rubiksoval

Beating you at what?

wphamilton

Randomly "racing" someone, no way. How dumb does it feel to "give the look", dial it up and "drop" a guy who a is pro development rider taking it easy on a zone 2 recovery? It's not just a hypothetical - I've seen the vans and riders, the Strava flyby's ... and it means literally nothing to them if you pass them up, or vice versa.


However, I will try to catch someone if I see them up ahead going about my speed.

kbarch

Our little imaginary race, of course. What else have we been talking about this whole time? That's the nice thing about making things up, you can decide whether they have a conclusion, and whether they are satisfactory.

rubiksoval

Exactly. And if that's the case, then you can essentially never be beaten as your "race" was simply to a different finish.

That's the point.

rubiksoval

If some of you guys are so gungho about imaginary racing, why not just take some cracks at Strava KOMs? At least that has beginnings and endings that people are aware of. Or is even that too much of a reality dose?

OldTryGuy

Even if it were Froome******************************

Maelochs

I cannot believe you people can exist in the world without killing everybody … I am not say you are grim, humorless, hypercompetitive, and uptight …. But I am strongly hinting.

I am out riding. I see a guy (or a girl, or a child on a Big Wheel) up ahead. Maybe, if I want to, I speed up and see if I can hang, or pass … it is called playing, something I am sure most of you were not allowed to do as children.

If I wanted to (I don’t but I could) I could create a mental narrative about how this person was strong and fast and skilled, and I was fighting to catch the wheel and maybe overtake … and may Ride to Victory! It’s called fantasy—like what you guys do when you imagine (or recall) being tied up and whipped for being bad and playing, or when you imagine (or recall) abusing small animals.

See … life is So deadly serious—we might as well have fun. And believe it or not, there are probably a few different ways different people can have fun. Don’t strain your brains trying to imagine it, just take my word for it.

Some of you people are so insecure and so competitive, you cannot have fun … apparently you need to prove your worth in organized competition. Some of us have nothing to prove, and just ride for joy and pleasure. Imagine that—people can ride a bike and not feel pain or soreness or exhaustion, and just Like Riding! I know you can’t believe it, but it is true.

Does this imaginary, fantasy race mean anything? Yes! It means the rider enjoyed him- or herself for that amount of time. No one got hurt, no one got upset, and somebody had a good laugh because he nearly beat a 7-year-old on a Big Wheel … if I had just lunged harder at the line!

Why should I bother with Strava KOMs? I track some of my rides on Strava, but it is not about actually “winning” anything … Seriously, do some of you never do Anything where you are not trying to “score KOMs” or outperform someone else? You love lives must be … interesting.

Yeah, it is stupid and childish … to people who can’t enjoy life without measuring and comparing and “defeating” and “beating” ….. to the rest of us it is just playing with our toys.

Some of you people …. Are why I keep to myself most of the time.

TimothyH

^^ Great post. Thank you for this.

I raced a guy Tuesday night. He came up behind me and I couldn't shake him. He finally passed and I hung for a while but he pulled away. We saw each other at a local store stop and had a good laugh. It was fun.

Yer gonna die some day. Have a little fun before it happens.


-Tim-

WhyFi

So you're trying to hammer home a point that people find enjoyment in different ways yet it seems to escape you that forcing an unwilling participant to play a part in your fantasy might not be enjoyable to them? Okay.

downhillmaster

Maelochs

Thank you for proving all my points in one sentence.

NO ONE IS FORCING ANYONE TO DO ANYTHING.

The other "competitor" was, is and will continue to do whatever he or she wants to do ... and will never even know that s/he was involved. The other person is no more "forced" to do anything than are the driver in the car which pass you, or the people in the houses you pass.

if I imagine I am racing someone when no one is around ... if I imagine a rider ahead of me, just out of sight, and use that to motivate myself ... "pretend" I am racing .... am I "forcing" my imaginary creation to do something?

When someone chases another rider ... it is no different than picking a landmark and deciding, "I am going to sprint to that mark." Am I "forcing" that light pole or road sign to participate?

Do you have the slightest clue about what we are discussing? Read The Thread!

The “other party” DOES NOT KNOW THAT ANYTHING IS GOING ON!

The whole thread is about “racing” someone who doesn’t know it is a race … who had no idea what fantasy is playing out in the mind of the other rider.

Not only is the other party not “forced” to do anything … the other party—By Definition—Doesn’t Know there is a fantasy race going on.

The other party cannot “enjoy” or “not enjoy” because the whole thing is only going on in the head of the other rider.

What happens which an outside observer can see: One rider passes … another rider passes, looks up, sees the other rider ahead, and speeds up.

The first rider—the “other party”—sees a rider way off in the distance behind. The rider behind gets closer. The rider behind either overtakes or not.

That is it. That is what we are talking about. Clear now?

Ask yourself why you are so eager to fight that you post stuff which you will read later and find embarrassing.

