Overtaking other cyclists up a hill (the technique)

tardington

1) Always be sitting down when you pass them - you have to look like it's EASY

2) Try and say "nice day for it!" cheerily as you pass

3) If you have to stop at lights soon after pretend you aren't heaving for breath

The bloke who went past me halfway up a steep hill today did 1 and 2, but sadly failed at 3! I of course did step 4 and 5 for him.

4) Say "a bit parky, eh?" to get a wheezed "Aye" out of the other guy

5) Whizz off from lights as fast as you can, but nochalantly as possible.

PhilTheFish

A couple of weeks ago I was riding home taking it fairly easily. I approached a set of lights at about 15 mph and they changed to green without me having to slow down. After this particular junction is a nice downhill stretch of about 3/4 mile.

I'm cruising now and start to approach a fellow cyclist ahead of me going a little bit slower than me. I've got a head of steam up now...look over shoulder..all clear...pull out round him and pedal on past him. The bloke was in his early 50's on a roadie. As I approach a roundabout at the end of the downhill stretch, I have a little glance back to see what the traffic's doing, and this bloke is about 2 foot off my rear wheel...nothing coming across me at the roundabout..straight over...keep pedalling (little bit faster now)....400yds later...bloke still on my rear wheel. Race Time!!

So I start giving it some to shake him off my tail.....bloke still keeps up! This went on for 3 miles until, praise the lord, my shoelaces come undone...get out clause...muchas gracias!! Pull over..point to laces as Roadie Man flys past me and give him a look as if to say....ifithadanabinforthemlacesI'dhavewellbeatenyou!

I now avoid overtaking other cyclists unless they are going seriously slow!

spasypaddy

haha its so very true, i was out with some colleagues a few weeks ago and the female we were with was pedalling as fast as she possibly could. So i streaked past her sitting dead upright, this was on a downhill/flat section. Even funnier was when i gave them both a headstart down a really steep hill which had a just as steep uphill bit straight after and i went straight past them both on the uphill section.

tardington

If your wearing normal trousers, try patting your pockets frantically as if your mobile phone is going off?

Actually, there was a man on a racer in full spandex-o-rama the other day, he went incredibly slow. I overtook him!* 8)

The second last person I overtook was a nice girl who had a small bookcase under one arm! I'm not kidding! (she also had a picture frame round her neck - I think she was moving flat)

*he was pretty fat. NOT a good look :shock: [/b]

PhilTheFish

tardie wrote:

If your wearing normal trousers, try patting your pockets frantically as if your mobile phone is going off?

Ah yes, the good old "Phone Grope".....I was about 1/2 mile from doing that myself before the laces saved me!

fossyant

Nah, you need to pass them at extreme speed so that they can not react and jump on.....

t4tomo

Its always best to be riding a Bromton as you sail past people on racers and mountain bikes, if they re take you - so what they've got bigger wheels and more gears, if not it will haunt them for the rest of the day. To be hinest thye Brommy is a damn sight quicker than most MTBs anyway, especially if they are running on knobblies.

dombo6

Sitting down, no hands, lighting a Marlboro with a battered Zippo

peanut

PhilTheFish wrote:

A couple of weeks ago I was riding home taking it fairly easily. I approached a set of lights at about 15 mph and they changed to green without me having to slow down. After this particular junction is a nice downhill stretch of about 3/4 mile.

I'm cruising now and start to approach a fellow cyclist ahead of me going a little bit slower than me. I've got a head of steam up now...look over shoulder..all clear...pull out round him and pedal on past him. The bloke was in his early 50's on a roadie. As I approach a roundabout at the end of the downhill stretch, I have a little glance back to see what the traffic's doing, and this bloke is about 2 foot off my rear wheel...nothing coming across me at the roundabout..straight over...keep pedalling (little bit faster now)....400yds later...bloke still on my rear wheel. Race Time!!

So I start giving it some to shake him off my tail.....bloke still keeps up! This went on for 3 miles until, praise the lord, my shoelaces come undone...get out clause...muchas gracias!! Pull over..point to laces as Roadie Man flys past me and give him a look as if to say....ifithadanabinforthemlacesI'dhavewellbeatenyou!

I now avoid overtaking other cyclists unless they are going seriously slow!

Its even worse is when the other bloke you over take is on an MTB laden with touring stuff and he comes back up level with you ,chats for a bit then leaves you for dead .
Had that happen to me once. :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

sbullett

t4tomo wrote:

Its always best to be riding a Bromton as you sail past people on racers and mountain bikes, if they re take you - so what they've got bigger wheels and more gears, if not it will haunt them for the rest of the day. To be hinest thye Brommy is a damn sight quicker than most MTBs anyway, especially if they are running on knobblies.

