am 70, ride clipless with Schimano sandals, trained many years ago to keep between 75 to 90 rpm.....noted rapid improvement as i focused on maintaining that rate and constantly shifting to maintain that.

And I’m fine with that too.

My approach to commuting can be described as simply enjoying the ride. Don’t focus on speed but fun & adventure.

Besides, some people are just pushing their pedals extra hard (but for how long?!! ;-)

Lots of people talk to themselves, but few can keep track of the recursion as well as [MENTION=124426]Jim from Boston[/MENTION]. :thumb:

Way cool. I should buy one so I'm always riding downhill! It's much easier, right? :lol:

During my morning commute today I passed 4 roadies in full spandex while wearing baggy shorts, t shirt, and sandals :D

They were probably on their warmup time :p

Meanie! :mad:

I actually routinely pass roadies on the bike path....but man the super serious TT looking guys with aero bars are way more than I can handle. Some of them drop me like I was at a standstill...

There are so many explanations that are likely and plenty you can cook up just for fun. This morning, I passed a fast-looking roadie with a big margin of speed and wondered what was wrong with him. Then I realized that for all I knew, he was cooling down from an 80-mile ride.

I know that I will always be passing some people, since I don't totally suck. And some people will always be passing me, no matter how good I get (or think I am).

On recovery days I set my Garmin to alert me if I exceed a certain wattage. I still wear a jersey and bibs because I'm going to be on the bike for more than an hour and it's more comfortable. I get passed by commuters, school kids, and grandmothers on shopping bikes. No skin off my nose if they blow by me, give me the look, and then go post on BF about how they dropped the "fully kitted roadie on a CF race bike."

Lol, I'm not giving anybody looks :)

I'm pretty confident I'm quicker than the lower tiers of roadies, slower than the rest haha.

Fitness trumps all else. Aerodynamics a distant 2nd.

I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse but I rarely see anyone on my commute. Can't pass anyone and don't get passed. No stories to tell on BF.:( But I did get passed by a fat guy on an ebike one time, on a hill, like I was standing still.:D

I wish I had an action camera to take video of my commute. I commute on the most heavily used bike commuting route in the US, and I've seen an increase lately. It's like a very busy highway. It would astound many of you. And like other traffic in NYC, you better have steely nerves to survive, because we pass each other at high speed with little clearance. If I had a pool noodle sticking out from my bike, I'd be whacking butts all day.

I passed a guy on an e-bike going up a steel hill! I can't pass e-bikes normally, but the hill was steep enough that it was a bit too much for his motor. I was surprised I did it!

Ha. I recently did get an action camera to video my commute. Pretty mundane stuff, but today I did get footage of a guy in a black BMW trying to cut into a right turn lane last minute but I was in the way on the straight-through lane, as I legally should be, call me a f****** idiot. That was a lot of fun.:D

Have you considered an e-bike?
When you commute 28 km each day, you get tired.

That's one approach.

Another is just not to ride every day. I ride two or three days a week, as my commute is 43 km round trip.

I could pass lots of people wearing flip flops and a parachute.


And sometimes people are doing a recovery ride, or they are recovering between intervals.


When I said it would bug me, it's more along the lines that someone who has not committed to the almost basic necessities of efficient cycling is fitter than me...that would bug me.


It's like someone at the community pool doing laps or whatever, and they are wearing a robe. Yeah, you can wear a robe in the water. But why?

Could be that the guy you passed thrashed himself in a pre-work session and is now riding home in a button-down shirt and dress pants after a day at the office.

Does it matter who's passing you or who you're passing during a commute? Commute to me is more about traveling and enjoying than racing. Enjoyment and speed is determined by wind, terrain and my fitness. The biggest factor is my fitness.

Last week I was the roadie and a racing dude on a Specialized Venge was you. :) I only caught up to the racer dude and said, "nice bike." He said thanks. Then promptly shifted into the large chainring right before cat hill and got out of the saddle and dropped me like a bad habit. No matter how fast you think you are, there is always someone faster. Even if its not a race... :innocent:

No, it doesn't matter in a real sense, but it's fun and interesting to muse about these things, as commuting only occupies half of the brain.

That's why listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks while bicycling is not a problem for those cyclists capable of chewing gum while cycling.:)

Duplicate threads merged.

It might just be me being a little height challenged but it seems that folks on big bikes always seem to pass me. I ride a 51cm and those bikes that look like 56cm and bigger go faster. Might just be they are younger and stronger (bigger engines). Anyway, just some random thoughts going through my mind as I ride... Unless there is some truth with bigger bikes going faster. Maybe their cranks are longer or something... :-)

That's funny, it seems like the ones going faster than me are narrower