Rude spectator?

WOW! She had a problem. Never encountered that before!

For a moment I thought you were talking about me. I like to give my friend h@ll when I watch him race... "Come on, you can go faster than THAT!"... etc. It's all in good fun... but some people look at me like I'm a complete b@tch! It's funny.

During a race it was an out and back run, with part of that on the road where the bikes were coming in as well. I was on the run and watched one of the volunteers at an aid station dart into the road in front of some incoming cyclists to tidy up some of the paper cups that were on the ground. They had to swerve to avoid him...not sure thats so fun at the end of a 56 mile ride!

X2

This is why god invented the forearm shiver.  I know folks need to cross the street but cmon dbags!  When I spectated at Chicago mary for the Mrs, i saw wayyy too many people jumping into the sea of marathoners to high five someone, cutting into or bumping into the athletes.  Lame.  Night and day with the spectators at Boston. 

Heh.  I wouldn't be able to do that, but I'd have taught her the suprising amount of damage a 4'10", 104# woman can do when angered.

Un-freakin'-believable.

Doesnt mater is a spectator or a local crossing the street.  She should have been paying attention to what is going on around her.  Makes me believe she did it on purpose, just flipping rude.

I had to yell at spectators when volunteering.  They can't just cross whenever they like. Especially on the bike route / finishing chute. 

I guess there may be a thread out there with the title "Rude Volunteer/race official?" 

happened to me at Disney this year, literally right around mile 26..whole family tried to cross the street right in front of me..  Ok at that point if I stop i'm done.. so the Dad got a nice shove from me, right, wrong or indifferent they could've waited just a couple of seconds...

Heh heh. You should check the infamous LA marathon. Parts of miles 23-26 go through a urban latino neighborhood, and it's literally a free for all as suddenly entire non-english speaking families are camped out in the middle of the course, with picnic baskets, tricycles, and all sorts of weirdness. It's actually pretty entertaining, so long as you're not uptight about it. I'd feel differently on a bike though!

It was in New England, what else would you expect? 

My buddy and I are going to watch the Augusta 70.3 and we plan to get a pony keg and party on the side of the road for the run.  We're going to be drunk and probably yelling stupid stuff, but if someone has a problem they can get a free beer.  Or if you don't have a problem you can get a free beer.  We'll stay out of the road though.

I did a triathlon that had cars literally backed up for over a mile.  People just got back from fishing or visiting relatives and were just hanging out outside their cars.  Didn't have a single problem or heckle but that is the nice thing about the country.  No one is in a hurry to get anywhere.

Y'all haven't seen jack until you've been to a kid's tri with some of their parents being absolutely atrocious. Barking orders at them while in transition, telling them they're not going fast enough, and watching as their kid is crying while doing the race...we're talking a kid on his bike and tears streaming down his face.

I ride my bike in the country.  I so wish that were true.

To OP:   Under normal circumstances I wouldn't say anything, because I doubt it could be helpful, but at the end of a HIM, well, all bets are off.

Happened to me at CapTex two years ago. Some people were walking their dogs across the street on the bike course, and if you have ever raced captex, there is no doubt that a race is going on.

THAT is despicable.

I volunteered at the race SuperT is talking about.  Despicable is being nice.  I worked transition helping the kids get their gear on, bikes off the rack, etc..  Most parents were awesome.  But some were UNREAL.  Its one thing to yell at me but one guy, for example, was yelling at his son, "if thats how slow you are then you'll never win a damn thing".  The most heartbreaking scene was after the race this parent was berating this little girl in front of everyone for not doing better.  Then he told her to carry all her crap back to the car herself.  She would drop her helmet and go to pick it up then she would drop her bike.  Sobbing almost uncontrollably the entire time.  At the awards ceremony a parent was so mad that his child got third instead of second he got up in ther RD's face and was yelling F you your race F'ing sucks.  This happened in front of everyone.    The RD was visibly upset.  She quit the next day.  An incredible loss for the kids triathlon program down here without a doubt.    As a parent I can never even imagine acting like this.

edit.  It was another BT'er, Freeswimmingfish, that "excused" the guy yelling at the RD from the awards ceremony.  high fives for Joe!




Edited by fattyfatfat 2009-08-01 12:53 PM

Holy crap I would just come unglued (I'm tensing up just thinking about it right now) if I saw that.  Those kids can't do crap and the race officials can't do anything, but I know I f'n can and will sleep easy that afternoon when I get home (or jail).

It's one thing for parents to yell "Come on, you can do better than that", it's another thing to basically call your kid a loser.

Yep.  Several post ago I was referring to my yelling at the spectators in a kids race. 
At one point 4 adult spectators climbed into the path leading up to the finishing chute to cooed and take pictures of a finishing kid (8 year-old), blocking the way where a 12-year-old came blazing in the same direction on his bike (12 y.o doing the older kids race). 
I yelled "spectators get out of the race course or I'll DQ the racer!"

Edited by D.K. 2009-08-01 12:49 PM

x10... no way would I stand there and let that parent speak to ANY child like that.. regardles.. worthless piece of #$%@$%%.....

You sounds like my brother. He likes to give me a hard time when I race. Other spectators give him strange looks. My favorite "You left your helmet on" helmet wasn't on but I reached up to check.

I've run into my share of rude spectators, one of which pulled out onto a closed bike course in front of several cyclists because he just didn't want to wait any longer. At another race I saw a spectator walking in the middle of a run course. A racer coming up behind them said, excuse me to which the spectator commented something like "it's not like you're moving that fast." Talk about rude. 

yeah.  this was my first kids tri to volunteer at and heard some of the stories. so i went in thinking along the same line's as that comment.  but once in that position all i could think about was this child and if i got in dad's face then what else is this child going to think.  the guy yelling f this, of course you get him out of there.  but the others, it's tough because you don't want anything else on these kids shoulder.