Ever get passed by someone...
 

Ever get passed by someone that makes you feel terrible?

I try to never let it bother me. I'm usually out for long, slow distance and pacing myself to keep the same pace for a long way; plus I know I'm out of shape, so anyone in even decent shape should be passing me. But occasionally, I get passed by someone that just makes me feel awful.

Like the other day, I was working up this hill. It's the biggest one on my usual after-work 20 mile loop. Not a mountain by any means, but a big hill for me. And I was working up this thing, pushing myself pretty hard on this particular ride. And suddenly alongside me I see this little old lady. Well, little in height, but probably 300 pounds and looked to be 60 years old. Now I know I'm a big dude, but I'm at least young, I should be able to at least keep up. But this lady is just smiling away, cruising along up this hill and not even working, as the sweat is pouring off me and I'm sucking wind. She's got a rack on the back with a big trunk bag where I have no added weight, and yet she's leaving me in the dust and not even sweating.

So on the downhill on the other side, I determine to catch her and ask what's up, if there's some secret I'm missing; or at least offer some praise for her apparent fitness. I catch up to her at the bottom, look at the actual bike....









And the bike was electric.

And I suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore:lol:. So now, I remind myself anytime I get passed, there's never any reason to feel bad or embarrassed about it, there's always a good reason, like I'm riding farther or they're in the middle of an interval, or that I'm simply out there with a different goal in mind. Heck, for all I know, they could have an electric assist on their bike.:D

Good story! The road in front of our office is a long sloping hill, and we probably get 10 or so cyclist per day passing by. You can tell the electric assist ones, because they are CRUISING up the hill with a cadence around 40. It looks really weird.

To be honest, getting passed by "someone that shouldn't" bothered me when I first started riding. Probably because my perception of my athletic abilities was not in line with reality. Now, I don't care so much. I go out knowing what my purpose and goals for the ride are, and don't worry about what others do.

:lol:

Remember, "build" has almost nothing to do with athletic ability.

When I got back to biking 6 years ago, EVERYBODY was passing me.
Including little old ladies with cargo :D

Now, I'm still overweight but I guess in better shape.
I'm pretty much passing everybody except for the really
skinny guys on high end bikes :D

I'm one of those guys who passes people who I shouldn't be able to and upsets them all the time. There are a lot of factors.

Sometimes, I'm not out for as long a ride as they are. I'm not going to blast up a hill if I'm out to ride 40 miles, but if I'm just out for 5, I'll push hard the whole time.
When I'm working on hill climbing, I'm willing to kill myself to make good time. I may be sucking wind like nobody's business when I get to the top.
Under all this flab, I've got thighs of iron.

Last summer, my wife rode with me on a pretty long ride on the bike trail. We got passed by an older couple on comfort bikes. She really wanted to catch them but just couldn't push hard enough to stay with them. I told her that I'd see them on the trail some time and leave then in the dust for her.

Didn't really feel terrible about it, but when I first started cycling again a couple of year ago. I rode a mountain bike. One day I was struggling up a hill when I hear "good morning" next to me. I look over and there is this man, probably about 20 years older then me on a Schwinn road bike just flying by me. He didn't even look like he was trying to pass me, just was.

Now fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I'm riding my CAAD up the same hill and see a guy on a mountain bike ahead of me. I didn't hammer on just kept going my same pace, got next to him, said "good morning" as I passed him. He looked about my size, and maybe 10-15 years younger. He gave me a dirty look as I went by. I smiled all the way home.

2 years ago on Chilly Hilly I was really huffing to make my way up one of the hills and I got passed by a guy on a fixed gear, riding no-hands, taking off his sweater and stuffing it into his courier bag. I didn't feel so awesome after that, even if I had ridden 35 miles to get to the start.

The number of people who pass me and the speed at which they do it is mind-blowing. If speed were the reason that I did this activity, I'd have given up a long time ago.

You think that's demoralizing? Try getting passed up by over 2,000 riders. Every day. Sometimes twice a day (breaks). For a week. At GOBA. :lol:

I eventually caught on and didn't leave so early... I was in no hurry to finish the day's ride.

Judy

I was once passed by a guy on roller blades. I caught up to him at the stop light at the end of the MUP. I started hammering it just to keep in front of him who looked like he was just out enjoying the weather. I was so relieved when my turn came up because I'm not sure how long I could have kept up that pace.

A few years ago I was cycling along a paved trail near Seatle, cruising at about 16-17 MPH. Behind me, I heard a mountain bike approaching on the soft trail that parallels the asphalt trail. He passed me, probably going at least 5 MPH faster than me. Something seemed odd with the rider, so I looked more closely: he had only one leg.

I am not worthy.

On one of my very first rides last year - I was gliding along on the local pike path when I heard "flop -flop -flop" sounds directly behind me. Two seconds later a jogger goes past me as if I was standing still - I was going around 6 mph AND it was work .. :)

It only bothers me when I'm hammering and assume I'm on the verge of a land speed record. Then getting passed sucks, a what-the-f*** moment. Happens all the time.

