A couple of weeks ago I had a run-in with a pathlete on East Capitol Street. Yes, I still refer to them as pathletes even when they are not on the bike path. I mentioned my story to some teammates and friends but failed to blog about it because, well, I was just too embarrassed to let people know that I had it handed to me by a senior citizen on a folding bike.
I was commuting home after what I'm sure was a rather intense workout session at Hains Point when the aforementioned pathlete cut me off at a red light (I had the green). I did not take too kindly to this and decided to "show him who's boss" by passing him within inches and powering off down East Cap. Only it didn't quite happen like that. I did pass him, but he got on my wheel. Keep in mind, this dude was probably old enough to be my grandfather (remember, I'm from Alabama and they have 'em young down there) AND he was on a folding bike. Not only did he manage to hold my wheel, he actually had the nerve to pass me, and by the looks of him, he was not hurting at all. I, on the other hand, was in a world of hurt. Thankfully, he made a left turn while I went straight and continued on my way home, albeit with the proverbial tail between the legs.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I'm on my way to the Conte's Tuesday night hill ride. A couple of blocks from work I'm approached by a guy on a folding bike. He wants to know how to get to the bike path. As I'm giving him directions he asks if I'm heading that way, which I was. He then states that he'll just follow me. "Great!" I think sarcastically to myself, although getting a good look at the dude, he looked pretty fit. I went my normal commuting pace which is not fast but not slow either. I get him to the bike path and I guess I'm going too slow for him because he passes me. I think no way and I going to let this happen again so I get on his wheel and wind up drafting him the entire way to my turn, and he was not going easy. It was a struggle to keep up with him on some of the short climbs on the Custis. As I turned off on Quincy, he continued on to the W&OD trail because he wanted to get in a couple of hours. At this point I had actually asked him if he wanted to come and do the hill ride. I really had no doubt he could keep up.
Last night I once again ran into someone on a folder, although she had on Capri's and was carrying a pocketbook so she presented no competition (or maybe she did but didn't care). I asked her about the bike and she informed me that she had just gotten it but loves it. She told me about how nice it was to be able to carry it on the Metro, into her office, and that she's only had to lock it up once.
So what's the point of this blog? I guess I don't really have one. Except this whole folding bike thing fascinates me. I know there's an entire subculture of folders up in Philly. When they used to have the Manayunk Hill Climb Time Trial they even had a folder class. I'm not going to run out and get one, but think maybe they'd be a good commuting option for some. They are certainly fast enough. I have tried having a dedicated commuting bike but it just doesn't work for me since I ride to work, then directly to Hains or Arlington or wherever to do my workouts in the evenings. However, if and when I give up this whole racing business I just may have to consider one of these.
2 comments:
It is interesting to see the growing legitimacy of folding bikes in the cycling world ...is this the same mind set that people fall into when they ask for a mullet at the salon? I think the key thing about folding bikes is that they are welcome passengers on public transit. Nice write-up!
at least i now know where super dave gets his seat posts.
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