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news
Climbing Box Hill (CC-BY-2.0 Sizbut:Flickr)Woman's blog about Box Hill heckling attracts hundreds of supportive comments
A woman who was the victim of cruel heckling from other cyclists on Box Hill at the weekend has said the incident has made her think twice about riding alone again.
Elz Lloyd was cycling alone in the Surrey Hills on Sunday when two separate riders commented aggressively on her weight, one of them telling her to get "off the fucking road, you fat bitch". Reduced to tears she ended up cutting short her ride and returning home early.
After writing about the incident on her blog, Elz was "astounded" when almost 300 people responded with encouraging words, expressing disgust and solidarity, and invitations to ride.
Elz writes she was climbing Punchbowl Lane when two riders in Castelli kit cycled past her shouting: "…off the fucking road you fat bitch…"
Shortly afterwards another, this time solo rider, in black kit cycled past her on Box Hill, saying: "Can you get that fat ass up here?"
Elz told road.cc: "The first two that came by I was really angry, then I went to pieces in my head. I don't expect that out in the middle of nowhere.
"It hurt. it hurt quite a lot; I didn't expect it to."
She said the insults made her feel "wretched".
"I struggled to hold back the tears the first time, It is sad that people can be like that," she said.
She tried to ride harder to take her mind off it, until the Box Hill ascent when a lone rider, in plain black kit, snapped the second insult.
She writes: "I know I’m not skinny. I know I’ve got big boobs and am curvy (I’m paraphrasing a nice male mate of mine here). I know I smoked for 10 years. I know I’m riding alone because I really haven’t found any clubs around here that I’d be happy to join. Or any local friends."
"I didn't feel like going any further when I got to the bottom of Box Hill," she said. "I'm not that big but I felt mortified that someone could say that as they were going past.
"All I wanted to do was disappear. I didn't want to stop because I didn't want people asking [about it]. It was busy up there [at Box Hill]."
She said: "I didn't want to be there, I just wanted to come back, talk to a couple of mates".
As soon as she got home she wrote the blog post.
"I didn't expect that many people to read my blog," she said.
"I logged out of Facebook and Twitter and it was only when a friend called from America...I realised there were a lot of people talking about it."
Most comments, from both men and women, offer support, or recall similar comments about their weight made while running, cycling or even sitting in the park.
Many tell her not to be put off but for the time being Elz says she's reluctant to return to the area on weekends which, she says, are much busier than even a couple of years ago when she rode there regularly.
"I don't particularly want to ride out in the Surrey hills on my own now. it's very intimidating," she said.
Elz said: "There's plenty of sweary drivers that I just ignore or ride away from, but it hurts coming from other cyclists.
However, she says "for every bad one you get 100 good ones."
"I'm glad they are in the minority, but it's also good to get the support I received, that was astounding."
In one typically encouraging response, Chris NTR wrote: "Reading this has really made me angry for your experience. I started cycling when I was 21 stone and thankfully I did not encounter any of this negativity from fellow cyclists. I also did not have anyone to cycle with so started a group on Facebook which 7 years later has 800+ members and we have formed a British Cycling affiliated cycling club in the North East which now has over 160 members.
"Please keep cycling and don’t let idiots like this put you off. There is room for everyone in our sport no matter what sex, age or size they are but unfortunately that means there is room for the d*ckheads too."
One woman, posting as Cyclemouse, said she would have chased the abusive cyclists had she been there.
"Please don’t take any notice of those idiots. Cycling is for everyone regardless of shape or size. I’m a fast female roadie cyclist. If I’d been with you I would have chased their skinny backsides down and called them a few choice words in return," she said.
One or two comments suggested some sort of vigilante naming and shaming via Strava, which Lloyd quickly shut down as she knew them and they were not the culprits.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
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132 comments
Such comments are unacceptable under any circumstances.
I find it encouraging to see anyone want to get on a bike and ride. I have no concerns for gender, race, age, size.
If I am fortunate to be able to ride faster, which is certainly not always the case, and catch up to another rider then a cheery greeting is usually well received. Sometimes we ride together for a distance just chatting. Sometimes not. There is no hint of insult and that's how it should be.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way. In which case, get on and ride your ride and let others do likewise without the inappropriate insults.
You must remember that a lot of 'new' or even 'born again' cyclists are ex golfers who could afford the best but still couldn't put the ball in the little hole. So some of that mentality will come across. There will always be a minority who will tar the majority with their petty small minds. So go girl take up the offers of ride outs get out there and show them what a cyclist is.
