You know the ones; you're hanging out your hoop from a hard ride at the weekend and all you want is a nice pootle and then you come across another commuter who wants to stick the boot in just so he can go home and say he overtook the man on the shiny expensive bike. Do you concede defeat and let them go on their merry way or do you wring every last ounce of go juice from your legs and hope you can stay up front?

Just cruise on, knowing that you aren't breaking a sweat whilst they drown in their own puddle.

I have become competitive cyclist. I was gutted on my single commute last week when I had my arse handed to me on a plate. Made up for it today but overtaking two at once though

I don't race other commuters… TBH half of them look like they're on their way to a heart attack anyway. But mopeds, they're a red rag to a bull…

Sometimes I cycle, sometimes I take the bus. When I cycle, I have to race my bus. 8 miles from the sticks to the city centre and my best so far is passing 4 buses on my service route!

on a day when the schedule permits / or the way home I will race if it is a rest /recuperate/normal day then they can go their merry way. If I am going out that night or on a long one the next day why shag myself out racing someone for 10 miles?
PS they best be in Lycra and a **** good road bike mind or all of the above is void.

i commute on a singlespeed. everyone is faster than me

I find competitive commuter who busts a gut to pass you rather amusing tho – if I can pass them without breaking sweat by skills thru traffic I do – if its the open road I rarely even attempt

Mines, mostly.

years ago I used to chase them all down alot, all good training… now it depends what mood Im in, can't be bothered half the time, and I've noticed that now Im doing alot more running I tend to ride my bikes like a normal person… chill.

Kev

I can't help it. I was cycling to my dad's house once and went past someone on a nice bike going much slower than me. A minute or so later i looked round and he was sat on my wheel. We proceeded to try and hammer the sh1t out of each other for about 15 miles of the A6 before i gave in. Then i had to turn round and cycle 7 miles back the same way to go to my dad's.

I would have been overtook by a snail today 😆 I have not cycled in 5 weeks (eek) God I am sore!

lol at finbar !

What is this 'overtook'? 8)

The only time ive ever been overtaken in the past year was by a roadie going down a shallow hill who had much higher gears to use than me (good justification eh). It hurts. The feeling of being overtaken is like… too bad to cope with any kind of simile.
If you commute into Leeds you may have been overtaken by a red rock lobster.
Galaxy Quest said it best:

NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!

at least i think thats galaxy quest…

I used to commute into Nottingham on of these, racing was the last thing on my mind i took the time to smell the flowers.

TandemJeremy – Member
I find competitive commuter who busts a gut to pass you rather amusing tho

I make F1 style nnneeeeeeooooowwwwwnnn sounds as they go past.

I got thoroughly overtaken yesterday by a guy on a complete fakenger fixy, dressed like a person on a fixy. He had a gigantic chainring and appeared to be able to spin it even up hills. Admittedly I had about 5kg of stuff in my panniers, and wasn't hurrying, but he was just hammering it past me, I had bugger all chance of even sitting on his wheel. Fortunately he turned off after a couple of miles (I caught him up at a red light) so at least I have the excuse that he was probably only going 5 miles to my 16.

Today I got some guy on a (quite fancy) mountain bike trying to race, huffing and puffing behind me. Unfortunately for him he decided to race me on a great big downhill, it turns out that riding a road bike low on the drops, you can freewheel faster down a hill than a sit up and beg mountain biker can pedal it!

I can't help it. I was cycling to my dad's house once and went past someone on a nice bike going much slower than me. A minute or so later i looked round and he was sat on my wheel. We proceeded to try and hammer the sh1t out of each other for about 15 miles of the A6 before i gave in. Then i had to turn round and cycle 7 miles back the same way to go to my dad's.

That made me laugh – I've often been tempted, but never actually gone off my route to race people. The A6 is such a great road for impromptu road bike races, so many people on road bikes, and a flat road too, so downhills and uphills don't mess things up. Just been out with the local chaingang down it – got thoroughly dropped by the fast group, and even the slow steady group was going at quite a pace. It is amazing how super fast proper road bikers are.

Tomorrow, I think I might get overtaken – 160km in the last two days, plus two full days of work means I'm pretty tired now!

Joe

Have to say i enjoy over taking Mountain bikers when i'm out running over the moors, its usually a different story going down hill tho.

I find I overtake most of the regulars I see on my commute but I certainly don't bust a gut if they ovetake me. If I am going slowly enough for someone to overtake me then they are either trying too hard or would wip my ass. It would look silly for me to then ovetake them again! It also depends on wether I have commuted all week and am riding the weekend – no point knackering myself out for the weekend bash 🙂

I'm not as bad as I used to be with *needing* to catch or stay with other commuters but I find I overcompensate by riding slowly with an "I'm not bothered" look. It's important that the other rider knows he's only dropped me cos I'm not trying…

you're not allowed to let them go, it's the law.

