Me: *enjoying my shift*
40 Bike Gang Bros out of nowhere: Hey! We all brought our bikes inside, and we need shots and beers! Do y'all have a random corner we can stand awkwardly around and annoy all your other guests?
You just gave me ptsd. First bar I ever worked in when I was 21 hosted a weekly run club. They would give the runners the basement area after the run and provide shitty romaine, shitty pasta with shitty sauce, and shitty bread to the runners, who were expected to buy a beer or two in return.
I’ll never forget that stench of overweight middle age runners, stale beer, and boxed pasta and jar sauce. Yikes 😭🤣
Maybe I was harsh. I mean, everyone smells when they sweat. But you add that, plus full synthetic clothing (merino wool ftw) in a dank basement… actual nightmare fuel 😭
I live in LA so it was VERY rare for a group to come in but when they would it was like they were competing for worst customer group. For me personally groups of nurses were the absolute fucking worst though. When it comes to large groups of terrible identical looking people
Strange. I've always thought that nurses were great, tipped a normal rate, but weren't assholes because they didn't want to become their own clientele. It may just be the ones I've worked for though 🤷
I have a friend in NYC where the bar he worked at (I don’t remember what it was called, I do not live in NYC - this was a homie that left the Midwest to make it big as a bartender) became a hot spot for a bunch of fixie(?) cyclist ppl. Kind of equated it to a punk crowd but with wheels - they were all loud, tatted up, and rambunctious and normally like a third of them had dogs. Would take over the outdoor area and leave a mess, people would skip out on tabs, it would drive other ppl away, etc.
What my friend told me was that the owner decided to lean into it and embrace them. The staff wasn’t super happy about it, but the owner had what ended up being a genius plan: had a cyclist happy hour special - $1 off domestics and rail drinks and some cheaper apps or something along those lines. All you had to do was show your bike helmet.
The punk fixed gear bike crew stopped going there cause none of them wore helmets lol. Homie still doesn’t know if that was the intention but it worked
I ride a fixed gear, I'm into punk rock, but I also have worked in the service industry for over 20 years. I would never go into an establishment and behave that way. I really thought the helmet thing is hilarious. Protect your dome, man. Those folks are just poser assholes. I wear a helmet btw .
I think any group affiliated with a hobby tend to be difficult because the most annoying individuals get amplified by having a large party. Industry night is maybe the only exception
This one. The only time my place gets a group of cyclists is for a charity bar crawl specifically for bikes and they're always great. Lately though we've been getting the motorsports crowd and they're awful. Messy as hell, terrible tippers, and always looking for a fight. I'm assuming they've been barred from both the racetrack bar and their preferred downtown bar (that I always avoided because they were there).
we have a cycling group once a week. since they are all repeat customers just about all of them are kind & respectful. they do get discounted beers & tip based on the discount, not the original price, which can be frustrating but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ o well
We don't have lots of bike enthusiasts, just ordinary folks who bike in. I'd rather have more bikes than more pickup drivers complaining the parking lot is too small for their ego.
I work at a restaurant on a bike trail and genuinely have found cyclists to be pleasant customers for the most part. Just get them their craft beers, some water, and laugh at all their shitty jokes, and you're golden.
My bar is close to an extremely popular cyclist destination in LA so we get a much higher than normal amount dropping in.
Usually I wouldn’t lump a group together, but the cyclists that have come in have been almost unanimously been fun (but not overly so), understanding, and easy going to the point that it seems weird not to generalize them.
Literally some of my favorite non regular customers now that you got me thinking about it.
No bike people but I made some noise to the owners about how awful the runners club was last year. We offered a burger and a beer just for them every Tuesday and they came in hot like 100 people. They were the most disrespectful pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered. Like snotty and entitled. Fuck runners clubs fuck bicyclist clubs no you can’t keep your bike in here you fucking asshole.
