Your commuting arch nemesis

DonDaddyD

Most of us have them, they are a cyclist you regularly see on your commute and you’ve developed a near unhealthy sense that you need to compete against them.

Maybe it’s because they have the same bike as you and you need to know you’re faster or maybe their kit is in the same price range, who knows? But the rivalry goes beyond SCR, you encounter them with some frequency and each encounter is a personal battle with the outcome usually in their favour. Because you battle so frequently it soon becomes all out war…

Regardless of how you rationalise it what matters is that when they pull up to the lights, it is just you and them.

Who is your commuting arch nemesis?

My arch nemesis

Way back in October 2008 on my very first commute from my new flat to my job I encountered a dude on a Giant SCR 1.5 and the same Specialized Propero helmet as me but in white to match his bike in the way that my red helmet matches mine.

I chased and chased, but lost him to a superb display of courage and filtering.

Throughout the year I’ve encountered several guys repeatedly on commute. I’ve dispatched them all to become the nearly the undisputed champion of my commute. But I cannot defeat the guy on the SCR 1.5. He always gets me, somehow.

Yesterday ploughing down Balham Hill, faster than I’ve ever done before I felt someone draft me. Yep! It was the same guy on the SCR 1.5. He continued to draft me so I sped up a little, a little more and then I opened the heavens and put a little distance between him and I. I can't maintain the pace so I tuck back in behind a fair-weather, and he stays out wide and sprints along the Balham/Tooting drag strip. By the time it’s safe to move around the fair-weather the SCR 1.5 is too far ahead for me to sprint and catch. Luckily he has to wait at the lights. They turn green and he is off like a rocket, with me desperately trying to clip-in and give chase. I get stuck behind a lorry. Next lights he goes off like a rocket, a bus turns left at the junction and a coach follows and blocks traffic I'm in. I lose the Giant SCR 1.5 once again…

This practically how every encounter with him goes, I lose to filtering or some circumstance not of my control…

He is a biggish white guy with glasses, goatee, a black Head rucksack, white propero helmet, weird Shimano pedals and a 2008 Giant SCR 1.5. Who are you!?

Furbes

Chris Hoy with a false beard

always_tyred

Nope. For some reason I never seem to see the same person twice.

Actually, there is one guy on an electric bike comes in the opposite direction quite frequently. He waves.

There is always a sea of red light "anticipating" daredevil mountain bike riding fair weather commuters who may, if they are lucky, survive the summer. Could be that I see some of them each day, but they are an amorphous moving obstacle and I do not regard them as distinct entities.

Oh, and students. "Brownian Cyclists".

Feltup

He rides a singlecross and is devastingly handsome. Sometimes he is rapid but most of the time cruises at a decent speed. I have never overtaken him and he has never passed me.

I wonder who he is

Yep you are right there aren't my cyclists on my route.

cjcp

No nemesis, but there's plenty to watch out for.

gtvlusso

Bloke in an open top BMW.....Tossa!

Always see him at approx the same place on my commute - He lives very close to me and works in the office opposite mine. I don't think he has beaten me to work ever - he gets caught in the traffic. He has tried to overtake me on numerous occasions, when there is a gap between the lights, loves to block the cycle lane and just be an obstruction - but always gets stuck in traffic!! And I overtake him on the right anyway....Has shouted "TW*T" at me a few times, for some bizarre reason - I may lower myself and gob on him as I pass next time.....TBC.

What takes him 30 mins, takes me 15 mins.

It elates me and I am simply a better person.......

*I may not be a better person!

pst88

There's a bloke I always used to see on my ride to work. Rode a fixed gear bike (like me), always wearing at least one item of Rapha (usually more) and seemed to pedal at about 200rpm and go way faster than me. I wouldn't mind but I've said hello to him a few times and he's just ignored me, like he thinks he's somehow above me. What a cock. Haven't seen him in ages though, but if I do see him again it'll be my moral duty to beat him in a race.

mcmullej

Very few cyclists on my commute - but there's this one guy I've seen maybe 4 or 5 times over the past year. He wears a black and white skeleton jersey. The first time, he passed me so fast I could barely see him, nevermind catch him.

He's easily 'won' all our engagements so far.

Last time was about a week ago. He passes me going up Well End. I jump on his tail. He gets away. I catch him. Then I make a fatal mistake. Feeling guilty just sticking on his tail, I make a break for it. It's all I can do to stay ahead for a few minutes. Once again he just breezes past with a cheery "It's nice to have an incentive". Goes straight through a roundabout but I'm held up by oncoming traffic. Moments later, he's just a speck in the distance.

Chapeau, Skeleton-Man. One day, one day.....

ince

There is a guy on some sort of Hybrid that always past me on my way home out of Chester, on my old subway i used to be able to keep up for a short distance. Now I have my new GT I can't wait to come across him again.

Stuey01

DDD, it sounds like you lose because he is faster than you.