+1
...and yes, when commuting on my scrappy old mountain bike, I've heard some pretty derogatory comments from riders wearing lycra on carbon framed roadbikes. But since I do race I've chased down a few and taken great pleasure in making soft blokes with top kit but none of the skill realise that a heavy steel framed MTB ridden by an old bloke with greying hair can indeed be made to go quicker
I'm struggling to believe that this happens, seriously I am. They'd be getting a gob full of what they've given right back at them.
Nothing says I'm a crap rider better than someone gobbing off on the roads in order to get their Strava segment.
Top cyclists are some of the nicest guys I've ever met to the point of an ex-pro asking if I was OK as I was fixing a puncture on the side of the road. Nothing to prove, see?
I'd like to say "unbelievable" but sadly it's all too believable. I'm 65 & arthritis means I can't get down on the drops so my 'road' bike is a cyclocross frame with straight bars. When riding it I'm regularly shouted at to "get out of the way" (or words to that effect) by riders who seem to imagine I should automatically pull off the road to allow them through. In such cases I take great pleasure in sticking to my guns - if they're fast enough to pass me, fine, they can, but it's not as easy as it might appear at first glance, my seeming-hybrid bike weighs 9kg all up & on the Conti GP 4000s accelerates like a startled cat with a rocket up its backside. As I'll happily demonstrate...
It is disappointing though that riders on regular road bikes often appear to believe I have no right to share the road with them.
Contrary to what a lot of posters here have suggested, this behaviour is neither rare nor confined to loners - typically the "get out of the way" remarks come from people in large groups.
Interestingly I rarely encounter this sort behaviour on MTB rides. I've come to the conclusion that many roadies are simply not particularly nice people. 'S tough, kid, but 's life.
As my girlfriend has said on more than one occasion because of comments or the way she has been treated purely because of the colour of her skin: "It's their problem, not mine!" Sums these idiots up nicely. Still, these type of people need educating.
"One or two comments suggested some sort of vigilante naming and shaming via Strava..."
Really?
I recently discovered the Flyby function on Strava and thought it may help. If the rider could pinpoint 'exactly' where these clowns passed her, then Flyby 'may' be a useful tool in the identification process. I see no harm in suggesting that to her in a name/shame scenario.
Clearly, it is the rider, and only the rider herself, who could identify potential culprits, so I don't see what 'vigilante' has to do with it (although I accept that there may be a few who think they know better that Elz).
This story brings me back to an idea I have had for some time and one that I am often reminded of when reading news articles on road.cc.
Essentially it boils down to a there being a large proportion of idiotic cyclist in the South East compared to other areas of the country, though perhaps I could refine this a little more by refining it to 'idiotic male cyclists'.
A high proportion of R.CC stories of confrontation where I am left feeling the cyclist was being a bit of a d**k appear to feature riders based in London and surrounds.. even given the large number of cyclists in this area compared to others, it seems statistically significant.
Also, of the idiotic comments on road.cc articles where I am able to ascertain the location of the person who made the comment it seems they often are from the SE too.
However, my biggest insight was a London to Paris ride a couple of years ago. I've had years of riding in and around Edinburgh (which can be pretty manic too) commuting, club runs, club comps as well as track racing. The vast majority of the people I've met along the way have been respectful and accommodating.
I couldn't believe what I saw and heard on a that L2P trip from riders based in London (and I know they were as they were from the head office of the company I work for). The levels of tension, anger and disregard for any other road user (including other cyclists) displayed by a fair proportion of riders seemed at odds with the nature of the event we were taking part in.
Having also ridden extensively in Shropshire, Yorkshire, the Borders and North Wales, in know that I have not seen the same behaviours/attitudes in these other areas.
Maybe I have been unlucky a few times and I am now looking for patterns to support my theory? I'm not sure, but I am very glad I don't have to cycle in the South East.
'Bitch' is not really a gender neutral insult is it?
Unlike 'dimwit'...
The best way to stop events like this? Public shaming. My recommendation would be get a camera so the next time it happens, you have their picture/video and it can spread like wildfire over social media. That way everyone those cyclist(s) know, or associate with, can see their true colors. They will be too embarrassed to show their faces again once they've been identified.
Wrong. The comments were derogatory in nature with regards to her weight, not her sex. People like you love associating ANY negativity as outright sexism. The only one making this a sexist issue is yourself, to fuel some arbitrary agenda in your mind, not anyone else.