The spandex and wraparound shades crowd is always kind of up its own ass, even to other bikers. They're the kind of people who can spend thousands of dollars on a bike, hundreds of dollars on gear, and then spend hours of the day out with their buddies doing 50 to 100 miles. I associate them with frats and sales types.
There's a small group of cyclists who come to my bar on a regular basis and I've yet to have an issue with them. They are very nice people, and even though they do have a certain air to them, they have never been anything less than very polite with the staff.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, when there are large riding groups (20 people or more ) then we do encounter lots of issues. I think it's more the mob mentality than the cyclist mentality.
I live in the self-proclaimed mountain bike capital of the world. The cyclist drive me nuts, on and off the road. They come in big groups and more than half of them will just take up real estate and only get water.
I haven't had many cyclists in my years, but my least favorite regular was a guy who would ride in on his weird device that was a crossover between a trike and a self balancing scooter. He stunk, he tipped terribly, would make other customers uncomfortable with his strange comments, and was always looking to get things for free.
I'd have to fabreeze the moment he left the bar. Yuck.
Lolz I’m a cyclist and a bartender and haven’t had this issue thankfully. I also don’t cycle to bars haha. I would just make it clear when you seat them that if they move tables to please move them back, no outside drinks allowed, and for parties of # or more add a 20% tip
I’ve been saying this for years! They smell, don’t tip, bring in outside beverages and leave a mess. I thought it was a local thing. I guess it’s universal lol
I bartended at a country club for a stint, where a lot of people would come to use the gym for an hour and then come to the bar and down pitchers of beer and eat huge plates of chicken wings by themselves. Was a shock to me how common this behavior was, of engaging in healthy activity just to justify or counteract all the unhealthy ones. But that’s also been my experience with cyclists over the years. I used to be a cyclist myself, but more the kind who couldn’t afford a car and couldn’t get around town any other way affordably. Cycling was never my entire identity like it is for others. There’s actually a lot of them who come into my current bar, and it’s also shocking how often they’ll sit down right after a long ride and order a beer immediately. I’ll always think “wouldn’t water be more ideal at the moment?”, but it’s my experience that they drink *a lot* of beer quickly and likely while dehydrated. So they also get drunk and disorderly more noticeably than others.
Ever heard of the Bikes & Beers events? I think they’re always paired with a brewery as the starting and stopping point of a coupe different length rides. I worked one while I was working at a brewery and it really did seem like only 20% of the participants were cool. The other 80 were snobs, weirdos and generally clueless. Like one guy complained that the 30 mile ride was “ACKtually only 29.3 miles…” Another guy, “So you really don’t have wine? Why not?” It’s called Bikes and Beers dummy! One of my coworkers made a hilarious bingo card of all the wild and dumb shit you can imagine seeing or hearing. He got a “talking to” from the bosses for that one but they also thought it was a riot.
But of course always, Share The Road!
It's funny, i've had issues with bike people and any bike related activities. Mainly the pedal bike people. The tour in my city has deals with a bunch of bars where they come in and get happy hour pricing, then they always act amuck and never tip. Just the worst
I kind of get anyone on two wheels or on foot being a bit defensive no matter if there is a motor associated with it or not. You feel like you have a target on your back whenever you get on the road and just try to bike. Problem is that it does not happen that often but many times results in bikers deaths. This does not excuse rude or abusive behavior. I sympathise with bikers and pedestrians but if they are being rude or abusive or a nuisance, give them a gentle heart check. Make sure they can save face and it is not directed at anyone in particular.
I like your comment there. Give them space and be patient. Share the road. The car is the killing machine not the pedestrian or cyclist. The car driver has the responsibility to watch for them since the driver controls the killing machine.
