Basically, this post is making fun of me, riding my road bike and shaving my legs.

Sounds like you are playing the game. It's Ok. Denial is the first step on the road to admitting you have a problem. ;)

Maybe not so much.
Funny article. Well written. Is it still a notch on the fork for y'all if you drop someone who ain't playing? :p
With a heavy IGH bike, loaded bag and tunes - I'm tuned out looking for a consistent cadence. I really don't care who passes me and who I pass. And frankly, I don't want to feel trashed when I get to work.

Weekends & after work attitude adjustment rides (AAR's) - different bike / different purpose / different story.

That's my problem.. I ride the same bike for everything. Maybe it's time to get more bikes.. but I need to sell the truck first so I have room and funds.

Those of us who play the game are simply in need of validation - we want/need to know that we are better than someone else, all the while realizing there is always someone better than us. In the end, we just need to know that we are good enough. Probably a result of our dysfunctional childhood. Yes, I play the game. I'm an FCN 3 roadie on the weekend, and an FCN 7 touring bike commuter during the week. Being 51 years old, it gets tougher playing the game every year.

Last Fall a 20 year old kid on a single gear flat handle bar with no luggage, wearing street clothes and platform pedals, cruised past me easily, and didn't look like he was sweating or breathing hard. It was depressing. That was six months ago and I still can't let it go...

But then there was the 30 something guy who, on a day with a 25 kt cross wind slamming me as we came over the long Bay bridge, blew past me on his carbon fiber road bike (FCN 3). As soon as we reached the tree line and the wind was cut, I was able to match his speed and stayed about 20 feet behind him. A mile later he looked back to see how badly he dropped me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the look of surprise on his face when he saw the heavily loaded commuter pacing him only 20 feet back. He stood up on his pedals and took off. Fortunately I had to turn off right at that point so I didn't have to match the aggression.

I rate a 14... so that makes my prey... EVERYONE...

I'm on a MTB with knobbies, home made kitty litter bucket pannier, beard, non cycling basketball shorts, and flat pedals.

That said, so far on my commute (haven't been doing it that long, just a couple of days) I've seen 1 other cyclist, and I was parket sucking down water and re-attaching a seatbag strap that had come loose.

Okay, if we're going to take this seriously, we have to keep score. I'm going to leave it to OP to start a second thread, "what's your SCR score today?"

But for now, I would suggest we take this format:
username..............FCN+passes-passed=total.

The first person to post for the day should include the date; subsequent posters for the day copy that day's scores and add their own. And to avoid confusion, we should keep the ride to work separate from the ride home. Since most people ride to work in the morning and home in the afternoon, we can just use the abbreviations AM and PM

So, for example, I would start with my score this morning like this:


Friday AM, 4/16/10

rhm ...................13 + 2 - 1 = 14

Anyone want to play?

Nah, I was more hoping that they'd sticky this thread if we got enough interest... the score isn't what interests me, to be honest... I want to hear your stories! I want to hear the joy of victory and the agony of defeat! Tales of grueling battles fought out there on the tarmac, of foes vanquished, and of victories snatched out from under us by the suddenly shifting weight of a messenger bag! (Not that I speak from experience)

I'll start:

The only other person I've seen on my commute was a girl on a townie with a nose ring, in cargo shorts and a tank top... whom I spotted as a dot on the horizon about halfway to work... my predatory instincts kicked in, and I upshifted and began to snort as my legs and lungs did their best to chase down my prey. I caught up to her 3 blocks later, said "Tag, you're it!" and sped off at such a tremendous speed that I thought she'd never catch me again!

2 blocks later, I had to stop at some train tracks... I turned around just as I stopped, and she was less than 10 feet behind me... d'oh!

I already know I'm one of the slowest people out there. Unless they have a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, they're gonna beat me. But the guys with the cigarette are usually coming at me, so there's no chance for a race there.

Now for distance, I feel pretty good about myself, but I don't get interested in group activities so I don't know how I compare. I just ride as far as I want to and feel good about what I've done.

http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4


I fail at hyperlinks.

I think my favorite pass is when I cruise to work on my BMX bike and pass people.

If I want to race...I either enter a race, or declare one to the sign/tracks at the very last second as I am blowing by my unsuspecting (but faster) buds on a group ride. :D

When I commute, I just enjoy the ride.

I guess I win every day because I never see any other bike commuters on my route.

funny
too complicated to
calculator needs a couple more options in those categories
I'm a 6

Thanks. That's probably you in the avatar right ;)

re: "I fail at hyperlinks"

you do, what the heck?

***********************************************

that's weird ...

Moral of the story, is...
It's all about performance.

Yea, in my lycra glory. Didn't realize how incredibly 'mo it looked until now.

Gotta level the playing field. You encountered more people in one morning commute than I will in a whole summer of commuting.

