bluecd

so im riding my route today & see a guy about 1/4 mile ahead pedaling away. he seemed to be going the same pace as me so i used him as insentive to pick up my pace. after about 3 miles i caught up to him and stayed about 30 yards back just pacing him for another 3-4 miles. he never looked back but i think he knew i was there. after a bit he pulled to the left side of the trail, didnt look back, and stayed on the left for about 100 yards or so then pulled back to the right side. i wasnt sure what he was doing so i just stayed back and kept the pace. remember i never got closer than about 30 yards to him so he wasnt pulling me. we get up to a stop sign where i finally get beside him and i greet him with a "hows it going?". the only thing i get back from him is a mean glare. then he took off cutting traffic close i guess trying to drop me as i waited for a better opening through the cars. the only thing i can figure is that he wanted me to take a pull but he was never pulling me to begin with. i rode hard, caught up with him again, and again stayed back 30 yards just to piss him off. i could understand if i was sucking his wheel but cmon how far back do i need to be so i dont invade his space?

KeithA

Especially as you have rights to the road just as much as he.

It's pretty clear that not all cyclists treat each other like brethren.

Treespeed

I think we forget that just because someone rides a bike doesn't mean they can't be a jerk. Just imagine what is going through this guy's head, "This other guy had the nerve to ride on the same road as me!" With this attitude there is no way he has any friends to share his story with.

Though after making an honest effort I believe you are well within your rights to further taunt him. Like when someone is really rude to you and you just get sickeningly obseqious.

Well done.

jslopez

He could have had a bad day, or that's his riding face or he may need to go to the restroom and the mean glare was more of a frnatic search for a place to relieve himself.

I wouldn't try to read too much into people you meet on the road.

johnny99

You admit that you were following him for 6 or 7 miles. Maybe he thought you were some kind of stalker.

baj32161

Why would you keep doing something "just to piss him off?" It is guys like you that are the reasons for guys like him. Why couldn't you have just gone on about your ride and let the guy ride off in whatever mood he was in? It's no wonder that I read so much in the MTB forums about jerk roadies.

whamptonrides

I'd be irritated if someone paced me 30 yds back for miles.

Eatadonut

I'd be irritated if I couldn't drop someone who wouldn't pass me after a few miles.

bluecd

because im a jerk to people that arent cordial.

bluecd

so i either have to pass you or not follow you at all? how far back do i need to stay, 100 yds? 500 yds? a mile?

ive had people suck my wheel, pace me sitting back, pass me, and it doesnt bother me one bit. why would it bother you?

KeithA

I agree. I'm probably one of the most polite cyclists around - to pedestrians, other cyclists, motorists, cats, dogs, you name it.

But, I HATE jerks and would have probably ridden this guys wheel for many a mile just to piss him off. Bluecd tried to be polite and friendly. The other guy had no right to dictate that all cyclists must follow his paradigm of what others are allowed to do on "his road".

GreyGoat

well he may have figured.. since you caught up to him from behind.. you must have had a quicker pace going.. but then why did you slow and ride him out.. he was probably just annoyed that you didnt pass after catching him from behind.. or that and annoyed that somebody caught him from behind in the first place.. maybe both..

CAAD5AL

Keeping with the benefit of the doubt tack, it's possible he was just self conscious of the pace he was able to keep, knowing that you had approached him going much faster and no doubt could have passed him. People get embarassed/self-conscious and do weird things -

bluecd

i had to work hard to catch him the first time and once i did i slowed to my usual pace which was the same as his. i do this type of personal training all the time. i see someone ahead & ride hard to catch them. most of the time i pass as they are slower riders than me then i rest for a bit at my usual pace until i recover enough to catch the next person. i could of passed him but i would of blown up and wouldnt have been able to stay ahead of him. this guy looked to be a serious rider and i didnt want to be one of those "look at me i passed you sucker" kind of rider so thats why i stayed back. the second time i had to work very hard to catch him so if i annoyed him i succeeded.

edit: at least in my mind i succeeded, i dont know if he was annoyed by the second catch or not but i felt better about it.

bluecd

ok you made me look that one (obsequious) up in the dictionary.

Sasquatchula

I live in an area where other riders are sort of rare at the time I generally ride(late morning, early afternoon) as most are morning riders out here. So I'm used to having the road to myself(and cars)On rare occasions another rider going in the same direction can make me feel a little peeved. (I know, a completely unwarranted sense of entitlemen, what can say.)I certainly wouldn't take it out on them, or even show any disapproval. Hell, I smile and say hi just the same.

bonobo

+1. It's same situation in my area.

I'm friendly, but I would be weirded out -- like, I imagine, the subject of the original post.

baj32161

Well I will make sure that if I am ever in the Leesburg VA area I will leave my bike here at home to avoid the rsik of not being "cordial" to someone like you.

By the way...it is people WHO aren't cordial...I will ignore the im...well actually I didn't, did I?

bluecd

you can bring your bike. if youre ever in the area let me know, we have some nice areas to ride. if youre not cordial i can lead you to some not so nice areas & drop you there.

remember always check your spelling before giving english lessons. with that being said i do appreciate your help.

bonobo

Spelling! Grammar!

baj32161

Spelling errors and typos are different matters. I am a klutz on the keyboard. Also I have a very good sense of direction for a city guy.

baj32161

I ride through not so nice areas everyday to and from work....good for my job too. I am a bail bondsman. It is good to know where the crooks live.

DXchulo

You don't just ride up behind someone and sit there without saying anything. That's a big violation of cycling etiquette. If you're going to sit back there, at least let him know you're there. Say you pull up behind someone and it's a windy day or that person has bad hearing or something and doesn't know you're there. Bad things could happen in a situation like that.

You say you were far behind him and not drafting, but how is he to know that? I doubt he was monitoring how far away you were, so if he heard you back there he probably just assumed you were back there drafting and not helping. What if you thought someone was drafting off of you for a few miles? You'd probably be a little upset about it as well.

If you caught up to me like that the 2nd time just to make me mad I'd start blowing snot rockets.

lilith

I got an idea. How about we all get over ourselves and move on with life when that happens. Maybe that dude broke his coffee pot in the morning, who knows.(That could destroy my day..)

trayer350

Well, maybe his mother and his pet dog died that day. And you are "a jerk to people that arent cordial." That about sums it up.