Road bike Racers!

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BigSteev said:
Who cares? I pass people, people pass me, makes no difference. Sometimes it quite pleasant to amble along behind another bike, particularly if she has a nice arse.

That's what I thought...but im not in my twenties anymore so im not really in a hurry.:laugh:
 

adds21

Rider of bikes
Location
North Somerset
I don't usually care if I get overtaken, although, that's probably just because I couldn't do much about it anyway.

However, yesterday evening I got overtaken, uphill, by a bloke on one of those electric bikes (me on my hybrid). I didn't really mind, but I couldn't help thinking that he should be forced to wear something which makes it obvious he's on an electric bike so the people walking on the pavement knew why he overtook me so easily! (although, let's be honest they probably didn't care even if they noticed)... As it happens, I very nearly kept up with him for the next 5 uphill miles anyway, which was nice.

I think it only stuck in my mind because in the morning I got overtaken by a roadie, and he was being drafted by another electric bike. I found that quite amusing because I'm guessing the roadie didn't know it was an electric bike, and was wondering why it was so hard to drop him.
 

NigC

New Member
Location
Surrey
I'm glad (I think) that I rarely get the chance for a commuter race. 95% of my commutes are done without being on the same stretch of road as another bike - I see 2 or 3 going the other way most days but going my way at the same time is very rare.

Besides - I'm 42, overweight and unfit, so if I pass you, how does that make you feel??? :blush:
 
Location
Shropshire
I used to feel that everyone thought I was racing when on my fixie, and never knew whether to give them a hello or would they think I was taking the mick even more ? I used to get quite paranoid about over taking. The fact of the matter was I had fairly high gearing to stop me having to spin too fast on the downhills ( every route seems to be up or down around here) so the only way I could keep from killing my legs from straining to much in a high gear was to travel at a pace more suited to the high gearing ie:fast. In fairness some times it was just a challenge to get passed them on my £6 black house painted 70's cheap racer fixie :blush::biggrin::biggrin: WITH PINK GRIPS


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I got overtaken by some bird on London Bridge in High Heeled boots and a shopping basket,god it was embarrasing,im sure she had SPD's on the bottom of those boots.:blush:

She was wearing the high heeled boots and had the shopping basket BTW.
 
Location
Shropshire
I was once overtaken whilst traveling at near full speed by a big fat bloke smoking a fag on a knackard MTB with the most buckled rear wheel I have ever seen, My only excuse and excuses are very weak was the fact I had just done an 18 hour day and was near the end of my commute, I just couldn't catch him. Think it was really Chris hoy in one of those inflatable sumo suits having a bit of fun :evil:
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
Take a colour photocopy of an AUK brevet card and have it inside a small clear plastic zipbag in a back pocket.

If you catch up with the guy on the hybrid who scalped you, take it out and ask him if he's going your way to 'a town about 20 miles away'....and would he share the lead.


:evil:


This has happened for real on a 100km DIY through Lichfield. A git on an MTB overtook me and kept looking round grinning.
When I pulled alongside, I asked if he would share the lead to Stafford.
He looked at me puzzled so I said "Then how does 'F**k off you Tw*t' sound?"
 
Watch the calves!

When overtaken by any cyclist, it's not the bike I look at, its the calves. Nearly always when overtaken by overweight, knees-out, knackered MTB types, there is monstrous calf-definition. (On a bent it's easy to check this!)

I think there are a lot of folk round me who could be really strong competitors if somebody just raised their saddles three inches, and gave them a few tips on technique!

I also mutter to myself the mantra: "It's not the bike, it's the engine . . . "
 

croyde

New Member
I have only used the bike to commute a few times and as it's just 6 or 7 miles (I would not have said "JUST" a year ago) I normally start out slow as I am in work clobber and don't want to turn up soaking wet and bright red.

Truth is as soon as I see another bike I have to catch up with it and being London it does end up as some massive race with all sorts of bikes and scooters.

I'm the same on my motorbike and I blame the fact that I was a despatch rider back in the 80s.

