Road Bike Racing - Street Racing - do I need counseling?

To set the stage, I am riding along at a quiet 20 MPH in the area that I usually do my intervals. My goal for the day is a nice easy spin after a hammerfest the day before. I am suddenly aware that I have developed a shadow - someone has invited themselves to ride on my wheel. I am used to riding inches off of people's wheel, and having riders very close to my wheel, but riders that I know. After a few minutes, the shadow turns into a rider passing me. I was tempted to get on his wheel, but I decided to stick with my workout plan for the day. He soon crossed the roadway, made a U-turn and disappeared back up the road. I then turned into a trail, and did a 6 mile round trip back to the road. I started thinking about the guy, and thought that if I came upon him again, I would jump his wheel and then blast by him, but he was not to be found.

Fast forward to the next day. I planned intervals that day, and as I approached my interval training area, there is my uninvited wheel sucker from yesterday in full Euskatel kit, with matching orange Orbea Orca. He is turning into a parking lot, and does not see me as I come by. As I was riding along warming up for my intervals, I was wishing I had appeared there earlier. About a mile down the road, Euskatel boy is suddenly passing me on my left. I was on his wheel like a stray dog on a raw steak. We were going about 24, and I waited until he worked for awhile, and then blasted by him doing about 32 mph. I held that speed so damn long, I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and finally reached a road and made a hard left and disappeared into a residential area where I could catch my breath and die and retch in private.

I then did a few miles on a trail, and as I was returning to the road, I see the Euskatel guy coming towards me. He had not seen me yet, so I actually hid behind a tree, allowed him to pass, and then this time, I did not bother to get on his wheel, but went blasting by him, and held a speed in the low thirties until I felt he had gotten the message, and then made a hard, fast left turn on to another road.

Do I need counseling? My girlfriend thought so after I related this story! :D

Oh, and yes, I did not do my interval workout because those two very long forays left me a bit fried.

:roflmao: Sorry, I can't get past the image of you hiding behind a tree. :roflmao:

Oh my God that is SOOOOO funny!
What is it that goes off in our heads like that. It makes us do goofy things like hide behind trees and then blast by someone killing ourselves in the process.

It's that man gene thing I have written about before in the road cycling forum. Something just snaps and somehow, someway, everything turns into some sort of testosterone-pumping proving ground. It's primal really. We can't can't help it I contend.

Great story.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do on a bike, I find anyway, is not take the bait and just let someone go, sticking to your own plan for the day.

:roflmao: Sorry, I can't get past the image of you hiding behind a tree. :roflmao:

LOL - the tree hiding incident was particularly sick! :D

Oh my God that is SOOOOO funny!
What is it that goes off in our heads like that. It makes us do goofy things like hide behind trees and then blast by someone killing ourselves in the process.

It's that man gene thing I have written about before in the road cycling forum. Something just snaps and somehow, someway, everything turns into some sort of testosterone-pumping proving ground. It's primal really. We can't can't help it I contend.

Great story.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do on a bike, I find anyway, is not take the bait and just let someone go, sticking to your own plan for the day.

I swear I wouldn't have done it had he not invited himself to join my wheel on the first day. Testosterone is truly the cause of many of our problems. My first first high speed ride by him was rather comfortable, but on the second one I don't think that I work that hard in time trials, and I was about to burst, but I knew that I was committed to not back off. Truly sick! :)

He's lonely and wants someone to ride with.
Suggest to him Eharmony.com

Or perhaps my new company:
"WheelHarmony.com" ;)

Good suggestions although I met mine on match.com which was the best thing I ever did. That meeting actually got me into cycling. My girlfriend (actually fiance) is a triathlete, and I was minding my own business one day channel surfing when she showed up with two bikes on the back of her car. She said, "get your lazy butt off the couch, we are going for a bicycle ride." I fell in love with the girl and the bike, and the rest is history!

