rbr test message
ila...@gmail.com
couldn't resist: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=1744869#post1744869
-ilan
Ted van de Weteringe
> Robert Chung mentioned the Ewoud other rbr incident to me today, so I
> couldn't resist: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=1744869#post1744869
Nice. Perhaps you are a little more subtle, I think it'll pass.
Easy trolling crowd, judging from your Cervelo vs. thumb post.
Robert Chung
They do seem a bit thick.
ila...@gmail.com
wrote:
> ilan...@gmail.com schreef:
I was thinking of a slow but inexorable esalation to find the exact
banishment point. I was pretty surprised actually, expecting your
typical masters fattie such as myself who are "fat" by br standards.
In his case "tub of lard" applies perfectly, and the thread without
your message is a good example of an elephant in a forum. Maybe that
will be the next post......
-ilan
Robert Chung
> I was thinking of a slow but inexorable esalation to find the exact
> banishment point. I was pretty surprised actually, expecting your
> typical masters fattie such as myself who are "fat" by br standards.
> In his case "tub of lard" applies perfectly,
"We may be thin-skinned but we're thick-waisted."
Ryan Cousineau
How rude were you, anyway?
I'm not against moderated, happy-feely fora in principle, though the
fact I hang out here suggests where my heart lies.
--
Ryan Cousineau rcou...@gmail.com http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
bjwe...@gmail.com
> Ted van de Weteringe <myfulln...@xs4all.nl.invalid> wrote:
>
> > > Robert Chung mentioned the Ewoud other rbr incident to me today, so I
> > > couldn't resist:
> > >http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=1744869#post1744869
>
> > Nice. Perhaps you are a little more subtle, I think it'll pass.
> > Easy trolling crowd, judging from your Cervelo vs. thumb post.
>
> How rude were you, anyway?
>
> I'm not against moderated, happy-feely fora in principle, though the
> fact I hang out here suggests where my heart lies.
IIRC, he pointed out that the chubby site manager
guy was fat.
I tried to follow that link from my computer at work
(I was working late to give Greg his money's worth)
and it informed me that my IP address was blocked
from all roadbikereview forums. So was another
computer in the same room. I can see it from home,
though. I've never posted there. Maybe they blocked
my entire domain. I wondered if I offended against
them by posting something obnoxious on usenet,
but they don't appear to gateway rec.bicycles.* -
cyclingmorons.com does that.
What a relief! I don't have to worry about being banned
from their sandbox, since I already am.
Ben
Enemy of the State
ila...@gmail.com
wrote:
> What a relief! I don't have to worry about being banned
> from their sandbox, since I already am.
I'm annoyed that someone managed to get banned but that I didn't, even
after a year of posting. It's just another sign of my rapidly
advancing age.
-ilan
Donald Munro
> I tried to follow that link from my computer at work (I was working late
> to give Greg his money's worth) and it informed me that my IP address was
> blocked from all roadbikereview forums. So was another computer in the
> same room. I can see it from home, though. I've never posted there.
> Maybe they blocked my entire domain. I wondered if I offended against
> them by posting something obnoxious on usenet, but they don't appear to
> gateway rec.bicycles.* - cyclingmorons.com does that.
Perhaps you have an alter ego personality that posts when the bjw
personality is dormant. A bonus for greg, he's got 2 pets for the
price of one.
> Ben
> Enemies of the State
bjwe...@gmail.com
But, you have something to be proud of! I think
your talent for agitating people in mere fractions
of a conversation is rubbing off on me.
Tonight I was riding home from work after dark.
Some Guy rode up behind me at a stoplight
leaving campus (I work at a university and this
is a designated bike route with lots of riders).
We rode off, and after several blocks, I realized
he was glued to my wheel. I slacked up a little,
but he didn't pull through.
This isn't usually a big deal, but it bugs me when
people sit there without letting you know, and it seems
foolish at night. So I said "Hey, you should ask
permission before drafting someone you don't
know." He replied aggrievedly from behind,
"I _would_ if I _was_drafting." I said "It's safety -
you don't know how reliable they are."
At this point we pulled up to a stop light half a mile
from the previous one, so if he hadn't been drafting,
he was pacing quite accurately. I could now see
that he was an older, professor-like person
wearing street clothes and riding a rather nice
old frame made by a local builder (Andy Gilmour).
I was going to ask him about the bike, but he
refused to acknowledge my presence.
Fortunately he turned, sparing us both from
exhibiting further passive-aggressive behavior.
I guess there's some formula for telling people
not to sit on without challenging their masculinity
("Hey, I didn't know you were back there"?)
but I don't got it.
Ben
bjwe...@gmail.com
> > Ben
> > Enemies of the State
>
> Perhaps you have an alter ego personality that posts when the bjw
> personality is dormant. A bonus for greg, he's got 2 pets for the
> price of one.
Hmm, I'm an Enemy of the State and Greg is
SLAVE of the STATE ... We've both formerly lived
in Santa Cruz and even have belonged to the
same race team, but we've never been seen
on a ride together ... Multiple personalities acting
behind each other's back ... I'm dating Helena
Bonham Carter ... Suddenly this is all very Fight Club.
Ben
The first rule of r...@topica.com is
do not talk about r...@topica.com.
ila...@gmail.com
I discovered this formula 12 years ago, get a fixed gear. That allows
you to slow up drastically in positions that they don't expect if
would be possible, e.g., when you're in your aero bars. I didn't
actually do this, but it occured to me then because I was doing a lot
of riding in my aero bars at the optimal speed to attract weak people
who never pull through (about 20-22mph, any faster is too hard for
them to stay on, slower too slow to be interesting). I got so
disgusted I made a vow to get a fixed gear for future such workouts
but never did.
By the way, there is an even lower life form than the one you
describe, where they sit on your wheel for 20 minutes then attack you.
Quite common on the Paris Vincennes and Longchamp circuits.
-ilan
Ted van de Weteringe
> How rude were you, anyway?
Extremely civilised, by rbr standards. I don't recall exactly, I think I
first said something like: "Nice. Keep up the riding, you need it." And
after some protestations I explained matter-of-factly that it is good
that he is exercising because he is a tub of lard. And That Was The End
Of That.
Kurgan Gringioni
wrote:
> ilan...@gmail.com schreef:
Dumbass -
I saw Jerry from Vermont in that thread.
