Originally Posted by
UrbanPoet
Exactly... I absoloutely despise this...
Especially all the people (they're always on mountain bikes) who use all their strength and might to pass me... Only to run out of strength and not even be able to pull away, but instead... slow down significantly.
I had one woman do this to me today... She was in some mountain bike with a rack and full panniers... She passes me... She keeps on a pretty good pace. I thought to myself "okay... nice.. You can sustain 30km/hr on a mountain bike with full panniers. You must have mighty legs.".
She didn't keep it up very far though. Maybe about 1/2 a block. We hit a hill... She stands up to pedal with all her might. Mean while... I pass her on the hill without even getting up off my seat.
I even made it a point of coasting behind her without pedaling... lol
She probably did it because she got offended that I passed her earlier at a really fast speed...
Why do people take it so personally? I'm faster then you... Big whoop. If you're gonna pass me, you better keep up that speed for the rest of your trip. Otherwise Don't waste my time. Because I always end up tailgating them until I find enough space to pass them.
I could tell this person was chasing me the entire time after I passed her. PRobably taking advantage of every red light I had to stop at... and also taking advantage of the momentum she got while I was waiting for a red light. lol
Yes, you nailed it.
When I was racing, a good portion of the time spent on my bike was at a moderate speed (the high-volume days), or at a slow speed (recovering from the sprint or interval session I had just concluded). The only time I actually went FAST would be in group rides or in actual races. Why would I want to waste energy going fast when there's no money at stake? So it was always funny when guys who obviously couldn't ride (you can tell at a glance if the rider has THE TECHNIQUE) would pass me. I'd be doing maybe 27 kmh, so I'd roll it up to get on his wheel and see how fast he was going. Ah, 35 kmh. No, 33 kmh. No, 30 kmh. Oh no, now he's going slower than I had been going when he passed me! Well, I'd better get past him and resume my 27 kmh.
I would say that looking effortless on a bike is worth more than going fast. You look at some of these guys, and they are in their top gear when they pass you. And they're topping out at maybe 40 kmh. In their top gear! Real racers in their top gear will be doing over 50 kmh, or in a full sprint. So, no, I am not impressed at all by these rather insecure young guys (and now women are getting into this as well - they have this notion that guys don't respect them so they have to show these guys...sheesh!).
No, guys that get pleasure out of passing every other cyclist on the road are guys who have never really raced. And they're not really cyclists; they tend to run red lights and stop signs, so they are peds on bikes. And I don't think they ever would race because they are insecure, and they are afraid that if they ever did enter a real race, they would find that their biggest fears are indeed true!
Luis