Is that here or in 50+?

I'd rather ride behind a young woman than in front of.......

Maybe.
Were you in you in your "serious" mode, or were you caught lollygagging about?
How young? And how "serious" did she appear to be?
I'm about your age and have crossed the "seriousness" threshold, and I've found that when I've been "easily" passed by a young woman (or anyone for that matter), it's usually because she was being more serious than I at the time. (If 25 mph is "easy" for them, then they're more serious than I even when they're coasting. ) Which isn't to say there aren't a fair number of younger (and older) women who aren't stronger and faster, just that, to be honest, they are relatively uncommon - if someone passes you, it's usually a guy, and the average female "serious" cyclist is not as fast as the average male "serious" cyclist. So they catch one by surprise - so what? I don't see why that would make one notably "sexist," but some are eager to point fingers.


Does it bother me? Yes, usually, because usually they catch me when I'm being lazy. But sometimes I've been passed by some women I know who are faster and better trained than I, and that doesn't bother me at all; I just try to keep up.

My humbling moment was a few years ago when I first started riding. I was struggling in a strong headwind.

An Old Order Mennonite in a straw hat and suspenders just blew by me. Those guys bike everywhere, when they're not taking their horse and buggies, so it's not surprising they're fast. It's a good thing they don't have Strava lol

I bet she felt pretty good passing an old man

Our mayor has faster times than I do on some segments. She's a few years older (I'm 59), experienced a pretty serious accident cycling a couple of years ago so probably isn't quite at her peak, and while she's a big fitness buff and proponent of fitness in our city, I doubt anyone would take a look at her and say "Wow, she must be an athlete." She's an extraordinary human being in a very ordinary physique that I think many older folks can relate to, which is great for promoting fitness.

And I'm okay with her beating me.

And some of the younger women I ride with in local groups, in their 30s-40s, routinely kick my butt on sprints and hill climbs. One of 'em has been riding only a year and she's seriously good.

Ah, the ol' "This was the first time for me", schtick. There will be more of those, you'll lose count and the first time will be nothing but a memory. Stop being too serious and enjoy life more. Time will mess you up harder and more relentlessly than anything else in your life.

Things like this are why I'm a huge fan of Strava flybys (though of course it only works if both you and the person that passed you are on Strava and don't have privacy locked down).

One day I got passed by this guy in a sleeveless jersey with no socks and aerobars. Huh?! I got home, checked Strava, and discovered that he was about 8 miles into a 20 mile ride with about 200 feet elevation gain, whereas I was about 8 miles into a 50 mile ride with about 2500 feet of elevation gain. He took a break around mile 10, I did not. Different training goals.

I've also found that around my parts, there are a lot of tough gals that can take down most guys that are not trained racers. The fastest women are not as fast as the fastest men, but can and do hang on A-group rides without getting dropped. Some of them are very competitive and will happily pass whatever moving target they encounter out on the road.

A friend of mine is a Cat 2 racer. I can't tell you how tired she is of this BS from guys whose fragile egos are threatened by her abilities. When she's out on a training ride in the busier cycling routes of the area, she's passing younger and older guys one after another, and too many of them suddenly act as if it's a race and that they have something to prove. They hit the gas, whether they have the legs or not, and give chase. She rolls her eyes and drops the jerks.

Don't be that jerk. Think about it from her perspective and just let her pass. There's always somebody around who is faster than you. Some of them are young and female. BFD.

There are some women who are really fast. When I raced I knew women who regularly road with the men's field. Our club had the then current national women's TT record holder. I couldn't touch her local 10 mile times.

There's a woman here in Portland that has humbled many men and I am guessing many men considerably younger than her, especially on hills. I can climb with her IF I am at my mountain goat's best.

Ben

btw, congratulations about becoming a more serious road rider. It's a great addiction, I mean, hobby. And if you are in your early 50s, you can likely get much faster than you are at present if you work at it.

But "serious" is relative. If you were truly serious, you might have written something like this,'

"Today I went out for an easy recovery ride just to get the stiffness out after blowing out my legs on a tough training ride yesterday. Nearly everybody passed me. Young women. Old women, middle aged paunchy Freds. It didn't bother me at all because my goal was not to go fast."

Face it ... women are strong. Or at least, a whole lot stronger than you ever gave them credit for.

On a recent open club ride I saw a pretty chunky dude who took off with us in group A/B. I judged him based on his looks. Thought he would eventually drop back to group C.

He didn't. He was stronger than me. Even up the hills. We chatted. Very friendly dude. Had beers after and now we're Strava/riding friends. Don't know since when he started riding, but dude logs 4x the mileage that I do. He just happens to *love* the beers.

Forgot to mention that when you caught up to him you noticed he was on an e-bike.

Who's ego is bruised here - who's really being the jerk?
Someone, ANYONE, passes a rider and makes a him realize maybe he isn't as good as he thinks or isn't working as hard as maybe he should, so he makes an effort. How does giving chase make him a jerk? If I pass someone, I hope they do chase me, and if they pass me back, good for them! I just expect them to keep going and not slow back down right away. If folks don't want to play that game, they don't have to; they can say "I don't want to play," but I don't see any reason to accuse those who do of having fragile egos or being "threatened." If your friend really has that kind of disdain, she should just get over herself. No matter who you are, when you're good at something, having others try to prove themselves against you comes with the territory. Don't be a jerk and roll your eyes at them, smile when you drop them!

I hear lawn bowls is a great sport for a guy your age. Ladies are closer to 100 than 20, so easier to keep up with.

I'd try and catch up or keep on the wheel of anyone who passed me.

On our Sunday rides we typically do 50-55 miles and girls are no joke. All average 22 mph after riding another 50 miles day before. I have stopped believing in the whole man/woman or young/old thing long time ago. Same group, a guy just rolled over 72 years old, and keeps up with the girls and the boys. As mentioned above as well, I did speak to a nice lady who also mentioned how she is annoyed with guys getting their egos crushed. She said it came to the point that it started with name calling and such, just taking it to a low level. Just like cars, I live by the motto of don't brag how fast you are, there is always somebody faster than you.

Why?

To see if I can or not. I think it would also be fun.

I very rarely see anyone on road bikes when I ride (commuting M-F), and am quite frankly interested in how well I compare. Same as I feel when playing other sports or video games.

Get past getting passed.

How would you know how well you compare?

?
If I can go the same speed or not. Don't read too much into it.

I have fun if I get dropped, struggle to stay on, someone socks too much wheel, or I can drop someone one.

Just ride your ride. If you want to see how you compare, turn up for the local Tuesday night or Saturday morning race ride. Or better yet, go on to usac.com and find the next race in your area, buy a one-day license, and pin on a number.

I shouldn't read too much in to it? My point is that you shouldn't read too much in to it - so much so that I really don't see a point in trying. You mention comparing yourself in gaming and sport... but those are instances where the participants have implicitly or explicitly agreed to competition. While you're busy patting yourself on the back for turning yourself inside out to catch someone's wheel, they may be in the middle of a z2 ride or at the end of a century; there's no way for you to compare yourself to someone else with only your data point.