Is he still giving blowjobs to that American cyclocross rider? I can't
remember his name.
thanks,
K. Gringioni.
Stu Fleming
> By the way, there is an even lower life form than the one you
> describe, where they sit on your wheel for 20 minutes then attack you.
> Quite common on the Paris Vincennes and Longchamp circuits.
The purpose of attacking someone while commuting to work is...?
Actually, a variant of this we used to play out in Edinburgh with an 8km
dual carriageway commute. If you spotted a fellow racer up ahead, you
bridged up and sat there. As soon as you were noticed, honour demanded
that either turn taking or a full hammer session was due. If not, free
ride. Free rides were rare. Extra bonus for drafting double-decker
buses (this stretch of road was 50mph limit at the time).
Robert Chung
Dumbass,
He wasn't drafting you; he was checking out your ass. When he stopped, was
his stance wide?
Paul G.
Considering the number of crashes, that should apply in the TDF too.
"Excuse me, mind if I draft?" On second thought... no. The road is
free. I've never asked anyone before drafting, nor has anyone ever
asked me, and I've been riding since Eddy was in his prime. It's not
done.
-Paul
Robert Chung
> I've never asked anyone before drafting, nor has anyone ever
> asked me, and I've been riding since Eddy was in his prime. It's not
> done.
Man, this brings back Hildenbrand's solution in that Metcalfe Mt. Hamilton
Fred thread.
bjwe...@gmail.com
Big Dumb Paul,
Do you also refuse to pull through?
Or deny that you were drafting?
Sometimes people who do this aren't ex-racers
or experienced in group riding, and don't know
about stuff like pulling through.
When someone is sitting on your wheel, you,
the leader, have some responsibility for warning
of glass, pointing out rocks, not leading them
through potholes, not stopping suddenly.
Demanding that some stranger do that for you
without riding up and acknowledging their
presence is rude. It's also foolish or brave
at night on an unlighted street.
Ben
ila...@gmail.com
wrote:
Actually, you've answered your own question in that last paragraph. If
some stranger decides to sit on your wheel and ignore you, then you
just ignore him, that is, you forget about the usual courtesy of
pointing out hazards etc., and if they crash then it's entirely their
fault. Obviously, your problem is an overdeveloped sense of courtesy,
are you English or something?
-ilan
Off The Back
>> Tonight I was riding home from work after dark.
<snip>
Robert Chung wrote:
> He wasn't drafting you; he was checking out your ass. When he stopped, was
> his stance wide?
Maybe bjw was wearing cycling shorts like one guy in the rotation on this
morning's ride. OMG, they must have been 15 years old and totally
threadbare. More transparent that a pair of women's nylons. On a hairy fat
ass. With pimples. There ought to be a law...
Ryan Cousineau
<8d7a992b-2efc-40d2...@w1g2000prk.googlegroups.com>,
ila...@gmail.com wrote:
Face it, dumbass: you suck at trolling. More rbr intervals and kenacort
are the standard prescription.
Ryan Cousineau
Stu Fleming <ste...@wic.co.nz> wrote:
> ila...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > By the way, there is an even lower life form than the one you
> > describe, where they sit on your wheel for 20 minutes then attack you.
> > Quite common on the Paris Vincennes and Longchamp circuits.
>
> The purpose of attacking someone while commuting to work is...?
Dumbass: have you never won a training ride?
> Actually, a variant of this we used to play out in Edinburgh with an 8km
> dual carriageway commute. If you spotted a fellow racer up ahead, you
> bridged up and sat there. As soon as you were noticed, honour demanded
> that either turn taking or a full hammer session was due. If not, free
> ride. Free rides were rare. Extra bonus for drafting double-decker
> buses (this stretch of road was 50mph limit at the time).
On flat roads, I luurve me some bus. My old commute had a section that
consisted of a modest 2-ish km of climbing, followed by a flat, followed
by a fast 1.2 km descent (300' drop).
If I met a bus on the early part of the climb, my goal was to keep up
with them (they averaged about 30 km/h with their stops) and get ahead
of them before the descent. I usually managed it.
Michael Press
<3f9507da-6706-4227...@t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
"b...@mambo.ucolick.org" <bjwe...@gmail.com> wrote:
People out there are easy to tweak. I just shut up
because anything I say _will_ be taken cross-wise;
that is unless I feel like tweaking them. In for a
penny, in for a pound. Hey, nice bike. How much did
you pay for it? That's too much.
--
Michael Press
Michael Press
Ted van de Weteringe <myful...@xs4all.nl.invalid> wrote:
I am not fat!!!
PLONK
--
Michael Press
Howard Kveck
I see an older guy (late 50s or early 60s) out around Woodside/Portola fairly
frequently. He's pretty weathered (or leathery, I suppose) looking. Well, one really
hot day, I happened to turn onto a road basically next to him and he had on a pair of
bib shorts (no jersey) that had been cut. Boy, had they been cut: no legs,
essentially a thong. Yikes! I set to work getting as far up the raod as fast as I
could so there was no chance I'd end up in back of that sight.
--
tanx,
Howard
The bloody pubs are bloody dull
The bloody clubs are bloody full
Of bloody girls and bloody guys
With bloody murder in their eyes
remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
ila...@gmail.com
> In article <esAwk.33962$_s1.24...@newsfe07.iad>,
Was that before camera cell phones? Inquiring minds need proof.
-ilan
Howard Kveck
ila...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sep 6, 9:46 pm, Howard Kveck <YOURhow...@h-SHOESbomb.com> wrote:
> > In article <esAwk.33962$_s1.24...@newsfe07.iad>,
> > "Off The Back" <marco_fenne...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > > bjw wrote:
> > > >> Tonight I was riding home from work after dark.
> > > >> Some Guy rode up behind me at a stoplight...
> > > <snip>
> >
> > > Robert Chung wrote:
> > > > He wasn't drafting you; he was checking out your ass. When he stopped,
> > > > was
> > > > his stance wide?
> >
> > > Maybe bjw was wearing cycling shorts like one guy in the rotation on this
> > > morning's ride. OMG, they must have been 15 years old and totally
> > > threadbare. More transparent that a pair of women's nylons. On a hairy
> > > fat ass. With pimples. There ought to be a law...
