*@(&%$~# Horse riders!

I was out for a ride today and finally lost patience with horse riders.

I was coming into Leyburn from Hawes (for thise that know the road) around a long sweeping left hander with good visibility which then goes over a two lane bridge.

I was enjoying myself and was using a fair bit of the edge of the tyres as I rounded the bend. As I got to the bridge there were two horse riders on the other side about 200 away so I instantly pulled in the clutch, put the brakes on and slowed down. I pulled over to the far left of the road to give them as much space as possible as I passed.

Of *course* they were riding two abreast in the middle of their lane with a long line of cars behind them.

When I was about 30 yards from passing them they went mental and started waving me to slow down, shouting at me and patting their horses.

I was doing 15 miles an hour on the far side of the road with the clutch pulled in and the bike on tickover and they STILL wanted more!

So I bloody well gave it to them!

I can't exactly remember which swearwords I used, probably all of them... several times.

Needless to say it fell of deaf self-rightious ears. I might scare their poor Horsey Worsey thats out on a public highway mid afternoon.

The rev limiter kicking in had more effect as I left them to it.

Now I'm usually very patient with them but not today. (Girlfriends says I have to be)

I can't stand horses, I can't stand the crap they leave perfectly on the line through a blind bend (that the NEVER clean up) and I can't stand their justification for taking a wild animal on the road that their not (ever) in control of.

So to Horseriders: Get your stupid, unpredictable, stinking,crapping animals OFF the road! Or pay £500 road tax.

Rant over.

And relax, two, three, four. Breath, two, three, four.

C

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[mattSV]

Originally Posted by Berlin

I was out for a ride today and finally lost patience with horse riders.

I was coming into Leyburn from Hawes (for thise that know the road) around a long sweeping left hander with good visibility which then goes over a two lane bridge.

I was enjoying myself and was using a fair bit of the edge of the tyres as I rounded the bend. As I got to the bridge there were two horse riders on the other side about 200 away so I instantly pulled in the clutch, put the brakes on and slowed down. I pulled over to the far left of the road to give them as much space as possible as I passed.

Of *course* they were riding two abreast in the middle of their lane with a long line of cars behind them.

When I was about 30 yards from passing them they went mental and started waving me to slow down, shouting at me and patting their horses.

I was doing 15 miles an hour on the far side of the road with the clutch pulled in and the bike on tickover and they STILL wanted more!

So I bloody well gave it to them!

I can't exactly remember which swearwords I used, probably all of them... several times.

Needless to say it fell of deaf self-rightious ears. I might scare their poor Horsey Worsey thats out on a public highway mid afternoon.

The rev limiter kicking in had more effect as I left them to it.

Now I'm usually very patient with them but not today. (Girlfriends says I have to be)

I can't stand horses, I can't stand the crap they leave perfectly on the line through a blind bend (that the NEVER clean up) and I can't stand their justification for taking a wild animal on the road that their not (ever) in control of.

So to Horseriders: Get your stupid, unpredictable, stinking,crapping animals OFF the road! Or pay £500 road tax.

Rant over.

And relax, two, three, four. Breath, two, three, four.

C

So, they upset you a little bit, you lost it and gave it a big handful.....

No wonder they were upset, perhaps they have had a similar experience with another bike - this sort of thing can easily cause the horse to bolt, or throw the rider.

Sorry, but I don't think endangering someone elses life is big or clever, and just makes all of us look like ****s

[mattSV]

Originally Posted by Baph

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LOL

That's harsh. Say what you want to them, but don't scare the **** out of the horses.

I think that's an isolated case, as horse riders are always more than grateful normally when I pass with the clutch in.

+1 in agreement with G2D

[Lissa]

We always slow right down for horses, clutch in, as far away from them as we can get and still be on the road. 99 times out of a100 we get a thank you, and as I usually flip my visor up to make eye contact with the riders and smile, get a smile in return.

Only twice have I wanted to shout at the riders. Once when we had already slowed right down and the stupid woman on the horse was waving her arm at us like a lunatic. I'd have loved to point out that her actions were far more likely to unsettle the horse than we were. The second time we had again almost slowed to a stop but the woman was gesturing for us to slow down. She had a young girl with her on a pony, and I felt like pointing out that if the pony couldn't be trusted in traffic maybe she shouldn't have the child out there with her.

I do have sympathy for horse riders, I used to ride myself and suffered from the actions of stupid, selfish drivers, but as several horse riding mates have told me, bikers are generally far more courteous than car drivers towards them.

Originally Posted by Berlin

I can't stand their justification for taking a wild animal on the road that their not (ever) in control of.

Note not wild but domesticated. And no horse who's fresh should be taken on a public road (although obviously there are eejits everywhere unfortunately). Most horseriders are fully aware of the potential dangers of riding their animals on the roads and as a result are very cautious and as G2D said are usually very grateful for any cooperation on the motorists' parts.

They shouldn't have been riding 2 abreast no, but I don't think that was the right way to handle it at all. What if the rider was thrown and killed, you would have felt extremely remorseful for your outburst.

IMO, if you say there is no justification for owners taking their horses on the road then surely the same would apply to dog-owners who walk their dogs either on the lead or off? The potential danger of that animal running in front of the bike loose or dragging their owner onto the road is just as dangerous!

If we've come across horses YC makes sure they've seen us coming and just chugs on slowly by. Like Lissa, I tend to smile and acknowledge thanks too, just makes the whole thing more pleasant and you feel that the next time they see a bike they'll act the same way.

Anyway noone was seemingly hurt so as long as you don't feel the need to take that risk the next time...

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=114515

Originally Posted by Baph

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+1