Graham S

I have been riding to work for about a year now on a Ridgeback Genesis, its a pretty fast commuter even though the pilot could do with loosing a few pounds.

The fact of the matter is that my commute is very short, only a couple of miles and my bike is basically a race bike with flat handle bars, for this reason I overtake between 2 and 10 bikes every time I cycle to work on a popular commuting route. The fact is though that I take so much pride in it, I love riding past people as if they are not moving. Occasionally I ride past someone who's bike weighs less than they do and who isn't wobbling from left to right and then find myself speeding up to make sure my over take is convincing and then I wonder if they are catching me up. Of course I can't look behind me to find out, that would be too obvious so I end up racing an imaginary person all the way to my destination and arrive knackered.

In some ways its probably a good way of feeling happy, if you play a game no one else is you will always win but I still can't help but think some of these people I pass have probably just ridden 10 miles or really couldn't give a rats ass about other riders.

Am I the only person afflicted with imaginary race syndrome?

Graham

aadhils

Uh well if the other people you are racing against (or imagining that you are racing against) actually took you up on it...

Arom

i try to race cars, to no avail but kinda, i set imaginary goals for myself, like to get to the telephone pole before that oncoming car and such

Bekologist

I've been racing a locomotive when I see it along the waterfront. He's probably going 12.

Its one big bicycle commute race out there, dontchyaknow? There's a LOT of oneupmanship in the commuter peloton.

curt in denver

Not while commuting, But sometimes on weekend rides I race to catch up with others who don't know their racing.

Jarery

Im always racing, even when they dont know it. Cars, pedestrians, fellow commuters. Heck i race people cooking in their kitchens as i pass their houses !

knykersnatchurs

as for myself, i can't help but go fast. whether it's commuting or sport/recreational riding, i'm always zooming. i think my environment can be factored in as to why i am zooming constantly. living, commuting, riding in los angeles you're enclosed within 4 moving walls that have grumbling engines; and these walls sure do zoom. and i guess, naturally, i zoom with them. hehe. i have noticed that when i'm commuting at night or fancying a late night ride, i tend to temper my peeedal(not pedal) pistons, especially (when commuting) i'm riding down manning, overland or through motor and the beverlywood neighborhoods, where it's relatively quiet (relatively speaking for la streets/neighborhoods) and there are fewer autos on the road--but i guess now that i think about it, the fact that it is night might also be playing into it. but anyway, i tend to zoom more often than not, i'm not one to put a leash on the energy flowing within.

waterboy

I always race my shadow, cant drop that wheel sucker not matter how hard I push.

My other real race is against the bus I would take if I didn't ride. As I leave the house I go by the bus stop. If I see people waiting, I know the race is on. Its a 15 mile commute. If I push hard, and catch some breaks on streetlight relative to the bus I can beat it to the stop I would normally get off at downtown. I really get a giggle out of seeing my neighboor Ted at the pickup, and then waving to him at the drop off downtown. He alswys just shakes his head at me.

tomg

there are no other bicyclists i see on my commute so i "race" the cars ( i loose but usually "catch 'em at the next lite). i try to make it look like i am not applying effort (to boost alt mode of transport, boast my fitness) and have a helmet mounted mirror to monitor my progress. sometimes i have to race the clock (a Time-Trial). i am leading by example!

unkchunk

I don't race on account of them not allowing me to take a nap at work and I don't need to be tired to nap at home. I try to stick with a even pace that allows me the fastest time without tiring me out. Once in a while I get a feeling that someone is trying to race me. It's doesn't bother me if I'm passed. What I annoys me is when I can hear them work the way up, then pass me and then once they do, then slow down in front of me because they're tired. I hate it when people mess with my kinetic energy investments.

MrCjolsen

I raced the school bus where I teach one day. My street cred with the first graders when way up.

tomg

do you have issue when a school bus passes you to stop ahead (short distance) then turn the lights on? here in nj that means to stop, and i stop!
WHY do the busses do this?

Roody

I sometimes race kids and young adults on my commute. Usually they challenge me as a joke, but I take them on. If I win, great. If I lose, I have a good excuse. . . being 30 years older than them!

Anyway, racing is fun and it makes the commute faster, in more than one way.

One bit of advice: Never challenge a fat guy at the top of a hill!

rat_factory

buses do this so the kiddos getting off can walk across in front of the bus safely. you sould also see a little stop sign flip out of the drivers side.

DCCommuter

Any time two bicycles are traveling in the same direction, it's a race.

Little Darwin

When I ride, I do sometimes use other riders to help me push myself.

Sometimes it is to try to pass them, but more often it is to try not to lose sight of them in front of me.

zorak8me

I do sick and twisted time trials nearly every day on my way home. Each commute starts with me muttering the mantra, "It's not a race...slow down...you almost puked yesterday...". By the time I'm 3/4 of the way home, all I can think is, "If you keep up this pace you'll crush your record!", and I work out elaborate celebratory dances in my head. I think it embarrases my wife a bit.

So I know what you're talking about.

/The sprint thing isn't so bad in the winter...in the summer it kinda sucks when it is 95 degrees with 90% humidity.

tomg

i know why the lights are on!! no brainer! my point was, (and is):
Why do the busses pass me (they are often breaking the speed-limit) to get in front of me then STOP, then turning the red lights on? this intent seems simular to me as when cagers pass to get to the next traffic light before me (but they don't have that stop arm and flashing light to shine of their passing, or "victory-power").
just trying to clarify my "racing" stance while commuting! i follow all the legal rules of the road!

TrevorInSoCal

I rarely ever *see* another bike commuter, and if I do they're usually on a cheap, wal-mart mtn. bikes in street clothes riding on the sidewalk, or against traffic. Not much glory in passing one of those guys. I tend restrict my racing to *actual* races, and competitive training rides.

That said, I do sometimes tend to treat my commute as a time-trial. If I *saw* another commuter, who looked fit, I'd probably try to chase them down, if for no other reason than to see if it was anyone I know. Kind of a small community of bikers around here, so chances are it would be...

-Trevor

Cyclaholic

I wish we shared the same commute route, I need a nemesis.

The only way you would drop me if if I couln't catch you after pedalling so hard that I rupture my spleen and am coughing up chunks of lung and other organs.

pinkrobe

+1. I work especially hard to catch people on hills, but I usually can't. I always have the same excuse, "Pffft. Multiple gears. Chump!"

Tequila Joe

I use to count how many people that I passed but that got boring. Now its all about not getting passed. I have two rivals that I cross paths with about once a week in the summer. Blue Cannondale Roadie Guy & Red MTB Guy w/ slicks. They share the same convicion as me becauase when they see me coming up on them, they go as fast as they can and we end up in all out races home. A very good work out. We've never spoken aside from a friendly wave/nod as we peel off to go our separate ways when we are close to home.

T.J.

GTcommuter

I think there's a line between pacing yourself against other people and racing them. I chased down to roadies on my SS last week, then chatted with them at the next stop light. Good way to motivate myself without being obnoxious. If it's good natured, I'm more than happy to play along.

mxwalker

I like to race the riders who run red lights. I let them go and then when the light goes green, I'm off. I catch quite a few of them before they get to the next lights.

sbhikes

The only people my speed is comparable to are the street-clothed huffy guys going to their jobs washing dishes or gardening. It really peeves me that they see me coming up behind, speed up so I can't pass, then slow down again. Just let me pass please. I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm just trying to get to work on time.