> >
> > I see an older guy (late 50s or early 60s) out around Woodside/Portola
> > fairly frequently. He's pretty weathered (or leathery, I suppose)
> > looking. Well, one really hot day, I happened to turn onto a road
> > basically next to him and he had on a pair of bib shorts (no jersey)
> > that had been cut. Boy, had they been cut: no legs, essentially a thong.
> > Yikes! I set to work getting as far up the raod as fast as I
> > could so there was no chance I'd end up in back of that sight.
>
> Was that before camera cell phones? Inquiring minds need proof.
Well, even if my phone had a camera, I don't carry it when I ride, so no luck
(?!?!?!) on that from me. Anyway, you're out here and it's pretty hot right now - I
bet if you spend some time up on Portola Rd. between OLH and Whisky Hill Rd., you'll
spot the guy.
Paul G.
wrote:
Putting someone in the ditch? That's nuts. If you don't like someone
drafting, ride away from them.
-Paul
ila...@gmail.com
> In article <4da6dee7-3353-4ea8-b677-1029e91e8...@z6g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,
Actually, I'm planning to ride there today. You're right, it's quite
hot, so I'll wear my bib thong.
-ilan
Paul G.
"Big" dumb Paul? I prefer "gigantic", please. Nice initials, BJ.
You suck. Now where were we... ah yes, you were being "drafted" by
an "older, professor-like person wearing street clothes." BJ- if
you're being drafted by someone like that you REALLY suck. An old
geezer "refused to pull through" at night, on a commute?! Did you
think you were in a break in the TDF or something?
You're weird, BJ boy. The road is free. If you don't like someone on
your wheel all you have to do is pull away from them.
-Paul
Carl Sundquist
"Paul G." <car...@egine.com> wrote in message
news:96f4930a-0883-4737...@25g2000prz.googlegroups.com...
--------------------------
Paul,
I think the POV that is taken with someone drafting off of you
"discourteously" is akin to speeding on the highway and someone sitting
behind you about 1/5 mile back at the same speed. They want to take
advantage of your speed while making you the sacrificial lamb if you zip
through a speed trap. Maybe you're running late or maybe you're just on a
long trip that you want to make shorter. Unless you're willing to go
ridiculously high speeds to lose them or slow down, (which defeats the
purpose why you were speeding and in which case they usually slow down, too)
you can't get rid of them. They are a leech. In general, what do people
think of leeches? It's not usually a feeling of respect.
ila...@gmail.com
For me he most annoying bicycle commuter of all time was an MIT
professor who built his own recumbent and commuted on Mass ave between
MIT and Harvard wearing his business suit and helmet. He was going
fast and trying to appear relaxed in what appeared to me to be a
conscious effort to imply that it was his ingeniouis invention which
allowed him to go so fast, I had to listen to a lot of people telling
me how fast his bike was. In fact, I followed him once on my bike and
it was clear that he was doing an all out time trial and even taking
stupid risks with traffic to drop me.
-ilan
Paul G.
> "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote in message
A leech actually takes something from you. Someone drafting off you
in a non-competitive situation takes nothing. I have no objection to a
weaker rider drafting off me when I'm out on a training ride, nor
would I expect him to take a pull. Nor would I care if a stronger
rider overtook me and took a breather on my wheel before taking off.
Maybe I'd get a little interval action trying to chase him down. The
road is free, so is the air.
Even in the TDF riders only take a pull if it's in their best
interest. If it makes sense tactically to sit in, that's what they
do. One team may do all the work at the front of the peloton (if it's
tactically what they need to do) while the rest of them draft- that's
the way it's done, and no one "asks permission"!
The case you cite of another car following you at a safe distance
while you're speeding is bizarre. Why would you care, even if you are
correct in guessing their motivation? Their being back there has
nothing to do with whether you get a ticket or not. I'd be a lot
more concerned if I was speeding and the guy behind me was
tailgating.
I'm amazed at these lines of reasoning. No wonder there is so much
road rage out there. Maybe you guys need to cut back on the steroids,
you're seeing imaginary offenses. Do you seethe over the leeches who
lurk in rbr, never contributing anything, just reading OUR
posts? :-))
-Paul
Paul G.
Heh heh! Did he turn around and scream "Hey, you should ask permission
before drafting someone you don't know!!"
I never saw my most annoying bicycle commuter because I worked a
different shift, but I sure heard about him. The last mile up to the
plant was uphill, and even though there was a bike path he stayed on
the road, and rode in the middle of the lane, fouling up traffic. When
ever the subject of cycling came up the people at work would rant
about this jerk. One time my boss's boss, knowing I was an avid
cyclist, started ranting at me like I had something to do with this
guy. Oh yeah, they also made fun of his cycling shorts, probably to
this day they associate cycling shorts with jerks.
-Paul
Paul G.
> In article <esAwk.33962$_s1.24...@newsfe07.iad>,
>
> > > bjw wrote:
> > >> Tonight I was riding home from work after dark.
> > >> Some Guy rode up behind me at a stoplight...
> > <snip>
>
> > Robert Chung wrote:
> > > He wasn't drafting you; he was checking out your ass. When he stopped, was
> > > his stance wide?
>
> > Maybe bjw was wearing cycling shorts like one guy in the rotation on this
> > morning's ride. OMG, they must have been 15 years old and totally
> > threadbare. More transparent that a pair of women's nylons. On a hairy fat
> > ass. With pimples. There ought to be a law...
>
> I see an older guy (late 50s or early 60s) out around Woodside/Portola fairly
> frequently. He's pretty weathered (or leathery, I suppose) looking. Well, one really
> hot day, I happened to turn onto a road basically next to him and he had on a pair of
> bib shorts (no jersey) that had been cut. Boy, had they been cut: no legs,
> essentially a thong. Yikes!
ROFL!
ila...@gmail.com
There was a guy like that at Stanford too, he wore a full face helmet
and obviously considered himself an "urban guerilla" as he made it a
point to break every traffic law possible. One time, as I was stopped
in my car at a stop sign I saw him approaching, riding on the sidewalk
obviously to illegally merge onto the street (palm dr/university st
bridge over El Camino east bound) so I slowly proceeded forward as was
my right and he passed by slammed his hand on my hood and yelled
"penis head" at me. Having stored this in my deep memory for every
slight I've ever suffered, and riding as often as possible at his
commute time, I finally sighted him when on my bike and quickly rode
next to him, then grabbed him by the jersey. He was totally shocked
that a "brother in arms" could be aggressive towards him then I just
slammed my hand on his full face helmet, stating "remember me, I'm the
penis head" and dropped him. While his helmet was still resounding, I
was wondering if he ever made the connection, but I doubt he could
even conceive of a cylist also driving a car. I didn't see him too
much after that, maybe he finally ran out of luck in his altercations
with vehicles.
