General Cycling Discussion - Age is making me sensitive

I'll be pedaling along when some older person (i'm 46) with block pedals and flip flops will go whizzing past me or some teenager on a cruzer will fly past me. It irritates the hell out of me. I know the solution is to pedal faster--I'm good at 25 mph- but it still bugs me.:notamused:

Were you stopped at a signal prior to their wizzing you!? I gather sometimes technique overrides equipment?

Or does that dude with the flip flops own an electric bike!?

How many miles have you already done in comparison to them?

Did a ride your age ride a few years ago- only 5 miles to go and into a headwind and I knew there was a group of riders behind me. Took them a couple of miles to catch me and we chatted. They were the B group from a local club and all had decent bikes and were out on their usual 30 mile Sunday ride. They were surprised to find an "Older" rider out on such a Foul January morning-It was raining and the temp was only about 40deg F. So why was I out?

Birthday ride--

Happy birthday-How Old?

60

At this they dropped back in disgust as I dropped a gear for the 10% slope that was coming up.

Luckily they turned off a mile or so later so I could collapse and get my breath back.

I don't mind being passed at all. I'm an old guy and that is the way it is. But some times I'll be cruising along at what for me is a good pace,say 16 MPH, and some skinny girl will pass doing about 18 mph. As I said, I don't mind but I'm baffled as to where they get the power. They have no muscle at all. Well, I've always been baffled by women.

I'll be pedaling along when some older person (i'm 46) with block pedals and flip flops will go whizzing past me or some teenager on a cruzer will fly past me. It irritates the hell out of me. I know the solution is to pedal faster--I'm good at 25 kph- but it still bugs me.:notamused:

Fixed for accuracy.

As long as you ain't downwind as they're wizzing.:D

Everybody passes me,kids,old ladies,skateboards,joggers.Most people ride faster than me,but I can ride longer and farther than most.

Tortoise and Hare thing.....The only thing missing from me is the shell,there's plenty of wrinkles....

Never had to give it much consideration; the only people in this town that ever DO pass me are ones I'd expect to pass me (kitted-out roadies). Not that I'm such a speed demon, I'm not, but most of the serious riders ride outside of town in peloton-sized packs, and the casual riders in town just can't seem to conceive of pedaling hard enough to produce a 140-150 HR as FUN.

I live in a state where you can ride with a 70 year old racer and he drops you despite being half his age.
Younger riders drop me. Older riders drop me. I drop older riders. I drop younger riders. It matters not.

I'm good at 25 mph- but it still bugs me.:notamused:

You get buzzed going 25mph? Better check your speedometer. Either that or you must live in the land of superheros.

You get buzzed going 25mph? Better check your speedometer. Either that or you must live in the land of superheros.

:) Thats what I thought as well when first reading the post, but the OP cleared that up in a later post, he meant KPH.:thumb:

I live in a state where you can ride with a 70 year old racer and he drops you despite being half his age.
Younger riders drop me. Older riders drop me. I drop older riders. I drop younger riders. It matters not.

An old cowboy once told me "They ain't a horse that can't be rode, or a rider that can't be throwed".

I live in a state where you can ride with a 70 year old racer and he drops you despite being half his age.
Younger riders drop me. Older riders drop me. I drop older riders. I drop younger riders. It matters not.
In the same vein, a favorite quote of mine from a post on Bikeforums a few years ago is something like, "My 15 mph is to me as your 24 mph is to you."

I'll be pedaling along when some older person (i'm 46) with block pedals and flip flops will go whizzing past me or some teenager on a cruzer will fly past me. It irritates the hell out of me. I know the solution is to pedal faster--I'm good at 25 mph- but it still bugs me.:notamused:

I'm 60, and have recognized that the biological reality is that we lose the muscle fibers which result in the ability to accomplish short term bursts of speed as we get older. Either hammer down and try to catch up with the young fellow, or get over it. I speak from experience when I say that it will get worse for you :(

You're a sensitive boy, aren't you Tommy?

If someone goes past me I think.....damn....get it dude! Could care less.

Once in awhile I'll be bummed by someone passing me, but it isn't a big deal. My motor's built to be fast on foot rather than on a bike, that's just the way it is. If I'm lucky, I'll catch them on a climb where the odds are more in my favor.


"My 15 mph is to me as your 24 mph is to you."

I like that!

I get a kick out of it when someone passes me up, when I get over the instant "where the heck did HE come from?". Most people around here, where I ride mostly anyway, are pretty slow.

There are not that many riders who would pass me on the flat open road. On the bike path it is a different story, I'd say about half who pass me there are jerks. The other half are simply going faster when I'm enjoying the scenery or keeping a steady pace (E.g. not speeeding up when thgnis are more open. Some days I would speed up when safe other not).

Serious climbs are a totally different world. There are very few riders who do not pass me on hills. Not to say I'm slower than everyone, just that anyone who can even hold my wheel on hte flat is apt to pass me going uphill.

I am a pretty good cyclist and by most any measure in pretty darn good shape. Well, I was in Ft Lauderdale for a day before my connection on back home. I rented a hybrid sorta machine, not totally unfortunate just to cruise around and maybe snorkel off the beach like at Atlantic/Commercial piers. Anyways, this chick goes by me as I was going along on my rented hybrid clunker, well, she was on some POC beach cruiser with balloon tires as big as those on a 47 Buick. The girl was rock'n. I was trying to make enough speed to hang in her wake but this girl just kept steady pulling away in flip flops on rubber pedals, squeak, squeak, squeak. No, she did not look fit, she was skinny, scrawny, legs hardly bigger than a toothpick. HeXX, I think she weighed less than my water bottle. And she was toting a huge pack! I finally, with great effort overtook her, but my fun meter was wrapped off the peg, I don't know what she was on but whatever it was, I need some of it.

LC