EddyR

I will add one more that some of you will like. A few years back a friend talked me into going to the time trials at Charlotte motor speed way. I had my 87 Cannondale with me but had no intention of trying the speedway. I was joking and said I could do it all in one gear. He entered me and paid my fee and dared me to ride it. I had on shorts and old clipped peddles and did the 10 miles. When I come to the timer start point I had him hold me up and push me off. The start crew told me to move up the track and get out of the way of faster riders and my friend tells them I will be the fast one. I was embarrassed by his comment. No one passed me. I did it all in 52x12 gear. I was pretty slow at the start but it was easy to keep up the pace until the last lap and the body wanted to stop. I averaged 20.5 MPH for the 10 miles hitting 32 mph on lap three. I was 71 years old that year. No one 60 or older came near my time. George Hincapie was there and shook my hand."Nice job for a old guy"
Unknown to my friend I had ridden the track several times the year before as Humpy Wheeler was a friend of mine and I flew RC models right behind the track. Jeff Gordon saw me there early one morning and come out in one of there Rental Vanity Cars and blew by me at 120mph. The very bottom of the track is flat.

Oldguyonoldbike

When I invariably get passed by riders on CF bikes I say to myself, "Oh well, they've got newer stuff and my bike probably weighs at least five pounds more than theirs." If I'm on my CF bike I just say to myself, "I bet I just made his day!"

seypat

This thread reminds me of something that happened to me 2 or 3 years ago. I got started late on a century so I was pushing hard to get to the "peloton." I'm a flatlander and the ride had been flat so I was rolling. It was one of those ride out to a spot, eat lunch, then ride the same route back rides. I came out of the first rest stop and 2 riders came out behind me about 100 yards. I begin to roll, but we hit a hill and the other 2 caught me at the top. They were both skinny, chicken legged climber types in a 2 man paceline. We crest the hill and the terrain flattens out again. I start accelerating, going through the gears and pulling away. One of the others starts whining about needing some help. He says, "Hey, slow down! Let's work together and we can all get through this faster." I say, "Okayyy" then find a pace they can work with. We hit a hill and they both jump on it and begin to leave my behind. I say, "hey buddies, slow down. What happened to that working together thing?" One dude says, "we're going on. If you can't keep up that's your fault. Too bad, but that is the way it is out here." By the time I crested the hill they had put 200 yards on me!(I'm a really bad climber) But it flattened out again and I quickly closed the gap and went by. As I went by, the 2 looked at me with startled faces and asked for a tow again. I said "F-you. If you 2 can't ride any faster than that you deserve to get dropped. You know, that is the way it is out here." Then we hit another hill and that is the way it went for the next 25 miles! YoYoing back and forth. We would hit a hill and they would pass/drop me and on the flats I would do the same. All the while we would be giving each other "the look." With about 2 miles left we hit a long hill and they got way ahead. I crested the hill and could see the rest/lunch stop in the distance. I mounted a furious charge to reel them in! They were looking back and working just as hard to hold me off. I would like to say that I blew by them and won the "stage," but I ran out of real estate. I was still about 10 yards behind when we reached the lunch stop. I dismounted, acted like I was still fresh and stood in the food line with them close by. Not a word out of any of us. I inhaled the food/drinks, restocked and quickly headed back out like I was still in a hurry. It made for an exciting first half of the ride!

I headed back the other way. About 10 miles later I made a wrong turn and got lost. The phone had died, so no way to get help or directions. I ended doing 137 miles total before I made it back to the start/finish line! In late August......in the heat in rural Virginia..........so much for a good ride.

MrB67

LOL!! That is hysterical, quite a nice thought too. I'm currently rebuilding my 1984 Kuwahara Pulsar touring bike, once done it will be my training bike. Can't wait for my first group ride or sportive like the MS 150, yes it will be fun to pass carbon snobs on my steel lugged frame with down tube shifters.

Fahrenheit531 

@EddyR, @seypat, Awesome and hilarious tales there.