-ilan
Carl Sundquist
-----------------
Paul,
I understand that you are being intentionally obtuse to support your point.
That indicates your point is pretty weak. Why don't you use the definition
of "leech" that applies to the context?
Merriam Webster third definition: a hanger-on who seeks advantage or gain.
Says nothing about taking anything from you as a cost to you.
Do you assume all riders that leech to be weaker than you? When I am on a
training ride, I have no objection to a rider sitting on either, but
(depending on how long they are sitting on) as an honorable thing I would
expect them to offer to take at least a token pull occasionally as a sign of
appreciation. Why? Because I am either making their task easier or giving
them a beneficial challenge. Do they owe it to me? Not by the letter of the
law. But I said as an honorable thing and as a sign of appreciation.
Since the original scenario was a non-competitive situation, your TDF
example has no bearing here.
What makes the car case bizarre? It fits the leech definition perfectly and
as I said, uses you as a sacrificial lamb. Does it matter that it doesn't
affect your own speed and risk? No. But who enjoys being used as a
sacrificial lamb?
But to your credit, a leech is annoying only if you are concious of their
actions.
Seeing imaginary offenses? I may be wrong, but didn't you first start
posting here with a troll comparing bike injuries to NASCAR crashes?
Tom Kunich
news:6d0xk.40051$_s1....@newsfe07.iad...
>
> A leech actually takes something from you. Someone drafting off you
> in a non-competitive situation takes nothing.
The only complaints I have is when a good rider who is getting tired comes
up behind me and drafts for a couple of miles and then sprints off without
returning the favor.
Also when someone is drafting me I feel a responsibility to ride more
smoothly and avoid obstacles with a larger clearance to lessen the chance
that the draftee might hit something he can't see.
But it is true that a draftee is taking nothing from you even if he is
gaining something from your existence.
bjwe...@gmail.com
> A leech actually takes something from you. Someone drafting off you
> in a non-competitive situation takes nothing. I have no objection to a
> weaker rider drafting off me when I'm out on a training ride, nor
> would I expect him to take a pull. Nor would I care if a stronger
> rider overtook me and took a breather on my wheel before taking off.
> Maybe I'd get a little interval action trying to chase him down. The
> road is free, so is the air.
Big Dumb Paul,
All he was taking from me was my wish to ride home
after working late (on a fucking Friday) in peace, quiet,
and _by myself_. If he had rode up and said hello to me,
I wouldn't have minded, but having Some Guy on your
wheel without saying anything feels like having a weird
guy come up and read over your shoulder at the coffee
shop. It takes nothing from you, but it's an invasion of
your space and is rude.
It would be a little different if I was out training, but
riding home at night carrying a bag, on a touring bike
with fenders, I don't feel like I should have to play the
game of "If you don't like me drafting, ride me off your
wheel." I am not in racing shape, but unless the guy
was more than he seemed, I could have ridden him
off or (more likely) ridden him through a pothole.
But why should I have to bother?
> Even in the TDF riders only take a pull if it's in their best
> interest. If it makes sense tactically to sit in, that's what they
> do. One team may do all the work at the front of the peloton (if it's
> tactically what they need to do) while the rest of them draft- that's
> the way it's done, and no one "asks permission"!
No shit. It's a fucking race. Everyone understands
the rules in a race. A guy who plays cat and mouse
while you're commuting or training is trying to get his
racing jollies the easy way, without having to pin on a
number on Sunday morning. I don't think I've ever
had someone in a team jersey do this (and of course,
not on my commute). They usually want to trade pulls.
Of course, they're also often stronger than me.
> I'm amazed at these lines of reasoning. No wonder there is so much
> road rage out there. Maybe you guys need to cut back on the steroids,
> you're seeing imaginary offenses. Do you seethe over the leeches who
> lurk in rbr, never contributing anything, just reading OUR
> posts? :-))
> -Paul
I count on the fact that I have an adoring audience
on Usenet (I'd like to thank all the little people), but I'm
not insane enough to think the same is true for my
training rides.
Ben
Robert Chung
> I count on the fact that I have an adoring audience
> on Usenet (I'd like to thank all the little people), but I'm
> not insane enough to think the same is true for my
> training rides.
Maybe he thought he heard you say you were ready for your close-up.
ila...@gmail.com
This sort of came up on my ride today. It was the first ride where I
felt sort of good in two months and the first ride in a very long time
where there were other cyclists which I passed or which passed me (the
Berkeley Grizzly Peak ride). The ones I passed were rec riders on the
climb and I said hi to all of them but the only one who responded was
a bare chested guy on his teenage bike from at least 10 years ago who
seemed pretty happy at being able to ride up in the mountains. Since
I've been able to observe horrible runners with the "mask" on, I
decided to stay relaxed even during the effort and even the Harley
guys parked on the lookout said hi back. Pretty far up the climb, I
saw some rider was catching up, so feeling pretty good, I went harder
to see how quickly he would catch up. It was actually right at the
crest and I got on his wheel. The guy had a Webcor jersey and shorts
and his he was very skinny and had the skinniest muscular calves I'd
seen since Linda Jackson, so I assumed he was on an easy ride since he
hadn't blown by me. The current discussion became relevant, since I
was in no shape to take any pulls. On the other hand, I had been
riding alone for the whole climb and even if he hadn't been on my
wheel, I had served as the "carrot", so I felt that counted as a
virtual pull. However, he kept looking back at me throughout the easy
descents as if I was somehow going to take him down by clipping his
rear wheel. I engaged him in conversation after a stop sign saying how
I knew the Webcor team manager for 15 years since he was at Stanford
and the guy didn't have much to say, he apparently didn't know him
very well, despite riding for his team. That's when I realized that in
the long time I hadn't talked to any real racers I had forgotten that
most of them are clueless and are quiet because they have nothing to
say. So, realizing this was a lose/lose situation, I just let him ride
away at his moderate pace and decided to enjoy the nice view.
