I was humbled today

[The Brook]

I was commuting to work this morning on my Freerider, admitedly not the fastest Cruzbike, but still, I'm able to ride at approx 17-19 mph in the flats.
Today, I was riding in a flat section of Cote St-Luc, going at 19 mph, when suddenly, I was startled to be passed by 2 cyclists riding on racing type road bikes, they widened the lead continuously, they had to be doing around 27 or so mph. I never noticed them coming up on me.
Yes, they were younger (I'm 64, but in good shape, 25 pounds lighter than when the picture in my Avatar was taken) and had good bikes, but in the years I have been commuting to work, I've not often passed, and not by that much of a speed difference.
My hat (or helmet in this case) is off to them.
Then, to make things worse, later in the ride, I was passed by a guy riding a rather ordinary Fixed gear bike, not a drop bar type, an upright that had to be non-aerodynamic, by not mmuch of a speed advantage, but by a Fixie? He wasn't doing a Poseur Pass, as he was able to keep the speed up, I lost him when I had to stop at a red light a little further away.
Humbling experience!
I wish you all a good ride,
Denis

 

[cpml123]

I had a similar experience with a fixie rider. A group of us rode 50 mi with about 1500 ft elevation. Mid way through I noticed one of the guys (friend of a friend) was riding a fixed gear bike. Yikes...

 

[DavidCH]

With fixed gear... you get very strong. It's not easy. On an upright Fixie I am pretty sure you have more falls than on a DF upright.

The other two roadies were probably drafting off each other.

If it bothers you too much... try a Vendetta

 

[The Brook]

If it bothers you too much... try a Vendetta

I would love to, but my finances are a little tight for the next little while.
I have started putting money aside, but I don't think its in the cards for this year

 

[The Brook]

The other two roadies were probably drafting off each other.

Actually, they were side by side, that's why I was so impressed, no drafting there!!

 

[RojoRacing]

The other two roadies were probably drafting off each other.

Actually, they were side by side, that's why I was so impressed, no drafting there!!

27 mph DF's side by side, seems like a chill ride at a coversational pace to me.

 

[jond]

E assist get it on.

We are all headed there one day. Just not one day too soon I hope.

 

[bladderhead]

I am used to being overtaken. 17mph on a Freerider is bloody good. I get an average speed of 16mph on my Silvio if I want a heart-attack. And I keep going back for more.

 

[bladderhead]

We are all headed there one day

Or die suddenly before your time.

I think cycling stops me from getting depressed.

 

[The Brook]

27 mph DF's side by side, seems like a chill ride at a coversational pace to me.

It must be nice to be young! And yes, now that I remember, they were having a conversation as they passed me.
But I'm thinking that if I were on a V20, I might have been a lot closer to their speed.
Maybe next year

 

[3bs]

this is why bikes of all types continue to be one of the great complex tools in history. its just cool to see dudes ride fast. its cool to be one of the dudes too, but as i tell my children, no matter how fast you are there will be always someone faster.

 

[LarryOz]

But I'm thinking that if I were on a V20, I might have been a lot closer to their speed.

If you can have about a 4w/kg 1 hour power you should be able to ride 27 (for miles and miles) on a Vendetta and you could hang with them and even give them grief.

 

[billyk]

I was humbled this Friday afternoon, on my way home from work after a long week.

I'd climbed a steep section, maybe 200ft rise, then was on a shallower uphill, going about 7-8 mph. I passed a kid, maybe 5, being dragged along by his mother. He looks at me and says "that's not very fast". Mom laughs.

Ooof, thanks.

 

[Bill K]

I was passed by a jogger once on a 13% grade on my way to work.
Now that's humbled!

 

[benphyr]

Humbled - a new nickname for Cruzbikes. It can apply to us when passed or to others when we pass them. or maybe
"B33: the Humble Bee - be ye 19 or 90 we've got a Cruzbike for thee,
"Whether you are humbled or humbling others - this is the B"
"To B or not to B33, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous uprights."
"Friends, Uprights, Cyclists - lend me your wheels"
"V20, V20 wherefore art thou V20"
"Humour B - the bike for those who can laugh at themselves - and others"

Okay, back to work Ben!

 

[cranky cyclist]

I was humbled when in a bike race on an upright I was passed by an Amish woman on a single speed.

 

[Zzzorse]

I was humbled when in a bike race on an upright I was passed by an Amish woman on a single speed.

Might have been a Hutterite on an e-bike.

 

[benphyr]

No excuses - if a Ferrari passes you, if a baby stroller passes you, single speed, skateboard, neighbour's dog, it is all your perspective - you were passed and therefore too slow OR you were on your bike riding - that is worth celebrating and is a celebration in itself.

 

[paco1961]

Per the fixie comments, I still occasionally hop on my very first DF build - $75 Nashbar aluminum track frame, chrome steel straight blade fork, low grade components, cheap-o wheelset - Singlespeed rather than fixie. It is without doubt my fastest bike up to about 26-27mph where I run out of cadence. I honestly have no idea why. It is my most comfy DF but by far the cheapest and heaviest. The S40 blows it away on top end obviously and is better on longer and steeper climbs. Of course comfort nod goes to the CB all day long. Moral of the story is that if geared appropriately for the ride pace, fixie/singlespeeds can hang w any geared DF. The only KOMs I have in town are modest climb segments on my SS.

 

[RojoRacing]

So this weekend I took the V20 up hwy 39 in sothern California aka Azuza canyon and failed to take the KOM going DH , can you imagine my disappointment to only finish 2nd? The funny thing was I ran the strava live segment feature on my garmin so it gives me in real-time how far ahead or behind I am, so if I'm a few seconds behind I can work on closing in a single second at a time over the whole DH. I was behind about 10 seconds after the first 2 miles of poor road surface but then the next 6 miles of smooth road I continued to loose 1 second per mile through all the continuous sweeping corners some of which is because the road is still new to me. The surprising part was in the last 5 miles you only have to touch the brakes a few times so even though there are corners the speed of the V20 should be in full effect, but to my surprise, I could only pull back 5 seconds over the final 5 miles finishing 11 seconds behind. What kind of rider and setup gets you going DH in a pure speed situation as fast as me on the V20? If the rider was in the super tuck position I could understand those speeds but that would be impossible through all the corners which may not require brakes but you'd have to be much crazier than me to stay in the super tuck on a DF through them.

So then the following day I did the same ride on the V20 but this time with 4 other friends all on DF bikes. 3 of them who are about as close to my DF ability as you can get just walked away from me on the big climbs, it was rather humbling because I haven't been outclimbed that bad since the white mountain double century back in 2016. The one rider who couldn't keep pace with the other 3 or myself probably weighs 25-30lbs more than me which is important to note. So on the DH everyone starts out casual semi tucked and after everyone gets up to speed I go coasting passed them and continue to pull away at a rapid pace through the corners, what you'd expect right?. I waited to regroup halfway down the mountain and this time Simon the heavier rider got into a very tight tuck but not a super tuck, he still had his ass on his seat. I matched my speed to his and with us side by side for over two miles going around 45mph I couldn't pass or pull away, in fact he was pulling ahead a single inch at a time. If he had gone full aero tuck he would have started pulling away for sure so that raises some questions.

How aero are we and does 30 lbs negate that DH advantage?

Am I too fit and lightweight to truly consider myself a DH specialist?

Do I need to eat more donuts and Uber myself to the tops of these climbs to avoid potential weight loss?

I feel like I may have been on the wrong path this whole time