I want to revise my early comment about indifference re: dropping. I very much enjoy dropping any city bus that may share my route, and I make a fairly serious effort to do so.

Lazyass

Well that was an odd ride today. There were @ 30 riders I would guess. I started out in the front so I wouldn't have to snake through everyone. At mile two there were only two guys with me (on carbon bikes), and not a single other person in sight. Mile 20 one dropped out and it was just two of us for the next 44 miles. We didn't even go that fast, averaged only 20mph (killer headwind, though). The one with me laid his bike down in some gravel, looked like it was scratched up pretty good. A carbon Serotta.

Antieverything

I generally ride my own pace, sometimes I get the chance pass someone. Mostly it's just because I like to ride alone so I go past and distance if possible. If someone latches on I purposely drop the anchor and slow down or take a turn so they pass, again for the pleasure of riding solo.

RobbieTunes

killer, story, Pat, and I can see it happening.

I rode Thunder Ridge because seypat convinced me to do it, with rccardr. The guy on the Surly with racks dusting us early kind of set the tone, especially when he took off his jacket, no-hands, while on a downhill 30mph run, in a pace line. Passing some carbon youngsters on the climb was a high point. Of course, those two tri-chicks passing me near the top was a dose of reality. One asked, "do you ride this a lot, you seem to hug the center of the lane?" I replied, "I've never ridden this before, am afraid of heights, and I'm not even looking over that guardrail over there." They laughed and accelerated away.

I sometimes get dropped on descents. I don't mind, discretion being the better part of valor....

In the Dairyland Dare, I got passed by a guy on a Pugsley, and a pickup in 1st gear pulling a camper. That's about when I decided to walk that hill. The top had bratwurst for snacks, so I had one. We had to loop around and do it again, so I walked again, and had another bratwurst. Hunger defeated pride.

I long ago decided not to worry about passing or getting passed, unless the pace line knew the way to lunch. In those cases, I keep up the best I can. I'm not a chatterbox on rides, but if we're going too fast to speak, we should be on a workout or close to food.

RobbieTunes

Now there's an idea.

How large are these riders, and from how high are we dropping them?



oh. not "onto"

rccardr 

I enjoy riding in a group of riders at higher speeds. Since I'm usually the only guy on a vintage bike with down tube shifters and a gray haired older person as well, I get a lot of looks, sometimes comments.

Spent this weekend doing the Dallas/Ft. Worth Bike MS 150 (actually 180 miles over two days) with the team from my former employer (I was the team captain for five years becore I retired) and the first 30 miles each day were well into the 20's with lots of passing back and forth. After an hour or so of doing that, I'm happy to go back to 'riding my own ride' at a high teens pace. But both days wound up finishing at the top of the second group, the first group being your basic young, skinny, effortless rider types. I admire them but know I can't maintain their pace.

Steve Whitlatch 

[h=1]Do you enjoy dropping riders on expensive modern bikes?[/h]
I think I would love it!!

dweenk

I did about 12 miles around a local park and surrounding streets today. Around half-way I got behind a couple of people decked out for the TdF. I was in jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt. I stayed about 300 yards behind them for about 4 miles and then got on a different route. I wasn't even riding hard.

Makes you wonder why folks buy way more bike than they are capable of riding.

Here is my ride.

Bandera

Cool story, bro.

If you wish to test yourself, your equipment and ability to deliver some meanness there are closed course events designed for that purpose:

https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=579


-Bandera

teaboy

I seem to get droped wheen we get near to a pub

dweenk

phenry24 

Effective marketing and salespeople.

That said, one day, after enough training, they might be at a high enough fitness level to get everything possible out of those bikes.

dweenk

"Effective marketing and salespeople.

That said, one day, after enough training, they might be at a high enough fitness level to get everything possible out of those bikes."

Maybe, but they were not Freds - just a couple of people who were sold more bike, clothes, and gear than they really needed IMO.

iab

With a thick seam up the middle?



