Weekend Morning Cyclists, Please Speak Quietly?

[Grandad]

This takes me back to the days when time trials started at 6.00am and riders made a point of saying (shouting) "Thanks" to the marshals. We had to ask them not to do this at a junction in a village.

[karlt]

What sort of lunatic is out at 7am? I mean, it's one thing getting up at stupid o'clock because otherwise you'll get fired, but voluntarily? Insane.

[Tangled Metal]

Seriously people, what is wrong with you? Someone has posted in a friendly way to request for themselves and others for a little consideration. Whether you are the cyclists she mentioned or other cyclists gong past other houses chatting loudly it doesn't matter. A simple courtesy costs nothing and quite simply would be a good PR job for all cyclists.

Noise, as I am sure you all know, is a across a range of frequencies, some of which we are more sensitive to. Not surprisingly voices are among those frequencies. It is very feasible that what the OP says is true. Indeed I know from experience how voices travel into buildings when other noises do not. I live in a terraced street which is very peaceful at night. I can hear the west coast main line at night when awake from half a mile away an the M6 is a mile and half away and quiet at night but I still hear the traffic when awake. Then in my bedroom I do not hear any of this. What I do hear and what wakes me up at about 2am through to 4 am at times is neighbours coming home from a night out in the neighbouring town. Stopping to chat away in a nearby street light I hear everything as clearly as if they were in my bedroom sat on the end of the bed.

So what is the solution? Arrogant cyclists thinking they know what the OP and others can hear early weekend mornings and ignoring a sincere plea for help? Or perhaps, just perhaps take it on board and keep it down in country villages that you pass through. Seriously, telling someone to spend potentially a lot of money on double glazing just because you don't believe them about the noise or just because you don't want your conversations halted for a moment around village houses is just inconsiderate IMHO. Perhaps I am being unfair here but just perhaps you could help someone and not spoil the start of their time off work. Perhaps doing this courtesy will just come back to you and you will get a courtesy along the line.

[Freddie]

Whether you are the cyclists she mentioned or other cyclists gong past other houses chatting loudly it doesn't matter.

That's funny, I got the distinct impression from her original post she had a problem with a particular group of cyclists. As friendly as she is, surely she wants the particular people causing her problem to cease from doing it. I don't act like the people she mentions, what use is the friendly reproach to me?

It is they she has a problem with, yet the method taken of posting on some forum in a nondescript fashion, not even describing where the event occurs, is hardly likely to remedy the problem.

As it is reasonably obvious this won't cure the OPs problem, I can't help but wonder if it is just an opportunity at a subtle dig at cyclists, so that we may engage in some guilt on the part of our collective. Perhaps we cyclists should all visit some motoring forums to tell the members there how they should be behave, irrespective of their vehicle, behaviour or location, because we were cut up by the number 10 bus this morning or something?

It is no different from tarring all motorists with the same brush, irrespective of the pleasant manner in which the tarring is done.

Thank you for the information, but why the peculiar posting in an attempt to fix a problem you don't really want to fix; as you have stated, you have no intention of approaching these specific cyclists. Do they exist; are you posting this information on behalf of somebody else...

If you wanted to make a point about cyclists generally, just have the courage of your convictions and make it, as opposed to posting about a problem you apparently have that you don't actually seem to want to fix.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Arrogant cyclists thinking they know what the OP and others can hear early weekend mornings and ignoring a sincere plea for help? Or perhaps, just perhaps take it on board and keep it down in country villages that you pass through. Seriously, telling someone to spend potentially a lot of money on double glazing just because you don't believe them about the noise or just because you don't want your conversations halted for a moment around village houses is just inconsiderate IMHO.

I don't see anyone being arrogant here; nor any "telling". Just suggesting, and a good-natured chat of the sort that happens in forums.

If someone else who lived in an old house had told me how good secondary glazing can be two years before I eventually found out, it would have saved me two years of being woken up at 6am on a Tuesday morning by the binmen. But I didn't know that, and given that the OP posted "double glazing isn't allowed on old (listed) buildings", it's very possible that she doesn't either.

Whether you are the cyclists she mentioned

Given that I never go out riding in a group, and therefore don't shout to other riders whether in a country village or elsewhere, I'm pretty sure I'm not.

[Edwards]

When riding my bike I find some of the shouting very annoying, I do not want to know about their work, drinking, or sex life. Nor do I want to hear about some hole in the road from miles away.

Then some cyclists do not even give any sort of whispered warning when they are on tracks and footpaths.

Some cyclists just seem to be of the opinion that others do not matter. Then complain when they do not get any respect back.

[pete75]

I often disagree with Freddie but he's bang on correct with what he's said here.

