I was a jerk today..

janet_pratt
janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
edited October 2 in Success Stories
However, the good news is that I am in good enough shape to pull it off!

We have a great bike path that runs along the river. It's 3 miles from my house. I have a 20 mile and 30 mile route that I ride. I use it a lot. As do walkers, joggers, homeless people, dog walkers, other cyclists and for some reason, the occasional police vehicle..always a surprise. I am a polite cyclist and share the path nicely. When I come up behind someone, even if there is plenty of room for me to pass, I always say, in a loud, clear voice, "Coming up on your left". That way they don't step out in front of me, or so they will move over if they are already in front of me. I thank them as I go by. See? Nice. We should all share nice. But today, I came across one of those people who irritates me to no end. If one cyclist catches up to another cyclist from behind, obviously that cyclist is moving faster than the front cyclist. If everyone just maintains speed, it all works out. The rear cyclist passes and moves on. Granted it can be hard on the ego, so if you don't like it, get better. I used to hate it when I would be cranking along at a top speed of 10 miles an hour when I first started riding and some real cyclist would pass me like I was standing still. But that's life. Now I ride at an average speed of 14 to 15 miles an hour comfortably.

So today I got off my bike and walked it across a wooden bridge that is a real rim bender if you try to ride it. Some guy passes me, still on his bike. Whatever. its a big bridge, so when I get back on the path, he's about 50 yards down the path. Pedaling comfortably I caught him in about a minute and a half. I wear my iphone in a shoulder holder and I don't use earplugs, so he could hear me coming. When I got behind him, if he had just continued as he was and I continued as I was, I would have passed him, gotten a few yards out and continued to pull slowly and steadily away. But nooooo...he looks over his shoulder and starts pedaling harder as I go to pass. I HATE that! You either have to kick it up to try to pass them and end up competing, or drop your speed below where you want to ride. I dropped my speed a little and let him pull away, only to catch him on a hill. I could easily have passed him, he wasn't real good on hills. But he looked over and started pedaling hard again. I thought, "Ok sucker, you want to stay in front of me, go for it" Although I could have passed him even though he was pedaling harder, I dropped behind..about 2 and a half feet and proceeded to chase him up the hill. I made him pedal hard all the way up. And when we hit the flat, I stayed there. I chased the idiot for 2 miles, always staying close enough for him to hear my music and see me over his shoulder. Only way he could stay ahead was to pedal as hard as he could. Every time he sped up, I sped up. Got to give him credit though, on the flats he gave me a run for my money. I was getting tired. We rode for 2 miles to where the bike path ended. I shot ahead of him, just so he knew I could have done it at any time, about 15 feet from the end of the bike path. I pulled into a turnaround spot and let him go by. He looked back at me one last time. I grinned and stuck out my tongue.

Replies

  • CharNordie
    CharNordie Posts: 96 Member
    that's hilarious!!!!
  • zigzag13
    zigzag13 Posts: 24 Member
    that's a funny story, I bet he drives his car the same way LOL!!! thanks for making me laugh ;)
  • ASPhantom
    ASPhantom Posts: 637 Member
    Lol....that's awesome!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    I hate people like that. It happens in cars, too. Good for you and I like the final insult.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Absolutely great story! Good for you.
  • 6heatherb6
    6heatherb6 Posts: 469 Member
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Gotta love a poked out tongue!!
    :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:
    Thanks for sharing...
    :flowerforyou:
  • Mom2rh
    Mom2rh Posts: 612 Member
    You rock!
  • vanessaclarkgbr
    vanessaclarkgbr Posts: 731 Member
    Made me laugh out loud! Bet you couldn't have done that before you started on MFP! ;-) Just thinking - we should count this as a NSV for you!
  • AmyS618
    AmyS618 Posts: 37 Member
    Haha! That is awesome.
  • Haha lol LOVE it! That is brilliant :)
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    That's awesome. :laugh:


    I wonder what his MFP post would look like. ***hmm***
  • Elmaunie
    Elmaunie Posts: 78 Member
    Haha glee at winning effortlessly is something we don't grow out of.

