The Minefield Of Cycling Etiquette

Pross

On my morning commute today I got caught and passed by another rider who did the nonchalant quick chat as he passed me. I've got no problem with that as I'm not the fastest thing on 2 wheels and regularly get passed (although that's the first time on my morning commute on the open road in the 3 years I've doing it strangely) and I was riding pretty gently as I am riding my first 12 hour TT on Sunday.

The problem was that this guy must have put in an effort to catch me up as once he passed and pulled in in front of me he slowed down to about 0.5mph slower than I had been going. This left me with a bit of a dilemma - do I overtake him and risk getting drawn into a situation where he thinks I'm trying to race him, back off and give him a good gap before carrying on at my previous speed or just sit on his wheel? In the end I sat about 5 - 10m back from him with my hands planted on the tops and every now and again could see him bend his back and accelerate but he couldn't sustain the higher pace for more than a few seconds. It was quite funny to see, I really didn't want to look like a wheelsucker so was having to keep backing off as he slowed down but equally I didn't want to look like I was racing so didn't want to overtake. If I'd been in his position I'd have felt a bit foolish and would probably have turned up one of the side lanes to save face

No doubt the guy is on a forum somewhere telling everyone how he blitzed past a rider on his way to work this morning and that the rider then just sat on his wheel grimacing the rest of the way.

Any Cake Stop style advice on how I should have dealt with the situation better is welcome. If not for the race on Sunday (which I'm pretty nervous about) I would have just overtaken him and gone hard for long enough to stop him following but I had to show restraint!

thecrofter

Sorry to say it but,

IT'S ALWAYS A RACE!


and you lost.

:roll:

disgruntledgoat

I got passed by some goon on a beat up Raleigh MTB in bagy shorts the other day. He was mashing his biggest gear and I was riding for recovery, however, so just let him have his fun. Doesn't matter to me, commuting isn't a race. A race is a race.

Pross

It was more that I ended up riding slower than I had been before he passed me that was a bit frustrating, I'm used to people overtaking me but they usually just ride into the distance in a blur. It was like when someone ovetakes you in a car on the motorway, pulls in front and then goes slightly slower than you were when they overtook but you know if you go back past them they will take it as a challenge and pass you again. The dilemma for me was whether to sit just behind him which have left me feeling I should 'do my turn' on the front even though I had made no effort to get on his wheel or to sit up for a bit and let him get a bigger gap. In the end I sat slightly back and thought sod it, he overtook me so if he wants me off his wheel he'll just have to ride at the speed he was to catch me up in the first place.

GiantMike

You let a slower rider overtake you and hold you up? That's like letting another man roger your wife, badly.

Pross

GiantMike wrote:

You let a slower rider overtake you and hold you up? That's like letting another man roger your wife, badly.

I know - I do that too (she says badly is still an improvement on my performances). I'm ashamed on both counts!

morstar

Once it was apparent he was struggling, you should have just ridden through a couple of mph quicker just to leave him behind without obviously racing.

It could then have turned into the boy racer scenario with each of you going faster and faster until at a full blown sprint.

I did a 10K running race in July where I finished quite strongly compared to those around me. I gradually caught another runner up who then matched his pace to me always with his chest a couple of inches ahead. I lifted the pace to go past and within 100 metres we were both at full blown sprint with about a Km still to go.

After a brief recovery, I just lifted the pace and sustained it and let the elastic break in its own time. A bit different with drafting on the bike but I reckon you should have done just the same.

Kendal Black Drop

He's already said he was saving himself for a 12 hour TT on Sunday and you're suggesting he gets into a full blown race sprint?

I would have stayed on his wheel and drafted for a while and then asked him if he wanted me to take a turn up front.

jgsi

Should have brought out the mighty weapon that is 1/2 wheeling, shouldnt ya?

Gizmo_

After a little while following (he was probably getting a tow from you before overtaking, might as well return the favour) I would have been unable to resist blowing past him.

slowbike

You should've pulled up alongside and said

"are you ok? you seem to be struggling a bit there"

and when he huffs & puffs a response you can come back with

"oo .. you're out of breath - I'd ease up for a while if I were you ... " ...

then just carry on past

alihisgreat

Slowbike wrote:

You should've pulled up alongside and said

"are you ok? you seem to be struggling a bit there"

and when he huffs & puffs a response you can come back with

"oo .. you're out of breath - I'd ease up for a while if I were you ... " ...

then just carry on past

I'd let him sit in the wheel for 5 mins though.. its only polite since the OP did the same to him.

Pross

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

You should've pulled up alongside and said

"are you ok? you seem to be struggling a bit there"

and when he huffs & puffs a response you can come back with

"oo .. you're out of breath - I'd ease up for a while if I were you ... " ...

then just carry on past

I'd let him sit in the wheel for 5 mins though.. its only polite since the OP did the same to him.

5 minutes? I sat in his wheel for at least 5 miles! If I'd known where he was going to turn off I would have blasted past him about 100m beforehand

Anonymous

just say,

"sorry I am practising my time trialling do you mind if I go in front, I am trying to hold this speed, or would you mind shooting off ahead so I am not on your wheel"

He'll probably push you off and say, "I aint playin' at nuffink mate, we're burnin' through London, it's tough love"

but at least you tried

Secteur

thecrofter wrote:

Sorry to say it but,

IT'S ALWAYS A RACE!


and you lost.

