Robert Foster

There must be something wrong with me and my cycling friends. I have two road bikes, a MTB and a Hybrid and I ride them all. But no matter how hard I try I can't seem to run down any road bike groups in full kits and CF bikes in a pace line with anything short of a road bike. I have been to other forums and time after time I read posts about people on MTBs, fully loaded touring bikes and Hybrids that take joy in not only catching and staying with a pace line road bike group ride but dropping the whole group on the first big climb. I have never been able to catch such groups let alone pass them and I was thinking about racing in February.

When I take my MTB bike to a club ride I end up riding with the C group and getting tired after 30 miles or so.

I guess I just didn't know Bandini made bicycles!

BikeWNC

I know what you mean. I hired a coach and we worked together for 3 years. One of my "goals" as non-specific as it was, was to be able to hang with some of the local group on the Tuesday night ride. Try as I might after three years of doing everything I was asked to do for workouts I still got dropped, at the same place on the ride. I really envy those riders here, one's that I know personally or secondhand, that can put the screws to a group of riders and make it stick. I think, though I'm not sure I've come to accept it yet, that I'll never be one of those riders. It pains me to think that at all because I've put so much effort into trying to do so.

Genetics plays such a huge role in cycling performance. Can I get better than I am now? Sure! Will I be the one out there crushing souls as they say? I'm beginning to think not. I enjoy riding though and feel the challenge of longer or more epic rides seems to be where I'm heading. I'm not slow, just not as fast as the guys I would like to hang with. It can be frustrating.

cccorlew

During the 70s gas crisis when everyone was bragging about their great gas mileage my Dad had a joke:

Q: You know how to improve you miles-per-gallon?


A: Lie about it.

BikeWNC

That is true. But guys like PAlt, jppe, A-jet and Hermes (and others) on this forum don't have to lie about it. They can do it! I just haven't figured out how they do it.

ahsposo 

"A little lie can buy some real big peace of mind"

stapfam

I have Pace lines in Full Club kit run across me when I am out riding- I have even been invited to join on the back. By the time I get up to speed---- They have disappeared.

Think they must be a mirage.

Daspydyr 

Biking like golf is a sport where we know what the truth is, can't lie to yourself. I felt good this morning, I dropped a guy who looked to be carrying 30 pounds more and 10 years than me. Its pathetic, I know. And even then it probably took be 2 miles before he dropped. But it was a minor victory for me.

There are 4 woman that regularly drop me, Obrea Woman, 2 Trek Chicks and JoHanna on a Raleigh. My goal is to one day let them see my "taillights." If you are going to get dropped, at least the view is nice as they ride away.

Scrockern8r

Hunh. I thought it was just me...
I ride road and MTB and I crush the very elderly and uber young alike; with no mercy. It's a good thing they don't know I'm trying to drop them.
I've just started riding this year. At 2K miles in; I've moved my average cruising speed up by 2mph.

BikerJoeP

Perhaps it is time to step back and say "who really cares what the aforementioned are capable of doing". It seems to me that those who have to come here and tell us of their marvelous physical feats are similar to those who go out and buy a new Corvette or a Porsche Carerra when they turn 50. Can you say...."Mid life Crisis"??

AzTallRider

I'm someone who likes to have a goal, and, like BikeWNC, mine is to hang with the club I've chosen to ride with. I've been doing the road bike thang about 6 months. In addition to the climbs, where I get dropped is on the accelerations away from stops and corners. So I'm working on those, and doing a decent job of accepting where I am as I get faster. I might scream "HTFU" at myself when I fade off the back, but that is more for motivation that out of frustration. My focus right now is getting so I'm as comfortable in the drops as on the hoods. I figure that'll get me a bit closer, and help me close any gaps that develop.

I wouldn't even think about keeping up with the paceline groups while on a MTB or hybrid. Good luck with that!

BikeWNC

All I want is a Porsche Boxster S. I guess I'm not in that much crisis yet. lol. For me, if I'm going to put time into something I want to do it well. So my motivation is from within and not generated by others. But, they do act as a measuring stick one that reminds me all too often that I suck. lol

Retro Grouch 

Once, at the start of an organized ride, I noticed a fellow who had all of the appropriate gear but, there's no nice way to say this, he was fat. I'm sure that he outweighed me by at least 100 pounds and I'm a bit on the pudgy side myself. Then I found out that he was a hairdresser - a WOMENS hairdresser. I thought to myself "He's gonna be off the back real soon."

Do I even have to say what happened? We took off and I watched that big butt slooowly pull away from me until it disappeared into the distance. I've avoided making judgements based upon "kit" ever since.

It's the motor. Some guys have real good ones and some of us don't.

JanMM

I can pass anyone** - downhill on the recumbent. It's about the bike.

And then the fast guys - and gals- catch up, pass me and are down the road never to be seen again.

** Well, not everyone, but lots of folks on really nice bikes.

gtragitt

I don't care what others think. I am not out to impress anybody else. I wanted a Corvette long before I reached 50. I was just too practical to spend that much money on a car. Later in life I figured money was to be enjoyed; so,I bought one. It was hardly a crisis. It was an awakening. I realized how much I enjoyed that car and the experience that came with it. I could have never justified the expense in practical terms, but the happiness gained came at a small expense.

