Might be a good chance he'd just finished an imperial century ride and was winding down on the way home. Or a high-intensity 30-mile ride and was keeping an eye on his heart rate. Or he was riding a minute or two between very high intensity intervals. Might even be especiallly so with the Seattle riding community's penchant for randonnees and such.
Be careful about your assumptions as a 48yo in the 50+ forum. You're starting to sound like a testosterone-filled roadie. And that would be right, would it?