Yelling at slow riders

[firecracker22]

You know what I’ve developed a recent dislike for? The morons in the C class who yell at me during races. Actually, anybody who yells at me during a race. If I’m in trouble I will do my absolute best to get off the track. If I’m riding slower than whoever is behind me wants to go, then PASS and get it over with! I am not going to move! I am racing too and your job is to go around slower riders. That is the point of a race. Yelling at me only pisses me off. Ooops, I accidentally goosed the throttle and coated you with mud! Never can tell what these beginners will do! :p

Okay, all this stems from my recent race, the ill-fated Toasted Hare Scramble. I was having problems in the slick nasty mud and 2’ deep ruts. I was going along as fast as I could go and these C riders (4-stroke am, vet am, sportsman etc) kept yelling “Get out of the *&@$^$% way!” Sorry buddy, what do you think I’m doing, sight seeing? I paid my $35 to be here just like you did. Moron. So I just ignored them. I will try to get out of the way if I’ve crashed. I will pick my bike up and push it out of the way as fast as I can but I’m just a girl so sometimes that might take me one or two more tries than it should. Once again, yelling or running over my rear tire, foot or helmet aren’t going to help. Now I’m not saying we should treat racing like croquet or mini golf or something but shut your stupid mouth and don’t yell at me. If you’re fast enough you can pass my slow little rear end without a problem. I’ve even had A riders do this to me a few months ago—on a wide forest road part of the course! The little imbecile yelled something and since it was a wide road, I obligingly moved to the right (Most people pass on the left, am I right?) and he tries to pass me on the right and took us both out! GRRRRR.

 

[XRpredator]

Whenever the rare occasion that I do pass someone, I always yell "Thanks!"

Or I'll yell to someone I'm coming up on "Look out!" or "Careful!" so they can tell I'm there. I do my best to be polite, though. No sense in cussing someone out. Like you say, firecracker, that person paid to be out there too.

I will let loose a string of profanities when someone takes me out (and usually himself in the process!)--He then knows who done wrong!

 

[Dirtbiker1165505]

(LaRider20 posting under son's screen name.) I've been yelled at one time for going slow and it was on a track during practice. That person never yelled at me again. On the other hand when I pass, and there is pleanty of room I don't acknowledge the other rider, but if it's tight I'll usually give a little wave and depending on where I'm at, I'll take a quick glance back at them. Courtesy will always win in the end.

 

[firecracker22]

Letting another rider know where you are is far different than demading they yield to your superior presence. The next person who does that to me better watch out or they'll get a stick through their spokes. :p

 

[Smitty]

I sort of agree and disagree with this one. When I am pushing hard I yell at every one I need to pass, but I don't yell "You're an idiot and you smell like goat! Loser!" I just yell "hey,hey,hey,hey,heeeeeeeeeeeey, hey" until they hear me. I do expect slower riders to cheat to one side and leave a line for me where they can. For instance, if the trail splits briefly they can take either line, but I hope they back off a tiny instant if we are gonna tie when the trails rejoin.

However, on the contrary last weekend I rode a qualifier style enduro which requires flat out speed in short (4-5 minute) sections. In these tests a second can cost you plenty and you've got to plan your time. If I see a slow guy on a XR400 checking into the section, I'm not going to take the spot 15 seconds behind him. Using this strategy, I checked into a section after a long gap, only to catch a guy babystepping in the last few turns of the test. I used my warning yell, and he stopped in the middle of the trail in a foot and a half deep trench. I had to get him started again to get around. :p

P.S. Don't get the wrong idea I am a very curteous rider and even when yelling doesn't work I don't resort to knocking anybody down. I just have to take a line that isn't there or take away their line somehow.

Oh yeah, I am the king of the thank you's.

 

[Reeko]

I have several thoughts on the topic.
First, I do not agree in yelling profanities at someone or insulting them (unless they take you out on purpose).

However, I have been held up by lappers causing me to lose first place due to being passed. This was because I could not jump a section and lost momentum. The guy behind me was back about 15 feet, but could jump the section just as the lappers finished rolling it. It was imediately before the finish line. What stinks is that I had held him off for 4 laps, only to loose first in the last 100 feet of the race. Oh well.

