My commute along the canal one day last week, as I negotiated a bridge, I noticed a guy a good 250 meters behind me. I wasn’t going flat out but was chugging along at a reasonable canal path speed of about 14mph. Over the next mile or so, guy catches me –(bit quicker than I expected to be fair), so I shout do you want to get past? He says yeah, cheers, I’m just commuting. Fine, but I don’t really need to know that, and its 7 am on a muddy canal path in Shropshire, I sort of figured that. Anyway, he gets in front, old skool Airborne, probably 25 metres or so, and I continue at 14mph and by the next bridge I’ m on his wheel. He’s breathing real heavy and obviously either done 60 miles or is just knackered. He starts going up and down his gears a bit even though it’s quite flat-as canals usually are. I deliberately let him hear my freewheel buzzing away as he’s clearly spent. He didn’t offer to let me past though, so I just sat there, for 5 miles or so, nearly tyre rubbing him. Eventually, I turned off for work and as I pedaled off up the road, I see the guy look behind, realises I’ve gone and he sits up and takes a rest.
Next day, I see him on the road as we approach the canal entrance path, he sees me and says he’s not racing today cos he has a meeting first thing at work and doesn’t want a red face for it, I laugh and set off at my usual pace and don’t see him again.
Couple of days later, I’m on a different bike, a canal cruising Remedy, still cruising at 14mph, different gear on though cos I’m playing bikes after work on the way home, Mr Airborne catches me up and asks if he can pass. Sure I say, you can give me a tow and off he goes. After 3 miles or so when we hit the muddy bit, I can see he’s on his limit and he goes A OVER T1T and into the nettles. I stopped and ask if he’s OK, he says he’s late for a meeting and that’s why he’s racing. When he recognizes me, he says he wouldn’t have chased me down if he knew it was me, he just didn’t want someone slowing him down….
I now own him, and he knows it.
