(So, last summer I posted about some dude I dusted after he passed me and slowed down as my first "HAMER DROPE." Anyone recall?)

Yesterday, coming back from a quick little 25-miler, I saw some young hipster-type dude on a fixie up ahead of me as I cruised up Sagg road at my usual unimpressive 16-17mph. As I closed in on him, I saw him turn his head, SHOOT ME THE LOOK, get into the drops, and start pedaling furiously!

Now, I may be an old fart, but I'm down for a challenge! So I DROPED THE HAMER! He's young, so he's pulling away from me at first, but I have, you know, gears; I pass him at about 25mph, and as I do, I yell "go fixie dude, go!" And he looks at me all pissed off and starts pedaling harder, so I do, too. And it's hard work staying ahead of him, cuz I'm old and not in the best of shape, and he's probably 25. I some point I look down at my RFLKT, and I'm doing 30! And my heart rate is only 140! (Probably a slight downgrade, because I couldn't do that normally, though the road appears flat.) And he slowly drops back, getting smaller and smaller, and then my turnoff comes up and he keeps going straight...through a stop sign and cutting off a car turning from the oncoming lane into the road where I was turning. Ah, the stupidity of youth.

Victory! I vanquished a kid probably 30 years younger than me! (Never mind the fact that he was wearing street clothes and he spun out on his silly fixie)

Well done!

We may have been separated at birth.

Good job, though I would have backed off enough to stay out front and tease him.

"Go fixie dude, go!"

but I have, you know, gears



I'm not a fixie fan.

hmmm, sounds like a real mile-stone in your cycling career...

slow golf clap...

Boy's gotta have goals, you know?

Sometimes the silly little 'victories' in life make us smile (laugh?) the most.


"go old-man dude, go!"

I'm going to even it up. Next time I see a 90 year old on a bike I'm not going to give him chance to DROP THE HAMMER.

He won't see my a*se for dust.

(p.s. is "drope the hamer" a BF term that I haven't seen before or a mis-spelling?)

p.p.s. a search has told me it's a bit of an in-joke on the forum. You learn something every day.

Last week I was faster than a little girl who was riding a solid rubber tire bike with training wheels and pink streamers (hey, she was churning some serious butter), a 5 year old boy in a Big Wheel, and a grandma in a power wheelchair.

Little victories.

yeah, whatever gets you off...

kinda like the stud on his upright hybrid that got a woodie today because he passed a roadie who's had bronchitis all week and was just out to stretch the legs a bit...

You did better than me. My grand-daughters had me begging for mercy while riding their strider bikes. I can't wait for them to be big enough to hop onto tandems with my wife and me. Oh, the places we'll go, with our without Dr. Seuss.

Hey, you saw me tonight? Shoulda said "Hi". I was flying a whopping 12 mph. I even offered to share my inhaler.

So how's the rest of your racing season been? I'm guessing based on that performance you've got some platform pics!

Passing someone riding a 48/16 gear with your 53/12 isn't a victory.

I passed lots of geared bikes when I rode my fixed-gear after work this past Thursday. I didn't treat any of them like garbage nor did I brag about it on the internet.


-Tim-

Humour (in British English), or humor (in American English) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.

Yeah, whatever, life of the party.

...It kinda is when he's young enough to be my grandson, in the prime of life and health and wanting to race. Also: THE HUMOR IS THAT HE WAS ON A FIXIE. This was as much meant to be self-parody as anything. Sorry you were not amused.

Dude! I totally blitzed a three-legged chipmunk!

Proud of ya!

A few days ago I blew by a line of about 6 road racers on their fancy CF bikes in their expensive matching kits like they were parked, I was so proud!

(Actually they were parked drinking their expensive energy goo, I was on the way to met a friend for a beer at a local watering hole on the beach. So who's the winner here!)

This.
Thank you for articulating what I wanted to say in a civil yet pointed fashion.
Much better than the rant I was mentally composing.
+1

I serve as fodder for theses " little victories " on most rides, as roadies fly by me.

Passing a fixed gear bike may not be much of a "little victory" but I still recall the sting of the "little defeat" of being dropped by a kid on a fixie, on one of my commutes. I was riding my fixie and feeling pretty good about it. But that kid just flew around the corners somehow.

I mostly commute, but when I can catch and pass some younger hipster or poseur I do feel a small twinge of smugness, especially if I am a few miles into my ride. When I can't catch 'em I say to myself, "Yeah, but what kind of shape will they be in at my age?" or "well, they probably just started their ride." As we have an Olympic training center here in town (and on one of my commute routes) it's not unusual to get smoked by a line of kitted out atheletes. That's when I say to myself, "Okay, but how would they do on one of my heavier bikes with racks, fenders and a backpack?" (They'd probably still leave me in the dust).

But there is this one older guy who works a couple of doors down from me. He used to pass me on his older touring-style bike. Then a couple of years ago he started commuting on an old single-speed Schwinn Typhoon and I can't keep up with him for long. I caught up with him at a light last spring and asked him about his commute, and by the time I encounter him he's already been riding 4 miles longer than I have. He slips on a helmet, and some old cut off jeans, throws his backpack in the front basket and pedals like a madman. He is my hero.