The Daily Pace

[rousseau]

How come there's no thread on here for casual jibber-jabber? Don't people here like the cut of each other's jib? It's almost as sober as Job sometimes. As if people had jobs.

If this doesn't jibe with how things are done around here, then my apologies. But if it does, then I would just like to say:

I smoked a mountain biker today.

Yep. I said "pleasant day for a ride" as we were getting ready to leave the supermarket. A young guy in good shape on a fancy Giant, some groceries in his backpack. Me, a fifty-something on a steel Peugeot with a rack and panniers filled with almond milk and other stuff. Not light, in other words.

He shot off and rounded the corner, clearly expecting that it would be pointless to engage with an old fart. I took my time, gradually upping the pace at my leisure. He turned back to check on my progress a couple times. Always amusing when that happens. He stopped for the crossing guard, and I pulled up and asked if he got his bike at the Giant dealer. He said yes.

And then it was over. Five blocks later I stopped at the side of the street to say hi to my neighbour. He eventually rode past, feeling shame, fury, desolation, and probably even a bit of indigestion.

Imaginary races. They're the best.

[Bentley]

So... One guy on a bike is a ride, two guys on a bike and its a race.

If it made you happy then good.

Ray

How come there's no thread on here for casual jibber-jabber? Don't people here like the cut of each other's jib? It's almost as sober as Job sometimes. As if people had jobs.

If this doesn't jibe with how things are done around here, then my apologies. But if it does, then I would just like to say:

I smoked a mountain biker today.

Yep. I said "pleasant day for a ride" as we were getting ready to leave the supermarket. A young guy in good shape on a fancy Giant, some groceries in his backpack. Me, a fifty-something on a steel Peugeot with a rack and panniers filled with almond milk and other stuff. Not light, in other words.

He shot off and rounded the corner, clearly expecting that it would be pointless to engage with an old fart. I took my time, gradually upping the pace at my leisure. He turned back to check on my progress a couple times. Always amusing when that happens. He stopped for the crossing guard, and I pulled up and asked if he got his bike at the Giant dealer. He said yes.

And then it was over. Five blocks later I stopped at the side of the street to say hi to my neighbour. He eventually rode past, feeling shame, fury, desolation, and probably even a bit of indigestion.

Imaginary races. They're the best.

[rousseau]

Two guys on a bike is a tandem.

[cloudguy]

Some young dude on a new-fangled carbon machine smoked by me on my old-fashioned Ti bicycle on the steepest section (15ish%) of the local go-to climb around these parts. He was hardly breathing, while I was gasping like a fish out of water. At the top, he was pointed the other way looking fresh and ready for the ride down and gave me the look of disdain that I deserve. I nodded to him in abject shame with my tail between my legs, while he failed to acknowledge my pitiful existence, as was his due.

[72gmc]

On the way into work, an eager CAT 6 competitor passed me at the bottom of a short steepish hill. I maintained a steady pace, noting that he was really overdressed for the conditions.

By the halfway point I was back on his wheel. Rather than pass, I just stopped pedaling for a moment. One nice loud moment of Campagnolo coasting and he knew the race was over.

[C40_guy]

And vice versa.

I was out on a training ride (road bikes) two summers ago with some friends and a guy on a mountain bike went by us like we were standing still. He had some pretty large and well defined calf muscles.

I caught up with him and started a conversation. I was new to the area and asked him about good riding in the area. Then I noticed that we were comfortably riding only inches apart and asked him how long he had been racing.

We chatted for a bit longer; then he put it into a higher gear and disappeared.

I think the little guy painted on the Colnago top tube wept a bit, thinking what could have been if only a strong rider was aboard. :)

I don't think I've seen the guy around since...I should probably ask at the next NEMBA chapter meeting if this guy really exists or was just something that I conjured up in the heat of the day.

[ducati2]

I was on a local hilly loop this past weekend. I was rolling around 22-23 mph on a flat and feeling pretty good about myself. All of a sudden I hear “on your left “ and a female triathalete or time trialist passes me at about 27 mph in full tuck. She got a gap right away and I noticed her banana was about to fall out of here jersey pocket. I thought she really needed to know this and accelerated to bridge the gap. She kept up her pace and I came so close to catching her. I got close enough where I could have yelled....”you are going to lose your banana”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t process enough oxygen to get out the words. So I backed off, finished the loop, and never saw a banana on the side of the road. Not sure what the moral of this story is. Still had a great sunny ride and witnessed a bad ass women ride away from me. All in all, good times.

[Ozz]

I caught up to and passed a couple young guys (under 40) this past weekend on my ride around Mercer Island....noteworthy because it had been years since I experienced this.

However, I acknowledge that it is only a race if the other person knows it.

[Mark McM]

Two guys on a bike is a tandem.

Only if they are seated inline front and back. If they are side by side, the bike is a sociable:


http://www.wdonna.it/wp-content/uploads//2013/08/bicicletta-sociable.jpg

[Lanternrouge]

However, I acknowledge that it is only a race if the other person knows it.