So, when I am catching lappers (not all that often) I yell to warn them and hope they will move over.

One more thing. A friend of mine has a passing technique. He likes to scream like a wildman when he comes up behind someone. He hopes that it will freak them out and cause them to make a mistake in the turn, or maybe look up. I know it works on me, I really tense up knowing he is screaming up behind me. I do fine till I know he is there. :)

 

[John.T]

If they are a Pro, Or intermediate I will let them go but If there(in my class) and there are some sections he falls behind me(let's say whoops) then he is riding my back fender into a turn and he starts yelling I tell him where to go, it's a race buddy Not a "Im fast in one section so I win!!!!!I have actually gotten in ALOT of aguments after races about this! FireC this is weird I wanted to start a flame about this too!

 

[firecracker22]

I will move if at all I can but I am not going to pull off and stop. I’m not going to risk crashing just to let someone by (who half the time is on the ground in front of ME a few hundred yards further). The problem with this particular race is it is shorter and more moto than many of the local off-road races. So there are a lot of motocross racers out there to show all the old off road guys on rat bikes how cool they are. They, I suspect (yes I am stereotyping here; there are plenty of exceptions but this seems to be the norm) are the ones who are rude. I guess part of my irritation is that this is the short course, folks. Nobody’s going to win any money here. We’re all competing for bragging rights, a little bitty piece of shiny plastic, and maybe for a few some series points. But I will not move for somebody who calls me names.

 

[KawieKX125]

I know how you feel. In the schoolboy class where I get whopped, I get lapped by 80's, 12 year olds, and 125 experts(isn't it sad?). Sometimes double and triple lapped. One obnoxious 125 rider always makes himself known by knocking any lapper off the track. I showed him one race by not letting him pass me and he lost the race because of it. I know how annoying this is, but you have to realize there are some really serious riders out there that will win at all costs!!!

But, on the flip side, I make my presence known by goosing the throttle and getting on peoples tails when I happen to lap people in the 125 C class. I am faster then them, but not fast enough so that I can blow by them so I need to tell them that I am there and usually they move over and let me by. When they don't, I try politely to pass them and usually can after a couple of laps.

Sounds like those riders in the west are real buggers!:p :confused:

 

[ll300mxc]

hare scrambles where i'm from are usally pretty tight. there fore so not to hold up the faster riders, and i mean faster, a yell is given usually "clear" and the slower rider tries to be curtious and leave a line to pass. It is a race, but race the people you can stay ahead of not the people you can block behind you. Getting blocked in a tight trail by a lapper will bother you when your second place and first place rider did not get blocked by the lapper before the trail tightend down to unpassible(safely)circumstances. Them are fighting words.

 

[firecracker22]

These were fairly wide trails. And the riders weren’t yelling “Clear” or “Track” or anything else polite or printed here. I ride to the right of the trail when I hear someone’s behind and if I’m getting back on the trail after leaving it abruptly I wait until the pack goes by. I don’t ride to block anybody; I just wanted to finish. I got lapped by the lead gal already by this time, not that I expected to win.

 

[WoodsRider]

Back when I rode a KDX I was at this one enduro and kept getting stuck behind a KTM380 rider on my minute. In open terrain he would leave me eating his roost, but in the tight stuff he'd slow down and wouldn't let me pass. Everytime I cut a hotline around him I'd crash and he'd pass me back. I wore myself out trying to get around this guy. Luckily he didn't make it past the state police road block. :p

Lately I find myself passing more and more slower riders... I know, it's hard to believe, but there are riders out there slower than me. :confused: Whenever a slower rider pulls over I make sure to yell "thanks" to them. When a rider decides to hold their line I will first rev the engine, second yell "coming through" or "on your left/right" if there's room. If they don't yield and cannot hold their line I will pass them and the outcome may not be pretty. I realize they are racing too, but slower riders can be a hazard. Especially the ones who are all over the trail.

