Dear over 50's half term Herbert.....

[got-to-get-fit]

I was overtaken by a gent of about 50 the other morning about 8am, he drew alongside me wished me good morning and asked if i thought the weather would hold. He was riding this battered old leg iron with a bucket strapped to the back of his pannier rack with bungee ties. (nothing in the bucket)
Now im 36 and riding a brand new Bianchi carbon supermodel. As the gent started to accelerate away i could feel mine and my italian supermodels pride becoming a little tattered. So i let him have his moment in the sun and then put the hammer down hard. I screamed past him and off into the distance. Needless to say he didnt catch up.
However as i was blurring past him i distinctly heard him call me a F**ki*g W*nk*r.
To say i was shocked is an understatement.
Have the older generation become the little Ba**ards of the future .....i blame TV you feed them on a diet of Last of the summer wine and Two fat ladies and what do you get ....anarchy, thats what

 

[betty swollocks]

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

I dropped a clanger a few months ago along similar lines. I saw an older cyclist, definitely over 50 chugging along on a Dawes Galaxy that was about as old as he was! I gained on him and came alongside, we had a little chat and I decided to roar off into the distance.

BIG mistake.

I had covered a solitary 90km, and had a nasty cold. Not taking this into account in the slightest I proceeded to demonstrate just how fast a climber I am. For a while. I completely trounced him up the first hill, only to round a corner and find a long slog of interminable length ahead.

I blew up pretty soon into the slog and had to watch as he just chugged up to me, gave a wry smile and overtook me. About half an hour later the 2 go-gels and a licorice bar kicked in and I got up a bit of power and pulled into a cafe for fuel. Who was sitting outside enjoying a cup of tea and looking at a battered OS map? Yep, you guessed it.

I joined him and found out that he was on the home leg of his weekend of cycling. The previous day he had covered 100miles almost dead on, and then when I saw him he had been going since 6am and had already covered 120miles!

NEVER underestimate the prowess of a cyclist riding a British Racing Green bike with a Brooks saddle.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

NEVER underestimate the prowess of a cyclist riding a British Racing Green bike with a Brooks saddle

ha!...so there's hope for me yet

 

[Pete]

OI!!!
Just for the record, I have never yelled at another cyclist "F**ing W***er", nor indeed "F***ing anything else". But I do get passed, far more often than I pass. That's life.

 

[Globalti]

Er.... excuse me... I'm 51 and would be shocked to hear myself described as a "Gent". I have a 32" waist, resting HR of 52 and I could see off a lot of kids while calling them a f***ing w***er and a few more insults they've probably never heard in their lives, on foot, on a bike or on a pair of skis.

The description "Gent" would start at around 85, when the cyclist had begun to slow down a little and take life easy.

Ony last month a 25 year old upstart in our MTB club on some massive fat-tyred mega-travel downhill bike found out to his shock that he couldn't overtake me on my hardtail on a fast rough downhill. Thanks also to the massive weight (30 lbs plus) of their trendy DH bikes it's never difficult to beat these kids up hills either.

 

[SamNichols]

Gent is a shortening of gentleman. I am 24 and I am a gent. I am not an old gent, which is entirely different mind you.

 

[spindrift]

Never underestimate the power of a well-handled Galaxy.

There's a chap who must be mid fifties who I sometimes see on my commute home.

Lean, lycra'd, calves like Nureyev, rips the piss out of me on the Ruckholt Road climb.


And can we please not use the phrase "elderly people"?

It's offensive I think.


Let's just use "nearly deads".

 

[Tetedelacourse]

Having rode my first sportive eariler this year, the Etape Caledonia, I'd say the average age of participants was probably early to mid 40s. Cycling it seems is mainly a sport for older folk.

I never judge a fellow cyclist by his or her age, more along the lines of waist size, shape of legs, what shoes they have and what they're riding. In that order.

 

[spindrift]

Waist size first?

I know some lardy munters who cover more distance than narrow waisted herberts.

I check the bike first, then the clothes I guess. This time of year- the lights.

Come to think of it I check the riding first of all, before anything else.

Put it this way
tetedelacourse, if you saw someone riding like Banjo in that video he's posted you'd have a good idea he knows diddly squat about cycling.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

oh yeah, technique too, and you're right probably first and foremost.

"Narrow waisted herberts" - lol.

 

[rob_mcp]

Tetedelacourse: "Having rode my first sportive eariler this year"

I may be "older folk" at 46 but at least I know it should be "Having ridden"

(Waist 34, legs OK, Nike shoes, Trek madone 5.5 - glad you didn't mention face or I'd have to own up to that sin of sins- a beard!)

 

[User482]

Most years, I do a charity ride from Bristol - London, a distance of approx 110 miles. Last time, approx 40 miles in, I overtook a gent well in to his 60s, on a 3-speed post bike, and wearing a postman's uniform. He finished less than an hour later than me - respect!

 

[Tetedelacourse]

Tetedelacourse: "Having rode my first sportive eariler this year"

I may be "older folk" at 46 but at least I know it should be "Having ridden"

(Waist 34, legs OK, Nike shoes, Trek madone 5.5 - glad you didn't mention face or I'd have to own up to that sin of sins- a beard!)

 

[barq]

I never judge a fellow cyclist by his or her age, more along the lines of waist size, shape of legs, what shoes they have and what they're riding. In that order.

That's an interesting point about the shoes. Previously I wasn't consciously aware of doing that, but I do take them into account. Waist size isn't always easy to judge, with me it only registers if they are very extreme. The bike can be a red herring so I look for little tell-tale indicators of a loved machine: Are the tyre logos lined up with the rim logos? Stuff like that doesn't cost money so it tells you something about their attitude rather than their wallet.