A lot of amateur cyclists “get too carried away” – Wiggins

Sir Wiggo does have a point but when a mate goes from a lardy hill hater where I was always waiting for him, to beating me up most hills and he waiting for me, the fun element is somewhat eroded. His dedication is admirable and his improvement is excellent, just wish I had the same dedication.

Sir Wiggo does have a point but when a mate goes from a lardy hill hater where I was always waiting for him, to beating me up most hills and he waiting for me, the fun element is somewhat eroded. His dedication is admirable and his improvement is excellent, just wish I had the same dedication.

Sir Wiggo does have a point but when a mate goes from a lardy hill hater where I was always waiting for him, to beating me up most hills and he waiting for me, the fun element is somewhat eroded. His dedication is admirable and his improvement is excellent, just wish I had the same dedication.

A lot of celebrity know-it-all "experts" get too carried away... while offering advice and opinions about something that no one gives a **** about...

Case in point.  I've been riding (road) for about 2 years.  When I began I was riding a Trek Antelope, I'd put on a pair of drop bar ends; it's what I could afford as I already had the bike.  I was riding 10-15 miles daily for about 4 months when I decided to ride an organized group ride to sponsor a local greenway (bike path).  At the luncheon following I overheard a conversation of a group of people,each wearing fancy kit, "Did you see that guy with the funky mountain bike with the drop bar handles?"  Fast forward, 2 months ago, finally able to afford a cf road bike, purchased from Nashbar, matte black and I like it.  I show up for a group ride at a local bike shop.  The guy who works there says, "What was that?" while nodding at my bike, just a touch of condensention in his voice.   "That sir, is my, sponsor free, not getting paid, love to ride, but don't make a six figure salary road machine that'll keep up with you on the flat and give you a run for your money on the hills today and won't make fun of anyone else riding or wearing anything that makes them happy."

I've come across many open-minded and accepting cyclists who are not judgemental, elitist or condesending, but many cyclists also do have an air of superiority that is unnecessary. 

I agree with Bradley Wiggins on this, but I admire his frankness even when he errs.

True knowledge arises in debate, and he seems to be fairly good at kicking them off.

Calm Down everyone... It doesn't matter what sport you're into, there's going to be boorish snobs if you look hard enough. We cyclists, for the most part are a fairly genial lot. If you think someone is calling you an elitist jerk by pointing out that people who display certain behaviors are prone to being looked at in a certain light, you have 2 options:

1. Change your behavior and be the person you want society to perceive you as when it comes to your persona as a cyclist.

2. Give them two fingers and keep on doing what you were doing.

If you want to race your mates, go right on ahead, don't let the sensitivities of others bother you or put a damper on what makes YOU enjoy your ride. But please, If you're on a trail system with slower riders, conduct yourself accordingly. You don't own the trail/path.

I did a sprint finish against my mate when we did RideLondon last year. He means me right?

So, what Bradley is saying then is “pro cyclists can get carried away, but amateur cyclists can’t” ? And Elitism? . . . is that the good feeling you have when you’re on a nice bike, with a good bunch of lads and you’re feeling strong from all the hard training you’ve done when you’re not in work? Brad has been fortunate to be a successful pro cyclist, there’s no doubting his palmares – great respect to him, but competitive spirit exists on many levels. Looking back, I would have loved to have been a pro rider, but let’s face it, at 50 I think I’ve missed the boat. But this doesn’t stop me from racing my friends up the next hill and feeling good when I’m first to the top. My bike is a special thing to me, bought by my own hard earned money and not given to me by a major sponsor so I can disregard it and throw it across the road when I’m p.....d off. No, I’m sorry, I love my bike and I feel good when I’m riding it and wearing decent kit (not pro copies). We don’t think we’re better than anyone else and as a group or individuals we greet all cyclists whatever the level and whatever the bike. If we enter our sport with enthusiasm on a gleeming carbon machine, have the fire in our bellies and want to race our mates we shouldn't be labelled 'elitist' . Competition pushes us to excel and winning feels good. The only difference between cyclists is the level at which we ride, so we shouldn't be judged if we want to get carried away - we've earned the right as much as Sir Wiggins.

I'm sure to some extent this is related to the region of the Sportive (Surrey) rather than cyclists as a whole.

As someone who grew up down south and then moved up te' Yorkshire (and have cycled in both) I can tell you the attitudes of local riders are very different. 

Up north, as long as you're having a go then no one really cares what bike you're riding or how fast you're riding it (we're all to busy moaning about the Peak District's climbs).

I get lots of waves and greetings even when I'm (oh no) riding my hybrid with (the horror) baggy shorts with (wtf?!) unshaved legs. 

Down south- everyone seems to be taking everything far too seriously and let us not forget this story (again in Surrey) https://thelonelycyclist.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/skinny-cyclist-not-likely/ of the lady who was treated horribly by the local weekend lycra warriors. 

Hopefully the likes of Wiggo wont need to be putting this sort of 'disclaimer' ahead of the upcoming Tour of Yorkshire public ride. 

He's right, of course. Cycling is awesome. Just get out there. Though I'm not sure how he squares that with last week's definition of what cyclists are. 

How much does that jersey cost, Brad?

"That sense of freedom is only matched by the sense of accomplishment."

Absolutely spot on, Bradley.

For me that is what it has always been about - the sheer pleasure and sense of freedom you get when riding a bike..

He actually seems to have made some sensible comments about sport/leisure cycling here. It's when it comes to cycling as a basic mode of transport where he gets it wrong: http://rdrf.org.uk/2012/08/17/disaster-waiting-to-happen-the-london-bike... and http://rdrf.org.uk/category/bradley-wiggins/

Brad's just trying to get more people out on their bikes doing something he clearly enjoys, but as soon as he opens his mouth there's someone prepared to criticise him.

What a shame

Wiggins talks a lot of crap, and Road CC has to report it. Cycling is becoming competely inane. 

I thought the whole point of cycling was to buy the most expensive parts and kit then cycle gently with your mates to the nearest cafe, sit there for an hour, drink coffee and eat cake whilst bragging about how light and aero your latest kit is

He was talking truthfully, but only about a small subset of riders if you look at his comments in context. I think using "A lot..." in the headline is misleading clickbait. In the article he actually says  “A lot of the people I encounter still just love getting on their bikes”.

Brad's point is you don't have to race to enjoy riding your bike. It's not hard to grasp.

> "memo from organisers about it not being a race"

lmao.  I've never been on a sportive where there weren't packs of club cyclists vying to finish first, riding in formation at as high a speed as possible.  Nothing wrong with it, but organisers are kidding themselves if they think people won't treat their event as a race.