Wouldn't it have been something if the rider was really a member of Euskatel training for the upcoming Tour de Georgia. I looked, and Euskatel isn't listed as one of the teams entered though. Hiding behind a tree, you kill me!

Wouldn't it have been something if the rider was really a member of Euskatel training for the upcoming Tour de Georgia. I looked, and Euskatel isn't listed as one of the teams entered though. Hiding behind a tree, you kill me!

Zack, that would have been particularly painful had he been an actual pro, and after blasting by him, holding a speed that was extraordinarily painful, he came blasting by me. ouch! :D

haha funny story.

you could have just said "hi" and chatted him up a bit . . . maybe he's looking for somebody to ride with, you know, make a friend instead of spy v/s spy on bicycles

haha funny story.

you could have just said "hi" and chatted him up a bit . . . maybe he's looking for somebody to ride with, you know, make a friend instead of spy v/s spy on bicycles

Well, actually I did. I didn't really tell the beginning of the story. Initially I saw him riding rather slowly in front of me. He was proably recovering from an interval. I came riding by him and said, "good morning," to which he did not reply . It was evident that he did not reply because he was laboring, and he was riding a Campy equipped Orbea Orca, a rather nice ride not particularly used by beginners. It was later down the road where I started to describe the incident. Perhaps he just wanted to rectify his unfriendliness!

32 MPH... nice, I would have trouble holding that speed in a non paceline situation!

This kind of stuff happens around here too... testosterone I guess. Ever get into a light to light with someone on a bike :lol: !

32 MPH... nice, I would have trouble holding that speed in a non paceline situation!

This kind of stuff happens around here too... testosterone I guess. Ever get into a light to light with someone on a bike :lol: !

No, that was only the second time I have street raced with someone I did not know. The first time I was in a group going down the Pinellas Trail in FLorida, and a guy came streaking by us. I was doing the pull at the time, and the rider to my rear said, "Let's go get him." We chased him down, and didn't stop until we had left some distance between us and him. He later caught up, and we had a nice chat. A few weeks later, I wound up riding with the guy who was a very strong rider and competitor.

The 32 was very, very painful, but once committed I had to keep going. I'm glad I was not wearing my Polar - it probably would have scared me, because I was well above red-line due to the duration.

Oh, and yes, I did have a bit of a tail wind, but it was still painful as hell holding the speed.

Well I would have probably hidden behind a tree puking my lungs up. . .

great story.

Marty

Well I would have probably hidden behind a tree puking my lungs up. . .

great story.

Marty

Actually Marty, I went into a residential neighborhood to do my puking, but simply had a mini retch fest! By the time I got to the tree, that was about a half hour later, and I was rested up, and after the second incident, I went back into my little quiet neighborhood for my retching again. Perhaps I will use the tree next time if I haven't received adequate psychological counseling by then!

I'm imagining the story on another bike forum where this rider recounts "I met this guy on the ride and he kept blasting past me, wretching on some guy's lawn and then hiding behind a tree like I couldn't see him. "

I'm imagining the story on another bike forum where this rider recounts "I met this guy on the ride and he kept blasting past me, wretching on some guy's lawn and then hiding behind a tree like I couldn't see him. "

LOL - except I didn't hide to retch, only to stalk him! Having said that, I would have hidden to retch had I thought he could see me! :D

made a hard left and disappeared into a residential area where I could catch my breath and die and retch in private.


If you got to retch by all means make sure you do it in private :lol:

If you got to retch by all means make sure you do it in private :lol:

I wish I could, but when I finished my last time trial, I waited until I was at least a centimeter beyond the finish line before I started retching. Fortunately, I was moving fast enough that my momentum quickly carried me beyond earshot of the people hovering about the finishline - including my fiance. :o

Will you take this relationship to the next step? It sounds like you two have something special going on. :D

Will you take this relationship to the next step? It sounds like you two have something special going on. :D

Oh probably, although having said that, when my ex-wife once watched me compete in an invitational mile, she vowed never to come again after watching me administered to by the paramedics. I won though!! :D