CiB

DonDaddyD wrote:

...He is a biggish white guy with glasses, goatee, a black Head rucksack, white propero helmet, weird Shimano pedals and a 2008 Giant SCR 1.5. Who are you!?

It's me DDD, me. I love to pop into town and taunt the natives.

If only. I don't see cars, let alone other cyclists round here. Reduced to waving at sheep these days to liven the ride up a bit.

El Gordo

I don't have a nemisis but I'd love to find out that I was someone elses. Come on, there must be someone here who is overtaken daily in Derby by a bloke on an old Trek with one pannier.

I suspect the guy on the folder who does 5 mph (seriously) that I balze past twice daily doesn't frequent this forum.

Jay dubbleU

Guy on another hybrid same setup as me - panniers etc except he wears shorts which puts him one above me in the food chain - so far its one all

itboffin

Feltup wrote:

He rides a singlecross and is devastingly handsome. Sometimes he is rapid but most of the time cruises at a decent speed. I have never overtaken him and he has never passed me.

I wonder who he is

Yep you are right there aren't my cyclists on my route.

:shock:

okay.....!

Do you talk to this person a lot as well?

biondino

It used to be the blond guy on the bright green Scott Full susser who'd cruise at 23mph and who I'd struggle to keep up with, but I haven't seen him since last summer. Perhaps he's a fairweather cyclist?

I'm quite glad I've only seen CJ the once as it would be very depressing to get pwned and pwned and pwned again...

cjcp

biondino wrote:

I'm quite glad I've only seen CJ the once as it would be very depressing to get pwned and pwned and pwned again...

I thought it was settled that you were not, in fact, pwned.

lost_in_thought

I have named my nemesis, I call him Red.

I see him very rarely, he's on a black SS with red deep-section rims. He's a skinny fellow, with red dreadlocks, usually in black baggies. He sometimes has a messenger bag, usually doesn't, and he's fast!

He also stops for all the reds, pulling out some seriously good trackstands, before blasting off again.

Many a time I have chased him, it's that tunnel vision thing - quite irresponsible really - 'ignore traffic, peds, other cyclists, must... catch... red'.

Every time so far he's got away. I've stayed with him, but haven't the legs to get past. Clearly, I'd have to pass him on the Bowery for it to count.

One day...

Bassjunkieuk

Excellent thread idea (again!) DDD - I do think I have some advice for you tho.
DON'T DRAFT FWC! They invariably struggle to keep a speed above 10mph which to go from giving someone a tow with a sprint (so 25ish?) to drafting one of these people would be like hitting a brick wall :shock:
As my commute can alter each week I rarely get to see the same person enough to get to recognize them! There might be the occasional day if I set off at precisely the same time and get a similar run on the lights I might encounter someone I found on the previous day but most of the more serious looking riders I normally only see once.

Greg T

There's a guy on a Carpenter (obscure handmade presumably - very niche - exotic) fixed that has whipped by me and disappeared a couple of times as I turn out of the top of my road. I'm stone cold and don't want to blitz off to spare my tendons....

I do however want to meet him a couple of miles down the road when I've got my blood moving.

always_tyred

Oh, and DDD, it you want to shake a wheel sucker, gradually increasing pace isn't the way to do it. Instead, gradually decrease pace, for example on some flimsy premise like a red light 300 yards away, and then rip it up as suddenly as you are able without making it too obvious. A wheel sucker is an intrinsically lazy fellow and will not be bothered to bridge even a small gap.

Feltup

itboffin wrote:

Feltup wrote:

He rides a singlecross and is devastingly handsome. Sometimes he is rapid but most of the time cruises at a decent speed. I have never overtaken him and he has never passed me.

I wonder who he is

Yep you are right there aren't my cyclists on my route.

:shock:

okay.....!

Do you talk to this person a lot as well?

Nah, he's an idiot

gtvlusso

lost_in_thought wrote:

I have named my nemesis, I call him Red.

I see him very rarely, he's on a black SS with red deep-section rims. He's a skinny fellow, with red dreadlocks, usually in black baggies. He sometimes has a messenger bag, usually doesn't, and he's fast!

He also stops for all the reds, pulling out some seriously good trackstands, before blasting off again.

Many a time I have chased him, it's that tunnel vision thing - quite irresponsible really - 'ignore traffic, peds, other cyclists, must... catch... red'.

Every time so far he's got away. I've stayed with him, but haven't the legs to get past. Clearly, I'd have to pass him on the Bowery for it to count.

One day...

Do you call him Red because he looks like the fraggle; Red?

biondino

cjcp wrote:

biondino wrote:

I'm quite glad I've only seen CJ the once as it would be very depressing to get pwned and pwned and pwned again...

I thought it was settled that you were not, in fact, pwned.

Oh but I wasn't, hence the conditional tense

Roastie

Nice to hear all the stories.