-ilan
Paul G.
> "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote in message
I took the obvious meaning of "leech"- blood sucker. But it doesn't
matter. Being a giant, sometimes people stand in my shade, like they'd
stand in the shade of a tree. Should I be upset that they are
"leeching" my shade, using your definition? That's absurd. It's
equally absurd to speak of leeching my draft in a non-racing
situation- though George Mount once joked that he couldn't get a draft
off of me, because the air was blowing right past my legs. George has
a heck of a sense of humor- there was a joke going around that he came
out of the bushes at the start of a race with a roll of toilet paper.
Another guy who's name escapes me, who was what we called a "bike bum"
in those days, asked George if he could mooch some toilet paper.
George points into the bushes and says "Help yourself. I only used one
side."
I guess we have a different mindset. I'm just not going to get
excited about leeching as you define it, which costs me nothing.
Regarding the NASCAR brawl, it started with my post comparing the Tour
of California, which rode in the rain, with a NASCAR race, which was
canceled due to the same rain storm. I said NASCAR drivers were
pussies compared with bike racers because they were too chicken to
race in the rain. I didn't expect that to be controversial in a bike
racing forum. As that went thru many permutations the relative
dangers and severity of injuries of bike racing vs NASCAR came out.
Like there's any comparison. That was a lot of fun. It's worth
saying again- NASCAR drivers are pussies compared with bike
racers. ;-))
-Paul
Paul G.
wrote:
BJ boy-
you're boring me. We've established that an old geezer in street
clothes can keep up with you. "I am not in racing shape" is the
understatement of the year.
-Paul
Bill C
> BJ boy-
> you're boring me. We've established that an old geezer in street
> clothes can keep up with you. "I am not in racing shape" is the
> understatement of the year.
> -Paul- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Dude I'd love to hook you up with some of those 60 and 70 year old
German women who were part mountain goat that used to blow by us on
training rides, on city bikes. Local coach who also coached my kids
and the Armed Forces team, along with a couple of local club's juniors
comments was "They start riding these hills when they are 4 or 5 and
ride them every day until they die".
There's nothing worse than dieing and being blown away by one of
these folks, until you realize it's like being passed by a Sherpa on
Everest.
HTF you relate Ben on a wiped out, mindless commuter ride home on a
friday night to his racing ability is beyond me. You're a pretty rude
person, it seems, so I'm not surprised you take this invasion of
personal space the way you do.
Bill C
d p chang
> On flat roads, I luurve me some bus. My old commute had a section that
> consisted of a modest 2-ish km of climbing, followed by a flat, followed
> by a fast 1.2 km descent (300' drop).
>
> If I met a bus on the early part of the climb, my goal was to keep up
> with them (they averaged about 30 km/h with their stops) and get ahead
> of them before the descent. I usually managed it.
i used to 'chase' cars w/ loaded bike racks up the end of my commute
(the short stretch of franklin in sf from city hall to union st). just
enough traffic and lights so that it was a challenge for both of us.
\p
---
All that follows is the faintest Platonist shadow-on-a-wall of what is,
in my heart, the Ideal Peeve, perfect in its sincerity, bottomless in
its depth, and unassailable in its accuracy. --- Tim Cranny
Off The Back
> That's when I realized that in
> the long time I hadn't talked to any real racers I had forgotten that
> most of them are clueless and are quiet because they have nothing to
> say.
That's quite a broad generalization you're making.
Paul G.
> On Sep 8, 2:58 am, "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote:
>
> > BJ boy-
> > you're boring me. We've established that an old geezer in street
> > clothes can keep up with you. "I am not in racing shape" is the
> > understatement of the year.
> > -Paul- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Dude I'd love to hook you up with some of those 60 and 70 year old
> German women who were part mountain goat that used to blow by us on
> training rides, on city bikes.
<snort> I once did a tour from Norway to Switzerland and back. That
included riding from the Elbe to Frankfurt, then to Munich and on the
return Schvartzwald to the Elbe. I saw lots of people on clunker
bikes. None of them came anywhere close to keeping up with me on my
loaded tourer.
All I can say is if you are getting passed by old ladies on clunkers
you must be a pathetic excuse for a cyclist. I was just riding with a
friend who's frankly in better shape than I am, yet he couldn't keep
up with me on his hybrid because of his upright seating position.
How much did the old lady weigh, 100 lb? How about her bike, 40 lb?
Old under inflated balloon tires? Single speed, rusty chain? Seat
too low? Plain pedals? Basket on the front, rack on the back? Yeah,
I'll bet she could ride all day, but "blow by" bike racers on a
training ride?!!
Bill, you're the second-biggest bullshitter in rbr. I know, you're
tired of playing second fiddle to Kuntitch, but you're never going to
pull into the lead with crap like this. You should have said the old
lady that passed you was wearing the Iron Cross, and had lost a leg at
Stalingrad. Kuntitch always adds embellishments like that to his
bullshit, which is why he outclasses you. Plain bullshit just doesn't
cut it next to bullshit a la mode.
> You're a pretty rude
> person, it seems, so I'm not surprised you take this invasion of
> personal space the way you do.
Yeah, I used to be "lean and mean" back in the day. Now I'm just "mean
and mean". ;-))
Hmmnnn... but wait! I'm criticizing people for taking offense at
imaginary slights. I'm reminded of Gen. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove
ranting about "a Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our
precious bodily fluids."
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY>
-Paul
Bill C
> On Sep 8, 4:33 am, Bill C <tritonri...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> > On Sep 8, 2:58 am, "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote:
>
> > > BJ boy-
> > > you're boring me. We've established that an old geezer in street
> > > clothes can keep up with you. "I am not in racing shape" is the
> > > understatement of the year.
> > > -Paul- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > Dude I'd love to hook you up with some of those 60 and 70 year old
> > German women who were part mountain goat that used to blow by us on
> > training rides, on city bikes.
>
> <snort> I once did a tour from Norway to Switzerland and back. That
> included riding from the Elbe to Frankfurt, then to Munich and on the
> return Schvartzwald to the Elbe. I saw lots of people on clunker
> bikes. None of them came anywhere close to keeping up with me on my
> loaded tourer.
