This guy at work is persistent about riding with me. Personally, I don't like spending time with anyone at work because it's bad enough that I have to see them everday for 8 hours...Don't get me wrong, I like riding, but I really dont like spending time with people from work

He claims that he just got a Trek 1000 and he has been riding almost everday for 10-15miles...

He said he wants to try 30miles with me. I am not really his friend or someone that I would talk to outside of the work environment, so I am unsure. He keeps trying to show off by showing me his calves and how he passes people all the time. He also said he is getting a discovery jersey soon :eek: lol.
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The funniest thing is that he thinks I ride a beat up old bike or a MTB. He keeps talking about how 15miles is hard and that I might need a phone so I can call my house for a ride after 20 miles. This whole time, I've been neglecting to tell him that I ride regularly and that I can do much more than 20 miles.

So should I go ride with him or is it a waste of time? I think I might go out there with my MTB and drop him :). This is going to be fun, I just have to put my Look pedals on the MTB and I should be set. The seat is as high as it will go on the MTB(its not really my size). The MTB is equipped with LOW bottom of the line Shimano(Acer I think, lol). I think this bike was bought at ToysRus 5-10 years ago. Last time I checked, the FD was bent and half of the gears did not work. I am not sure about what kind of speed the MTB is capable of as it doesn't have a computer.

What do you guys think, should I bring out the MTB, LeMond or not go?

Go out on the LeMond and make him suffer the whole 30 miles so he doesn't come out with you again.

Hmm there is no fun in that. I'll drop him in the first ten minutes and he will make excuses saying that my bike is better, blah blah.

I'm going to fix up that MTB this weekend ;D

Well if you really don't like the guy or want to be friends with the guy then I wouldn't waste my time on it. That said there are several cyclists here at work and I love to ride with them. They are all good guys and a work group ride can (and has been) a lot of fun.

You need a different job.

So Knave up and drop him on the MTB.

Or who knows, maybe he can keep up and you'll actually enjoy the ride.

Why don't you give the guy a chance? Who knows what may come out of this.

Do like Lance and feign that you are suffering and getting dropped.... then show him how to spin at 110 rpm up a big climb and drop him!

Then do like Cartman and blurt out, "Respect mah AUTHORI-TAH!"

Or just do a massive sprint and drop him on a mnt bike!

stay with him for the first 10 miles just to give him some more confidence. then, pick up the pace, drop him and taunt him.

Take the LeMond. Riding the mountain bike will just make you look like a goon and will make the spanking that much harder to do.

Also tell him that calves don't mean a lot whole lot in this sport...

Why do you have to prove how much beter you are than him? We all started at the same place this guy is. Maybe you can help teach this guy a little with your knowledge and make him a better, safer rider and who knows.......you may be able to mold him into a good riding partner

This is funny to me....

Why is it that once again it always has to be about 'dropping' and 'teaching him a lesson' and 'my mom's better than your mom'....

We really can't help ourselves can we?
It's amusing when you step back and look at it from afar.

Anyway, having said that, what do YOU really want from this?

It sounds to me like you're not sure.
If you really are not interested in the guy or spending the time on it, well then for cryin' out loud be a man and just tell him that.

If you look down inside and admit that you too are curious about it, then grab the bike you can perform best on and just go ride to see what comes of it.

If indeed you look even deeper and feel the need to make this some sort of personal proving ground (ala the Knave chronicles) then go out there, start a ride with him at a reasonable pace, and just keep picking it up until you've got a hammerfest going.

+1
Sounds like a guy new to riding, that's excited about it if maybe a little misguided that could benefit from a little mentoring.
The posts suggesting to drop him point to a problem in our sport. Often new people come out to ride, and rather than trying to teach them to be better riders, we try to drop them, and rum them off. Only after they've proved they can hang do we even begin to talk to them. Unfortunately, many give up from frustration before they ever reach that point.
I understand there is a safety dynamic at work behind this exclusion of new riders. But perhaps we'd be better off if we tried to share our knowledge and experience, grow the sport, and make new people into safer riders.

Either give him a real chance or don't bother going for a ride with him. The silly mind games are childish.

Az

I think you should ride your road bike, let him set the pace, and when he wants to head back, say you're feeling fine and want to keep going. He either follows you and is worn out or goes back home knowing you are still out there, hammering away.

He won't ask you to ride again and you won't have to be an @ss about it.

I had a similar experience with my son-in-law; although I did ride my mtb. The road bike would've been too cruel and I didn't want to drop him, just let him know he needed to get in much better shape.

If you go, the worst thing that can happen is that you find out there is someone at work worth spending some exercise time with outside of work. Then maybe you won't seem like the unabomber at the office.

Why don't you find out what he is really good at, and then do that with him after you've ventured on this epic 30 mile trek you are considering.

I am a below average cyclist and went cycling with a group of guys at work. They dropped me and laughed at me later. I got a couple of them to go swimming with me a few days afterward, and practically had to save one of them from drowning in 3 1/2 feet of water. He doesn't bring up the story of "dropping" me on the bike anymore.

Grinding somebody down who clearly isn't in your league is classless and egotistical. Even more so on a ride with only 2 people.

Now, if he's really talking trash....that's different.

Take yourself to the club rides, where same-level competition and gamesmanship are part of the dynamic.

55/Rad

I think that you shouldn't be a jerk. Very few newbies understand the difference between a experieneced rider and someone that's just starting. It takes a couple of years for most people to grow in enough capilaries in their legs to get rid of the muscle wastes from hard riding. Occassionally someone is a natural (like my exwife and all three of her daughters) but it isn't very common.

Take your LeMond and RIDE with him. That alone will be enough of a challenge since at the end of a 30 mile ride while you're as fresh as a daisy he'll be exhausted.

Dropping him or making him look stupid will only discourage him. You want to encourage the guy.

well said. this guy obviously looks up to you and your abilities. so why do you feel the need to knock him down? if you simply don't want to ride with him, tell him and it's over with. but what have you got to lose? one simple lousy ride? heck, you might find he's actually a pretty nice guy. like someone said earlier, we were all at the beginning once. seems to me you've forgotten what it was like to just be starting out in cycling

Take the Lemond. Ride nice. If he acts like a doorknob, go find some hills. Then ride his legs off. But do it in a nice way.

And don't make a big deal out of it. This shouldn't be about taking him to school. 15 miles is a lot for some people, for others it's nothing more than a warm-up. Who knows, you might inspire him to get stronger. Just don't inspire him to give it up altogether.

Touche'.

i agree with the comments above. when i first started riding, i was quite proud of myself for making it ten or fifteen miles. i hadn't been on a bike since i was a kid. i don't see the point of taking that from someone, especially to make a point i don't quite understand.

Just go for a fun ride with the guy. It sounds like you could use it. ;)

If you tell him you're going to ride with him, then ride with him. That doesn't mean you can't show him a thing or two, but stay with him and keep your ego in your seat bag. If you're not willing to do this, then decline. If you go out with the hidden agenda of dropping him so you can make yourself seem superior, then it's not worth anyone's time.

Oh, and if he's on a road bike, take your road bike.