I am not so good at riding a road bike that I should be buying a $10K bike, but I have found the mid range bike that I bought has been worth the expenditure.

I have dropped many half my age and still can't claim to be fast.

Should I reduce my enjoyment because somebody might think I am having a mid-life crisis? I have heard that Corvette owners live life large. I like to think that I do. I plan to live to 100 and I want to maximize my experiences.

I waited until my 61st birthday to ride my first century. I was disappointed in my time; so, I will ride more of them until I am not disappointed.

jr59

LOL! I ride/hang on for dear life with 4 girls here almost every morning.
2 high dollar Treks and 2 pinarellos.
I use to think they were strong riders, until I saw this morn, a girl, not in bike atire, simple shorts and a sports bra.
She was leading the boy racers, on a old touring bike with a rack on the back.
I asked the girls I ride with about her, they said no one who trains where we do can ride with her. She beats all the racers, just for the fun of it.


There is always someone faster.

big john

As we all know, it's not the bike, the kit, or even the age of the rider that makes speed.
That said, there used to be an expert mtb racer who would ride with our road club on the shorter rides and he could hang or even lead the faster guys on his hardtail. It was eye-opening to observe.

rnorris

I pass nearly everyone uphill, but when the road levels out they pass me so fast they red shift.

Robert Foster

I only started this thread because of some of my natural skepticism. I was reading about one of those list things on why you cycle and read a post about riding a fully loaded touring bike with loaded panniers passing just such a kit clad, CF riding cat 2 or 3 riders out training and said to myself, “and then you woke up”. But then I knew it would do no good and that I have read about people claiming to do some of the very same things on a MTB or commuter.

I have been on rides with some pretty fast men on MTBs but even they aren’t going to try to run down the young Turks on the Saturday morning training ride and then dropping them on the first hill while riding their downhill bike or their loaded touring bike.

I suppose I should just ignore the posts like that but I wonder just who they believe will believe such things?

skilsaw

Ya'll can ride with me.
I love tail lights.
That's all I see.
It'll make you feel good.

badger1

Correct.
However, it is fun to see terms like "dropped" start popping up on 50+; soon we'll be getting the "I dialled it up to 3.5 watts and destroyed the elderly lady on a Dutch city bike" stories, or that other folktale "So, like, I bought a roadbike and immediately cut 25 minutes off my 2 mile commute" so popular on e.g. the Commuting board.
Just sayin'!

cranky old dude

There are great bikes and there are powerful cars. Sometimes they're piloted by someone who realy does know how to handle the machine that they have. Unfortunately those great match-ups are very rare. Expensive bikes and cars often are owned by folks with way more money than handling skills. Trouble is, ya never know for sure who is who so it's best to assume that the next guy you see is gonna blow your doors off with his fancy machine.

Though it is a truely rare occasion indeed, it is a thrill to watch when the skilled cyclist or driver takes their machine to it's operating limits regardless of the age of the cyclist or driver. It's fun to read about too, at least I enjoy it. Just saying.

Oh yeah, I won't be passing anybody on my Mtn. Bike or in my S-10...so if you see me in your rear-view it's probably because you passed me and I was going so slow you didn't even see me there!

longbeachgary

If I was bothered by 90 year old riders and kids with training wheels passing me as if I was standing still I would have given this activity up long ago. I know that some people lie about their abilities but some people are just damn fast.

tsl

BengeBoy 

I was going to start a thread something like this but with a bit of a twist.

I get passed, a lot. Especially on weekdays, when commuting, when, I think, mostly "serious" riders are out. Veteran bike commuters blow by me, and in the evenings, there are always groups out training. When fast group rides and race clubs pass me, they are going so much faster than it's just like they live in another world. I always say to myself, "Those guys/gals are just playing a totally different sport than I am." I just can't figure out what planet they visited to graft on the alien DNA that makes them so much faster than me.

On the other hand, on weekends, when lots of folks are out for their once-a-year-ride, or riding for the first time, or just struggling to get fit, I can be just cruising along at a very comfy speed for me and I blow by them. Without even trying or even really noticing -- at one minute they are there, the next minute they are gone.

Again, my speed is pretty pitiful to a real rider, but fast to them. I wonder: are they saying to themselves, "That guy is just playing a totally different sport than I am?" Does someone riding a steady 15mph look like an alien to them?

I'm not really bothered when I get passed, nor impressed with myself when I pass someone. I guess my point is that the speed differences are so huge that it really does seem that we are "playing different sports." The racers who are fit, trained, and perhaps even genetically blessed are doing something I'm just not able to do. And if you ride 100 or miles a week, as I do, you're going to be in a position to comfortably motor along a lot faster than someone who just dragged an old bike out of the garage.

I don't know if I have a point, except that -- everything is relative.

ahsposo 

word for female dog!

You guys drive me insane!

And then when it goes down hill hahahah!