I tell people that sprint points may be determined retroactively at my sole discretion, which may be exercised arbitrarily and/or unreasonably. No one seems to buy that one. It's the only way to compete when too many other people are faster.

[ducati2]

Hey Ozz, part of my banana girl ride was on Mercer Island this weekend too. A feel good part of the MI bit was when a guy rolled up to me as I was starting from a stop and we started chatting and he said something to the effect that he was old and I could take off without hurting his feelings. I asked him how old he was and he said 78! I told him I was tired and it would be cool if I could ride along with him for a bit. He accepted and we rode along for a couple of miles and had a nice chat. Sometimes it’s fun to go slow too.

[Ozz]

Hey Ozz, part of my banana girl ride was on Mercer Island this weekend too. A feel good part of the MI bit was when a guy rolled up to me as I was starting from a stop and we started chatting and he said something to the effect that he was old and I could take off without hurting his feelings. I asked him how old he was and he said 78! I told him I was tired and it would be cool if I could ride along with him for a bit. He accepted and we rode along for a couple of miles and had a nice chat. Sometimes it’s fun to go slow too.

Hah! I didn't see banana girl, but there were some old guys (70+) headed in opposite direction....I was riding clockwise starting from Bellevue at about 9:45 AM on Sunday.

[MesiJezi]

Hard to not get in to imaginary races on MI! Not all of the racing that goes on on that loop is imaginary though. I always wonder if the locals care... Or if they're out doing hot laps too?

[rousseau]

Some young dude on a new-fangled carbon machine smoked by me on my old-fashioned Ti bicycle on the steepest section (15ish%) of the local go-to climb around these parts. He was hardly breathing, while I was gasping like a fish out of water. At the top, he was pointed the other way looking fresh and ready for the ride down and gave me the look of disdain that I deserve. I nodded to him in abject shame with my tail between my legs, while he failed to acknowledge my pitiful existence, as was his due.
It can be very comforting to know and accept your place in the natural order of things. Very Buddhist, in fact. I think they get a lot of things right.

For my next life, I hope I come back as a Mongolian yak herder. Just to change things up a bit.

[rousseau]

While putting on some fresh bar tape earlier day, I got to thinking that there are really only two kinds of people in this world: those who use that little two-inch piece of tape under the shifter, and those who don't.

What are the arguments for and against?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGdPNEllITg&ab_channel=TinkoffTeam

[mktng]

cat6 racing is real!

it really makes my commute more entertaining. typically never initiate anything, but always up for a challenge.

but i cant really expect people to take me seriously, as im also on a fully fendered steel bike with a front rack.

[GregL]

My favorite "Cat-6" racers are the ones who think tandems are slow and poor handling. Nothing more fun than dropping them with the big bike. My wife isn't terribly competitive, but she never backs down from a challenge. When someone on a single bike passes us, I can immediately feel more power in the pedals, usually followed by the phrase "We have a rabbit."

My favorite example: we were stopped at a stop sign at the bottom of a hill, waiting for a break in traffic. As we started off, a single bike blasted by us heading up the hill. Robyn immediately stood up and pounded the pedals, so I joined in and up we went. We caught and passed the other rider within a few hundred feet. As we blew past him, he yelled out, "Tandems can't climb!"

Greg

[cadence90]

It can be very comforting to know and accept your place in the natural order of things. Very Buddhist, in fact. I think they get a lot of things right.

For my next life, I hope I come back as a Mongolian yak herder. Just to change things up a bit.

Be careful what you wish for:

in your next life Mongolian yak herders will all work for AliAmazon, ubiquitously shilling nano-tech couplered tandem bicycles made of re-cycled organic coffee bean fibers and delivered by electra-glide drones to the very heart of your favorite "spiritual-cleansing" desert....

Purity; it just isn't what it used to be.
.

[johnmdesigner]

I've been using my winter pot belly to test the bursting strength of popular cycling jersey zippers.
1. Assos. Sometimes.
2. Rapha. Allways.
3. Castelli. Forget it.

[rousseau]

Be careful what you wish for:

in your next life Mongolian yak herders will all work for AliAmazon, ubiquitously shilling nano-tech couplered tandem bicycles made of re-cycled organic coffee bean fibers and delivered by electra-glide drones to the very heart of your favorite "spiritual-cleansing" desert....

Purity; it just isn't what it used to be.
.
To paraphrase Pilate, who asked "what is truth?" when Jesus claimed that he was a witness to it: What is authenticity?

It used to trouble me using store-bought chicken broth in a recipe, as surely you should have already put a chicken in a pot and made your own, but then what kind of person would buy a chicken in a supermarket in lieu of raising his own?

But not anymore. If modern-day Mongolian yak herders are already using cell phones (well, in areas that with adequate coverage, anyway), by the time I get reincarnated we'll all be flying around on spacecraft like the Jetsons, and I won't have any problem doing that while raising yaks.

There's got to be a punny joke in there about yakking on the phone, but I can't find it. Anyone?