Originally Posted by markwebb

Being a psychologist sorta person by training (not by current trade) I have a hypothesis as to why we see so many postings about who we passed, how to pass, passing etiquette, etc.

"Passing" is defined as riding faster than a rider ahead of us and passing him or her during the course of our ride.

When we first start out riding, many of us are young and in good general shape to begin with. We may be in our teens or early 20's and be in reasonable shape physically and may have participated in some other sport. So with average general core conditioning and no physiological defects or concerns, with a young heart/lungs/muscles/skeletal system - it does not really take a HUGE effort to achieve good cycling conditioning. Let's face it - a 19 year old guy that's played other sports that is fit and has a high muscle mass to weight ratio can become a CAT 2 or 3 rider rather quickly.

Others have to work harder at achieving cycling fitness or success due to age/initial level of conditioning/physiological challenges/time required/etc. But when they get to that high level they are darn proud of it.

In the above two examples, we have riders achieveing success, success defined as a reasonalble level of cycling conditioning and ability. In other words they can ride faster than the average Joe or Josephine. They're proud of it.

Passing becomes acknowledgement of this success. The more folks you can pass, the more psychological confirmation and positive self-feedback one achieves when you pass.

If you visualize it as steps on a ladder - you have these folks at the top of the ladder.

But Father Time and other events slowly erode these achievements. You get to be 50 years old and that fitness is harder to mantain, your potential is less than it was when you were 19, and performance wanes. You participate in "Masters" events instead of CAT 2 or 3 races. It's inevitable. But even though you are not on top of the ladder, you can still pass some people. You are still alive and kicking, er, spinning.

As ability wanes and you get older, the potential population of riders you can pass becomes smaller and smaller. But you can still pass some people and brag about it.

But someone has to be on that lowest step. Until you reach that low step you continue to get some satisfaction from passing someone/anyone. Subconsciously you realize some day you won't be able to pass anyone, so why not ride in full team kit and brag about anyone and everyone you pass.

Passing, then, becomes affirmation that you are at least ALIVE and out on your bike spinning and there is at least one person in the whole wide world you can still pass. You ain't on hat last step......yet. Abnd you wantb to boast and crow to the entire world "Hey I'm Still Here and There is At Least One Sorry Sole Below Me"

I had this revelation last night when I passed two slighlty overweight women. I felt good. I had a rough week when I blew up and sorta bonked in the excessive heat we had last weekend. I recovered and trained hard all week. I could still pass some other folks - I was not on that last low step of the ladder. I then encountered a group of three slightly older gentlemen riding a leisurly 12-14mph that I also promptly passed. It felt good. There were at least 5 riders I could still pass - and if there are 5 then there are probaly 25 and 500 and.......hey I'm not on thatblast step like I thought I was Saturday. I'm still riding. I'm in reasonable shape. I'm still spinning - I am alive. And passing felt good !!!