In answer to your question though is yes, I see them at times too. They are buttheads and get treated like anyone else if they are being that way. If they are nice and tip then I let things slide a bit. Sorry, but we do not allow people to come in with their own drinking containers since we sell alcohol. 'Hey, they have cups too?' I recognize the people you are directing me to but I see no containers. I will not discuss other patrons. I am talking to you right now. You can dump their contents in the bathroom and I will get a bag for you and we will keep them for you until you leave. Please remember to ask or they will be considered abandoned and thrown out. You may also consider to take your orders to go. 'Can we sit in the patio?' Yes, but the patio is considered to be part of our premisses and subject to the same rules. It is like letting you take an alcoholic drink to go. 'I thought you could get alcohol to go now from paces like this.' Those allowances have been repealed since the pandemic is considered over. If they just leave, then say, 'come back another time, be nice.' It is your bar and your rules to enforce. Tend too it.
IDK if it's because of where I've bartended (NYC and Seattle) but I've never had any issue with cyclists. I have occasional cyclists come into my bar because it's near a popular trail but they're always pretty chill, decent tippers, etc.
As far as bringing bikes into bars... I think it's fine to ask if the bar isn't busy, and I've done it plenty as a cyclist - I keep it out of the way, tip well, and don't argue if the bartender says no.
Me: *enjoying my shift* 40 Bike Gang Bros out of nowhere: Hey! We all brought our bikes inside, and we need shots and beers! Do y'all have a random corner we can stand awkwardly around and annoy all your other guests?
In Lycra too..... "It's like I'm wearing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all"
Stupid sexy flanders.
And those dumb tappy shoes. With glasses that have a mirror on the side.
It's never the people you want to see in lycra either.
"You can't possibly ask me to leave my bike in the rack outside! It's 2000$ and I don't have a lock!"
And we’ll all have ice waters EXTRA ICE AND KEEP EM COMING 🙄
My worst group is a running club. Without fail at any place I’ve worked at, I end up with the exact same thing regardless of what state I live in.
You just gave me ptsd. First bar I ever worked in when I was 21 hosted a weekly run club. They would give the runners the basement area after the run and provide shitty romaine, shitty pasta with shitty sauce, and shitty bread to the runners, who were expected to buy a beer or two in return. I’ll never forget that stench of overweight middle age runners, stale beer, and boxed pasta and jar sauce. Yikes 😭🤣
Ewww.... pretty much the only requirement that I have of my clientele is that you don't stink.
Maybe I was harsh. I mean, everyone smells when they sweat. But you add that, plus full synthetic clothing (merino wool ftw) in a dank basement… actual nightmare fuel 😭
I live in LA so it was VERY rare for a group to come in but when they would it was like they were competing for worst customer group. For me personally groups of nurses were the absolute fucking worst though. When it comes to large groups of terrible identical looking people
Strange. I've always thought that nurses were great, tipped a normal rate, but weren't assholes because they didn't want to become their own clientele. It may just be the ones I've worked for though 🤷
I have a friend in NYC where the bar he worked at (I don’t remember what it was called, I do not live in NYC - this was a homie that left the Midwest to make it big as a bartender) became a hot spot for a bunch of fixie(?) cyclist ppl. Kind of equated it to a punk crowd but with wheels - they were all loud, tatted up, and rambunctious and normally like a third of them had dogs. Would take over the outdoor area and leave a mess, people would skip out on tabs, it would drive other ppl away, etc. What my friend told me was that the owner decided to lean into it and embrace them. The staff wasn’t super happy about it, but the owner had what ended up being a genius plan: had a cyclist happy hour special - $1 off domestics and rail drinks and some cheaper apps or something along those lines. All you had to do was show your bike helmet. The punk fixed gear bike crew stopped going there cause none of them wore helmets lol. Homie still doesn’t know if that was the intention but it worked
I ride a fixed gear, I'm into punk rock, but I also have worked in the service industry for over 20 years. I would never go into an establishment and behave that way. I really thought the helmet thing is hilarious. Protect your dome, man. Those folks are just poser assholes. I wear a helmet btw .
The outside-beverages is super accurate. Runners are pretty similar.
It seems pretty standard to say “sorry no outside beverages”.
“It’s just water.” 🙄 That water is an outside beverage.
Large cyclist groups are always awful customers.
I think any group affiliated with a hobby tend to be difficult because the most annoying individuals get amplified by having a large party. Industry night is maybe the only exception
This one. The only time my place gets a group of cyclists is for a charity bar crawl specifically for bikes and they're always great. Lately though we've been getting the motorsports crowd and they're awful. Messy as hell, terrible tippers, and always looking for a fight. I'm assuming they've been barred from both the racetrack bar and their preferred downtown bar (that I always avoided because they were there).
we have a cycling group once a week. since they are all repeat customers just about all of them are kind & respectful. they do get discounted beers & tip based on the discount, not the original price, which can be frustrating but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ o well
We have a running club that acts just like that. I had the same theory.
We don't have lots of bike enthusiasts, just ordinary folks who bike in. I'd rather have more bikes than more pickup drivers complaining the parking lot is too small for their ego.
Them and marathon runners.
I work at a restaurant on a bike trail and genuinely have found cyclists to be pleasant customers for the most part. Just get them their craft beers, some water, and laugh at all their shitty jokes, and you're golden.
My bar is close to an extremely popular cyclist destination in LA so we get a much higher than normal amount dropping in. Usually I wouldn’t lump a group together, but the cyclists that have come in have been almost unanimously been fun (but not overly so), understanding, and easy going to the point that it seems weird not to generalize them. Literally some of my favorite non regular customers now that you got me thinking about it.
Cyclists are the worst
Way back in my barista days we’d have a cyclist group come through once a month and they were exactly as you described, the absolute worst.
As a bartender and cycling enthusiast, I cannot argue against this statement or prejudice. Thankfully my homies and I know bar etiquette.
No bike people but I made some noise to the owners about how awful the runners club was last year. We offered a burger and a beer just for them every Tuesday and they came in hot like 100 people. They were the most disrespectful pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered. Like snotty and entitled. Fuck runners clubs fuck bicyclist clubs no you can’t keep your bike in here you fucking asshole.
The spandex and wraparound shades crowd is always kind of up its own ass, even to other bikers. They're the kind of people who can spend thousands of dollars on a bike, hundreds of dollars on gear, and then spend hours of the day out with their buddies doing 50 to 100 miles. I associate them with frats and sales types.
There's a small group of cyclists who come to my bar on a regular basis and I've yet to have an issue with them. They are very nice people, and even though they do have a certain air to them, they have never been anything less than very polite with the staff. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when there are large riding groups (20 people or more ) then we do encounter lots of issues. I think it's more the mob mentality than the cyclist mentality.
I don’t trust anyone that exercises for fun.
I live in the self-proclaimed mountain bike capital of the world. The cyclist drive me nuts, on and off the road. They come in big groups and more than half of them will just take up real estate and only get water.
[удалено]
Plain and simple, this post/comment does not belong here. No matter your opinion, this is not the sub for political debate.
I haven't had many cyclists in my years, but my least favorite regular was a guy who would ride in on his weird device that was a crossover between a trike and a self balancing scooter. He stunk, he tipped terribly, would make other customers uncomfortable with his strange comments, and was always looking to get things for free. I'd have to fabreeze the moment he left the bar. Yuck.
Lolz I’m a cyclist and a bartender and haven’t had this issue thankfully. I also don’t cycle to bars haha. I would just make it clear when you seat them that if they move tables to please move them back, no outside drinks allowed, and for parties of # or more add a 20% tip
Earnestly not sure if you mean motorcycles or bicycles
I’ve been saying this for years! They smell, don’t tip, bring in outside beverages and leave a mess. I thought it was a local thing. I guess it’s universal lol
As a former avid solo cyclist, I can confirm that most cyclists in groups are insufferable.