>
and most of the time you've been wrong. No real surprise there.
you snipped this out:
"There's nothing worse than dieing and being blown away by one of
these folks, until you realize it's like being passed by a Sherpa on
Everest. "
Won't waste my time on you and this, since you've repeated called me
a liar, and then I was able to back up what I'd been saying. Was
actually in pretty good shape at that point and was riding with my kid
who was routinely doing top 10 in UCI races there in his age category.
> All I can say is if you are getting passed by old ladies on clunkers
> you must be a pathetic excuse for a cyclist. I was just riding with a
> friend who's frankly in better shape than I am, yet he couldn't keep
> up with me on his hybrid because of his upright seating position.
>
Seating position doesn't make that much difference on a 10% or better
grade which is what I was talking about.
> How much did the old lady weigh, 100 lb? How about her bike, 40 lb?
> Old under inflated balloon tires? Single speed, rusty chain? Seat
> too low? Plain pedals? Basket on the front, rack on the back? Yeah,
> I'll bet she could ride all day, but "blow by" bike racers on a
> training ride?!!
>
> Bill, you're the second-biggest bullshitter in rbr. I know, you're
> tired of playing second fiddle to Kuntitch, but you're never going to
> pull into the lead with crap like this. You should have said the old
> lady that passed you was wearing the Iron Cross, and had lost a leg at
> Stalingrad. Kuntitch always adds embellishments like that to his
> bullshit, which is why he outclasses you. Plain bullshit just doesn't
> cut it next to bullshit a la mode.
>
ry
> > You're a pretty rude
> > person, it seems, so I'm not surprised you take this invasion of
> > personal space the way you do.
>
> Yeah, I used to be "lean and mean" back in the day. Now I'm just "mean
> and mean". ;-))
>
> Hmmnnn... but wait! I'm criticizing people for taking offense at
> imaginary slights. I'm reminded of Gen. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove
> ranting about "a Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our
> precious bodily fluids."
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY>
>
> -Paul
Ah yes, like Alan Iverson you are "The Answer" because you know what
someone's comfort level should be, what should bother them and what
shouldn't, blah, blah, blah...
It's your little world and you graciously allow us to pollute it, eh?
I have yet to see anyone able to hold a reasonable discussion with
you, over any length of time, and given the diversity of the folks
here that says a lot about you and your attitude.
You're perfectly entitled to be a nasty, arrogant, ignorant prick,
but when your only argument is that the whole rest of the world is
wrong, then maybe it isn't the rest of the world with the problem.
Sorry I wasted my time with you again.
Bill C
SLAVE of THE STATE
bdp,
Let me frame Ben's feelings differently, then even you will see the
light.
"He felt like a pro lady cyclist being drafted by Bruce."
See?
hth,
sots
ila...@gmail.com
In my experience, about 90% of racers don't know what they're doing
and need coaching or help from the minority of 10%.That's one of the
reasons it's hard to date women cyclists (I even mentioned this to a
lesbian racer), because with the men that still leaves a hundred
interesting riders, but with the women you're down to ten or so (in
the USA). As a further broad generalization, you usually find the most
knowledgeable and smart riders at the track.
-ilan
SLAVE of THE STATE
> I didn't see him too much after that,
> maybe he finally ran out of luck in his
> altercations with vehicles.
Maybe he got a job at MIT.
ila...@gmail.com
This reminds me of something I read by Galen Rowell, that those old
looking Sherpas who still have a look of youth about them (perhaps
inspiring Paradise Lost) are actually young but prematurely aging due
to the altitude. Maybe the same holds for those "old" cycling women.
Hey, check out Longo: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42380000/jpg/_42380957_longo203.jpg
-ilan
Bill C
>
> -ilan- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Would've easily figured her for much older from that picture.
Don't know if you've ever been into the area but it's fantastic
riding:
You can get some idea of the terrain from the map I linked to.
We lived in a couple of places just off 270 near Hohenecken and
riding anywhere up towards Quiedersbach, or towards Pirmasens was a
roller coaster. Following 270 was a great ride up to Pirm and then
down over the border into France.
Lots of good easy riding to if you stayed down in the valley riding
out towards Landstuhl and Miesau.
You know how village life is. Ride the bike into the center, get
meat, veggies, and bread for the day ride home. Pretty much on a daily
basis.
Bill C
ila...@gmail.com
> meat, veggies, and bread for the day ride home. Pretty much on a daily
> basis.
> Bill C
My wife's grandmother did all her shopping etc. on her bicycle until
she was 87 when she broke her hip. She never once crashed in about 65
years of riding (they were not rich enough to buy a bike for her until
she was married). This was in Chalons-sur-Marne in the Champagne
Ardennes region. During WWII, she had to go back to her original
village of Maurupt-le-Montois 50km away and her husband who was still
in Chalons would do the round trip on his bicycle every Sunday
bringing back lots of provisions, until he was deported to the STO
(service de travail obligatoire, forced labor in Germany).but
thankfully made it back shortly thereafter. Those were the days!
There is a good depiction of this type of cycling in the Bertrand
Tavernier movie "Laissez Passer".http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0269461/
My mother in law used to ride her bike to work but stopped 20 years
ago. She now does everything exclusively by car. I have not seen too
many cycle commuters outside of Paris and Northern France.
-ilan
Paul G.
OK, a 10% grade. Let's see if I have this right- a skinny old lady on
a heavy single speed clunker, passing bike racers on a steep hill. I
was curious, so I checked- L'Alpe D'Huez is rated at ~9%. So you're
saying a skinny old lady is able to pedal a heavy bike with an
intermediate gear up a hill steeper than L'Alpe D'Huez, passing bike
racers, right?
I'm curious- does your own bullshit sound remotely plausible to you?
-Paul
Paul G.
<shrug> There was a simple solution to his problem, since it bothered
him so much. Pick up the pace and leave the guy in the dust. Seems
like anyone interested in bike racing would figure that out, nothing
mean about it, just the spirit of competition. Shoot, it would liven
up a boring commute. I guess some people like to win, while some
prefer to whine.
Many years ago when I lived in Windsor I rigged up a touring bike with
a child's seat so I could take my 4 yr old daughter to the babysitter
in Santa Rosa, and get a ride in at the same time. I passed some guy
on a mt bike, and next thing I know he's trying to sprint past me.
Not going to happen.
My daughter was not amused, though, the little spoil sport...
-Paul
Bill C
>
> I'm curious- does your own bullshit sound remotely plausible to you?