I still find myself getting passed, although I'm usually on the ground when it happens, but if I'm riding I'll hold my line if there's room to pass. If there's not room, or I can't hold my line I'll pull over and let the faster rider(s) pass me. A few precious seconds are not worth a trip to the ER and six months of recovery. :eek: Especially since I'm doing this for fun and not for the money. :scream:

 

[ll300mxc]

Originally posted by firecracker22
[ If I?m riding slower than whoever is behind me wants to go, then PASS and get it over with! I am not going to move! I am racing too and your job is to go around slower riders. That is the point of a race. Yelling at me only pisses me off. Ooops, I accidentally goosed the throttle and coated you with mud! Never can tell what these beginners will do! :p RRR. [/B]

sorry thats not how i took this quote. you sound like a curtious rider. motocrossers tend to bring out the devil in woods riders.:p

 

[firecracker22]

What do you mean? How did you take it? The point is, I don't have a problem getting out of the way, I just don't want some idiot behind me calling me names because he doesn't have the skill to pass without me pulling off the course entirely. I wouldn't really roost someone unless he really deserved it but I'm really pissed about the subject.

 

[cr125_king]

At the last harescramble i was in i didn't get passed once. I start out in the back of the pack and work my way up. That way theres no pressure behind me. I ended up passing almost every guy/girl in my class plus alot of intermediate riders. When i come up on someone i just pull in the clutch and rev the bike up a little. I never swear/mouth off at anyone unless they reall piss me off. Most people usually pull off to the side or i pass them on the side, or what happens the most is that they usually bite it(crash) because of the pressure. And whenever there is someone behind me I NEVER let them pass, if they want past me they have to fight for it. I usally fan the clutch and roost them until they back off and i loose them. Just my 2cents:)

 

[MXP1MP]

I can totally understand your out there for fun, I tell you if that same person did that to me a couple of times first they get the finger from me. The next time around its not going to be pretty they would meet mr tree then mr boot or mr bike. Some people have no manners and I'll gladly give them a lesson if they so wish it. Just ask the one guy one time who roosted me hard on the inside of a sand berm just cause I was on an older bike and he was a on new mx'er. Well I passed him back in the whoops and he was right in front on me on a banked berm opps I forgot to hit the brakes and hit his rear wheel putting him on the ground and it happened to be right in a mud puddle. It wasn't like high speed or anything I'm not that mean we was going like 10 mph max. Later on we had some words, But if you ask for it I'll give it to ya :p

Joe
"why is it the people with the smallest brains always have the biggest mouths"

 

[Smitty]

MXP1MP, Did that guy pull in the clutch, yell "I'm gonna roost you because you ride and old bike and I have a new one!", rev it up, then dump the clutch?

Or did he try and ride over aggressive through the sand while you were following in the same line.

Roosting is legal, t-bone moves are not.

 

[JuliusPleaser]

I always yell at people when they pass me. Most of the time, it's kids on 80s. :D

 

[justql]

Yelling at enduors is good strategy. It is also polite so a slower rider has an opportunity to get out of the way. At BJEC races you will get the HEYHEY HEY alot, you also get just as many thank you's as they go around. I always say thanks whether or not I've had to hollar at them or not.
Cursing is not ever right. As soon as you do that you'll go down in the next corner right in front of the guy you just cussed.

 

[mx547]

do you guys really hate motocrossers?

even though i only race mx, i've always considered myself a MOTORCYCLIST.
i just prefer mx. i never really thought that it mattered what kind of riding someone does, just as long as they ride.

 

[quadrunner]

It's really quite simple, if you hear an engine come up behind you, the rider is probably cutting a faster lap time than you. Faster riders are due the right of way. You should move over, but NOT RUN OVER YOURSELF trying to get out of the way. Getting around backmarkers is the same problem for everybody racing for position. Win or lose, that's racing!

 

[DKT735]

I think there is two issues here. First, yelling at a rider ahead of you or pulling in the clutch and reving your engine to let them know that your back there and want to pass is perfectly acceptable in my opinion. At enduros I normally yell "hey" or rev the engine. Most of the riders in the circuit I race in are courtous and will let you by. One thing though, unless the trail is very narrow don't pull over to one side. Simply brake sooner going into a corner or take a wide line. If the trail is wide enough, simply hold your line, the faster rider will pick a line to get around you and not make contact. I've accidently hit riders that tried to get out the way but didn't know that they pulled over on the same side that I was trying to pass them on.

