mastronaut

I was cruising on a real nice road when I saw a guy in spandex huffing up a small incline (obviously a beginner), I put it in tenth and eased up to him. I called out "on you're right" and I proceeded to leave his arse in the wind. I looked back briefly just to see his middle finger before he veered into a Yugo of all things (sheesh) some people just hate being passed...

Echo Gypsy

Well, I've taken the last three months off, so I will send a pic in a month when I'm back riding again. And yes I do want a pic....but not in the skin suit.

BlazingPedals

What is this "tenth" gear? My normal cruising gear is either 53/16 or 15/14 (87" or 100".) Hmm, I think I just figured out why powering the 53/14 is a bit tiring. I love hearing stories of passing uprights, as long as they're worthy opponents, i.e. someone of similar apparent abilities. (Somebody struggling to keep a city bike balanced might not be 'worthy.')

djwid

For me on my trike, that guy is fair game

cranky old dude

Normally I'd stay quiet, but I'm in a rotten mood tonight....

All the non-supportive, cold hearted, negativity I'm seeing in this thread reminds
me why I choose to ride solo.

BlazingPedals

Yep, I guess he would be! I mean, the 'balancing' part.

djwid

Indeed , competing over balance is one thing I can do well on the trike.

Speed on the other hand ...

aikigreg

Birthday suit???

Rollfast

Shame on you! That's exercise for him!

As for the Yugo, that was a public service if not the wrong way to take it out of traffic

\ \ \OUCH/ / /

Hope he's all right!

mastronaut

The finger wielding victim was ok, I can't say the same for the Yugo...

Echo Gypsy

You first

aikigreg

I'll send you my pics if you send yours! Just remember to account for shrinkage!


...actually, funny story. Just conmpeted in the Texas Time Trials a couple weeks ago and as I'd my one of my hard-fought laps, I'm laying down and enjoying the breeze under my kilt (literally) with my eyes shut. Then one of my friends on another team lifts my kilt while a second snaps a photo. Appparently they didn't believe me when I said I wore it regimental. Boy were THEY surprised!

mastronaut

eewwww, TMI alert!

limeylew

Maybe, if you had called out "on YOUR right", you two could have communicated better. :-)

mastronaut

If you really read that story, you'd see how absurd it is, I am a sarcastic b*stard by nature....

Rollfast

I've never met any boring ones...oh nevermind, you've never seen me in a BLOG.

Mooo

So at an enthusiast's cadence of 90 to a hundred your normal cruising speed is 25 to 30 mph.
Not bad.


About the same as a chubby teen on a moped.
That's why I use a mirror

BlazingPedals

Why do you assume I'm doing 100 rpm? A 23x622 tire has a diameter of about 26.4 inches. My preferred cadence is 85 rpm, which was considered normal before everyone went off the deep end trying to emulate Lance. That makes the 53/16 about 22 mph and a 53/14 is about 25 mph.

Mooo

meh, I favored 105-110 back when Lance was still into Smurfs.
But to each his (or her) own.

Trsnrtr

Ditto. 100-105 feels pretty normal to me. I don't think I could ride less than 95 rpm without tearing something.

Sealord3

Several weeks ago I was riding my 15 mile loop on an old but good V-Rex. I wasn't in a hurry, just out for a spin when I look in the mirror and saw two riders closing in on me from the rear. I pick up my pace to 18 for little gain as they were soon on me. OK I thought it is time to have some fun. I jump on their wheel and off we go. The route is flat for another two miles so the time is now. They know I am there and the pace quickens but to their surprise I hang on. With a mile to go I swing around and come even with the lead rider. I can see the strain on his face, so thinking back to an old song, I ask him "Hey can you tell me how to get this thing onto the big chain ring. I repeated myself to be sure I was understood. I flipped into the big ring and waved goodby. A town park was approaching so I took the opportunity to pull off and waved as they flew by. After recover ing this 60 year old guy resumed my normal pace.
But It felt sooo goooood.

TomT

StephenH

"Have you considered the possibility that a cute young woman waving to older guys might be taken as an invitation?"
"I usually smile or nod to the other non Spandex riders."

As a Fat Old Man, I can assure you that if a cute young woman waves to me (or smiles or nods), I know dang well it's not an invitation.

Echo Gypsy

You ride in a Kilt? LOL
how do you keep it from flying up..... must not be moving too fast!

scarabeoguy

Hi Bruce,
That is so funny. I go through the same thing when riding my 700. The rush I get is the look on their face when I pass them and wave saying have a nice day. Just remember those guys buy into the testosterone hype presented by Madison Ave which is a trick Trek Madone and Lycra..............

MotoIdaho

I don't pass any real cyclists on my Catrike, but sometimes I've tagged along with a pair of them while on my '73 Motobecane. After a few miles I'll tell them my bike is older than they are, if I get a chance. They go "no way", I go "yes way, I got it new in 1973." Things start to add up in their head and they might think "crap, I could have gotten an old steel frame bike for $4000 less than this one, and it looks that nice, and rides at the same pace?" I hope they think of that. On the other hand, I've been told if I ever ride a new bike, I'll never ride my old steel frame Motobecane. No worries, I like riding Catrike better.