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I Rode With The Big Boys

Old 09-25-18, 09:18 AM
  #1  
Paul Barnard
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I Rode With The Big Boys

Sunday morning I set out for a leisurely ride on the Lynskey Backroad flat bar touring bike. Not too long after I hopped up on the MUP atop the MS River Levee, a group of 10 or so riders came up behind me. I was spinning at about 17 MPH and they closed the gap quickly. As the last rider passed, we exchanged pleasantries. I asked if I could latch on. He made a comment something like this, "your engine may be up to it, but I am not sure your machine is, but go ahead."

It felt surprisingly good to ride a 21-22 MPH pace line for the first time in years. I laid off the back a little further than normal to try to give them a level of comfort since the didn't know me. About 6 miles after I joined them, the rider that made the comment and 3 others fell off the group. I stayed with the main group for another 3-4 miles before I decided that if I wanted to make it back home I better conserve some energy.

One of the guys was riding a sweet Renovo wooden bike. About 5 miles from where I fell off, the group stopped to take a break. I pulled up, stopped and thanked them for pulling me for a while. One rider smiled and said "no problem." The other riders paid me no attention. When I complemented the guy's wooden bike, he briefly glanced at me and didn't say a word. Us cyclists seem to be a socially awkward group as a whole.

My quads are feeling my effort today. I need to get back into more sporting rides. Maybe I will after my surgery. I like challenging my fitness.
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Old 09-25-18, 09:32 AM
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I clicked because I thought this was going to be a parody of Tim's thread.

The "last rider" in paragraph one sounds like a reasonable person. There is something a bit unpleasant about the others you described.

BTW, is Renovo gone?
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Old 09-25-18, 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by wgscott
I clicked because I thought this was going to be a parody of Tim's thread.

The "last rider" in paragraph one sounds like a reasonable person. There is something a bit unpleasant about the others you described.

BTW, is Renovo gone?

When I got home I wanted to look them up and got the same dead end you did. It's to be expected I guess, but sad at the same time. The bike was art in motion.
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Old 09-25-18, 09:50 AM
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I saw the guy (and the bikes) at Sea Otter. They were exceptionally well-made, but I reckon too fragile.
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Old 09-25-18, 09:51 AM
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Suspicious minds. Elvis was right. Also, many younger people these days have neither manners nor social skills of any kind. TV, video games, smart phones, and their equally-clueless peers teach them nothing useful in this regard.

I guess it's up to us older folks to set a good example. I'm pretty sure I did and said some very rude stuff when I was younger, out of social ignorance and not treating people the way I would like to be treated, so now I have an opportunity to make up for at least some of that. A thick skin helps a lot when doing this.
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Old 09-25-18, 09:57 AM
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You're omitting the answer to the question I'm sure we all have--what do wooden presta valve caps look like?

Glad you had a good time and hope your surgery goes very well.
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Old 09-25-18, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Colnago Mixte
Suspicious minds. Elvis was right. Also, many younger people these days have neither manners nor social skills of any kind. TV, video games, smart phones, and their equally-clueless peers teach them nothing useful in this regard.

I guess it's up to us older folks to set a good example. I'm pretty sure I did and said some very rude stuff when I was younger, out of social ignorance and not treating people the way I would like to be treated, so now I have an opportunity to make up for at least some of that. A thick skin helps a lot when doing this.