PS I am thinking about getting a roadbike but will be worried that I won't be able to up the pace as on my current hybrid with 26 ins wheels I can let the roadies past if I am tired.
 

Matty

Well-Known Member
Location
Nr Edinburgh
Nick_B said:
I wonder what proportion of posters to this thread are blokes.

I have a thing about being passed by single-speeds. I just feel that I should be able to keep up with 26 more gears than them. Fair play to the single-speeder on the A6 around Longsight this morning.

As a single-speed commuter. I will admit to enjoying passing things, particularly roadies. You are correct, you should be able to keep up - I'm top end limited anything 30mph+ is serious cadence, which can't be sustained for too long! I often find myself being slowly dropped along the flat/downhill, but when the road goes up it's another matter......
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
RyanW said:
Is it just me, or do you guys get this as well. Someone sees you on a road bike, and automatically thinks "I'll have him". Was cycling home after a nice little ride. When some guy comes shooting past me on his hybrid. I can see what he is thinking, he checks over his shoulder a good 5 times before turning left, and im sure i saw a grin on his face.

30 seconds later i catch up with him, go to over take and a blodey 4x4 comes the other way, drop behind, then try again. This time a flippin' virgin engineer runs in front of me. (All along the same road). I go to give it one more try but he shoots left at a junction which i have been hit at before. I'm not suicidal so i just let him go.

TBH i caught him up 2x very easily.

That aside, so does anyone else get that, you ride a road bike so every other cyclist thinks "I can beat that"


So, am I the only one that can literally smell the irony in this post?

This is how I read it.

"What are they like?!!! can you believe the extent some people go to just to overtake you...honestly some people.....pah!

....oh and when you have a go at overtaking THEM....you wouldn't believe the extent you have to go to, with Blodey tractors and virgins all over the joint...honestly, some people"

er...okay then, I agree, there are people out there that overtake other people...it seems that you are one of them.;)
 

manualtypist

New Member
Location
London
I'm a little female and cycle in dresses and short skirts...I'm not particularly healthy at all and any amount of wind will almost always make me veer off to the side (whichever way the wind is blowing)...or even slow down to a crawl if it's head wind...So if I ever manage to overtake someone on the rare occasion I'm quite pleased with myself...though they usually overtake me again and I'm just too knackered to even be able to try again!
But I find it quite funny that super fit and healthy men on road bikes feel the need to overtake me again and turn back and grin as they speed off...

The first thing that then springs to mind is...'a** hole...was that really necessary...clearly you have a problem with your ego if you feel the need to overtake me again and turn back and grin'.

Ah well...
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
manualtypist said:
But I find it quite funny that super fit and healthy men on road bikes feel the need to overtake me again and turn back and grin as they speed off...
It may not be smugness - I look back to check that I've passed & have enough room to pull back in (I don't want to find that the overtakee has put on a sprint by going into their front wheel, after all). I can't remember whether I smile as I do this or not, I probably do though, cycling makes me happy.
 

4F

Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Location
Suffolk.
manualtypist said:
But I find it quite funny that super fit and healthy men on road bikes feel the need to overtake me again and turn back and grin as they speed off...

The first thing that then springs to mind is...'a** hole...was that really necessary...clearly you have a problem with your ego if you feel the need to overtake me again and turn back and grin'.

Ah well...

2nd rule in commuter racing: never look over your shoulder after a scalp
 

manualtypist

New Member
Location
London
John the Monkey said:
It may not be smugness - I look back to check that I've passed & have enough room to pull back in (I don't want to find that the overtakee has put on a sprint by going into their front wheel, after all). I can't remember whether I smile as I do this or not, I probably do though, cycling makes me happy.


Cycling makes me happy too but being constantly out of breath doesn't...so I may have mastered the art of gurning whilst cycling instead...:tired:

But am fairly sure that on this particular instance I was thinking of the rider was truly smug...and also seemed to have a thing for dicing with death and tempting fate...
A bit off topic but anyway...he proceeded to skip the lights at a busy cross roads (with roadworks thrown in)...dodged the cars coming towards him and sped off...

Oh well...I just go at my own pace usually...:wacko:
 
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