There is a huge cycling community here in BC and I come across lots of other cyclists in my travels, not that usually we stop to chat or anything. Most of these interactions are unremarkable, though I usually find smiling faces looking back. There have however been a handful of times where I've crossed paths with riders who seem hellbent on proving something, and I get a chuckle out of it.
It usually happens a little something like this: 700c-tired cyclist and I end up stopped in close proximity to each other at a light, crosswalk, etc. They look at me and instead of a smile the expression on their face can be best described as utter contempt, or perhaps complete disgust. Then, at the first opportunity, they do their best to prove their cycling worth. They force their way past, hammering at the pedals like Lance on a fresh dose of HGH, usually looking over their shoulder or into their mirror to see how badly they're "dropping" the fat guy on the heavy bike pulling a trailer.
This pleases me.
Now being a responsible ebike ambassador I'm not going to ride like a reckless jerk through the city, so hammering the throttle from a stop and drawing a bunch of attention to myself really isn't the way to go. Besides, drag racing pedal bikes isn't much of a challenge. Instead I accelerate at my regular pace, gently leaning on the throttle until I'm around 15' from their rear tire, and hold it there. When they look back I simply smile. They pedal harder and faster, sprinting away, and again they look back... and there I am at the same distance, and again I smile. This may repeat a few times until their cadence invariably begins to slow.
At that point I either get a smile back, or when safe I blow past them like they're standing still and rarely see them again. Sometimes both.
You don't have to smile at me, don't get me wrong, but if you're going to act with a heightened sense of superiority I'm going to watch you wear yourself out and then humble you.
I also found something a little surprising to me. Historically we've heard about the kitted out roadies having attitudes, acting entitled, lashing out, etc, but in my experience in the past 1600km hasn't shown that to be the case at all. Not once this year has a lycra clad roadie thrown me a dirty look or acted like they had something to prove. They always seem to smile and continue to do their thing without being rude showoffs, if they seem to notice me at all. Also they always seem to be very appreciative when I do something polite like stop to let them pass when heading opposite directions on narrow pathways, yield to let them cross, etc. Some of the "commuters" on the other hand look as if they'd like to spit on me for using "their" infrastructure and will seem to do anything to prove how much faster and more aggressively they can ride. Maybe it's a man vs machine complex, or perhaps they just want the lanes and paths to themselves. Maybe they just really don't like being behind fat guys pedaling freight trains. That's exactly where they end up though.
Anyone else have similar experiences in their travels, or vastly different?
It usually happens a little something like this: 700c-tired cyclist and I end up stopped in close proximity to each other at a light, crosswalk, etc. They look at me and instead of a smile the expression on their face can be best described as utter contempt, or perhaps complete disgust. Then, at the first opportunity, they do their best to prove their cycling worth. They force their way past, hammering at the pedals like Lance on a fresh dose of HGH, usually looking over their shoulder or into their mirror to see how badly they're "dropping" the fat guy on the heavy bike pulling a trailer.
This pleases me.
Now being a responsible ebike ambassador I'm not going to ride like a reckless jerk through the city, so hammering the throttle from a stop and drawing a bunch of attention to myself really isn't the way to go. Besides, drag racing pedal bikes isn't much of a challenge. Instead I accelerate at my regular pace, gently leaning on the throttle until I'm around 15' from their rear tire, and hold it there. When they look back I simply smile. They pedal harder and faster, sprinting away, and again they look back... and there I am at the same distance, and again I smile. This may repeat a few times until their cadence invariably begins to slow.
At that point I either get a smile back, or when safe I blow past them like they're standing still and rarely see them again. Sometimes both.
You don't have to smile at me, don't get me wrong, but if you're going to act with a heightened sense of superiority I'm going to watch you wear yourself out and then humble you.
I also found something a little surprising to me. Historically we've heard about the kitted out roadies having attitudes, acting entitled, lashing out, etc, but in my experience in the past 1600km hasn't shown that to be the case at all. Not once this year has a lycra clad roadie thrown me a dirty look or acted like they had something to prove. They always seem to smile and continue to do their thing without being rude showoffs, if they seem to notice me at all. Also they always seem to be very appreciative when I do something polite like stop to let them pass when heading opposite directions on narrow pathways, yield to let them cross, etc. Some of the "commuters" on the other hand look as if they'd like to spit on me for using "their" infrastructure and will seem to do anything to prove how much faster and more aggressively they can ride. Maybe it's a man vs machine complex, or perhaps they just want the lanes and paths to themselves. Maybe they just really don't like being behind fat guys pedaling freight trains. That's exactly where they end up though.
Anyone else have similar experiences in their travels, or vastly different?
