Hannninfield reservoir scalp

[MLC]

To the Bloke who was on a flat barred boardman possibly riding with Essex Roads (I believe).

When you see the bloke on the red cannondale pootling along about 15-16 mph doing a lap of the lake. Firstly congratulations on scalping a guy who is just recovering from a prolapsed disk. Secondly if you are going to scalp me on the slightly down hill part of the road please make sure that you can hold it and make it stick when the road goes uphill slightly both you and the Rabobank shod man were guilty of slowing on the uphill part. I did not up my pace (honest)

The above is in jest and say hello if you also post on here as I would like to pick your brains on the club.

Thanks

 

[peelywally]

bloody amatuers .

i had a guy on a flat bar try scalp me it was a 5 mile straight few obstacles to negotiate but otherwise pointless ,

his cadence resembled a washing machine lol , honestly this guy was choking for air and physically wiping sweat from his brow ,

i was heading for home after doing 40 miles when he went past as i swallowed a handfull of jelly babies

i was doing 17mph and about 100yds behind him , he kept checking back i wasnt budging ,

i was on the hoods and pootling along to his frantic attempt to maintain speed .

we both got stopped at lights i was one car back i positioned myself so he couldnt see me it was from this vantage point i saw him wipe sweat from his purple face lol.

the lights changed and he took off , i decided to close him down , i sat on his back tyre for for a bit before deciding to simply exaust him and hang back , it worked his shoulders were going his hips were rocking he was nearly blue and soaked with sweat , speed never got above 20mph , the coup de gras he turned to check again and i was having a sip of water , enough was enough he was slowing i hung back to tempt him into another burst but he was done in i cycled past saying nice day for it

i couldve smoked him in first 100yds but weres the fun in that he was the one acting dumb , and he probably felt it next day .

 

[GlasgowGaryH]

I never bother worrying about being overtaken,If someone is quicker than me,good luck to them. If my speed is faster than them so be it. I dont speed up for anyone. I ride at my pace

 

[rjwilki3]

I have to say I was guilty slowing uphill after a scalp a few days ago.

I had decided to head out after work and do a quick 20 mile loop that I had planned on google maps, not realising there were a couple of steep climbs on it. Anyway about 10 miles in I come across a group of roadies, clearly riding together and soon catch up to the back of them, realising I was going a couple of MPH quicker I decided to pass rather than sticking in with the group.

Clearly a mistake, withing about 300 yards the road started ona gentle uphill, I wasnt struggling and just kept at it, when I was still slowly going uphill a mile or so later and it was really starting to steepen up, my lungs were bursting for air and I was already in the granny gear so I climb as far as I can, get out of the saddle and try and waggle it up the last few hundred yards. About 150 yards from the top My legs give as do my asthmatic lungs so I stop and grab a drink and stand on the verge for a minute or so to cool off before the humilating push to the top. After about 2 minutes the pack of roadies comes back passed, they all gave a wave and said hello, but I felt a proper muppet for coming passed them yet stopping at the top of a climb they seemed to cover with ease.

Oh well live and learn, and I have since been back better prepared and conqured the climb

 

[speccy1]

I think all of this type of thing is pathetic in anyone over the age of 12. It's the way car drivers behave, always wanting to go faster than the person in front, and most of it is just willy-waving (sorry, but it is mostly men who like this kind of stuff). Time to grow up!

+1

I couldn`t had put it better myself

 

[snorri]

he was the one acting dumb

I know that guy, believe me he is no dummy, I don't know anyone who can surpass him at capitals, spelling and punctuation.

 

[david1701]

I know that guy, believe me he is no dummy, I don't know anyone who can surpass him at capitals, spelling and punctuation.

I love that racing is immature but spelling and grammar pedantry isn't

I'm not looking forward to having a road bike and being scalped

 

[potsy]

+1

I couldn`t had put it better myself

+2 unless I ever get fast enough to scalp people, then I'll take it back

 

[JonnyBlade]

I think all of this type of thing is pathetic in anyone over the age of 12. It's the way car drivers behave, always wanting to go faster than the person in front, and most of it is just willy-waving (sorry, but it is mostly men who like this kind of stuff). Time to grow up!

And it's probably just men who see the funny side of this. Scalped, been scalped (easily) even scalped a mountain biker on an up hill whilst I was out running. Why grow up? It's time to enjoy ourselves

And as a PS, I've never waved my willy in public. Never saw the need to. I applaud a bit of healthy competition and can't imagine why anyone would want to focus on the negative side of it?

 

[Nebulous]

There's no difference in people. People are people, whether they are driving or cycling. Many of us do both.

I once remember reading in a car magazine that there are only two types of driver.

a) Those who want to go faster than the car in front.
b) Those who want to go slower than the car behind.

