Dear spotty little half-term herbert...

[betty swollocks]

do not subject yourself to humiliation by imperiously overtaking an old fart on a long steep hill, unless you are quite sure you can maintain your pace.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Hope you cycled beside him wordlessly for a minute or two before sweeping off down the other side of the hill.

 

[betty swollocks]

Was on my fixie.
I just drew level for a few moments to wish him a good morning with a grin and then disappeared into the blue yonder.
It would have been a bugger if he had swept past me down the other side with my little legs going like the clappers, but I never saw him again.

 

[zimzum42]

It's not just spotty kids on half term, it's seasoned commuters on Embankment who think they can go past me while I'm building up speed on a fixed.

They never keep up when I pass later.......

 

[Tetedelacourse]

you should have offered him a mushroom whilst alongside. That would've shown him.

 

[betty swollocks]

you should have offered him a mushroom

I did, I gave him quite a wide berth.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

and he was driving right?

 

[Tetedelacourse]

I did, I gave him quite a wide berth.

brutal!

 

[Pete]

I'm a little bit depressed by this thread.

Could it be that this

spotty little half-term herbert

as you call him, has the makings of a serious, motivated and committed cyclist? And has he now been put off? As far as I can see, overtaking or attempting to overtake a fellow cyclist is not a personal affront. Why ridicule or disparage him? Everyone's got to start from somewhere. Chill out and let it go, folks!

 

[snorri]

And has he now been put off?

I don't think so, having overtaken "an old guy" in the first place will have given the young fellow an ego boost. Being overtaken later will leave him in awe of his elders...no bad thing.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

I don't think so, having overtaken "an old guy" in the first place will have given the young fellow an ego boost. Being overtaken later will leave him in awe of his elders...no bad thing.

On the other hand he may well be put off for life, if Betty's username has any truth in it.

 

[gbb]

Hahaha...i had this a couple of weeks ago...

Rode out of work on me hybrid....one of the guys rides alongside, we both making good pace for about a mile....he's giving me some chat about how fast he can go

Hundred yards further on, he suddenly says....you got the leg burn yet ???

What!!!......i can go like this for another 20 or 30 miles yet B) i replied

I'm sure he muttered 'bugger'...as he suddenly veered off down a side street

A put down? Not intentionally. If it spurs him on to better things, brilliant.
If it learns him not to brag before he knows who he's bragging to....

 

[betty swollocks]

Hello Pete. It's always difficult on forums such as these to get exactly the right nuance to your post, but I had hoped that the smiley and elements of self-mockery ('old fart' 'my little legs going like the clappers') might have lent mine the jocular element that I had intended. Obviously I was wrong or you were not perceptive enough to discern it.
He was a spotty little herbert on a rather nice Specialized Stumpjumper MTB on the pavement over the other side of the road. When he saw me, he bounced off the pavement, cut across the road, came up from behind and overtook me at speed. Thirty yards ahead, I saw him waver, his cadence slowed and all I had to do was maintain my speed.
He may well have the makings of a serious, motivated and committed cyclist.
He's also a wiser one now

 

[Pete]

Hello Pete. It's always difficult on forums such as these to get exactly the right nuance to your post

No problem, that's cool, I knew exactly where your post was coming from, just that I'm bothered about some attitudes to teenage/inexperienced cyclists you see on the road, who really are trying and just haven't got the cadence or rhythm yet. Not all teens are chavs or hoodies!

But it was the bit you left out earlier:

..on the pavement over the other side of the road. When he saw me, he bounced off the pavement, cut across the road, came up from behind and overtook me at speed....

that adds a whole new flavour to the encounter. Of course, I have little time for the pavement-artist/RLJing/knees-level-with-ears/ types - I feel they're doing the 'cause' (if there is a 'cause') of cycling a disservice. But I tend to merely blank them, seeing as I don't have the legs or stamina to run them down...

 

[BentMikey]

Hehehe, I can see both sides. I'm largely with Pete in principle, though I'm sure Betty's encounter was all in a spirit of fun.