> -Paul- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
For anyone with reading comprehension it does. We aren't talking
racers just finished warming up here. That's why I reposted the
quote.
You totally ignored what Ben had to say, you ignored what I had to
say, you ignore anything that doesn't fit into your little warped
view.
You can't point to a single thing that's not opinion, or that I
didn't say I was mistaken/wrong
on to hang your hat on with your claims.
Tosi is still a bigger failure as a human, but you seem to be in the
running.
At least it's pretty transparent to anyone who's read through your
stuff.
I wasn't able to Google it up, but my wetware says you were the one
who made the claim along the lines of Palin's Hubby might as well be
neutered if he goes along, takes care of the kids and supports her
career.
Even if you didn't that would be SO typical of you and your
attitudes. I bring it up to amuse you because one of the reasons I had
time to get out and ride, and do lots of shit was that I played Mr.
Mom for years while my wife was active duty.
Like kids with medical issues that's pretty low too right?
Bill C
Paul G.
> On Sep 8, 3:35 pm, "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I'm curious- does your own bullshit sound remotely plausible to you?
> > -Paul- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> For anyone with reading comprehension it does. We aren't talking
> racers just finished warming up here. That's why I reposted the
> quote.
> You totally ignored what Ben had to say, you ignored what I had to
> say, you ignore anything that doesn't fit into your little warped
> view.
Gee, I went to the trouble of researching what a 10% grade is, in
layman's terms, and asked you to verify that I had correctly analyzed
the situation as you claimed it happened:
"OK, a 10% grade. Let's see if I have this right- a skinny old lady on
a heavy single speed clunker, passing bike racers on a steep hill. I
was curious, so I checked- L'Alpe D'Huez is rated at ~9%. So you're
saying a skinny old lady is able to pedal a heavy bike with an
intermediate gear up a hill steeper than L'Alpe D'Huez, passing bike
racers, right?"
You didn't comment on my analysis at all, you deleted it and launched
into a diatribe about how evil I am. Oh, I'm so MEAN! Now my
feelings are hurt. Suggestion: don't try to bullshit me and I won't
humiliate you.
-Paul
p.s. just kidding about the hurt feelings.
Paul G.
They say "nice guys finish last"- or at least the ladies do. ;-))
The qualities that get you to the top in sports are not necessarily
the ones that make for good friends.
-Paul
Bill C
> You didn't comment on my analysis at all, you deleted it and launched
> into a diatribe about how evil I am. Oh, I'm so MEAN! Now my
> feelings are hurt. Suggestion: don't try to bullshit me and I won't
> humiliate you.
> -Paul
>
> p.s. just kidding about the hurt feelings.
Pretty simple. Someone who's "trained" with specificity onn a task for
decades, just might be good at it. There's not that huge a difference
in weight between 1980s average race bikes in weight than good city
bikes of that time. I'd guess 10lbs.
Now if you could read for comprehension we are talking wasted racers
at the end of a ride but you keep ignoring that. Now we know you could
kick Lance's ass in the Tour, outsprint Cipo at his best, and never
bonk, but hey some of us are human, and yes some of us, like me, suck
as bike racers. That's not news to anyone here either. Really don't
give a flying pig what you believe. I'm, thankfully, not responsible
for cerrecting your behavior, ignorance, or arrogance. Got no need to
make shit up. What you see is what you get. In person I love to spin
"fabrications" and other "tall tales" but that's no surprise to anyone
here either since I regularly quote from, and say good things about
authors like Pat McManus, Dave Barry, etc....
As for humiliating me, that's not possible from someone I have NO
respect for in any way. You're racking up more virtual wins than
Lemond. Let us know when to hold the virtual celebration for you.
It's not that your mean, it's that you work hard at being a real
asshole and are really good at it.
Bill C
Howard Kveck
"Paul G." <car...@egine.com> wrote:
> Hmmnnn... but wait! I'm criticizing people for taking offense at
> imaginary slights. I'm reminded of Gen. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove
> ranting about "a Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our
> precious bodily fluids."
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY>
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Well, no, I can't say I have.
--
tanx,
Howard
The bloody pubs are bloody dull
The bloody clubs are bloody full
Of bloody girls and bloody guys
With bloody murder in their eyes
remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
Bill C
>
> My wife's grandmother did all her shopping etc. on her bicycle until
> she was 87 when she broke her hip. She never once crashed in about 65
> years of riding (they were not rich enough to buy a bike for her until
> she was married). This was in Chalons-sur-Marne in the Champagne
> Ardennes region. During WWII, she had to go back to her original
> village of Maurupt-le-Montois 50km away and her husband who was still
> in Chalons would do the round trip on his bicycle every Sunday
> bringing back lots of provisions, until he was deported to the STO
> (service de travail obligatoire, forced labor in Germany).but
> thankfully made it back shortly thereafter. Those were the days!
>
> There is a good depiction of this type of cycling in the Bertrand
> Tavernier movie "Laissez Passer".http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0269461/
>
> My mother in law used to ride her bike to work but stopped 20 years
> ago. She now does everything exclusively by car. I have not seen too
> many cycle commuters outside of Paris and Northern France.
>
> -ilan
Thanks for the story. Good stuff. Yeah we didn't see too many younger
folks doing the bicycle shopping and such, but the bus service was
excellent and cheap, and had areas for a two wheel shopping cart which
is pretty much how we did our stuff. Easy to take the bikes on the bus
or train and then go exploring that way too. That area is just
incredibly liveable. Especially since it borders on lots of federal
preserve land with almost 200km of trails, lots of which are like
paved bike paths through the woods. Picnic sites scattered along them.
Couple of lakes and a river with swimming and fishing. Kaiserslautern
is big enough to have the University, Opera, theater, festplatz,
etc... then in a few minutes you can be out in a small village or at a
medieval castle. Easy to hop the border over to Bitche, or Metz.
Saarbrucken and Strasbourg are a really cool cultural mish-mash.
Love Alsace.
In the what would you do if you were suddenly wealthy thread I think
I'd pretty much keep doing what I am, but add in lots of time back in
Europe, following Davey's walkabout plan maybe. Managed to get to Lake
Como and Madonna DiGhisallo, but would love to visit the famous Tour
stops, catch Paris-Roubaix, and then just explore all the medeival and
renaissance sites, follow Napoleons campaigns...Just never ending
fascination for me. Just got to stay off the tourist track as much as
possible.
