Arg. Last week I declared myself the "king of the mountain". No longer. My commute home includes a long, gradual climb, gradual until the last 50 feet or so where it suddenly gets quite steep. I often pass one or two other cyclists on that hill, but to date have never been passed (reinforcing my belief in my own climbing prowess). Last night, I was doing my usual climb, pushing myself but not working at capacity. I reached the steep section at the end and had just got out of the saddle to give myself some extra oomph when suddenly, a voice sounds over my left shoulder, "That's a pretty good pace you're setting." The voice turned into a body as another cyclist drew up beside me and then rode past as we reached the top of the hill. But...but...but...I'm supposed to be the fastest climber around here!

Oh, I could make excuses - my bike was heavier, I was carrying a heavier load, my tires were under-inflated, but I was beaten, plain and simple. I do wonder if there would have been a difference if I actually knew I was being reeled in; I might have put in extra effort to stay ahead. But maybe that other guy would have matched my extra intensity and beat me anyways. I'll probably never know.

This morning's ride in was good: 13C, cloudy, and calm. I pumped my tires back up nice and hard which made a difference. I made pretty good time for my MTB. Still not as fast as my road bike.