that same level of cleanliness again.

Changing a Tube in the Rain/Dark

Suffering a puncture sucks, and it sucks more in the rain and the dark. You’ll change a tube as quick as possible, and when you know you should check the tyre, you don’t, and low and behold, it just punctures again…

Hay Fever

The sun is shining on a beautiful day, it looks like the perfect conditions for a bike ride. Then 10 minutes into the adventure, disaster strikes. Puffy watery eyes, sneezing fits and itching. Nothing gets more frustrating than hay fever.

Despite all these annoying things that happen to us all, we’d still chose to ride bikes any day! These pesky inconveniences won’t put us off that easily.