I'll be the first to admit that I'm NOT fast. I'm an old (59) fat guy that commutes to work on a bike a couple of days a week. Anyway I caught a fellow on a 'powered' bike last year. I was riding south on Hwy 441, a mile or so south of work, during the evening commute, and as I slowed for a red light, I heard something behind me. Just as the light turned green, a fellow on a beach cruiser with a little 49 cc gas engine on it, when around me on the right and buzzed through the intersection. I was on my Bacchetta Strata (a fairly fast highracer style recumbent), so I stomped on the pedal and began hooking up gear to gear. I has pushing about 24 mph, when I came up on his rear wheel a half mile from the light, running in the bike lane. He kept looking over his shoulder at me, so I just yelled, "Go FASTER". He looked back and replied, "I can't". So I checked the mirror for traffic, pulled into the traffic lane, and pulled by him. Just as my head came up even with his, he looked at me and said, "Damn Man!!!!" and I pulled by him, and kept going. He could not catch me, and after a mile, turned off onto a side street. It was really sweet passing a guy on a moped.....
Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL