Being overtaken

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Arrowfoot

Guest
Occasionally when I am overtaken by someone fast, I would immediately give chase not to overtake but to keep up and build fitness. Quite motivating.
 
jonny jeez

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Location
Chislehurst, Kent, UK
guitarpete247 said:
I did pass someone a couple of years ago but she was on a bit of a clunker and wearing wellies and carrying some horse tack heading back from the stables.
The only other others I pass are coming towards me:whistle:.
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A scalp is a scalp!
 
tyred

tyred

Squire
Location
Ireland
I remember a few years ago, with a tailwind on a flat bit of road working myself up to about 30mph and thinking I'm getting really fit and seconds later someone else whipped past me at a serious rate of knots.

And I stopped and sit in the ditch and cried
 
Dec66

Dec66

A gentlemanly pootler, these days
Location
West Wickham
I spent most of the first 10-15 miles of last year's London Surrey 100 being overtaken.

Caught a lot of them back up on Leith Hill, of course ^_^
 
arallsopp

arallsopp

Post of The Year 2009 winner
Location
Bromley, Kent
Being overtaken just tells you how fast the other cyclist is going. It doesn't have any bearing, relevance or impact on your speed at all.

Even if you are speed obsessed and your goal is to travel as fast as you possibly can, your pursuit of the goal isn't changed just because someone else is going faster. You're still going as fast as you can. And probably, so are they. Hurrah! Everyone wins.

If you find it really depressing to get taken, you can let your internal monologue alleviate the pain by:
  1. spotting a component that you don't have (tell yourself they're faster because they have a carbon frame, deep rims, no brakes, proper shoes, rapha kit, skinny race tyres, etc).
  2. spotting a penalty that they don't have (they're faster because they're not carrying a pannier, they don't have watt sapping dynamo lights, no suspension, probably only a mile into their day, if I were their age.., etc.)
  3. keeping them in sight just long enough to see them take an opportunistic orange light (and declaring the 'race' void).
  4. acknowledging that it really doesn't matter. At all.
Depending on my state of mind, I try to aim for the point 4. Most of the time I get there.

I have an inbuilt defence (twin suspension, marathon plus tyres, pannier with clothes and a laptop, longer commute than most, dynamo hub, funny shaped bike, et al) to ward off evil thoughts, but I can still get rattled when people in trainers and jeans come past me. Fortunately point 3 almost always comes to the rescue, and the faster the differential, the easier it is to rock up at the next stop light and say, "well, they *must* have jumped this one, or they'd still be here!" even if there's no evidence :smile:
 
jonny jeez

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Location
Chislehurst, Kent, UK
Hypermind said:
Hey, A few months ago I came on here looking for advice on which bike to buy for my morning commute. Since then I've travelled to work and back (8 miles each way) maybe 5 or 6 times, I'm slowly getting in to the swing of things. I know I'm getting stronger, my leg muscles, and my fitness is improving.

I thought I was going pretty fast the other evening coming home, and was feeling quite proud of my speed as I approached a long gradual climb. Turns out I was going at a snails pace when another cyclist shot past me. It was almost as though he was going down hill at 30mph..

I keep getting overtaken on the road, and I am well aware that most of these people will be seasoned cyclists compared to me, a beginner, but still, I mean I thought I was putting in quite a bit of effort and had a decent pace. I regularly get overtaken on the road by other cyclists, and I've yet to be the person speeding past another cyclist.

Has anyone else experienced this and has it put you off? I just keep thinking to myself, it's not a race, and I'm still a beginner. Also I have a heavier hybrid bike and they probably have a light road bike.
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Don't let it put you off, you will find a speed that you are comfortable at, if you want to increase that, you will.

But, as well as disgusting scalps, be aware of the opposite. I can tell you that, pretty soon you will be riding along thinking that it's all "coming together". The road feels easier, your speed is up, you don't feel out of breath.

Then, just as your confidence and sense of achievement is at its highest and you are filling your mind with thoughts of a new, faster carbon bike..... you will turn off the road and be faced with the most enormous headwind...and realise that you have been surfing a tailwind for the last few miles.

Catches me out every time.
 
jonny jeez

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Location
Chislehurst, Kent, UK
arallsopp said:
Being overtaken just tells you how fast the other cyclist is going. It doesn't have any bearing, relevance or impact on your speed at all.

Even if you are speed obsessed and your goal is to travel as fast as you possibly can, your pursuit of the goal isn't changed just because someone else is going faster. You're still going as fast as you can. And probably, so are they. Hurrah! Everyone wins.

If you find it really depressing to get taken, you can let your internal monologue alleviate the pain by:
  1. spotting a component that you don't have (tell yourself they're faster because they have a carbon frame, deep rims, no brakes, proper shoes, rapha kit, skinny race tyres, etc).
  2. spotting a penalty that they don't have (they're faster because they're not carrying a pannier, they don't have watt sapping dynamo lights, no suspension, probably only a mile into their day, if I were their age.., etc.)
  3. keeping them in sight just long enough to see them take an opportunistic orange light (and declaring the 'race' void).
  4. acknowledging that it really doesn't matter. At all.
Depending on my state of mind, I try to aim for the point 4. Most of the time I get there.

I have an inbuilt defence (twin suspension, marathon plus tyres, pannier with clothes and a laptop, longer commute than most, dynamo hub, funny shaped bike, et al) to ward off evil thoughts, but I can still get rattled when people in trainers and jeans come past me. Fortunately point 3 almost always comes to the rescue, and the faster the differential, the easier it is to rock up at the next stop light and say, "well, they *must* have jumped this one, or they'd still be here!" even if there's no evidence :smile:
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Brilliant post.

I live by arallsops third rule (as it Shall be known)...it's all that keeps me sane on some rides.


I shall remeber each of these as you glide past me on Bromley hill...whilst lying down. If you would be so kind as to jump the lights just a tad, at the top, I'd be ever so grateful.
 
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Steady

Steady

Über Member
Location
Derby
I get overtaken and I like it. It usually spurs me on, I'm not in a race but I like to always improve my averages which are pretty poor, but trying to keep a cyclist in line of sight before they disappear completely does breaks up a ride.

I've only ever really once properly enjoyed overtaking, which is when I cycled consistently and I overtook a few seasoned commuters on a hill.

That felt good. So it does pay off being consistent.
 
Montydog

Montydog

Active Member
Location
Leeds
:laugh:....don't worry about it...am sure you will "blast" past someone soon:okay:

got passed today....there i was going along and thinking i was doing well when 3 lads came past...quick hello and off they went:laugh:....latched onto the back for couple km untill thankfully they turned off my route....
 
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