tofu

It was actually sunny it Portland today so I encountered a lot more bicyclists than usual on my daily morning ride. One encounter I had was sort of interesting, I was going by some apartments when I noticed another cyclist turn out onto the road right behind me as I passed. I smiled and continued on my way. About 5 miles later I was warming up and going at a healthy clip when I noticed a wheel out of the left corner of my eye. It turned out to be the same cycleist apparently trying to pass me (he did not say anything about passing), but he didn't have enough speed to do it very cleanly. We were both going about 22-23 and he was still about 3/4ths of a bike behind me so I maintained my speed and moved a bit to the right. About 10 seconds later he still was not parallel with me but I acknowledged him with a smile. At this point I was not quite sure what to do, we were coming up to turn and we could not both take it at the same time, so I could either speed up which would seem like sort of an arrogant thing to do now that he was nearly parallel with me and I had acknowledged him, or I could slow down and let him pass or just maintain speed and see if he could muster up enough to pass me before the turn. The only really safe option seemed to be to slow down and let him go ahead which I did and shortly after we went opposite directions at the next intersection. So, generally speaking, when out for ride and someone is struggling to pass you (taking 10-20 seconds) and you don't have to worry about any turns or traffic or anything should you try to assists them by slowing down, do you speed up, or do you just maintain speed and let them burn themselves out trying to pass you?

chieflim11

I say maintain your speed. This is your workout and if someone is going to pass...they should pass, or, if they aren't going fast enought o pass in the first place they should just stay behind you.

matagi

I would say unless there is a potential problem area coming up, then keep doing what you are doing and let the other cyclist worry about passing you if that's what they want to do.

If you particularly dislike people lurking around your back wheel, then do what seems appropriate at the time.
If you are feelling particularly mean, then you can speed up ever so slightly and really make them work.

cooker

In theory, it's his responsibilty as the (wannabe) overtaking cyclist to pass only where it's safe to pass. However, not knowing him, and not knowing what he would do, you exercised appropriate caution and ensured both your safety.

Edit
Had there been no hazard coming up, you would be free to do whatever your whim dictated...speed up a bit to make it a race or 'pwning', maintain speed and let him work to pass, or slow down to get rid of the nuisance of having him beside you.

bigskymacadam

first day of spring brings out the crazy's as if it was a full moon. let them burn themselves out ....

SpongeDad

I believe a well-timed snot rocket to the port side is considered bad form.

San Rensho 

In racing, the guy in front has the right of way, he can go anywhere he wants on the road. But seeing as its a friendly ride, I would have just kept going at the pace I wanted, looked at him over my shoulder and told him what direction I was going to turn.

tofu

No kidding, on my afternoon ride I was going along the marine drive MUP and there was a cyclist going along at a leisurely 5-10mph. She was sort of in the middle of the path and and was swerving left and right as one tends to do when going really slow. I decided to actually go off the path and into the grass on the left and give a "passing on your left" warning. When she heard that she panicked and moved about 6 feet to her left and then off the bike path right into me. Her handlebars jammed into my leg as she swerved. I sort of wobbled but was going fast enough that it did not knock me over. Man, I am looking forward to the rain tomorrow...

Shiznaz

haha thats what you get for passing off of the path where nobody would ever expect you to be

Jet-man

how about you say "take the skirt off and pass me if that's your plan champ!"

roadfix

Give him the look and show him who owns the road. After all, it is the first day of Spring.

tofu

If I had actually stayed on the path she would have hit me about half a second earlier around my front wheel and we would have both eaten asphalt. Its the first and hopefully last time I have said "passing on your left" and had the cyclist swerve sharply left.

Cleave

Hi tofu,

I generally have a different opinion than the other posters. I have had plenty of experiences where an inexperienced rider gets into a bad position in that situation that causes grief for at least one of the riders. There is a saying about old cyclists and bold cyclists (stolen from motorcycling, I think) -- there are no bold, old cyclists. If the other rider doesn't understand etiquette (and this gentleman obviously did not) then you did the right thing by slowing down (turn or no turn). Letting your ego (I'm faster) or your "right of way" make decisions for you will more often than not lead to a situation that you would rather avoid

Having someone you don't know or have not ridden with prior in your blind spot or overlapping you is inherently dangerous (even on a straight level rosad). That kind of riding greatly reduces the ability of either rider to safely avoid road hazards.

So my put is to slow down and let the other rider go by and get far enough ahead so that they don't intergere with your ride. For instance, many times during our club rides, when a "rogue rider" (someone who doesn't exhibit any sense of riding etiquette) get into our group, we will call out a "mechanical" and let the rider go. We'll wait a couple of minutes before going again just to make sure that we don't encounter the rider again.

'nother

The only graceful exit from this situation is for you to speed up and drop him. It makes you feel better that you dropped someone, and it gives them a better workout. Win-win!

urbanknight

Maybe he was drafting. If it were me, I would cautiously make tiny but noticeable jerks. Not enough to get close to him but enough to make him start to think YOU'RE the dangerous one. He will (hopefully) get away from you. If that doesn't work, he's oblivious and you need to avoid him at all costs, even slowing/speeding your workout pace for a moment.

Or my new method might be the honesty approach, since that's working for me in all other conflicts in my life. Just tell the guy "Ya know, I'm kinda uncomfortable with you riding so close" and he should respect that.

marqueemoon

If they're being silly and creating a dangerous situation I let them pass. If the road is clear and I'm feeling energetic I let them pass (and relax a little) then ditch them for good.

vilelamb

Unclip and lightly tap their front wheel with you foot.

Lucky07

I just maintain speed. Riders with enough power will pass you decisively. Slowing or speeding up will confuse everyone else.

roadwarrior

In the area where I typically ride around my home, I sometimes run into two women who are training. One is the #3 ranked triathlete in my state, and her typical TT speed is (depending on the course) 32-35mph.
She'd tell you to take off your skirt and get out of her way.

lrzipris

On the kind of ride tofu described, I'm with Cleave and some others: safety over ego.

Bobby Lex

1++++

Is everybody here a mute?

Try talking to the guy. Unless you and he are competent mind-readers the safe thing to do is communicate.

Bob

56/12 and 22/28

Dial it up and drop him.

bbattle

It sounds like the Knaves are out in force. Did the guy look like this?

dta95b7r

^^^^^^ Why you gotta be messin with my dad!

hiracer

Slow down & let'm pass. Ride his wheel or drop back a bit. When he starts to burn out, drop him.

Safest thing to do. Why take chances?