Was I an idiot?

[Alan Frame]

You ever been beaten by a boris bike pal?

at least i know what the problem is now.

Ah, but it's not about the bike, is it ?

Sir Bradley would still scalp me on a toddler's bike.

With stabilisers still attached.

 

[snapper_37]

'Was I an idiot?'

Of course not. But then, I suspect you knew that anyway

Never got the commuting race thing myself. I'm happy to pootle along and laugh and point at the nobs who give it all to overtake me and then seem to be deflated cos I is a gurrlll. Oh and those who keep looking behind, shitting themselves that you may give chase. Not that I do ..... no ...... never.

 

[CopperCyclist]

The only thing you did wrong is to feel bad/guilty, when that reaction from someone were I to be in your shoes, would not only have caused a wry grin to appear on my face, but also a strong temptation to pretend to start 'blowing out my ass' myself, slowing to a speed JUST above the other guys capabilities as he pushed to keep up the third time

 

[Hotblack Desiato]

A guy passed me (nothing unusual there!).... Only thing is, after a couple of seconds I could see him flagging and his speed went right down. I got closer and closer until I was right behind him.
A couple of seconds later he flew past me again...I didn't change pace (today was one of those days where I was knackered and it was just about getting to work...no PBs etc expected).
Same thing happened...he started blowing and speed went down.

I think if you overtake you should up the pace anyway. Then they know you mean business! You can slow down again when they are way behind. I'd suggest if you can't/don't want to do that then maybe you should just hang in behind the guy and take the ride.

 

[Boris Bajic]

On longer rides, I've been ambitious in the past and passed where I couldn't sustain it, or passed someone who was dawdling and then decided to pass back.

Sometimes, you blast past someone and the legs just go or you are 'caught' by a hill and re-passed. It's not a crime but it's not something to get cross about.

I imagine many of us have done it (both sides of the equation) but the unpleasantness was out of order and the OP did nothing at all wrong.

 

[Leaway2]

I'm one of those sad gits that have to chase down and overtake a cyclist in front of me I may ride hard to catch pull up on their rear wheel sit there for a bit then pass like a looney and hope the Christ they don't catch back up, if they do I just smile and nod as they go by.... And give up graciously if that guy got offended he us a twat.......

Me too

 

[Col5632]

You're Scottish, you can even call people the c-word and it's friendly.

Haha very true

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Ah, but it's not about the bike, is it ?

Sir Bradley would still scalp me on a toddler's bike.

With stabilisers still attached.

Revenge at the moment is sweet,pal.

 

[dodd82]

I am by no means a quick cyclist, which probably helps ease the competitive streak in me when someone overtakes me, which happens sometimes but not too frequently as my commute is out of London.

But I have also had to overtake a few times - and I must say, it feels incredibly awkward.

I don't want the person to think I am competing, or trying to show off.

Does feeling awkward about it say more about me than anyone else? It's bizarre!

 

[fossyant]

I wouldn't feel bad about it, I'd have shouted back that the guy needs to maintain speed, rather than yo-yo'ing.

There is a guy on my commute that will try very hard to chase me down and pass. He can only catch me when there is a downhill or tail wind, and he comes past in 50x12 when I'm spinning 46-16. Put a 'lump' in the road and he goes backwards. I've tried to have a chat with him at lights, but he's got his ipod on so loud he can't hear me, nor does he bother to chat.

 

[HLaB]

I'm pretty sure most folk have been in the situation where a slower cyclist over/undertakes you when you are stopped at a red light (sometime precariously positioning them self in no mans land ) and you re-overtake before you are even accross the junction. You are then stopped at the next red and two minutes later you are under/overtaken by the slower cyclist again and so the pattern repeats, etc, etc and whilst this can be annoying I think only a pr@t would mouth off.

 

[Kookas]

I am by no means a quick cyclist, which probably helps ease the competitive streak in me when someone overtakes me, which happens sometimes but not too frequently as my commute is out of London.

But I have also had to overtake a few times - and I must say, it feels incredibly awkward.

I don't want the person to think I am competing, or trying to show off.

Does feeling awkward about it say more about me than anyone else? It's bizarre!

When I see a cyclist who seems to be going insanely slow for the grade (e.g. flat ground and 6-10mph), I always feel like when I pass them they're going to unleash the beast on me. I still do it anyways.

 

[HLaB]

When I see a cyclist who seems to be going insanely slow for the grade (e.g. flat ground and 6-10mph), I always feel like when I pass them they're going to unleash the beast on me. I still do it anyways.

Lol, occasionally I've been bimbling along (cira 14-15mph) and somebody has overtook only immediately pull in to my braking space and go slower so I've pulled out and upped the pace to 20mph. Most people you drop when you do that but one fellow a while back wasn't having it and pulled his way back to do the same, so this this time I had to up the pace to 22-25mph, it isn't very sustainable on a heavy wide tyred flat bar bike but a half a mile or so of that was enough to drop him that time

 

[NormanD]

Ah next time just overtake him on the back wheel, while texting on a mobile phone in one hand and ask him for a light while holding a cigarette in the other, but keep pulling away slowly, ever so slowly

 

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Him = nit.
You = not.