Neither group can understand the other. Both of them think the group they belong to is somehow superior to the other group- in reality they are just different.

As for scalping people. I do most (all really) of my cycling on my own. I'm doing it primarily to get fitter, and a measure of that fitness is certainly speed. One of the things I've found is that my body has 101 ways of preventing me from pushing it too hard. I'll welcome any help I can get to make it work harder. If that means trying to chase down a distant cyclist, whether they care or not, I'll take it.

Other people may well be cycling for other reasons and that's fine, but this isn't a moral issue, there aren't better or worse reasons, just different ones.

James

 

[MLC]

How can we go go from a post that says make sure it sticks on the uphill part and oh and say hello if you post here as I want to pick your brains on the club on which you may be a member of .....to....

Scorn fuelled and angry behaviour, Altercations with car drivers, impatient driving, willy waving and Grammar pedants.

This guy went past me at a fair lick then I caught up and I went past on the uphill without altering my speed or saying boo or calling him names just a little polite wave as I went by. It is hardly Contador vs Cancellara.

Did the closing bit of my post show anger and scorn by asking if he posts on here, say hello so I can pick his brains about possibly joining the same club as he was riding with. If you though that was scorn fuelled and angry I would hate you to see me really angry you will probably suffer an anurism.

Isn't that the whole attraction of cycling? seeing a distant cyclist, trying your damdest to get to them and then get past?

How is that different to say picking a distant monument or cafe and trying your damdest to get there or picking a post and littering it with silly little insults.

Should we ban Sportives, Audaxes, Time trials and Road Racing as it may get a little competitive and someone may overtake someone else or shall we just ban fun in general if it doesn't coincide with our subjective experience of what fun may be.

tsk

To the bloke on the flat barred boardman if you post on here give us a shout as I would like to pick your brains on Essex roads. The fact that we overtook each other is neither here nor there. Perhaps we could do it over a jolly spiffing glass of ginger beer.

 

[amaferanga]

Should we ban Sportives, Audaxes, Time trials and Road Racing as it may get a little competitive and someone may overtake someone else or shall we just ban fun in general if it doesn't coincide with our subjective experience of what fun may be.

The difference with road races and time trials is that everyone knows they're racing. If you win then it's because you were the quickest/strongest/smartest.

Chasing down cyclists that have no idea they're racing you means feck all. You win nothing.

And sportives and audaxes aren't races either.

Not once in my life have I scalped another cyclist. I just overtake them. And occasionally someone will overtake me. But I'm not that sad or pathetic that I have to try to overtake them back.

If you want to race then go do a real race and see how you get on.

 

[MLC]

The difference with road races and time trials is that everyone knows they're racing. If you win then it's because you were the quickest/strongest/smartest.

Chasing down cyclists that have no idea they're racing you means feck all. You win nothing.

And sportives and audaxes aren't races either.

Not once in my life have I scalped another cyclist. I just overtake them. And occasionally someone will overtake me. But I'm not that sad or pathetic that I have to try to overtake them back.

If you want to race then go do a real race and see how you get on.

If you want to have a play on semantics (which in itself is sad and pathetic) then perhaps you had better re read my initial post. I talk of him scalping me not the other way round. I was the unsuspecting cyclist being scalped having a guy come past me with his legs going ten to the dozen who I then overtook. I did not chase I let it go and I caught up without upping my pace when the road went up.

However the point I was making was as far as I was concerned just a bit of a fun, there was no harm done and was quite alarmed at it turning into witch hunt.

And my penchant for racing expired after I left school and was in a different discipline and I got on quite well at that thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring it up.


EDIT ooooh yes as we are being picky where did I say Sportives and Audaxes are races. I said should we ban them just beacuse they may get competitive and someone may overtake someone else. Which will happen in both disciplines.

 

[steve52]

i love scalpping and being scalpped, though to be honest i soon forget these, my latest was a chick on a niffy pinkish purply thing and it was fair, i dont care if ya dad was holding you up because he,d taken the stabalisers of!! theres no way you was going to hold that pace, as he gone all red in the face!

 

[Hont]

The difference with road races and time trials is that everyone knows they're racing. If you win then it's because you were the quickest/strongest/smartest.

Chasing down cyclists that have no idea they're racing you means feck all. You win nothing.

Not once in my life have I scalped another cyclist. I just overtake them. And occasionally someone will overtake me. But I'm not that sad or pathetic that I have to try to overtake them back.

+1.

Using a distant cyclist as a carrot is one thing. Altering your ride to boost your ego is another. It is completely understandable to feel a little pride when you overtake someone, but you have to remind yourself you have no idea what his/her plan for the ride is or how far he/she has already been.