:roll:

Pross

Secteur wrote:

thecrofter wrote:

Sorry to say it but,

IT'S ALWAYS A RACE!


and you lost.

:roll:

Except I didn't - the finish was my office car park and he turned off before that so that's a DNF for him

Yellow Peril

This has happened to me a few times with different people whereby they have busted a gut to pass me then slowed down a hundred yards or so ahead. I've taken to sitting on their wheel as noisily as possible. I find it usually forces them to up the pace to shake me off. If they are going past where I turn off I usually pass them wave and say thanks for the tow.

canbakay

riding my nicer bike out, its always becomes a race. seems everyone wants to zoom right passed with a wiggo face barely hiding the burning legs. I just continue as i would otherwise.

desweller

Round here I'd wait for the next short hill (there's always one round the corner) and saunter past on the ascent. It's more legitimate somehow; you get to make the pass and they get to believe that they wouldn't have been overtaken if it hadn't have been for that hill...

Pross

DesWeller wrote:

Round here I'd wait for the next short hill (there's always one round the corner) and saunter past on the ascent. It's more legitimate somehow; you get to make the pass and they get to believe that they wouldn't have been overtaken if it hadn't have been for that hill...

Yeah, unfortunately my commute is on about the only flat road in South Wales. The only lump is a railway bridge!

rhext

Pross wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

Round here I'd wait for the next short hill (there's always one round the corner) and saunter past on the ascent. It's more legitimate somehow; you get to make the pass and they get to believe that they wouldn't have been overtaken if it hadn't have been for that hill...

Yeah, unfortunately my commute is on about the only flat road in South Wales. The only lump is a railway bridge!

Same thing happened to me last week. I just sat on his wheel all the way home, grateful for my new mobile windbreak, wondering why he'd made such a stupid tactical error, and enjoying his increasingly frantic efforts to maintain the pace. Well, I say 'all the way home': I eventually ran out of patience and had to leave him behind when we came to small hill.

To me, it's the height of bad manners to overtake someone and then slow down and you deserve everything you get....

karlth

Heh. Passed a bloke today - saw him about 500m ahead and it was clear there was a good 4-5 mph difference, so very shortly I reached him, went past, nodded as I drew level and said "how do?", as you do up here. As I pulled back in I heard "show off!".

Well, not really, I'm fairly slow for a roadie, but he was on a hybrid or MTB - (hard to tell with a casual glance; you just tend to notice if it's got drops) so it's hardly surprising if I'm going a bit quicker and so pass him.

Rest assured I didn't then immediately slow down; I only pass if I'm actually going to be slowed down myself if I don't. Otherwise what's the point?

tigerben

In relation to the OP I find the same thing happening to me a lot - and gets on my tits as am not out to race anybody on my commute. My general way of dealing with it is keep my pace the same and try to deviate my route and if I overtake before our ways part so be it. Hoping of course that the other rider does not also take that turn.

On a similar vein I have been overtaken a couple of times whilst I was going slow either because i was drinking/ messing with garmin or most likely trying to deduce what the rattling noise coming from the chainset was. Question for me is when I resume normal speed do I overtake and give impression i am racing or change route as per above ( assuming I could actually catch them).

Most mortifying cycling fail for me was going up the local steep climb - overtaking a rider half way up - due to the incline the speeds were slow so I had time to expand the greeting from just "hello" to a cheery " I hate this hill" - in response he said "no I do not want a race" . I did not register he had misheard me until I was already past and out of earshot. Rather than slowing to explain the mistake I panicked thinking he must think me a real twat best get out of here! So then had to kill myself on the remainder of the climb giving it full gas to get out of his site and ride myself away from the shame. Pushed so hard triggered acid reflux attack. Bad times.

RoadMeridaBen

Pross wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

Round here I'd wait for the next short hill (there's always one round the corner) and saunter past on the ascent. It's more legitimate somehow; you get to make the pass and they get to believe that they wouldn't have been overtaken if it hadn't have been for that hill...

Yeah, unfortunately my commute is on about the only flat road in South Wales. The only lump is a railway bridge!

I've not found a flat road yet :P

Ron Stuart

Never mind Contador got overtaken for two minutes yesterday

Daz555

Why would anyone want to overtake and then slow down?

I always just catch up (to prove that I can) and then wheel-suck and have a rest. Lovely.

Ron Stuart

For those that haven't already seen this.... http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fulls ... tatus=True 8)

Anonymous

I wear an MTB team jersey.......

Frank the tank

Ron Stuart wrote:

Never mind Contador got overtaken for two minutes yesterday

Yes, Tony Martin demonstrated how it should be done.

Ron Stuart

Frank the tank wrote:

Ron Stuart wrote:

Never mind Contador got overtaken for two minutes yesterday

Yes, Tony Martin demonstrated how it should be done.

No Wiggo though but still a great ride, pic below I took of Tony coming in second to Wiggo for the first time this year :P

Initialised

As someone who rides a hybridized MTB I get this a lot. They overtake then wonder why I'm still there on their wheel a mile later. Just because you are on drop bars doesn't automatically make you faster than me.

Probably doesn't help that my mudguards say MOUNTAIN in big letters. Is that SCR baiting?

Was contemplating the relative FCN of a CX on Small Block Knobblies vs a MTB on slicks as I sat on the wheel of a guy on a CUBE CX who decided to shelter me from the headwind. What do you think?