I think I should start posting in the evenings instead of the mornings like most of us do, because the afternoon commute is when interesting things happen.

On Tuesday’s ride home, while going downhill on a dirt singletrack, I encountered a group of four mountain bikers going up. Down yields to up, so I pulled over to let them by. I don’t think the guy in front was on an e-bike, but the second and third definitely were as they effortlessly ascended with nary a drop of perspiration on their brows. Also, I could hear the motors whining. The last guy, a somewhat portly fellow, breathing hard, drenched in sweat, spinning up in low gear, was definitely not on an e-bike. As he passed by, he commented, “Sometimes, I really wish I had an e-bike!”, to which I responded, “Good for you for not!” Yes, I still get a bit judgy when I see people (particularly those younger than me) on e-bikes (see also my reply to Tundra_Man’s recent post).

Shortly after, I merged onto a paved path just ahead of a (making some assumptions here) couple riding fancy new gravel bikes and wearing expensive cycling kits. When I see gravel bikes, I admit to rolling my eyes a bit at how people succumb to buying into the latest trend, but then I remind myself that I’m riding a fixed gear. Anyway, I merged onto the path at the bottom of a short hill, and the female of the duo quickly passed me on the uphill, then stopped at the top to wait for her male companion, so I passed her back. After crossing a bridge, there’s another hill that starts with a short climb, then a level bit, then a longer, steeper climb with a brief reprieve in the middle. Well, the duo passed me on the level bit after the first climb and got a little distance between us, but when we hit the second climb, I fairly easily caught up. I probably could have passed them, but I didn’t want to risk being “that guy” and do to them what they did to me. I did briefly consider heckling them for letting an old guy on a steel fixie carrying a backpack catch up, but I suppressed those intrusive thoughts. I stayed a few meters behind them until the next fork in the path, where they pulled over to get their bearings. I thought that was the last I’d see of them, but further down the road, I noticed they were following me again. Then we hit a ravine, and I was sure they would pass me on the downhill -- being on a fixie, I keep my descending speed in check to avoid spinning too fast -- but they did not. On the way back up the other side, I could hear some hard gear shifts right behind me, but nobody passed me, and then I guess they went another direction at the top because I never saw them again.

What’s the point of this long, boring story? Nothing much. The interaction seemed to me like someone thought they had something to prove, but either overestimated their abilities or underestimated mine. I’m not that fast (not anymore, if I ever was), so I’m a pretty easy target for people looking to beat someone in a race, and if you can’t beat me, well then, you’re just not that fast. Or maybe I'm the insecure one.

Close to home, I was riding on a residential road with cars parked on both sides and just enough room for a single lane of traffic in each direction. I was riding a safe distance away from the parked cars, but maybe not obviously “taking the lane”. A driver behind me wanted to get past (in a playground zone, where I was already travelling pretty close to the speed limit), but an oncoming car prevented them from moving over into the oncoming traffic lane, so instead, they pulled up so that their front bumper was inches to the left of my pedalling foot. Thankfully, they reconsidered their life choices and backed off a bit.