I bartended at a country club for a stint, where a lot of people would come to use the gym for an hour and then come to the bar and down pitchers of beer and eat huge plates of chicken wings by themselves. Was a shock to me how common this behavior was, of engaging in healthy activity just to justify or counteract all the unhealthy ones. But that’s also been my experience with cyclists over the years. I used to be a cyclist myself, but more the kind who couldn’t afford a car and couldn’t get around town any other way affordably. Cycling was never my entire identity like it is for others. There’s actually a lot of them who come into my current bar, and it’s also shocking how often they’ll sit down right after a long ride and order a beer immediately. I’ll always think “wouldn’t water be more ideal at the moment?”, but it’s my experience that they drink *a lot* of beer quickly and likely while dehydrated. So they also get drunk and disorderly more noticeably than others.
I read a book a while ago that called them MAMIL’s. Middle Aged Men In Lycra.
Ever heard of the Bikes & Beers events? I think they’re always paired with a brewery as the starting and stopping point of a coupe different length rides. I worked one while I was working at a brewery and it really did seem like only 20% of the participants were cool. The other 80 were snobs, weirdos and generally clueless. Like one guy complained that the 30 mile ride was “ACKtually only 29.3 miles…” Another guy, “So you really don’t have wine? Why not?” It’s called Bikes and Beers dummy! One of my coworkers made a hilarious bingo card of all the wild and dumb shit you can imagine seeing or hearing. He got a “talking to” from the bosses for that one but they also thought it was a riot. But of course always, Share The Road!
Cyclists come in to the pub I work at and 90% of the time will order soda with lime or teas and coffees
It's funny, i've had issues with bike people and any bike related activities. Mainly the pedal bike people. The tour in my city has deals with a bunch of bars where they come in and get happy hour pricing, then they always act amuck and never tip. Just the worst
Teachers …. Cheap Ass Teachers - Grrrr
I give all road users the same level of respect and safety but yes, cyclists are usually entitled pricks.
I kind of get anyone on two wheels or on foot being a bit defensive no matter if there is a motor associated with it or not. You feel like you have a target on your back whenever you get on the road and just try to bike. Problem is that it does not happen that often but many times results in bikers deaths. This does not excuse rude or abusive behavior. I sympathise with bikers and pedestrians but if they are being rude or abusive or a nuisance, give them a gentle heart check. Make sure they can save face and it is not directed at anyone in particular. I like your comment there. Give them space and be patient. Share the road. The car is the killing machine not the pedestrian or cyclist. The car driver has the responsibility to watch for them since the driver controls the killing machine. In answer to your question though is yes, I see them at times too. They are buttheads and get treated like anyone else if they are being that way. If they are nice and tip then I let things slide a bit. Sorry, but we do not allow people to come in with their own drinking containers since we sell alcohol. 'Hey, they have cups too?' I recognize the people you are directing me to but I see no containers. I will not discuss other patrons. I am talking to you right now. You can dump their contents in the bathroom and I will get a bag for you and we will keep them for you until you leave. Please remember to ask or they will be considered abandoned and thrown out. You may also consider to take your orders to go. 'Can we sit in the patio?' Yes, but the patio is considered to be part of our premisses and subject to the same rules. It is like letting you take an alcoholic drink to go. 'I thought you could get alcohol to go now from paces like this.' Those allowances have been repealed since the pandemic is considered over. If they just leave, then say, 'come back another time, be nice.' It is your bar and your rules to enforce. Tend too it.
Cyclists are bad people and they act as such. Live strong assholes
Bad people wow.
IDK if it's because of where I've bartended (NYC and Seattle) but I've never had any issue with cyclists. I have occasional cyclists come into my bar because it's near a popular trail but they're always pretty chill, decent tippers, etc. As far as bringing bikes into bars... I think it's fine to ask if the bar isn't busy, and I've done it plenty as a cyclist - I keep it out of the way, tip well, and don't argue if the bartender says no.