These are how some of the the best impromptu bike commuting races are born. A guy did this to me one day while I was biking down NJ Ave NW in DC on my way to work. It was an early summer morning and the sun was rising, casting the Capitol building that was just in front of us in an eerie orange-pink glow. He passed me, slowed down a bit, I caught up to him, he peddled faster. We ended up racing the entire length of New Jersey Ave. It was the best ride in I ever had, even though he beat me to the "finish line" by a good bike-length or two. We shook hands at the end and chatted a bit. He then proceeded to tell me that he was 71, a grandfather several times over, and had been bike commuting to his job on the Hill for nearly 35 years. Even though I had my then-27-year-old butt whipped by a grandfather, I had a smile on my face the entire day.