Maelochs

If I imagine that you read my reply and unerstand my points ... am I "forcing" you to do anything?

jitteringjr

Unless the racer is forcing themselves into the other's personal space/comfort level of approximation like grabbing a wheel or a constant pass and get passed situation, how is the other other person being forced into anything.

rubiksoval

The irony is strong with this one.

rubiksoval

I think this is exactly what the issue is for most of the situations mentioned. Maelochs went off on some long tangent to defend his delusions, but that really has nothing to do with anything.

People coming up and drafting out of the blue or passing and slowing down and passing is what most people have been discussing.

Stuff like this:

DrIsotope

To clarify my point about 19mph-Tri-Guy. I don't have a problem with his speed. He is doing his own thing, and moving at whatever pace he feels comfortable. My issue is that he will not be passed. He's going 2-3mph slower than I am at a typical middle-Z2 pace. So I pass him. Well, he's not having that! So within a minute or two, he passes back... then just drops right back down to 19mph. So I pass him again, because I'm just moving at a steady state. He cannot abide this. So he passes again. This will go on for the length of the river trail, unless I go full out-- which I have no desire to do-- or I slow down to a sub-19 pace, which I also do not want to do. I want to ride my pace. I'm content with him riding his pace, but he's not having any passing moves.

So I sit behind him. This invariably makes him go faster. That speed is well, it's usually around the speed I was going to begin with. Sometimes, one of them will notch it up to 25-26mph, so I'll keep that gap until they blow up. This is absolutely not an instance of "the other guy doesn't know he's racing." He simply cannot be behind someone. My wife sees this far more often than I do-- there are way too many guys out their whose male pride cannot handle being passed by a woman. We'll play leapfrog with guys down near the beach for miles and miles. They might not be racing per se, but they're certainly not minding their own business, either.

I've gotten dirty looks from guys as they peel off the trail, after I've been behind them at that 25-30 foot gap for several miles. Like, what's with that? How far back would you like me to stay, your highness? Where does wheelsucking start in their minds?

u235

Your story reminded me of something I did. I was doing the C&O solo last lear. My "comfortable" pace then was 13-16 mph for about 30 minutes and then take a trail side rest stop. There was a lady going solo about 10-12 mph. I'd pass her and when I was taking a break, she would pass by. I must have passed her 5 times in a 3 hour period. In all honesty, there was no testosterone going on there. At one point I actually tried staying WAY behind her about 100+ yards and going 10-12 mph but unless I specifically constantly watched my speed I would creep back up and get close enough to be awkward (50-100 feet). There isn't that many people on the C&O, its not like a populated MUP. . It got to the point we talked a little as we leap frogged each other and at least once, she stopped for a break where I was stopped. I apologized for my strange pace. She said what I already knew. If I slowed down I wouldn't have to stop so much. My stops were more just to get off the bike.

WhyFi

Talk about posting silly stuff. This may be what you're talking about, but it's far from the what everyone in the thread is talking about.

Dan333SP

Hmmm... I'm going with **** on this thread over the avg speed thread, but my opinion may change depending on how things progress over there.

Colnago Mixte

Can you earn **** points here on this board? Might be fun.

seypat

If I am going to CAT 6 race, I prefer CAT 6 "GT/Stage" racing. That is of course, the organized fondo/charity rides. You can get into some epic battles on those. You go at it for about 20 miles.(stage) You give the other racers "the look" at the SAGs, restock the supplies and then go at it for another 20 miles. If you are locked in a tight battle, you are waiting for the type of terrain that gives you an advantage. When it comes, you drope the hammer and claim another scalp. What is more awesome than that?

Reynolds 

Serious Cyclists vs. Non-Serious?

Dan333SP

You're probably thinking of Cap2Cap when describing this, and you're spot on. I like it.

Colnago Mixte

Most epic passing I ever did, was once I was out on my regular weekend ride, and ran into an organized ride that's done once a year in the SF Bay Area called the Cinderella Classic. It's a women's-only event, but I had to get home, and I had to use the road they were on, and had no advance warning the ride was going on that day, so it wasn't like I sought it out.

I must have passed 1000 women on bikes, big ones, little ones, tall ones, fat ones, skinny ones, fit ones, not-so-fit ones, all types. I had never, and probably never will have such a prime view of so many beautiful and not-so-beautiful women on their bikes. I guess I should have had a sense of honor and rerouted my ride or averted my eyes or something.

But it's a sight I will never forget as long as I live, along with the horrified looks of the women being passed. I believe they have people at the ride these days that would swiftly throw me off the course, but it was an honest mistake, and circa 1990 or so, so I think the statutes of limitations have run out if i committed any crime.

aplcr0331

It's remarkable to watch someone get so wound up in a tornado of condescension trying to make their case for one thing... but they end of making the perfect case for the exact opposite position.

It's funny. And I've done it myself from time to time too, lol.