There is a guy with a big ole beer gut in my area that seems to ride a fixie everywhere!!! Did a metric on a fixie... The first time I saw him I thought "heh heh, Heres one I can blow right by" then after he passed me while I was wheezing and on the verge of death, while not even breathing hard, I learned that I truly cant judge athletic ability... Mine or anyone elses.

I think it's neat to just see someone else riding. I've never been passed. I've never seen anyone else riding when I am though.

I don't mind getting passed, regardless of their condition. It inspires me to work harder so I can get faster and stronger.

Last year, in the MS150, climbing up the most significant hill in the whole ride, I was in my lowest gear and really grinding to make about 5 mph. A guy pulls up next to me, puts his hand on my lower back, and gently pushes me up the hill while coaching me with my climbing technique. I'll never forget that experience, and it's part of why being passed doesn't bother me. We're all at a different point in our training, and I'm just proud to be out there in my 312 lbs. of lycra glory. I wish I knew who that guy was, because I never saw him again, and I'd like to let him know how much his gesture of kindness meant and still means to me. He wasn't judgmental or condescending, just willing to help a struggling old fat guy.

I'm kind of in the same boat with Jethro. I typically ride at such weird hours that I spend more time dodging nocturnal wildlife that I do avoiding people. But, on the rare occasion that I actually do see another rider, yeah, they're passing me. lol

I think we've all been there. But for that matter, if I'm passed by someone that *shouldn't* be able to pass me, I think: Good on ya! I probably developed this attitude due to starting out as a [slow] runner. A couple of years ago, I ran a marathon, and I think about 2/3 of the field finished before me. Then again, I did better than all those folks that stayed at home, eating Cheeto's and smoking in bed :thumb:

About 15 years ago, I ran one of my first 10K's. Some friends at work saw the results in the local paper and were kind enough to point out that a 65 y/o woman beat my time by 5 minutes...they even went so far as to copy this information, highlight the offending data and post it around the shop for all to see.

With friends like that, who needs VD... :lol:

I think i have the record for amount of times passed. On last years Seattle to Portland ride I bet I was passed 20,000 times.

10,000 riders:
I was in the bottom speed bracket.
Day 1
====
Approx all riders pass me - "on your left" - close to 10,000 times.
End of day one - we all meet up at 100 miles checkpoint.
Day 2
====
Repeat

Does knock the ego a little - :)

We get passed by tons of singles on climbs, but most are only going a few mph faster. When we pass singles on downhills we're going 10-15 mph faster so it all evens out in my mind.

Last summer I was doing a 66 mile cancer ride on my fixie, so I give myself credit for that, but I was killing it.the first 45 miles were great my time was great, then came the 2nd to last rest stop. 19 miles away I was feeling really good and making killer time but for some reason unknown to me to this day I pulled into the stop. That killed me. I got back ont he bike and I struggled that last 19 miles going about 11 mph (the other 46 miles of my ride my amph was 14.6) It was tough watching all these people I breezed past passing me with ease. Ah well.

Me? I'm just glad to be out and cycling. I have bad knees which keep down both my cadence and power. I almost always ride with my husky for company as well. He keeps my speed down a bit, but encourages me to go farther, so a nice compromise. :)

Terii

Digging the videos man, and I've always wondered what that Central Park Loop is like. Pretty cool! I'm always amazed at how big NY city is. If I shot that same video thru downtown Pitt, it would be over in about 2 minutes Ha-ha. But I do love my city just the same.

Oh, and to keep on topic. I'm down to 170 lbs, and I get passed routinely by folks of all ages, shapes, and sizes... :thumb:

I got started hiking when we lived in Colorado. I was hiking up the lower part of the Longs Peak trail, which is just an uphill trail through the woods in that part. I was huffing and puffing when this fat lady passed me by. It didn't bother me to get passed by a fat lady, but what bothered me was that she didn't seem to be breathing hard, either. And no, she didn't have electric legs.

Then on another hike, I huffed and puffed for 4 hours hiking to the top of Round Mountain. I got up there, and there was a bunch of old white-haired people that looked like they were right out of the nursing home. Sheesh. (Estes Park is a few miles on up the road, is a popular retirement area, and those folks don't all just sit around in their rockers!)

Then I hiked up Greys and Torreys Peaks. And got passed by a kid and his dad. That kid was 11, I think.

Anyway, the sum of it is, I learned humility long ago, and those basic trends carry over into the cycling world, too. So I do what I can, and if somebody else can do better, it's not too surprising, but not going to keep me from trying, either.

Thanks! Actually if it wasn't for my job, I would live in a rural area. :)

Come check out New York City, and the best way is on a bike with no cars.
Take the 5 Boro Bike Tour, registration is closed but you can get in for free
by volunteering as a marshal. That's what I did, and saved myself $75 :D

http://bikenewyork.org/