Do the Roadies now rule Seymour?

Howdie guys! Haven't been on the boards in a while but my last few trips up seymour got me wondering...   Do Roadies now rule Seymour??

ie: they take up a lane and a half (at least) on their goofy ass ride up, then take up the entire lane on the way down.  Have all of the crazy shuttle monkeys gone so soft that this is just the way the mountain is now? 

cheers all!  ;-D

Are you returning to life from the caveman era? A few too many concussions?

Share the road.

Way more people climb up nowadays instead of shuttle as the bikes are way better at going up and down, so there tends to be less shuttle traffic. In terms of roadies I don't see an issue with giving people a lane on the way up, but if they're riding 4 or 5 wide up the hill and taking up more than one lane then that's bullshit and they need to share the road. Same thing for the way down imo; I have no problem giving extra space on the corners but they shouldn't be taking up the whole lane on the straights and riding single file to allow people to pass when necessary. Courtesy goes both ways.

...but they shouldn't be taking up the whole lane on the straights and riding single file to allow people to pass when necessary...

Have you actually ridden down Seymour on a skinny wheeled bike?

If so, you'd give those shitty drain covers at the side of the road (and all the pot holes) a verrryyy wide berth.

(In fairness, there was some resurfacing done (last year?), but there used to be some terrifying pot holes so I tend to ride the "cleanest" line, irrespective of whether there is a car behind me, as hitting a hole at 70km/h+ could be, er, "interesting".)

Posted by: SixZeroSixOne

Have you actually ridden down Seymour on a skinny wheeled bike?

If so, you'd give those shitty drain covers at the side of the road (and all the pot holes) a verrryyy wide berth.

(In fairness, there was some resurfacing done (last year?), but there used to be some terrifying pot holes so I tend to ride the "cleanest" line, irrespective of whether there is a car behind me, as hitting a hole at 70km/h+ could be, er, "interesting".)

Only a few times, but I know what you mean. I guess I should have included speed as a factor, because if people are bombing down the road like you say then it's not a problem. It's mostly when people ride 2-3 abreast and take up the entire lane that can be a bit annoying or if they are going pretty slow, like under 50k. 

When I going up or down if there's no oncoming traffic I always swing wide into the opposite lane to give people on bikes plenty of space.

I have to admit that I am rarely as nervous on my mountain bike as descending a mountain on a road bike. 90km/h has consequences if you fall (in spandex none the less). I say give them some room, same way hikers almost always get off the trails for us.

I know where Jimmy is coming from, 99% of the time there are no issues but a few times I've seen people riding up 3 abreast where one person is literally riding on the dotted line separating the 2 uphill lanes. Dudes.. this is just so wrong.. you're putting yourself in and unnecessarily dangerous position and forcing drivers to pass into the oncoming lane and putting way too much trust in the person behind the wheel. BUT I've only seen that a couple times. On the other side of things I was climbing up Seymour this summer hugging the edge of the road and was clipped by someone's mirror so it can be fuckin scary.

Posted by: RAHrider

I have to admit that I am rarely as nervous on my mountain bike as descending a mountain on a road bike. 90km/h has consequences if you fall (in spandex none the less). I say give them some room, same way hikers almost always get off the trails for us.

Woah 90Km Descent on a road bike is scary fast. Anything over 75km it starts to get sketchy.

Group Road riding is losing it's popularity in the Lower Mainland big time due to the sketchy driver factor.  Have a few friends including myself that have given up doing long group rides. Too many cars and way too many shitty drivers. MTB is way safer.

Posted by: seanluge

On the other side of things I was climbing up Seymour this summer hugging the edge of the road and was clipped by someone's mirror so it can be fuckin scary.

Hugging the side of the road is dangerous! Seriously, you're too far right to be in the drivers line of vision so easy to miss seeing you. Also, the side of the road is usually full of debris or grates or un-even edges...

Try to ride "primary position" a couple of feet out from the right hand side. If nothing else, it makes you more visible.

Step back a moment jj and look how you wrote that. I don’t think you meant it that way but your post reads like all road riders get in your way. It’s like car drivers that claim all commuter cyclist run red lights and ride badly. Of course some do. But we tend to notice others that ride or drive badly and not notice those who abide by the road laws. And then humans like to put those that bother them into a group that is not their own.  Like women drivers. Or certain nationalities. We all do it. We should certainly call out those that break rules and laws that endanger others. Road users need to give and receive mutual respect.

There's enough room for both cyclists & vehicles on Seymour & Cypress roads. If both parties gave each other a bit of room, it should all work out. I find passing roadies on the way down can be a little tough. Especially as other cars come up the road.