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10 Annoying Things About Riding Street

I love riding street, there’s nothing better than rolling around town with a crew of your mates hunting down new spots to ride. Chilling on the streets with a beer and some of my closest mates was one of my favourite past times back in the day and you certainly can’t beat those summer days! However, there are a few downsides to riding street and I’m about to go through ’em all with you, speak up in our comments if you can relate to any of these…

#1 – RAIN.

There is no escape, you can’t change the weather and in the UK when it rains, it pours! We’ve had a spell of a good solid 324 days of rain so far (ok maybe a slight exaggeration) but you get the idea. Rain is a killer of any street/dirt/flatland/outdoor park session unless you don’t care about sliding out (or you’re from the North and you’re hard as nails.)

#2 – Security Guards.

You get some right knobs working in the security business. I don’t know, maybe they were bullied in school and want to get their own back on “the cool kids”, maybe they were the bullies in school and have no one left to bully so they pick on us? Maybe they’re just doing their job. Who knows? We’ve all had a run-in with the hi-vis wearing guardie at least once in our time, the outcome just depends on if they’re having a good day or not…

#3 – Old People.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against old people in general. It’s just the ones who see you riding from their house and make it their business to yell at you and threaten to phone the Police. Been in this situation many times… Also the lovely old dears who tell you off for grinding rails (even though they’ve been sessioned before many, many times over the years) – Then they come out with that classic line, “So I guess you’re gong to paint that yourself, are you?” – Urgh.

#4 – Cars.

Now this is going to be a matter of opinion, but have you ever wanted to ride a spot so bad and the traffic around said spot is so mental you can’t hit it up? How about a car that’s parked in a spot right at the bottom of a rail/ledge/stair set you want to hit up? I know I’ve experienced both, so this must’ve affected a few of you guys too… I’ve even had a chav boy racer argue with me that I’m going to “land on his car” – Really mate? I think it’d be an improvement if I did…

#5 – flat tyres.

It’s always going to be really annoying when you get a flat tyre, that’s granted. But what if you’re stuck without tools/a tube and you’re absolutely miles away from the nearest place that can sort you out? It’s a nightmare. That’s one advantage of riding skateparks I guess… (mainly indoor ones) – There’s always going to be a steady supply of inner tubes on hand, usually tools too.

#6 – Breaking Parts/Snapped Chain.

This falls into the same sort of category as getting a flat tyre but it’s even more painful (or can be if it’s a snapped chain at high velocity and you knee your stem/go over the bars) – We’ve all been there and being stuck with broken parts sucks. Especially if you’re out riding street and the nearest bike shop is a good hike away!

#7 – Chavs.

Oh yes, you know it! This is one of the most annoying things about riding street particularly in the North-East (where I’m from) and situated in towns/cities all over the country. We’ve all been there… Just riding your bike, ready to hit a ledge or whatever when you hear, “ere mate, gis a go of ya bike” or “do a stunt eww” – You turn around to find a Fred Perry stripy-jumper wearing, cider swigging pint-sized radgie trying to give it the big-‘un in front of his mates. Not gonna lie… I’ve had many an encounter myself, most of them have ended up with a bit of verbal abuse hurled back at them and a handshake with “ere ya nee bother you like marra” – Fair to say a few ended in fights. Scumbags!

#8 – Breaking The Spot.

I’ve actually got a pretty funny story to tell here… A mate of mine: ‘RJ’ went over to Barca recently with his crew and hit up a few legendary spots on his travels. The funny thing is, you’ll recognise the rail above will be known from pretty much any BCN vids you’ve ever seen. It’s just a shame that when his crew turned up the spot had already been broken! The rail was actually propped up by a coke can, RJ sent it anyway and the image above shows the aftermath. Nothing worse than a spot you love to ride dying its last death in front of you. As you’d expect, RJ caused HELL in the BMX community but what can you do? Nevermind eh… RIP.

#9 – ‘NO CIGAR’ Spots

By ‘No Cigar’ we mean those spots you find and would LOVE to ride, then immediately you have to call it off because of something stupid in the way. Like a perfect rail straight into a wall, perfect bank with sand at the bottom etc. One of the many annoying things about riding street…

#10 – RAGE.

This last one can occur at any given moment. You know when you’re relentlessly trying a trick over and over again, slamming every time and getting frustrated with yourself. Maybe even chucking your bike? Yep. You’ve got the RAGE! (Even more dangerous when you’re riding street as your bike-missile could hit a parked car or pedestrian.) P.S I know the second photo isn’t a BMX but you get the picture…

Check out: 10 Best Things About Riding Street.