Hi and hope your all well.
Today the weather's been kind and thought I'd take my new bike out for a tour around the countryside. On my 45 mile ride I managed to take in 4/5 villages and with every one I got some sort of abuse from teenage kids hanging around the street corners.Obviously I'm a 50 year old guy who probably doesn't look to great on a road bike, and honesty it's usually water off a ducks back when I hear some of the sarcastic comments that come my way. I'm old enough and to thick skinned to let such things wind my up. For some reason today though it really started to p me off though. The first two abuses I got I just let it go over my head and completely ignored them but when the third village came by, I was again verbally abused by a group of youths. I was by now feeling knackered and my temper was on a short fuse. I just let it go over my head once again and put it behind me. The 4th and final village I past through I was actually starting to feel a little apprehensive so to if I would get through it with out any agro. Sadly I was wrong on that idea. A group of 15/16 year lads where sure enough hanging around the shop on there mountain bike's ,when one big spotty lanky Herbert shouted "get proper bike you effing w####r. People in the street looked upon the group in disgust at his foul mouthed abuse. I really came close to stopping and give him what for as my temper was now at boiling point. Thankfully for my sake I just carried on and ignored him. If would of stopped I think I would of ended up doing something I would regretted. I have spoken to many other cyclists in my area and they have all been the subject to the same abuse.It seems like there's a bit of a craze in my area at the moment where youngsters ( not all of course) think it's "big" to hang around the shops etc on there BSO and give abuse to passing cyclists. In one particular village a local 10 mile tt passes through on a Friday evening and the youngsters will congregate as the cyclists pass through just to throw abuse.
One of these days I can see one of these cyclists losing there temper with them big time which would not be good all round for anybody. I really hope this silly phase passes by and that it's just the fact it's just something that's happening whilst the school summer holidays are happening at the moment. Another craze that these kids seem to be doing at the moment is riding there bikes really dangerously towards moving cars pulling wheelie,s and then just missing them at the last minute causing the driver to take evasive action. There playing " chicken" with cars and pedestrians and one day someone is really going to get hurt. Hopefully the police will start to clamp down on this antisocial behaviour soon before it all ends in tears.
Anyway sorry for my rant but I just felt like getting it my chest.
All the very best,
Johnny.
Today the weather's been kind and thought I'd take my new bike out for a tour around the countryside. On my 45 mile ride I managed to take in 4/5 villages and with every one I got some sort of abuse from teenage kids hanging around the street corners.Obviously I'm a 50 year old guy who probably doesn't look to great on a road bike, and honesty it's usually water off a ducks back when I hear some of the sarcastic comments that come my way. I'm old enough and to thick skinned to let such things wind my up. For some reason today though it really started to p me off though. The first two abuses I got I just let it go over my head and completely ignored them but when the third village came by, I was again verbally abused by a group of youths. I was by now feeling knackered and my temper was on a short fuse. I just let it go over my head once again and put it behind me. The 4th and final village I past through I was actually starting to feel a little apprehensive so to if I would get through it with out any agro. Sadly I was wrong on that idea. A group of 15/16 year lads where sure enough hanging around the shop on there mountain bike's ,when one big spotty lanky Herbert shouted "get proper bike you effing w####r. People in the street looked upon the group in disgust at his foul mouthed abuse. I really came close to stopping and give him what for as my temper was now at boiling point. Thankfully for my sake I just carried on and ignored him. If would of stopped I think I would of ended up doing something I would regretted. I have spoken to many other cyclists in my area and they have all been the subject to the same abuse.It seems like there's a bit of a craze in my area at the moment where youngsters ( not all of course) think it's "big" to hang around the shops etc on there BSO and give abuse to passing cyclists. In one particular village a local 10 mile tt passes through on a Friday evening and the youngsters will congregate as the cyclists pass through just to throw abuse.
One of these days I can see one of these cyclists losing there temper with them big time which would not be good all round for anybody. I really hope this silly phase passes by and that it's just the fact it's just something that's happening whilst the school summer holidays are happening at the moment. Another craze that these kids seem to be doing at the moment is riding there bikes really dangerously towards moving cars pulling wheelie,s and then just missing them at the last minute causing the driver to take evasive action. There playing " chicken" with cars and pedestrians and one day someone is really going to get hurt. Hopefully the police will start to clamp down on this antisocial behaviour soon before it all ends in tears.
Anyway sorry for my rant but I just felt like getting it my chest.
All the very best,
Johnny.
