To scalp or not to scalp?

[Moodyman]

"Scalping" is a term I had not previously come across until reading it on this forum. Out in the sticks we [self and dr_pink] don't really "scalp" other riders, if we do overtake another cyclist we always say hello, raise a hand in acknowledgement or slow down for a chat. In our little world it really wouldn't give much satisfaction to pass anyone who isn't on a road bike in lycra. Catching other roadies is difficult anyway and usually requires several miles of hard riding and by the time you catch them you had better be damn sure of yourself if you carry on past as they might just be out for a pootle / warming down etc.
Does anyone on here count passing ladies as a "scalp"? When dr_pink commutes to work, now and again a male cyclist will tear past her presumably to show how tough they are not realising this is a lady who can average 22mph for 100 miles. Sometimes she toys with them before showing them the error of their ways, it's always hilarious though

Does Dr_Pink live in West Yorkshire by any chance?

I get overtaken by male roadies all the time on my commute. But the two most devastating scalps I encountered were from the same 50-something grey-haired lady. Gotta be a modern-day Beryl Burton. On one occasion I was in the zone at about 21/22mph and feeling great when...suddenly this thing flew past my right, raised the four fingers from her handlebar as a hello, and disappeeared into the distance.

 

[400bhp]

Does Dr_Pink live in West Yorkshire by any chance?

...50-something grey-haired lady....

 

[GrasB]

This is what an elite category racer is doing on a recent criterium. Not a long ride 27ish miles in total .5 of a mile per lap. You may get guys a bit faster but it gives a fair idea of what the Pros are doing in a competitive situation.

Bearing in mind that IME crits are actually quite slow races in terms of ave speed. Yes they're fast but you're almost always accelerating, braking & turning hard which keeps a lit on the speed & never really lets you build up a good smooth rhythm.

 

[Hacienda71]

Bearing in mind that IME crits are actually quite slow races in terms of ave speed. Yes they're fast but you're almost always accelerating, braking & turning hard which keeps a lit on the speed & never really lets you build up a good smooth rhythm.

A bit like commuting then.

 

[Hacienda71]

As an alterntive here is a stage from the Tour of Korea. Only one cat climb and longer than the crit I linked to earlier, but gives you an idea of a pro race speed.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Can someone please explain a scalp, is it just an overtake?

 

[derrick]

Am i missing something on strava, it does not seem to give the amount of imformation you get with Garmin.

http://www.strava.com/rides/광주광역시-south-korea-7680057

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/196090004

 

[Hacienda71]

You do get more than the first page if you click on the performance tab on Strava. To be honest though it is more a bit of fun for chasing segments.

 

[totallyfixed]

Does Dr_Pink live in West Yorkshire by any chance?

I get overtaken by male roadies all the time on my commute. But the two most devastating scalps I encountered were from the same 50-something grey-haired lady. Gotta be a modern-day Beryl Burton. On one occasion I was in the zone at about 21/22mph and feeling great when...suddenly this thing flew past my right, raised the four fingers from her handlebar as a hello, and disappeeared into the distance.

The two of you are now clinging to life by your finger nails, she is still at work at the moment so will not have seen this, and I'm not sure it is the wisest thing to do so, at least until she has finished her turbo session later. At which point I am going to make myself scarce.

 

[marzjennings]

Can someone please explain a scalp, is it just an overtake?

I always considered a scalp an intentional overtake rather than just a general passing of slower riders on the road.

You see the other rider ahead, you speed up to catch them, you overtake as fast as you can while presenting the impression that you're not really trying at all. If you can do so while drinking a cup of tea and talking on the phone I think that's extra points.

The food chain for scalping is as follows...

The food chain: where do you come in the system?

1. Scooters
2. Roadies with shaved legs*
3. Proper rapid singlespeeds (real men, messengers, tarty shiny fixies)*
4. Roadies with hairy legs*
5. Faux singlespeeds (fakengers, dirty/functional bikes, silly eggbeater gears)*
6. Touring bikes (mudguards)*
7. Fast hybrids*
8. MTBs on skinnies*
9. MTBs on knobblies
10. Bromptons/collapsing bikes
11. MTB full-sus on knobblies
12. Shoppers
13. Shoppers with wicker baskets
14. Electric bikes

And the scoring method and explanation found here...link
But in general you score points based on your place in the food chain compared to the overtaken.

 

[Maylian]

I always considered a scalp an intentional overtake rather than just a general passing of slower riders on the road.

You see the other rider ahead, you speed up to catch them, you overtake as fast as you can while presenting the impression that you're not really trying at all. If you can do so while drinking a cup of tea and talking on the phone I think that's extra points.

The food chain for scalping is as follows...

The food chain: where do you come in the system?

1. Scooters
2. Roadies with shaved legs*
3. Proper rapid singlespeeds (real men, messengers, tarty shiny fixies)*
4. Roadies with hairy legs*
5. Faux singlespeeds (fakengers, dirty/functional bikes, silly eggbeater gears)*
6. Touring bikes (mudguards)*
7. Fast hybrids*
8. MTBs on skinnies*
9. MTBs on knobblies
10. Bromptons/collapsing bikes
11. MTB full-sus on knobblies
12. Shoppers
13. Shoppers with wicker baskets
14. Electric bikes

And the scoring method and explanation found here...link

But in general you score points based on your place in the food chain compared to the overtaken.

Love it, would have thought electric bikes would be above wicker baskets though....

 

[Moodyman]

The two of you are now clinging to life by your finger nails, she is still at work at the moment so will not have seen this, and I'm not sure it is the wisest thing to do so, at least until she has finished her turbo session later. At which point I am going to make myself scarce.

 

[potsy]

The two of you are now clinging to life by your finger nails, she is still at work at the moment so will not have seen this, and I'm not sure it is the wisest thing to do so, at least until she has finished her turbo session later. At which point I am going to make myself scarce.

At least the heats off me for a while now

 

[totallyfixed]

At least the heats off me for a while now

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NOT

 

[Hacienda71]

He has a few KOM near me. Little Swine

I get the impression that some of the Rapha Condor guys just log rides where they are on light training runs while Mr Yates will post segments that mere mortals like us will never get anywhere near. I went over The Cat and Fiddle climb at the weekend. Simon Yates had done it three days before as part of a longer ride and was only about 1 minute off the 2002 national hill climb time over the 6.1 mile course.