Mine is a dude in a silver Porsche Carrera 4S. I usually pick him up around Vauxhall (that doesn't sound good...) and then it is game on until we get to Fenchurch Street. At the time of the morning I meet him, it is touch and go if he will get overly caught by traffic or not.

What makes it fun is that he's as much in the game as I am, and he does try pretty hard too (and the Porker sounds great doing it). IIRC, we are sitting even at 2-2.

Since I've started occasionally doing Embankment, I've come across several properly fast guys who I've watched creep off into the distance while my HR blasts into the red so I'm sure I'll find a proper two wheeled, non-engined commute nemesis soon...

cjcp

Roastiecp wrote:

Nice to hear all the stories.

Mine is a dude in a silver Porsche Carrera 4S. I usually pick him up around Vauxhall (that doesn't sound good...) and then it is game on until we get to Fenchurch Street. At the time of the morning I meet him, it is touch and go if he will get overly caught by traffic or not.

What makes it fun is that he's as much in the game as I am, and he does try pretty hard too (and the Porker sounds great doing it). IIRC, we are sitting even at 2-2.

Rostie - I'm in Fenchurch St. What time do you roll in?

Bassjunkieuk

cjcp wrote:

Roastiecp wrote:

Nice to hear all the stories.

Mine is a dude in a silver Porsche Carrera 4S. I usually pick him up around Vauxhall (that doesn't sound good...) and then it is game on until we get to Fenchurch Street. At the time of the morning I meet him, it is touch and go if he will get overly caught by traffic or not.

What makes it fun is that he's as much in the game as I am, and he does try pretty hard too (and the Porker sounds great doing it). IIRC, we are sitting even at 2-2.

Rostie - I'm in Fenchurch St. What time do you roll in?

I'm *near* Fenchurch Street at the moment........just a couple of roads further north! Strange we haven't seen each other really!

janm399

I have no nemesis in south Manchester, but I'd love to find one. Please apply by riding from Didsbury to Reddish around 7:15 tomorrow morning

greg66_tri_v2.0

There are a couple of guys I've mentioned in the past, who I think are rowers (shorts are a bit too short, and they have bibs but usually ride with the straps down).

One rides a SS with what looks like 56x12. Once he gets himself going he pretty fast, but he doesn't have great leg speed (also makes me think he's a rower) so I can manage with lower gearing and higher cadence. Plus bursts of acceleration help.

The other I haven't seen for a long time now. He looks like he's packing saddle bags down the outside of his quads. Said saddle bags are, umm, quads! Similar style - strong but not fast legs - and I think he rides geared.

When I see those it's "photon torpedoes - full spread - and warp 9.975 until we've run out of coal *and* logs!"

Bassjunkieuk

Greg66 wrote:

There are a couple of guys I've mentioned in the past, who I think are rowers (shorts are a bit too short, and they have bibs but usually ride with the straps down).

One rides a SS with what looks like 56x12. Once he gets himself going he pretty fast, but he doesn't have great leg speed (also makes me think he's a rower) so I can manage with lower gearing and higher cadence. Plus bursts of acceleration help.

The other I haven't seen for a long time now. He looks like he's packing saddle bags down the outside of his quads. Said saddle bags are, umm, quads! Similar style - strong but not fast legs - and I think he rides geared.

When I see those it's "photon torpedoes - full spread - and warp 9.975 until we've run out of coal *and* logs!"

Sweet jesus even our cooler then ice overlord has people that give him trouble! What are us mere mortals to do if we encounter these 2 bike riders of the apocalypse?!?!?!?!

Hey Jax

not so much a nemesis, but i may be his...and so is everyone else i should think. I pass this really old "cat weasle" type guy on the way home most evenings going UP Bury New Rd, towards Prestwich.He has on a mud stained high viz bib, with his Aldi carrier bag hooked on his handle bar. He must be around 70, on an old MTB, creaking along at around 3 MPH! Kudos to him that he actually can get up those hills. Bet theres not many 70 years olds up for that challenge.
We always exchange hellos and waves as i burn past him!

il_principe

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

There are a couple of guys I've mentioned in the past, who I think are rowers (shorts are a bit too short, and they have bibs but usually ride with the straps down).

One rides a SS with what looks like 56x12. Once he gets himself going he pretty fast, but he doesn't have great leg speed (also makes me think he's a rower) so I can manage with lower gearing and higher cadence. Plus bursts of acceleration help.

The other I haven't seen for a long time now. He looks like he's packing saddle bags down the outside of his quads. Said saddle bags are, umm, quads! Similar style - strong but not fast legs - and I think he rides geared.

When I see those it's "photon torpedoes - full spread - and warp 9.975 until we've run out of coal *and* logs!"

Sweet jesus even our cooler then ice overlord has people that give him trouble! What are us mere mortals to do if we encounter these 2 bike riders of the apocalypse?!?!?!?!

Drop the hammer and nail the fcukers. They may be big but think of the weight they're lugging about.

I don't have a nemesis, but I'm advertising for one.