[ambodach]

Nothing to do with houses but last summer cycling up from Lairg to Crask I was enjoying a quiet pootle with a gentle following wind. A couple of cyclists also heading north but only slightly faster than me appeared behind. The noise they were producing in ordinary conversation was incredible and in the end I got so fed up I stopped and waited till they went past and I returned to peace and quiet.
In response to the OP why not put a large notice up asking for quiet in that area?

[ChrisButch]

I've always found it strange that anybody would want to engage in prolonged conversation, of whatever volume, when out for a ride in the country. One of the main reasons for going out into the lanes on the bike is surely to enjoy the natural sounds, sights and indeed smells of the open air, from which you're shut off when in a car. You can hardly do that when constantly chattering. I find the same, perhaps even more so, when hillwalking: groups of walkers whose continuous chatter can be heard from quite a distance, and who seem not to be taking much notice of their surroundings. I suppose it's one reason why I've always preferred to ride or walk alone, or with one or two like-minded companions, rather than in a group.

[TrevA]

What sort of lunatic is out at 7am? I mean, it's one thing getting up at stupid o'clock because otherwise you'll get fired, but voluntarily? Insane.

Those with families and a life outside of cycling.

My local club often has groups going out at 6.30 or 7am, even in the depths of winter. That way they can get a decent ride in and be back for 10 or 10.30am, ready to take their kids to football, swimming, ballet, athletics or whatever activities. There's no way I would do it, I value my lie-in of a weekend, but I was lucky that my son was/is into cycling and we could ride out together, so I didn't have to get up at stupid o clock.

[De Sisti]

In response to the OP why not put a large notice up asking for quiet in that area?

I am sure such a response would lead to someone taking a picture of such a sign and uploading
it to the internet, thus making the OP and her village a laughing stock.

I wonder if she's posted her frustrations on other cycling forums and not just this one?

[Sweep]

Aren't there other "normal" noises in the countryside of a morning, cows mooing, cocks acrowing, farmers out and about in agricultural/industrial machinery, milk tankers, church bells, birds a singing at well before humans wake?

[eileithyia]

I did not have chance to ask, after my quick read thru of the thread at breakfast this am (05:15 yes going cycling...) Out of interest just what is considered early? What is considered a lie-in? I ask because my idea of early and a lie-in might be very different to anothers, I work with some who would consider 10am early on a Sunday...

You'll have to excuse me, this is not personal to you, but as someone who works all round the clock all round the year, and can be disturbed at some very, what would be considered 'normal' hours of the day, have been blocked in on Christmas Day (well who would be going to work at 5:30 on such a day)... i do not necessarily have much sympathy.... and as others have said, there must be lots of others noises that might disturb privileged listed property owning country dwellers.
However I also do not like any noisy individuals.. regardless of their mode of transport.... whatever time of the day or night it might be. I work with some incredibly noisy night shift workers and wince at the noise they make, and the amount of noise the school run mums make when they pass my house..... but there's not much i can do about it.

[old_windbag]

Yes there are other sounds but whilst asleep our hearing will trigger a wake up for some noises and not others. For the OP it is human chitter chatter which is quite natural to wake up to as it could be someone trying to get your attention for important reason, but in reality 99% of the time it isn't. When I moved where I am I initially woke to the crows, but a few days later my brain ignored them as being fine. Human made noises tend to be very intrusive, loud music, engines, mowers, strimmers etc completely opposite to the dawn chorus which i'm next to and the mooing of the dairy cows and the bellowing bull. Which is 247, they moo in the early hours when something alerts them. I know someone further down the street who wakes at all sounds( people and animals ) and grumbles like mad.
Some of the kit people use to cut their tiny lawns can be serious overkill, I use a push mower and it's quiet( I only mow in late afternoon when sun is weaker ), easy to push and fast...... as well as very safe.

[old_windbag]

I work with some who would consider 10am early on a Sunday...

To me that is very early . Hey I've been up umpteen times at 3am to drive 350mls to london and other long drives for the work I did. But naturally as a previous poster said that when you have to get up early or get fired it's forced on you. Outside of that I agree with them that 7am etc is stupid o'clock . It's been shown scientifically that people have different body clocks larks, owls and some in the middle. So my take on that is you should avoid making a racket at the extremes, I'd not drill,mow etc at 10pm just as an early bird should hold off their noisy tasks till 11am. Try and think of others not just yourself, I think germany has quiet rules

http://allkmc.com/quiet-hours-in-germany/

I think if we adopted similar say 9pm to 11am it'd be good, plus curfews on non-emergency car use to make weekend roads not like a constant rush hour.