@HobbesOnTour , my dear chap. It's nice having my own personal forum stalker, but haven't you got some sunny roads to be riding, instead of wasting time picking at my posts?
You've had nothing nice to say to me from Day1 on this forum. Each of your responses has been to put me down, and full of sanctimonious twaddle about how I should follow your example of encouraging adventure by bike (apart from the couple where you found other things to argue about
- IIRC the first time, I was actually being nice about you, but you still picked a fight ...)
The exchanges you've highlighted above were perfectly civil and positive - until YOU stuck your oar in.
I got a nice LIKE from one of the people you accused me of belittling (thanks for the link, saved me some searching), so thanks for your constructive feedback on my posts ... but no thanks.
Hopefully professional journalists don't need your protection from my nasty nasty posts. Nor Timmy Mallett :P
Are we in the playground?
Not many like their own words coming back to bite them in the ass so your reaction is understandable.
Unfortunately for you it's raining here in Spain and I'll post when I like.
You've had nothing nice to say to me from Day1 on this forum. Each of your responses has been to put me down
Back it up. Has it crossed your mind that that perhaps my response is a ..... well, response to your post?
full of sanctimonious twaddle about how I should follow your example of encouraging adventure by bike
Back it up.
I don't recall ever advocating that you or anyone should follow my example. Like lots of people here I use my own experience as an example. That's not the same thing.
Being polite along the way is a given I would have thought?
And did you not write this last week about me?
At least one poster on this thread - who is a longstanding, and positive contributor in areas such as Touring - has said as much.
In this
thread.
I'm confused. Purveyor of sanctimonious twaddle or positive contributor?
IIRC the first time, I was actually being nice about you, but you still picked a fight ...)
No. The first time I became aware of you I contacted you by private message to clarify what you meant. You being a newbie I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Or perhaps you're referring to an underhand PM you sent offering advice on how to deal with online debate? It appears your idea or nice and mine are far apart.
got a nice LIKE from one of the people you accused me of belittling
And you gave me hugs in your reply above!
Perhaps I'm just more cynical but I don't put a lot of faith in such things.
Hopefully professional journalists don't need your protection from my nasty nasty posts. Nor Timmy Mallett :P
I wasn't protecting either of those.
I was calling out needless nit-picking and rudeness.
labels bring context and meaning to an umbrella term that covers many facets.
That's very true.
Important at times, less important at others.
I do wonder if the constant use of the label is even a barrier to some folk?
I hadn't thought about this in until I read it and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it is.
Buying my first set of panniers was easy peasy. Trying to fit out a bikepacking rig is a lot more tricky. I'd imagine frustrating too.
But.... Isn't it the same with bikes?
Any question posed on online fora about "what touring bike should I get?" will get a huge and varied response. Frame material, braking system, gearing system, wheel size, tyre type. Not to mention the types - "Touring", gravel, Cross, MTB etc. I'd hate to be under any kind of pressure to buy and pose that question. The information overload would kill my enthusiasm.
I'm no great social media user and was generally unaware of the creeping prevalence of the word and it's attachment to anything and everything to do with bikes and touring.
It's something I've noticed especially amongst those where English is not their native language.
I'm no great user of Feckbook but it was useful to me during the Pandemic to find out information from those in different places.
Even within "touring" there are vast differences in approach. For some speed and distance is the key, others it's all about the roses. CGOAB has (finally) relented and allowed journals from E-bikes on the main site (under strict supervision!) as an example of another common conflict.
What some people do on their bikes is very far removed from what I consider touring. I'm not going to wade in and tell them so, though.
Hell! What I've been doing for the last while is very far removed from what I thought touring was a few years ago!
I recall seeing an argument made (not here I think) that two small panniers on the front were "bikepacking" but the same panniers on the back were "touring"!
There are so many things that link us together I despair at those trying to divide us.
There's a thread running about problems booking multiple bikes on ferry crossings and suggestions for a campaign to make ferries accommodate cyclists better. There's a value to unity and a price to disunity.
I vote for unity.