I ride a massive heavy bike. I'm not racing anyone.

I have never seen another biker on my commute to my office. Or a bike for that matter. Sometimes I don't even bother getting dressed for it. Stepping over the dog can be a bit tricky as he has taken to lying in the gnarliest bit between the radiator and the dining room table. If I see another biker out we tend to stop and chat cos we know each other or because it's pretty rare. I would love to play the testosterone fuelled commute race derby game.

attack

I'm with thepodge – commute on a singlespeed so generally no chance of catching some-one who overtakes me, although I do find if I catch them at the lights I normally take them on in the sprint when the lights turn green…..

its even worse when some fat biffer on an MTB overtakes you when your out on the road bike, then procedes to drop back and sit on your wheel for the entire climb!
Either put some effort in and do your share or admit you cant match the pace!

The only people i see on bikes around here are burger-boys on full sus Apollos -so they don't give me much trouble.

I used to chase down every single one. Yes, all of them, even the old ladies with dogs in their baskets. But now, I've found that a steady cruise is enough to go past everyone.

However, recently, I was overtaken by a triathlope. I decided that, rather than race someone who'd probably have me off at the first sign of a bend, I'd let him go. Caught him at the next junction as he struggled to make the turn, feet unclipped and very unsteady..!

If some punter comes past then I'll just sit on their wheel for a while and watch them flounder 🙂
Unless of course they look proper fit in which case I'll keep a respectful distance to show I can keep up without wheel sucking.
Unless of course they look proper fit, but are clearly trying to hard, in which case I'll wheelsuck 🙂

I have absolutely no idea what "hanging out your hoop" means.

I generally ride at whatever speed I like. That's rarely slower than other commuters, in fact I can count on one hand the number of times I've been passed by commuters. Roadies out for their morning ride though, some of them pass me. I try to keep up but drop off eventually smiling. The day when I stop tryingto push myself for a chuckle is the day I've lost my will to live.

I just cruise in but guaranteed at least once a trip that means right past some bloke who cant be passed by a girl so then busts his a** to catch up and pass me back. I get to cruise up to the lights not even sweating, look over and see him about to have a heart attack. Beautiful. Only bettered by the time it turned out to be a bloke from work who had to admit he'd chased me from Clapham!

i commute on a singlespeed. everyone is faster than me

wrong ratio then :p

I get commuter rage. If I see someone in the distance I give it everything I have to catch them before they turn off. I am not proud of it but I love the feeling 🙂

I can't help myself even at the end of my 18mile commute home I still feel the need to try and pass everyone. I'll really get my a@@ kicked one day….

I bring my daughter in by trailer 2 days a week and have overtaken people when pulling it. One guy id did this to didn't seem to like it as he sat in the slipstream fo the rest of the climb and then tried to out sprint me when we go to the down hill part. I just wound the speed up and kept up. the look on his face as he kept looking over his shoulder was well worth it.

even on my real easy recovery rides i overtake anyone on a bike without even trying. I often wonder if they are any faster than walking. and no i am not willy waving.

I am retired but I live on the Lincolnshire Wolds nobody wants to race anyone here they just want to say hello. I have no car only a menagerie of cycles and cycle trailers a necessity when the nearest shop is 6 miles away and your favourite pub is 11 miles away on one of the hilliest routes on the Wolds. On the way home (from the pub) not only don't I see any cyclist if I leave after 12:30 I don't see any vehicles……not one car all the way home. I know this for certain because I once cycled home sober(ish) and can remember.

i usually just let them beat me unless they are fakengers then i make the effort! and this morning i got overtaken by one that i had to beast, it was a rather chunky girl!! my pride was slighted so i went for it, just managed to beat her before my turn off but it absolutely destroyed me and i had to sit in the bike shed for 5 mins to get my breath back

Still trying to stop chasing the fricking lights to start worrying about other riders. Sth to Nth Sheffield straight through the centre, so many lights it feels like a damn disco ❗

Noone with comparable 2" tyres has gone past me for 3-4 years. And not many with slicks or road bikes has either but I think alot of people don't really care which is fair enough -mm maybe they have longer journeys, tougher jobs or hangovers. Most people just aren't very fit or motivated. I can't accept though that another cyclist doesn't care! I've been sucked into commuter races the day after really tough enduros, sportives, late nights – I just hate someone going past.