so i was riding along the bike path from denver to northglen …minding my own business, when suddenly this spandex wearing human billboard passed me. i don’t usually care about people passing me but for some reason i don’t like the way this guy did it. i had a long way to go and i was just getting started. it had been a long day at work and had my laptop on my backpack and my two panniers filled with work cloths and rain gear. my legs were still a little cold and i was planning a nice quiet 17.4 mile ride back to my car in northglen. i’m not in really good shape right now, but lately i’ve been feeling really good on my bike. so when cyclist pass each other, there is usually some etiquette that one must show when passing. 1. pass slowly, 2. give a slight wave or head gesture, and 3. if your gonna pass make sure you are faster than the person you are passing. this guy broke all three.
this guy didn’t know who he was passing. at least he wasn’t aware of the mental state of the person [me]. i do not like people passing me, no matter what. i don’t care if this guy is wearing a team uniform and on a triathlon bike complete with aero bars and seat post water bottles [which he was]. as soon as he passed me i was kind of surprised because i had looked back a while ago and didn’t see anyone. there he was out of nowhere, in all his gear, no “hi” no “on your left”…nothing!
huh…i had two choices at that point, just ignore him, or just shift over to my big ring. with little debate the big ring won. i hadn’t been in my big ring that much this season, because it’s kind of early. tip: it’s really not good to go big early in the season, especially if you are over 40. it’s bad for your knees. “click” i was into my big ring with hardly a noise. it was like my bike knew ahead of time what was about to take place and shifted for me. spandex man had a pretty good lead by now since he caught me off guard, but i could still see him on the straights. with my head down and into my tuck, my hands in the drops, i slowly dropped the hammer. as i looked down i could see my 45psi 700×32 cross tires digging into each corner. i was a little worried that they would pop out of the rim. i was also worried about my panniers falling off on some of these bumps. i was getting a little tired and i could feel myself breathing pretty hard at this point, but everything was still under control. then as i got a little closer, i saw him look back! that was all i needed…. fear. he was now worried about me, i could tell he tried to pick it up a bit. he was now fully into his tuck. it took me a couple of miles to get back on his wheel [i wasn’t actually on his wheel, because i didn’t want him to think he was pulling me]. he tried to keep it up for longer, but i was prepared to race all the way back to my car. i was actually waiting for a good spot to pass him. at this point i could tell that he was tired and starting to rest. he would stop pedaling on occasion and that’s a sign of someone relaxing. i didn’t want to pass him while he relaxed, even though that’s what he did to me, four miles ago. so i just stayed behind him. finally he got so slow that i was now getting bored. i was just getting ready to pass him, when he slowed way down and pulled off. that’s it, he put himself out of competition. i gave him a wave and hammered on down the trail. i was actually going faster than before because i didn’t want him to get any ideas of passing me again. i went on at this pace for a few more miles and by the end…my legs were shot. i didn’t think i could make it back to the car, i still had about five miles to go. …but i won.. and taught this guy a lesson: be careful of who you pass :)