On my way in this morning I vaguely made out the figure of a normal joe type cyclist ahead. You know the type, seat way too low, wallmart bike, just getting to work like they do every day. I guess not that much different from me except for the seat hight and I prefer older mid range name brand bikes. I guess I am trying to say that he looked like the type that would never even think about participating in a commuting forum or even realizing that he enjoys his commute as anything but the drudgery of getting to work.

Anyway, I passed him at a good clip (my normal pace) and said hello but got no response. About 1/2 mile ahead I slowly rolled to a stop light to avoid taking my foot out of the pedal. As I slowed down he smoked by me and pulled just ahead of me in the bike lane to wait for the light . It was clear he had really put the heat on after I passed him. I had a good chuckle to myself. I can certainly relate to not wanting to be passed by anyone. When the light turned he raced off like a bat out of heck only to turn off to his restaurant workplace 200 yards up the road.

That was it. I got dropped by a normal joe who then quickly retired undefeated. Unless I see him again, I will never be able to turn up the wattage on him.

I ride through a housing project every afternoon and there are always TONS of kids outside on bikes. I get challenged by a kid on a BMX from wal-mart about twice a week. I never accept. The other day, one of the kids was on a moped that looked like he built it in his living room (which he very well may have.) He zoomed past me and sneered as if he had "beat me". It was a cheap shot. I feel your pain.

From the accounts that I read the recruiters should be going after the transportational cyclists on the beater bikes.

I thought they were supposed to be freds, not joes... ?

he he.

I was riding through a park yesterday and passed a cyclist on an old beat up mountain bike.
A minute or so after I passed him, I heard the telltail shifting as we started going down a hill.
Anyhow, a few seconds later he passed me while we were riding at about 30 miles an hr and then up a hill.
A minute or so of racing and he was off blasting through the stop sign at the north entrance of washington park. egads!
I actually started laughing watching how hard he was working it. Yes, I'm an ass.
To his credit, he completely dusted me. At the end I was almost to the point of completely loosing it due to exhaustion.
30+mph on a mountain bike! yikes
I was beat nice and good.
I wonder what would have happened if we had meet up at the beginning of my weekly 200 miles not in the middle. hummmm.........

I thought you had to have a nice bike to be a fred. Good bike bad rider. That sort of thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29

crud. need to change my title. I no qualify

I paced a roadie for a good two+ miles this morning... cyclist got on the trail JUST ahead of me where I cross over.... Came up behind, and the roadie glances back, then speeds up.... I kept pace, they kept glancing back and speeding up... We started at 18mph - when we hit 22 MPH, said roadie glances back one last time with an incredulous look...

Yeah... I was still there... platform pedals, cammo shorts, backpack strapped to the side of the rack on my Raleigh... It was fun... and got me to work right on time (I'd have been late if I'd ridden at my normal pace for that stretch which is usually closer to 17.5-18 mph)

Too bad I had to turn off to go to work... would have been fun to ride farther!

Roadies also tend to get a bit puzzled when me and my somewhat loaded tour bike blast past them going twice their speed up a hill. Me like climbing hills.

However, they may fail to realize that my gearing is more suited to for hills than quite a few roadbikes.

Anyone recall the Smothers Brothers song "Mediocre Fred"? (Anyone recall the Smothers Brothers?) Incredibly, I couldn't find the lyrics online anywhere, at least within the first half dozen Google pages, but evidently you can listen to it on Amazon. Funny stuff, and lots of other good material on that same album.

*giggle*

Some of us are what would be known as "sleepers" in the automotive world. My commuter is 20 years old. Platform pedals. Tail rack with bag. Headlight, blinkies, mirror, etc. etc. etc.

One guy blew by me through a stop sign and after about 3 miles of him riding what looked like as hard as he could ride, in the mid 20MPH range and close to 30 at times, he turned around to see me hanging on him like a bad suit. He started pushing his thighs. This amused me to no end. Finally he did another head check (still here!) and just stopped pedalling, drifted way to the right, and let me go. I imagined him puking after I got far enough ahead.

Testosterone is a dangerous chemical.

Heck yeah I remember the Somthers Brothers. Great stuff. "There's Pumas in those crevasses".

It seems that the "freds" of the cycling world seem to be the most competitive. I'll go out on a weekend mock century ride and come up behind these lycra clad wannabes, and as soon as they see me they kick it up a bit like they were asleep or something. They just keep glancing back every minute checking out the distance. I just cruise along until they finally blowup and pull of to the shoulder of the road. It seems like the lowracer just screams, "race me" to these fellows.

I'm usually wary of guys on bikes with panniers on the back... usually it means they're just as strong, if not stronger than I am.

I make quick work of all the college kids, though.

+1 Anyone riding w/ panniers or looks like a commuter means they ride everyday, day in, day out in all kinds of weather. And that includes just about anyone on a bike no matter what they're riding or wearing. The telltale sign is some bulky bag to carry what they need for mechanicals and work. I just lay back and ride my ride and try not to get sucked into any perceived competition.

That made me smile. It's true. I'm usually not competitive though. Once in a while I like to reel in strong riders (I did that last night in fact) but I'm a lazy SOB most of the time.

Now that I think of it, I have always had trouble closing the gap to anyone with panniers and a rack. I think my backpack makes me look more like a student, but I always ride in jersey, shorts, and clippless pedals to, so I don't get that much of a sleeper look. Plus the shaved legs are a dead giveaway that I am either fast or Freddish .

Speaking of sleeper Freds (my first name is Fred, so, be nice now...) - I am 47, pretty fit, but my hair is nearly white - and if I don't shave, I look about 70+.

I almost always wear jeans - or shorts, t-shirt, etc. My bike looks beatup, like me - but it is a Cannondale F900 - which is a very fast MTB in my opinion.

Many a time I have destroyed roadies with that bike - for miles. As one told me when he finally caught up - "Do you know how bad it feels to be behind someone and just seeing the back of their white head as they pull away from you?"

Truly evil, I know, but fun.

I was a rock climber for a while in gyms - the others climbers would love to have the old geezer show some young teenager how to do the caves and such.

I love being a sleeper - it is a total "no lose" situation for me. If I go for it an win, well, that is a bonus, but otherwise? Well, what do expect from an old geezer...

Yeah, well, I never get dropped by anyone.

I was a few weeks ago... but that was only because he was blowing stopsigns and I was stopping at them.

Don't worry... that doesn't count.

I dunno.. I dont see enough cyclists to really comment. But I catch up to a lot of cars, being thats its an urban area. I have a very sprint-tuck-coast-start pedaling style of riding. Maybe not the best technique but its a good workout.

Oooo. And don't forget the bell. I love my brass Incredibell! It's just so out of place on a gray and black bike.

And especially nice to ring after dropping some high-school or college kid.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I'll admit that I've enjoyed passing a few flashy looking roadies on my wide-tired, pannier loaded Kona, especially close to home where they swarm along the lake. What puts my tail between my legs are the now 2 messenger types on single speeds that blow by me like nothing. I'm sure their riding a much lighter bike with thin tires, but those guys are amazing!!!