gl98115

Aren't you the guy who always finishes last when the real racing occurs?

Ridefreemc

When I used to train a lot there were a few days a week that I would just spin (still in lycra). I would not allow myself to use the big chainring, nor would I allow my heart rate to rise past a certain point. It was at that point that I would get passed by some riders. I feel like I am a pretty well-adjusted person, but I do have to admit that it was tough on the ego.

Maybe they weren't riding at their max. Sometimes people ride slower just for fun or other reason.

spare_wheel

but you can sometimes win prizes for this in cross...or so I've heard.

noglider 

Yup. Often on weekdays, I am the fastest one on the path. I call myself the fastest bike commuter and the slowest racer. There's a huge range of abilities. Some people think I'm amazing, and rightly so. Other people think I'm weak, and rightly so.

jralbert

Honest to god, I cannot let this go. If there is another cyclist or cyclist-shaped object anywhere within my forward field of view, I will pursue it against all reason and nothing can prevent it. Not when I'm commuting, not when I'm sportive riding, not even when I'm actually racing!

I did a triathlon for the first time this year (yeah, yeah, I know), and was very regimented about sticking to a plan during the race so that I wouldn't blow myself up before the end - multi-modal races are tricky that way - but ten seconds out on the bike course I saw another rider a few hundred yards up and the ol' lizard brain just took over. I sprinted the entire cycle distance in the red zone trying to catch that one rider and never got close. I presume she was entirely oblivious to my presence.

Worst of all was at the end of the bike course, when I knew I had been athletically bested, and the only thing left was the acceptance stage. The course volunteers somehow misdirected the rider I'd been chasing, and she ended up having to come back around, so I made it into the transition zone first, and even despite it all I couldn't stifle a tiny burst of joy: "I won!" Ten seconds later my rational brain took back over as I headed out into the run in the icy calm certainty that I had won nothing, totally blown my legs, and abandoned my careful plan - in a multiple-start race where passing any individual meant nothing, and only the actual finishing time mattered. As a final injury, she trotted past me at a brisk pace into the run, and two minutes later I couldn't even see her.
@noglider, if you'd passed me while I was fully lycra'd up on the race bike you might have actually heard me audibly muttering the only cue I have to give myself on every ride: "Don't chase! Don't chase!"

Mr. Hairy Legs

I only chase ebike riders.

TransitBiker

I only chase Tesla S's with hot girls driving them.

- Andy

Sixty Fiver

I am gonna go for "freak".

Eric S.

While rolling along at a nice pace on my commuter with 26x1.25 tires pumped up to 100psi, I have been passed by headphone wearin', no hands ridin' hipsters on MTBs with full-on fat tires.

krobinson103

Just last weekend I did my usual all night hill repeats. I ride a soma double cross fitted out for touring. This day I had about 8kg of stuff on board. Anyway after one cycle I see this group going the opposite way. cool. So I finish my descent and then catch and pass them on the way up again. Then again, they really weren't going all that fast. I did 20kmh on the climb they were doing about 15 or so. Did I out engine them? Perhaps, or perhaps they just wanted to go slow. I wear full kit (no logos) and some days I even ride a roadie. But, there are days I just want to cruise. You can't assume anything when its your virtual race.

krobinson103

I suffer from this often. Some dude on hybrid goes racing past at max boost. I know he won't last more than five minutes and if I just cruise along I'll catch up soon enough, but no! I can't let this one go so I push it up to close to the redline early into a 300km ride knowing I'll pay for it in the last 40km.

TransitBiker

I'm to the point where only motor vehicles can really catch me if i'm intent on going fast. Last night i was cruising easy in town & the radar thingie newly mounted above speed limit sign said i was going 22 on the 25 mph street. I chalk this up to it being 72 & humid out, so my body was able to expend less energy on cooling & more on leg movement. That said, i'm often not in that mode, some kinda back or joint pain somewhere, less than ideal riding weather, weight, many other factors, even the wrong music in my headphones at a particular moment.

- Andy

alan s 

How do you know you're the fastest? Could be someone faster a mile behind that never catches up. Could be someone ahead you never catch. You may pass a lot of slower riders, but that doesn't make you the fastest.

Leebo

Cat 6 commuter racing.

Tundra_Man 

A couple years ago I saw a very large man (300+ pounds) mashing away on a mountain bike about 1/4 mile ahead of me on the MUP. Me on my road bike, decided to blow by him. For 5 miles I struggled hard just to catch up with with the guy. I'd managed to get within 20 feet when he turned off the path towards his destination, and I slowed to a snails pace completely spent. I don't think he ever knew I was trying to catch him, nor do I think he ever broke a sweat or even shifted out of his too-high gear.

That dude was fast. And I realized I'm not.

lostarchitect 

I am soooo slow, and I don't care. Pass me on a citibike? Good job!

Reynolds 

This. The other day I was on my slick tire MTB, cruising at about 25kph, and I passed 2 skinny guys in their early 20's, on nice road bikes, in full lycra racer look, going about 20kph. Seconds later they whoosh past me at over 50 kph - I realized they were doing sprint training.

Reynolds 

Believe it or not, people like that do actually exist!

I consider myself one of the fastest among the slowest in my group. On a good day I reach a mediocre level.

DiabloScott

That has got to be the ultimate bike tinkerer's set-up.

What I love is when some poser passes me, and then feels obligated of course to stay in front of me but can't maintain his passing speed for very long and then I get to pass him back... all the while I have my 70's disco music playing on my phone's speaker in shoulder band of my backpack.

Hypno Toad

I have to do this to myself all the time. I'm the guy on a city bike (Globe Daily) that will draft a pack of 8 lycra riders. I got props for my effort, which my ego loves (I'm an idiot).

My best example of "Don't chase! Don't chase!" - a few times a year, during my lunch hour, I donate blood at a center near my office. Riding home after work (& for the next couple days) repeating "DON'T CHASE! DON'T BE AN IDIOT!!"

Otherwise, I chase down almost every rider. Like the yellow lab we had when I was I kid, no common sense, just "I. MUST. CHASE!!!" (again, I am an idiot)

caloso

My two cents:

I race, but not on the commute. Like a lot of masters racers, I have a full time job and kids so there's little extra time for training. Most days at least one of my commute legs doubles as a training session. Which means bibs and jersey, race bike with power meter, and a predetermined set of intervals. If you're on my route and I keep leapfrogging you, it has nothing to do with you. You can ride past me, give me The Look, and drop me if you like. I don't care, I'm not chasing you, I'm not racing you. I'm recovering. I might catch back up, pass, and keep going. Again, I don't care. I'm not racing you, I'm just trying to maintain the specified wattage until the end of the interval.

And those are the hard days. On recovery days, I'm also minding my power meter to keep me honest, and honestly some days I'm going so slow that little old ladies on Jazzys are passing me. I fully expect all of them to log on to www.jazzyforums.net to talk about how they caught and dropped a "fully kitted out roadie" that day.

spare_wheel

How about competitive training?

caloso

You mean like a race-oriented group ride?

noglider 

Bike tinkerer, you bet!


Here's the bike, my new commuter. I rode through Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens on it today, in the heat. It was fun. I only used two speeds.

spare_wheel

group rides, club rides, lunch rides, and chance encounters with someone you recognize.