Here's the thing. These guys, with the exception of the one that smiled and said "no problem," were close to my age, 55, or older. I most often ride by myself. One of the things I do to keep my mind occupied is to make note of the way people respond to my greetings. The path I ride is rarely ever very busy at all. I may encounter on average one rider per mile. Pedestrians even more rarely. I smile and nod at or verbally greet most of the people I encounter. The older white males riding expensive road bikes seem to be the least happy as a demographic.
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Old 09-25-18, 10:43 AM
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I had no problem accessing their site about 10 minutes ago. One of the guys I ride with has one. Nice bike. Saw them at Sea Otter and talked to Ken (the owner). Nice gentleman.
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Old 09-25-18, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
Here's the thing. These guys, with the exception of the one that smiled and said "no problem," were close to my age, 55, or older. I most often ride by myself. One of the things I do to keep my mind occupied is to make note of the way people respond to my greetings. The path I ride is rarely ever very busy at all. I may encounter on average one rider per mile. Pedestrians even more rarely. I smile and nod at or verbally greet most of the people I encounter. The older white males riding expensive road bikes seem to be the least happy as a demographic.
I went to a car show recently (actually I stumbled upon it unexpectedly and looked around) where guys have old Mustangs and '55 Chevys all restored and polished. The owners that I saw standing next to their cars, were the biggest collection grouchy-looking, unfriendly, hung-over old white guys I have ever seen in my life. Must be a similar demo to fifty-something bike enthusiasts. These guys all had most vacant stares imaginable, and many appeared clinically-depressed.

Needless to say, I didn't try to talk to any of them. Bike people are USUALLY more friendly than that, but not always.
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Old 09-25-18, 11:13 AM
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Roadie culture can turn otherwise kind and socially well-adjusted people into d-bags.

They are usually fine once away from the bike.

I also find this is not age related. Middlle age dudes can be the worst.

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Old 09-25-18, 11:34 AM
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Back in the day I rode "with" 7-11 and Coors Light the day before the U.S. Pro Road Race Championship. IIRC, it was '86 or '87. When I say with, I mean behind. A rag tag bunch of locals riding at the edges of our abilities to stay on the back of professionals who were cruising at about 23 mph and chatting. Quite an experience. Missed a chance to ride with Armstrong and the Motorola squad in the 90s. I was on the side of an MUP screwing my bottom bracket cup back in by hand when they came by. I never forgave the mechanic who installed the new one for me earlier that week.
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Old 09-25-18, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Kapusta
Roadie culture can turn otherwise kind and socially well-adjusted people into d-bags.

They are usually fine once away from the bike.

I also find this is not age related. Middlle age dudes can be the worst.
It's the tights.Once I get my tights off,I can get better adjusted. There are several studies published on this.
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Old 09-25-18, 11:46 AM
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I mean, they let you grab a wheel and a couple of them exchanged pleasantries. Sounds like they were friendly enough.

I'm not going to go out of my way to get someone's life story who just jumped into our group ride for a minute, irrespective of whether they have drop bars or not. Chances are at the rest break I'm probably busy trying to wolf down some carbs before the group takes off without me.
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Old 09-25-18, 11:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
One of the guys was riding a sweet Renovo wooden bike. About 5 miles from where I fell off, the group stopped to take a break. I pulled up, stopped and thanked them for pulling me for a while. One rider smiled and said "no problem." The other riders paid me no attention. When I complemented the guy's wooden bike, he briefly glanced at me and didn't say a word. Us cyclists seem to be a socially awkward group as a whole.
Clearly they felt you weren’t worthy. How dare you try to converse with the big boys without permission. What were you thinking?
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Old 09-25-18, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
I smile and nod at or verbally greet most of the people I encounter. The older white males riding expensive road bikes seem to be the least happy as a demographic.
I'm not an older white male and I ride solo almost all the time except for the rare times my wife is able to get out with me. On solo rides I usually try to wave to people but a lot of the time I'm just too preoccupied with my thoughts, potholes, traffic, etc. If I'm with my wife, forget it, I'm paying attention to her, on top of everything else. Truth is, I'm out for a ride, to get away from people for a bit, and not for a wave/nod/"good morning" fest. So I understand that. But if prompted about bike-related things at a stop I'll usually respond, that's the polite thing to do so some of these guys sound impolite. Maybe they didn't know you were behind them?
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Old 09-25-18, 02:06 PM
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Originally Posted by colnago mixte
suspicious minds. Elvis was right. Also, many younger people these days have neither manners nor social skills of any kind. Tv, video games, smart phones, and their equally-clueless peers teach them nothing useful in this regard.