Is there anything better than mid morning, in a small village that
doesn't see many visitors, going to the bakery, sitting on the plaza,
soaking up the sun and people. Maybe cruising the farmers market for
some lunch...That's life.
Bill C
Tom Kunich
news:9ca1ec43-45d4-45a2...@i20g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
> Managed to get to Lake Como and Madonna DiGhisallo
The medal hanging around my neck is from the Church at Madonna Di Ghisallo.
Bill C
> "Bill C" <tritonri...@verizon.net> wrote in message
>
> news:9ca1ec43-45d4-45a2...@i20g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > Managed to get to Lake Como and Madonna DiGhisallo
>
> The medal hanging around my neck is from the Church at Madonna Di Ghisallo.
Cool. We picked up jerseys for the kids. Way too small now, but really
cool to have. We were there because the kids raced in a US Forces
Europe series race in Aviano so it was cool to have the bikes, and to
try and ride some of the Giro climbs with all the paint still on the
roads and stuff.
Bill C
Paul G.
> In article <7d08d16c-2227-4004-b40a-39c7374bf...@z11g2000prl.googlegroups.com>,
> "Paul G." <carb...@egine.com> wrote:
>
> > Hmmnnn... but wait! I'm criticizing people for taking offense at
> > imaginary slights. I'm reminded of Gen. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove
> > ranting about "a Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our
> > precious bodily fluids."
> > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KvgtEnABY>
>
> General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?
> Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Well, no, I can't say I have.
>
YEEEEEEEEHAW!
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Slim-pickens_riding-the-
bomb_enh-lores-720p.jpg>
I wonder if an old lady on a clunker passed him on the way down. ;-))
-Paul
ila...@gmail.com
Sounds nice. My wife and I have been spending a lot of time in Aix-les-
Bains. Unlike nearby more famous places like Annecy, it is not very
touristy and people actually live there, including for some unknown
reason, plenty of orthodox jews (the new chief rabbi of France was
born there). We spend a lot of time in cafe terrasses checking out the
locals, though sometimes not too closely when they've imbibed too much
alcohol. The riding there is about the best I've experienced, a 1300m
climb straight out the door, but also incredible medium hill rides and
fairly interesting dead flat rides for recovery or when you're
injured. It's also quite central in the Alps. We've taken bus tours to
various locations, they go on half day trips to places like Chamonix
and day trips down to Italy. The main reason we go there is that it's
3 hours by TGV from Paris and I can bring my bike on the train no
problem.
This is actually an advert :). We're going to buy a place there and
want to rent it out to rbr people when we're not there.
-ilan
bjwe...@gmail.com
Big Aggro Paul,
Dissing my speed is not going to hurt my feelings.
I never claimed to be a good bike racer. I've posted
my lame watts/kg number from getting dropped in the
Pescadero road race to rbr, so if you want you can
dig that up and insult it too.
That would be fair game. When I pinned a number on,
I was racing, spirit of competition and all. Guys who
try to outsprint you and your 4-year-old on the street
want the thrill of racing without the effort of actually
waking up early, pinning the number on, and competing
with other people who also mean business. If you
feel like rewarding this type of passive-aggressive
behavior by outsprinting them and crushing the enemy
like Conan the Barbarian, that's fine. I don't feel the
obligation to validate their macho display by giving
them what they want. I race on my terms.
Ben
Howard Kveck
"b...@mambo.ucolick.org" <bjwe...@gmail.com> wrote:
> If you feel like rewarding this type of passive-aggressive
> behavior by outsprinting them and crushing the enemy
> like Conan the Barbarian, that's fine.
In this forum, wouldn't that be Conan the Ballbearian?
William Asher
@w1g2000prk.googlegroups.com:
> This is actually an advert :). We're going to buy a place there and
> want to rent it out to rbr people when we're not there.
Bad idea. You're never going to get the smell of astro-glide out of the
drapes and there will be fleshlight stains on all the coffee tables after
only a few days. And that's just from the straight people here.
--
Bill Asher
dusto...@mac.com
> In article <ec784d6b-48b9-4a57-8476-88b584eb2...@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
dusto...@mac.com
> In this forum, wouldn't that be Conan the Ballbearian?
Whoops, wrong button (distraction).
Nyuck nyuck, good one, Howard.
Um, many years ago, my spouse and I rode the Shiner ride (Austin-
Shiner, 92 miles). Turning onto the last ten-mile section, a wide,
smooth road that has some rollers in it, we were passed by a couple of
scraggly yahoos who turned and sneered at us (prolonged, nasty); us
and our "racer club" (Violet Crown S.A.) jerseys, that is. Or maybe
they knew us from some unknown earlier deliberate offense on our part?
"Can I get a witness?"
Gazing at my dear partner's countenance a few moments later, I saw a
startling (and frankly, somewhat alarming!) change from the previous
lighthearted "day on the bike" mood. With vapors swirling, the
countdown began: 10, 9, 8, and somewhere around 6 or so the rockets
fired and away we went, me grabbing the wheel and hanging on. Yahoos
had a gap on us, and there was a hill, but we went steaming by them
soon enough, with me still sitting on and smiling ("she takes care of
the easy work", "think what _I_ could do to you", "how do you like
these club jerseys now?" etc. etc.). On we went, me not helping at
all. I looked back at just the right moment to see the heads fall in
despair. "Dropped by a girl", and dropped bad, too.
Arriving at the Shiner brewery, after an easy cool-down roll over the
last half-mile or so, we had a further few minutes' seated relaxation
and what do you know, here came the first yahoo, dragging badly, with
his buddy nowhere to be seen. After a suitable interval, here he came,
barely recognizable as a human being, poor thing. Neither sneered or
said hello or anything as they passed us but that's understandable,
what with tunnel vision and gasping for air no doubt interfering with
the higher social instincts.
Well, at least they _tried_, you know?
I've wondered if they carpooled for the ride back to Austin or
wherever, and if the subject of "dropping your buddy" came up any time
during the two hours or so that trip takes on the somewhat indirect
roads available.
Sorry for long (not), it's a favorite, and now, the moral of the story
is:
There are two ways to handle these various resembling situations--
ignore them, or crush them!
Crushing is kinda fun, especially when they help you do it. --D-y