Is that like wearing a thong?

dddd

I took the 23.5-lb steel Schwinn Tempo on today's brisk 40 miler, and decided to charge ahead on the final "13-minute winding climb with rollers".

I had company from a younger guy on a carbon LeMond, and with an older guy on a steel Ciocc stalking us from a distance.

On one particularly steep set of switchbacks, the guy on the carbon LeMond pulled past, only to then click an upshift, though we were both still holding onto our big ring! That didn't last though, since his move cost him a needed recovery and he dropped back. I crested first, with the guy on the Ciocc just ten seconds later, and with the younger carbon-bike rider perhaps another twenty feet behind him.
I ride with these guys all the time though, and on a different day any one of us might have been at the front.

That was the best ride effort I've done on the Tempo since doing a heavy-duty conservation effort on it, so it was fun to validate all the hours I've put into it since finding it so disheveled at the local Goodwill store. This was a bike with rusted out bearings and heavy weathering all around, but surprisingly the original pearl white paint is mostly still in the game and with the complete front wheel also having survived. I'm up to 720 miles now over about five week's time, heading into the mileage-intensive Bike Month, and already the new tape needs some re-do...

Bandera

Cool story, bro.

If you wish to test yourself, your equipment and ability to deliver some meanness there are closed course events designed for that purpose:

https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=579


-Bandera

jimmuller 

I rode the Gazelle for a "recovery ride" today and ended up pushing pretty hard. In the process I dropped half a dozen riders on expensive modern bikes. Nothing asploded though. I guess I didn't drop them hard enough. I was so disappointed. But it was great fun anyway.

The most memorable event happened as I was pulling away from the popular rest stop Fern's General Store in Carlisle. Just as I started around the small rotary a gaggle of riders gabbing in some language I didn't recognize came around and cut me off, then stopped right in front of me. Since there were several cars following I had to wait for them to clear. Just as I finally had the chance to start up again one stockily-built hotshot who'd stopped in front of me pulled out. Yeesh guy, block me once but don't do it twice. So I stomped on it, called out "on your left" and went around him. There were also two other riders stopped maybe 100 yards further on who pulled out too, but I don't think they were part of that group. So I went around them too.

That's when I noticed that the first guy I'd passed was hammering to catch me. He, um, didn't look happy to be passed by a gray-beard on steel. Well, I didn't want to pass people and then slow in front of them because I don't like it when people do that to me, so I kept the power on. Eventually the pair passed me on a slight uphill but then I hung with them. After half a mile or so hammer-man hadn't made up any ground and still looked focused. The pair who'd just passed me started slowing so I was afraid I'd have to pass them again to stay ahead of hammer-man. Fortunately before they became an obstruction we reached a road where I'd always intended to turn off. Race over as far as I was concerned.

Nice try guy but next time be courteous to your fellow riders. Otherwise they may just embarrass you for the fun of it!

Bandera

[QUOTE=jimmuller;17773839] So I stomped on it, called out "on your left" and went around him.QUOTE]

Cool story, bro!

If you wish to test yourself, your equipment and ability to deliver some meanness there are closed course events designed for that purpose:

https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=579


-Bandera

Otis

But these posts are all from, "guys who are racing guys that did not know they were in a race".

jimmuller 

Thanks!

He! I'm not that mean. Not that fast either.

Oh, the guy chasing me knew he was riding hard. He didn't know that I knew I was racing. I think I knew that he didn't know that I knew I was racing.

Or something.

dddd

I do get a license every year, but my racing is kept to just a couple of more-local cyclocross series.

The rest of the year these training rides always bring outa few who will challenge for the front. It's racing "lite", lite on costs and light on time committal and travel, since many of us ride TO the ride start, putting in extra mileage/effort with no wasted fuel and driving.

Most local club rides seem to feature a group that breaks off to ride at a more-sporting pace, but we regroup a time or two and most of us get together after the ride for coffee, chatter, etc.

Training for CX is appropriately more intense, and of shorter durations, but to do the regional RR series is many-fold more involved, with much higher costs of money and time, commitment in other words.