The Bike Shop

1

What The ? (Read 196 times)

    I commuted to and from work yesterday. The morning commute was pretty uneventful but the return trip was a little...well....weird.

     

    There was a 10 mph headwind for the first 3 miles along with an uphill climb that was kind of kicking my ass. I decided to try and keep my effort in my Zone 1 HR range and was doing a pretty decent job of it against that wind which meant it was a little slow.

     

    As I neared the recreation trail crossing I spotted a guy riding a recumbent bike taking the trail. He was about a half mile ahead of me at the time. I normally see a few of those bikes on the trail and they are usually older folks, slow as hell and veering all over the place so I usually try to get by them as quickly as possible. This guy zipped pretty fast across the road and onto the trail, which suprised me a bit.

     

    As I entered the trail I could see him ahead of me and I thought about putting the hammer down and passing him right away, but decided to continue with my easy effort. He began pulling away from me and I was traveling about 17-18 mph now that the wind was more to my left instead of straight on.

     

    As I rounded the bend at mile 6, I noticed he was just about to leave the porta potty as I passed him by. I continued at my current speed for awhile and heard some sticks breaking behind me that where left on the trail from a wind storm over the weekend. I took a quick look over my shoulder and there he was, Mr Recumbent closing in on me. Next thing I know he's on my wheel.

     

    WTF? some dude I don't know and have never met is drafting me. I took the opportunity to get some free speed from the draft and quickly speed up over 20 mph. I was not about to let a recumbent pass me and I figured he was going to try. I thought I might drop him, but he held right in there. He rode there for the last 2.5 miles until I got to the trail head where my car was parked. He followed me to the parking lot, then kept going after I turned in.

     

    I thought it a little weird to have a guy jump on my wheel like that, then stay there as I accelerated. Anyone else find this a little strange?

     

    The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

     

    2014 Goals:

     

    Stay healthy

    Enjoy life

     

    xhristopher


      Haven't had someone do this in a while but it is weird, especially when you are traveling faster in the first place. There is risk involved in drafting and I'd never do it to someone I don't know or who isn't part of the group I'm riding with. That's just rude. Too bad you couldn't ride him off your wheel.

      Slo


        Not strange, I get this all the time. The right thing to do is for them to ask.

         

        If you don't want him drafting then you should have slowed down. Around here that's the sign that I don't like wheel suckers. I assume this would work about anywhere.

        xhristopher


          Sucks to have to slow down and random wheel suckers by nature are probably thick headed so I wonder if all will get it. If possible, riding them off your wheel is usually most fun but can be tough to get that gap on them and maintain it. When I catch someone on the road I usually try to go around them right away (with a friendly hello) so I don't look like a jerk wheel sucker. I also try to do it with a little surge until I get a gap so they don't have an opportunity to become a jerk wheel sucker.

           

          If I know you, and you can ride, I'm more than happy to offer my wheel so we can go faster.

            If I know you, and you can ride, I'm more than happy to offer my wheel so we can go faster.

             

            Yeah, thats just thing, I've never seen this guy before in my life. Not as much as a friendly wave as we past by. If he would have asked, I probably would have said sure.

             

            I think I could have lost him, but I wasn't trying to do a high intensity ride. I actually was suprised he stuck with me when I was hitting about 22-23mph. I didn't know a recumbent could go that fast.

             

            The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

             

            2014 Goals:

             

            Stay healthy

            Enjoy life

             

            Slo


              Yeah, thats just thing, I've never seen this guy before in my life. Not as much as a friendly wave as we past by. If he would have asked, I probably would have said sure.

               

              I think I could have lost him, but I wasn't trying to do a high intensity ride. I actually was suprised he stuck with me when I was hitting about 22-23mph. I didn't know a recumbent could go that fast.

               

              The world record for the fastest bike speed ever clocked was done on a recumbent.

              zoom-zoom


              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                The world record for the fastest bike speed ever clocked was done on a recumbent.

                 

                I think the reason we have this impression that recumbents are slow is that the majority of folks who ride them are older, heavier-set or suffering back ailments, don't log huge miles, and don't ride for speed in the first place.  These people would be slow on a traditional road bike, too...what's that old thing, "it's not the arrows, it's the indian."  A buddy of ours has a recumbent and logs pretty similar speeds on his recumbent as he does his standard road bike.

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay

                xhristopher


                  I didn't know a recumbent could go that fast.

                   

                  When I lived near DC I used to commute on the bike path and would regularly see the same couple guys on recumbents. They always passed me on the flats and I always passed them back on the hills. Recumbents (usually) are easy to drop on the hills.

                    When I lived near DC I used to commute on the bike path and would regularly see the same couple guys on recumbents. They always passed me on the flats and I always passed them back on the hills. Recumbents (usually) are easy to drop on the hills.

                     

                    Thats what I've been hearing. I'm hoping to catch up this guy again and see if I can drop him like a bad habit.

                     

                    A guy I work with said he sees the recumbent dude often on the trail, but that was the first siting for me.

                     

                    The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                     

                    2014 Goals:

                     

                    Stay healthy

                    Enjoy life