Been there, I was on the MTB with slicks, guy on a folder caught me relentlessly over about 1/2 mile of gentle uphill. Nice chap, we had a chat for a while - turns out he was finishing a 120 mile day ride (on a folder!!!) and I was just setting off from the office :oops:

Rykard

turns out he was finishing a 120 mile day ride (on a folder!!!)

or said he was.... :P

fossyant

When I used to do club runs, we'd all try and kill each other climbing long drags..... someone sets the pace then the 'fitter' riders then start upping the pace, bit by bit, until either their lungs explode, or yours..... was great if you were feeling good, but hell if you weren't...... pace goes up, you clamber to stay on, pace up, you still clamber on and so on etc... either you die at this point or they do........

redvee

I find it best to pedal like buggery to catch them and stop pedalling when you get level with their back wheel then freewheel past them and casually glance sideways at them and gie them a courteous 'hello' :P

t4tomo

sbullett wrote:

t4tomo wrote:

Its always best to be riding a Bromton as you sail past people on racers and mountain bikes, if they re take you - so what they've got bigger wheels and more gears, if not it will haunt them for the rest of the day. To be hinest thye Brommy is a damn sight quicker than most MTBs anyway, especially if they are running on knobblies.

Been there, I was on the MTB with slicks, guy on a folder caught me relentlessly over about 1/2 mile of gentle uphill. Nice chap, we had a chat for a while - turns out he was finishing a 120 mile day ride (on a folder!!!) and I was just setting off from the office :oops:

I was on the MTB (with full on knobblies) rather than the brommy this am. It felt like pedalling a moped through treacle by comparison.

clanton

I felt very smug blasting past 2 roadies on my full suss mtb bike on an uphill road section of my usual route - until I realised one was wearing a marmotte shirt! True to form he kicked up a gear or 5 and left me for dead after exchanging a few pleasantries!

tardington

Do they have magical qualities? *ignorant*

I overtook a guy on a hill today cos I was late for work - I was standing on the pedals and panting, because I knew the lights at the top of the hill would change pretty soon and I was totally late!

The look he gave me :oops:

clanton

If you mean do Marmotte shirts have magical properties - well in a way they do - its arguably the hardest cyclosportive in the world and he had finished it! 172km over some of the toughest climbs in the Tour de France.

dav1

I do this often. As i don't go far i use my MTB to commute down a road with speed bumps. At times you get big lines of 10 bikes which move quite slow to the experienced rider so naturally i switch off the fork lockout and fly over the bumps. They are the sort that slow you down if you try to stay 100% grounded so i get a bit of a launch on them as well.

I'm sure they are all thinking "what an idiot" but I'm enjoying myself so

with hills its quite fun to overtake like this, Its more fun to shoot past someone who has given up and started to walk up the hill with the bike.

Problem is i did put my GF off cycling doing this. We hit a hill and i just entered climb mode, shifted the gear down and got on the nose of the saddle and shot up as if it were nothing. When i get to the top i had to wait to receive "you B****** why did you do that? why cant you ride your bike like normal people!?!"

All i could say is "I'm a fanatic, riding like normal people isn't possible"

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

Awesome thread. What I like about this is the whole 'not bothered' attitude you have to portray - whether as the overtaker or the overtakee. If you take someone... well it wouldn't do to gloat. But if they take you... you've got to be like 'yeh whatever melon thighs'.

But of course in each case EVERYBODY KNOWS that IT MATTERS MORE THAN ANYTHING for some daft reason...

oakins242

I remember overtaking a gentleman on a Klein during a XC race many years back.

Thaknfully Klein's tag line came back to me just in time as I flew past him up a sharp incline.

"Nothing climbs like a Klein" I cheerily intoned.

I can still remember the look on his face, I thought he was gonna kill me.

FatBlokeFromFelixstowe

When you have overtaken your victim never ever ever look behind to see where they are. This makes it look like you are trying, Instead try and take a sneaky look as you look over your shoulder when passing a stationery car.

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

FatBlokeFromFelixstowe wrote:

When you have overtaken your victim never ever ever look behind to see where they are. This makes it look like you are trying, Instead try and take a sneaky look as you look over your shoulder when passing a stationery car.

LOL. Spot on.

tardington

A good tip 8)

This morning there were lots of cyclists about - along the flat we all stayed in a polite line, saying hello! etc, but on the hill it was great! Unspoken we all tried to be first up, and since there was hardly any traffic it was a bit of a bunch. Half way up a guy on an mtb stood up and everyone else went for it.

1st place was a spanish chap on a nice old road bike, and in a sharp suit. At the top (where there is lights) he stopped and looked back with a smug grin and 'home boy' folded arms.

Last was a middle aged woman who'd got caught up the race. She looked proud!


(I was in the middle btw)

fossyant

Oh you never look proud and smug...... unless it's your mates - just keep going and let 'em all die.

I do feel sorry for some of the other commuters on my run as I blast past on a mudguarded MTB as they struggle, but as a seasoned cyclist, what am I mean't to do.

I think a lot of folk just stop or slow down as the pain kicks in, its something you learn to ride through - that is what makes the difference..