I think that Firecracker22 is mad at people that use yelling as a way to intimidate another rider and make a pass that way. In that context, I agree, it is very poor sportsmanship.

At a race this spring, a rider on my minute kept yelling at me at the start of each special test and his buddy tried to knock me off my bike at the start. What is ironic about this is that I was faster than them and simply left them behind. Yet they chose to play their little games at each test. Reynome was on my minute also and we paid them back by soundly beating them in each and every test. Reynome and I are hoping to get these two on our minute again. If they start playing their little games again, oh well can you say ramfest sandwich?

In the issue of running over another riders tire or bike, I will run over another bikes tire that happens to crash in a rut that I'm trying to get through. I won't run over someones body or whole bike. However, if you crash and are having a hard time getting your bike up, it's the riders responsibliity to do so as quickly as possible so you don't create a bottleneck. I've been the one stuck behind a rider that caused a bottleneck and I've been a rider that started a bottleneck. Neither is a good situation but it happens and is part of racing.

 

[EZ]

Not sure how it works anywhere else,but here in the SouthEast,these little rules of thumb always worked 4 me.

If someone catches U,they're faster.Let em by.If the trail is wide,go to the right.If the trail is tight,slow down just before U get to the next place to allow a pass,so the other rider can see which line you are going to let him/her use.NEVER STOP to let 1 by.U are racing too.U gain nothing by slowing down a faster rider.U only hurt their results,not help yours.Always let a faster rider go....
execpt....
If U do all this and still get cussed,blocking is a must.Since their mamma didn't teach em manners,U can.

If I come up on a rider going much slower,I yell to let them know I'm there so that I won't surprize them and cause them to wreck.I think it's the polite thing to do.

If U cacth back up,it's a race.If U pass them back,don't let em pass U again without a fight.

If U catch someone,U are faster.Get around as fast as possible.Rev the motor,then,if they don't let U pass at 1st possible place,yell.(I go Woooou !!!)If they don't let U at next place,yell continuoiusly until they pass another place.Now they R fair game.Put em out of your way.This is racing,and learning good manners will help them in the long run.

This is nicer than alot of the fast GNCC riders will be.Alot of them will give U just 1 chance to let them by before they park U.

BTW,I don't hate motocrossers,just dislike impolite people and those who think their sport is tougher when they haven't tried and probably couldn't hack mine.:eek: (and all those aren't motocrossers:D )

Sorry 4 the long post:o

 

[firecracker22]

Originally posted by mx547
do you guys really hate motocrossers?

No, I don't. But there is a definite division within our sport. The mx-ers seem to think all trail riders are old farts on rat bikes, and the off-road guys think mx racers are whiny punks with piercings who are afraid to get their bike dirty. And there are plenty out there who prove this stereotype. Ever notice how here at DRN, there are more off-road riders in comparison to mx racers? And how the opposite is true at the ever contentious Dirtbike.com? There are plenty of exceptions to the rule. My point in saying that this race attracts more of the mx crowd was that they aren't as used to pacing themselves or riding in the woods.

Maybe I titled this post incorrectly as I don't have a problem with faster riders informing me of their intentions to pass. It's the guys who expect me to pull over for them, and cuss at me if I don't, who piss me off. There were a few I passed back later as they lay on their sides in the corners, and that made me feel better. I always wonder if they just see my ponytail and don't want to be behind a girl because (they think) girls are slow. Then I AM slow and it pisses me off that I've validated their opinion.

 

[MBFTY]

I ride slow

I live in a place fortunate enough to have trails all over town. I dont like to ride fast... I'd rather take my time and enjoy the trail then to go as fast as possible and finish it before I have any real fun.

I get yelled at for all kinds of things... Going slow, throwing up too much roost, and my personal favorite... Taking up too much of the trail. :confused:

If anybody wants to complain, let them! I dont really care what they think... It doesnt matter to me.