    When it's been so hard to earn it's all the sweeter lol. Well done you :laugh:

    :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    This cracked me up, especially knowing that I'd do the same thing :laugh:
  • fallenangelloves
    fallenangelloves Posts: 601 Member
    Love It!
  • camckinney
    camckinney Posts: 61 Member
    This made me laugh! Awesome that you made him go faster!
  • GentlyLosing
    GentlyLosing Posts: 32 Member
    Very funny story...and true to the person I think I have come to know through MFP! I rarely pass anyone. Maybe an occasional parent with a young kid on training wheels. Once I went around a young girl on training wheels and she decided to do what your cyclist did...speed up. She decided we were in a race and she wasn't going to lose. And so for several yards, there we were, nose and nose (front tire and front tire?). Me going as fast as my old bike with an out of shape me could go, and and this five year old with her training wheels. I finally pulled ahead....but I could hear her mother's laughter for a long time trailing behind me!
  • pffssas
    pffssas Posts: 128 Member
    lol!!!
  • janet_pratt
    janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
    Very funny story...and true to the person I think I have come to know through MFP! I rarely pass anyone. Maybe an occasional parent with a young kid on training wheels. Once I went around a young girl on training wheels and she decided to do what your cyclist did...speed up. She decided we were in a race and she wasn't going to lose. And so for several yards, there we were, nose and nose (front tire and front tire?). Me going as fast as my old bike with an out of shape me could go, and and this five year old with her training wheels. I finally pulled ahead....but I could hear her mother's laughter for a long time trailing behind me!

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Oh that just cracked me up! But you gotta know, that's where I started. I remember riding down Rock Blvd in the bike lane, pedaling for all I was worth on my old Huffy. I was probably doing about 13 miles an hour. It was all I could do. Three cyclists passed me, and they were just stroking along slowly. I was fuming. I've since come down that same road running 25 miles an hour. It just takes time. You'll get there.
  • mamax5
    mamax5 Posts: 414 Member
    OH, that was so funny!!
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    I think it sounds like it worked out for both of you in the end....you were challenging one another and both received a more vigorous workout because of it! Not bad! :smile:
  • Maris165
    Maris165 Posts: 175 Member
    Way to go you!!! that's awesome....you jerk!!! :happy:
  • janet_pratt
    janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
    I think it sounds like it worked out for both of you in the end....you were challenging one another and both received a more vigorous workout because of it! Not bad! :smile:

    Yeah, I had planned on doing sprint intervals during my last 10 miles, but two miles running flat out pretty much did me in. That was about halfway through the ride. I hit 15 miles where we stopped and I had another 15 to go, which I took it fairly easy on. Still burned 1225 calories though all totaled.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Ah, I don't think it was you that was the jerk in this interaction... :-)
  • ceirawillsucceed
    ceirawillsucceed Posts: 519 Member
    thats great. i love that you stuck your tongue out at him!!
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    Oh wait...this is about *cycling* ?

    See, I thought you meant you're a jerk for exposing any passing stranger to that racket you call music. *Love* people like you on my commute. It's a real treat. Thanks for sharing.
  • janet_pratt
    janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
    Pull the stick outta your *kitten* Syd. Blocking out sound with earplugs while on a bike is not safe in traffic. People only hear it briefly as I get close to them and then pass them. And only if they are walking or cycling. It's not that loud. I wear it on my upper arm with the speaker pointed upward toward me and sometimes even I can't hear it. Not like the *kitten* who pass me in their car with the bass turned up and vibrate me off my bike. Take some metamucil and get over it.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    Pull the stick outta your *kitten* Syd. Blocking out sound with earplugs while on a bike is not safe in traffic. People only hear it briefly as I get close to them and then pass them. And only if they are walking or cycling. It's not that loud. I wear it on my upper arm with the speaker pointed upward toward me and sometimes even I can't hear it. Not like the *kitten* who pass me in their car with the bass turned up and vibrate me off my bike. Take some metamucil and get over it.

    Will do Janut.
  • "I grinned and stuck out my tongue." PRICELESS. :)
  • ratherbeskiing
    ratherbeskiing Posts: 847 Member
    haahahahahahahaha good.


    do u know what pisses me off more is when people are biking the WRONG side of the road and expect u to move. grrrrr get on the right side of the road and there will be no problems.
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