I guess it's up to us older folks to set a good example. I'm pretty sure i did and said some very rude stuff when i was younger, out of social ignorance and not treating people the way i would like to be treated, so now i have an opportunity to make up for at least some of that. A thick skin helps a lot when doing this.
+1
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Old 09-25-18, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by autonomy
I'm not an older white male and I ride solo almost all the time except for the rare times my wife is able to get out with me. On solo rides I usually try to wave to people but a lot of the time I'm just too preoccupied with my thoughts, potholes, traffic, etc. If I'm with my wife, forget it, I'm paying attention to her, on top of everything else. Truth is, I'm out for a ride, to get away from people for a bit, and not for a wave/nod/"good morning" fest. So I understand that. But if prompted about bike-related things at a stop I'll usually respond, that's the polite thing to do so some of these guys sound impolite. Maybe they didn't know you were behind them?

They knew I was there. I asked permission. Then as the guy pulling would fall off to the back, I would open up a big hole for him. They went through a complete cycle of leaders while I was there. It could be that the ones who didn't seem friendly didn't know I asked permission to hook on. I made sure not to crowd them.
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Old 09-26-18, 03:54 AM
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Originally Posted by ksryder
Chances are at the rest break I'm probably busy trying to wolf down some carbs before the group takes off without me.
They were a group of 10 or so riding a MUP at 21 mph. I can't imagine anyone would have to wolf down carbs at that pace on a flat group ride.
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Old 09-26-18, 04:26 AM
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You realize how much keeping up with them on a flat bar screws with some people's sense of the proper order of the universe?

It might be my imagination, but I notice a difference between how people react when I pass them on my flat bar than they do when I pass them on my drop bar. The grey haired guy on a flat bar passing them seems to be more annoying.
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Old 09-26-18, 04:33 AM
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
You realize how much keeping up with them on a flat bar screws with some people's sense of the proper order of the universe?

It might be my imagination, but I notice a difference between how people react when I pass them on my flat bar than they do when I pass them on my drop bar. The grey haired guy on a flat bar passing them seems to be more annoying.
My bike has a rack and a trunk bag too, so that probably didn't help.
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Old 09-26-18, 05:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
My bike has a rack and a trunk bag too, so that probably didn't help.
Mine too! Never thought about that. I've had guys tell me how hard the ride they're finishing is because they feel like they need to let me know this is a fluke. It really seems to depress them when I let them know how far into a century I am. For some reason I am usually at my fastest at about 40 and 75 miles.
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Old 09-26-18, 06:54 AM
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In my experience every crowd has it's dicks and nice people. Even the yoga crowd. Some do have more jerks than others. Think Harley-Davidson. But, even here it's group think that helps cause issues. Individually, most are just fine. I think the important point here is to take people as you find them and not ascribe labels to groups as a result of the behaviors of individuals.
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Old 09-26-18, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by billyymc
They were a group of 10 or so riding a MUP at 21 mph. I can't imagine anyone would have to wolf down carbs at that pace on a flat group ride.
ok
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Old 09-26-18, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Jon T
I had no problem accessing their site about 10 minutes ago. One of the guys I ride with has one. Nice bike. Saw them at Sea Otter and talked to Ken (the owner). Nice gentleman.
Jon
I saw them there too.

I wonder if we are trying to access an obsolete URL. Can you post yours?
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Old 09-26-18, 12:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
My bike has a rack and a trunk bag too, so that probably didn't help.
I've had a somewhat similar experience, with the same demographic. One guy kept asking me if my bike was a touring bike, why I had a rack, why I had wide tires, why I had a steel frame, etc.

In my case it was quite convenient, because (unlike yours) I was pretty slow, and the guy was suggesting it was the fat tires on my bike, rather than the one around my mid-section.

My guess is some of these folks had a very high opinion of their fitness level and their aero bikes, and simply by keeping pace, you made them sniff the coffee.

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