Admitted, it depends more on the commute than on the commuter. I ride 5.5 miles in sub-rural NJ and see no other bicyclists; then, after an hour on the train, I may see see a dozen or more in maybe 1.5 miles of 8th Avenue; and then in 0.5 miles through central park I mix with the roadies. Today I was pretty much alone out there, on account of cloudy skies, but on a nice spring morning, I can totally clean up. And to begin with, by riding a folding bike, I start out with a high SCR. Yesterday I could have scored 40 or more! No wonder I want to play!:innocent:

Ooops
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...cing&p=9933665

I'm a 12 to 14 depending on the bike I ride.
They need a calc for size too.
At 350 lbs, I'd probably come in at 20+.

One day, back when I still rode a mountain bike, I saw a roadie out on a ride, and it was on. As I passed the guy, I looked at him and said "It's a race," then sped off. I don't think he believed me.

Yesterday, coming home from work, I caught up with this lady at the light. She was a few points above me in the food chain, and to the nines with spandex, aero bars, a helmet that looked like it cost $200, etc. We had a hill to climb, and then a nice descent. The light turned green, and I was off to the races...! I left her behind, but got caught at the next light, at the top of our hill. Before it turned green, she caught up; I was ready for the light to change, practically standing on my right pedal. Again I left her far behind, but found myself stuck at the next light, where she caught up with me again. This went on at 25 mph for the next few lights, until we reached the bottom of the hill, and both turned left onto different streets. I'd reached the light first, but was never far enough ahead to beat a light that stopped her.

I'd like to count that as a win, but in my heart I know it was a closer to a draw. There were no more lights at this point, and I'm sure I victory would have been unambiguously mine if I'd made the same turn as my competitor, but, alas...

1 last night, but 8 this morning as I rode my fendered fixed gear in regular clothes. But I didn't pass anyone. :(

I passed a couple kitted riders pulling my son in trailer to school yesterday morning and evening. One of them put up a chase for a couple miles.

Not sure how many points that would be worth. A trailer is sort of like a recumbent. Does you son have hairy legs and a beard?

I didn't know anyone had gone so far as to document The Game. That's awesome. I try not the let influence my ride, but you know it does. I see someone in my mirror and push a little harder. Two days ago I saw someone two blocks back. They looked like they were gaining, but then we hit the hill. Don't know what it is about my bike, but it loves to go down hill. I thought I could strengthen my lead there, but he caught up with me shortly after the hill leveled out. We talked for a while as we road together, but by the time we split, I was out of breath from keeping up with him, and he was doing fine. No doubt who won that round.

But a week or two back someone got a head start when I got caught at the light. I thought I might catch them, but they split off my route. Couple of miles later, our routes merged again, but this time I was in front. I may not have the speed, but apparently I have the mapping down better.

And last year I remember feeling badly about passing a fellow on his shiny, light bike, decked out in his gear. I was pounding up the hill on my ancient, steel, two-rack-and-fender-having, over-built Sears bike and went right by the poor guy. If he plays The Game, that must have knocked him right down to the bottom of the food chain. I tried to slow down enough to give him a chance. It didn't seem right to pass him, but I only had one gear, and so I could only go so slow without coming to a stop.

But such victories, if that's what they are, are rare. I ride slow as a rule, and even my newer bike is steel and bring up the rear on most every group ride I attend. I know my place on the food chain, but that doesn't mean I'm not above trying to move up a level every now and then. ;-)

Trailer is +2. That makes me a 5. Fixed gear, harry legs, bike shorts, t shirt.

I was unaware of the game, but I will try to catch anyone I see in front of me. It's like "target acquired", then I'm off. Also, I remember once last year I was stopped at a redlight, and some mtn. bike riding dufus slipped by me on the right, between me and the curb, and sailed through the red light. Startled me. The road grade after was slightly uphill, so I sprinted to catch up to him, then relaxed my appearance just before I passed him back at ~20mph or so.

Okay, here's a story.

I look like a commuter; street clothes, folding bike with 16" wheels, headlights always on (and **** bright, at that). Anyone who sees me coming knows I'm a commuter. Roadies in Central Park do not like to be passed by commuters on folding bikes. So one day maybe a year ago I see a guy in racing gear some way ahead, and I see his pump is not attached right, it's about to fall off. And he sees me approaching, so he puts on a burst of speed. He's not fooling anyone; he was pretty relaxed just moments before, and now he's sprinting. I gained on him pretty well at the uphill by the carousel, and I was on his tail by the time we passed that dog statue. But now I was so out of breath I could barely speak. I had to wait until 68 St before I had recovered enough breath to say "hey, your pump! your pump!" and even then he ignored me for a while. Roadies always ignore guys on folding bikes; it's in The Code. So I had to pass him and say, hey, your pump is falling off! He looked at me like I was speaking Sumerian or something. Then in a flash his face brightened, he said Oh, thanks! and slowed down. I turned off at 72nd St, three blocks out of my way, thinking... I should have just waited until it fell off, and grabbed it. I can always use another pump.