If you think a woman being called a 'fat bitch' has nothing to do with her sex and everything to do with her weight then you're really not getting it.
Do you ever stop to think why women are so poorly represented on the roads?
I dare this pair of cowardly pricks to come on here and justify these comments.
Some people are just total Audi drivers. Putting them on a bike doesn't change that sadly
Hello Elz, We're sorry to hear about your ordeal.
If you are reading this and you want a free ride in the Brighton to Brighton Cyclosportive on the 27th September 2015 Get in touch with SRS Events.
There are 5 routes to choose from from 20 miles to 107 miles.
Look forward to hearing form you.
If you can't make the 27th September do still get in touch and we can organise another entry for you in another event.
We are looking for female role models for our 2016 season of cycling events and we'd like to speak to you more about this.
Keep cycling, be a role model to others.
http://www.srs-events.cc
An appropriate response might be:
"I can lose weight but it appears that you will always be an a$$hole!"
Or whatever expletive you feel like. Pretty dissappointing that someone (or two!) would choose to make such direct and derogatory comments to someone they don't know.
Not that surprised. Plenty of twits out there who think a full Castelli kit, a 28" waist and a 3 grand bike makes them kings of the road. See them all the time.
Its bad enough being abused by motorists without having your "own side" doing it too. The world doesn't need those people in it.
They are not really on our "own side" though are they? If they were they would be out on club runs with proper cyclists! Instead of abusing women. I bet they have a nice big car in the garage at home as well!
I'm disgusted that a fellow cyclist would do this. I think it's great seeing 'larger' people out on their bikes because it shows that they are doing something about their size.
I try to say a friendly hello to every cyclist I see, whether it's a guy in a skin suit riding 30mph on his TT bike, or little old lady cycling her shopping home in a wicker basket.
Having come across a lot of lycra louts, I have no doubt this happened. Quite believable. There are some arrogant tw@ts out there. Kudos for this lady getting on her bike and I hope she is not deterred from doing so in future.
Scumbags, just Frigging Scumbags. Just because you can afford Castelli does not give you the right to be rude.
Disgraceful, but then you get dickheads like this everywhere. Thankfully most people are fine.
Why are some people here saying there must be something more to this story?
Because it's a story of misogynistic arseholes abusing a woman. You don't have to look far on the internet to find large numbers of men who live in their own world, ignorant of the reality that women face on a daily basis.
I have to say that question (Was there more to it?) came into my head as well when I read it. There are plenty of people who make stuff like this up, and worse.
My reluctance comes just from simple disbelief that there are really people like these abusive cyclists out there. I'm skinny and reasonably fast and have expensive bikes but I wouldn't dream of doing that.
However as other people seem willing to vouch for her then I'm willing to accept it.
I'm not sure it's a sexist thing though - they would probably be just as dismissive of an overweight male as well.
Also dismissive of a male possibly - but probably less likely to comment. Partly as they'd fear a punch in the gob should their paths cross again, and partly because women's weight is perhaps more often used as a basis for insult.
Sadly there are a few particularly unpleasant cyclists out there.
It would be fun to get an elite female cyclist to dressed in fat suit soft pedalling until passed with disparaging comments (you can probably guess the rest) then up the pace blasting pass said idiots. Even better if their humiliation could be posted on youtube.
But maybe that is just playing their game. The idiots and block heads in what is a sport that is for all to enjoy should simply be ignored. Recognised for what they are a regrettable fringe.
When I'm out on my bike locally I get smiles or waves from about 75% of the other riders. There are a few who I reckon feel their segment times will be ruined if they even lift a finger off their bars to acknowledge anyone else on the road. However I also see Ali and Jonny Brownlee quite often and they will always smile. I'm fat and in my 50s and it means a lot to get that from an Olympian! As a result I'm not too bothered about the others . . . .
Maybe there is more to the story that enraged those two cyclists (IE-She accidentally chopped their wheel or something)?
I could understand one @&$ wanker, but a couple of them at different times? Is the new generation of cyclists really this bad?
Two Morons out of a Million, get back out just stick 2 finger up to these Bellends next time you see them.
By going out there and riding, the lady blogging above, is lapping everyone sat on the couch. I cannot believe that some cyclists are like that. Total and utter morons.
I also acknowledge other cyclists and most acknowledge my saying hi/nodding etc. We are part of a community as soon as we step across a top tube, regardless of age, sex, body shape and everything else.
Some folk would do well to remember that.
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