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On the morning commute on the hardtail. Grinding up the 6 mile climb, puffing away, bright red, wheezing and sweating in my usual uphill 'style', when a (white) lycra-clad race whippet on a carbon missile overtakes me, slows right down alongside me, gives me a huge grin, then cheerily shouts '[b]come on then!* Lets be havin' yer!!! You can do better than that!![/b]!" and disappears off into the distance, happily chortling away to himself.
Anyway.... a few miles up the road and I see him shooting downhill towards me (god knows where he'd been). He's in the middle of the road, he raises his arms in the air like a stage winner in Paris, gives me two thumbs up, and with a massive grin shouts "Ha ha.... sorry about that mate. You have a fantastic day!!!!!"
Did that actually happen? Or like Bradley getting to the top of Alpe D'uez, did I hallucinate the whole thing? Is this part of some hidden camera wheeze?
So has anyone else ever experienced this unlikely, mythical beast... the cheery, happy roadie?
* he may have added the word 'fatty' at this point. I can't be sure.
He sounds like a legend to me! I think that would make me chuckle to myself if it happened to me. Cheer me up no end. Just a nice bit of banter. 😀
Errr, no. You're on your own there.
sounds like someone hasn't quite finished glasto'ing.
Sorry,I knew it was you, I did hold back from slapping your ass and shouting "Go girl" .
Hope it speeded you up a bit, and apologies for the white lycra. 🙂
Sorry about that. 😆
I had a similar experience last night riding down the kings road, he complemented me on my bike colour, asked my gear ratio, and then called me fat. He was shouting at pretty much every driver who was moving it seemed.... He was also wearing full white lycra... Must be something about white lycra...
Binners
Was it your next door neighbour?
L-E-G-E-N-D.
puffing away, bright red, wheezing
Lack off oxygen
Means you were trying hard and that means we'll make a roadie of you yet.
Maybe that "vision" was a future you !!
[i]Maybe that "vision" was a future you !! [/i]
The ghost of binners past will be there to greet you on the way home...
I had a road train(popular london cc) behind me for half a mile yesterday, as they went past , every one smiled and waved and the last man said well done!
cheeky bastid. 😀
I wonder if this was my friend Donald? He amused himself no end during TUTB by abusing me, his robustly built mate, every time he passed me going up a hill. Only at the end did he realise he had made an identification error and had been abusing a complete stranger. It does sound from your description that your climbing style may resemble mine, and perhaps you are not the slimmest of chaps?
Isla rowntree passed me at the bottom of a climb, said hi, then passed me on her way back down when I was half way up & then passed me again 3/4 of my way up on her 2nd ascent. She was cheery every time, I was to shattered to speak at any point
Not quite the same but practicing for the laggan enduro at the weekend, this massive dude rode past me and shouted out in a really camp voice "Chase me!". I heard him pass someone else further down and go "You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
He sounds ace!
Next time suck his wheel
I think Binners is...
[img] 
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Next time suck his wheel
....and by wheel, he means pe[b][NOPE!-MODS][/b]
I tend to say "Near the top now mate" or something similar to try and assuage the feelings of superiority I feel when overtaking people on climbs.
I'm sure all they here is some smug, condescending nonsense but it makes me feel betterer.
Theres no way I could stay with him Matt. He was bloody quick!!! And because of his cheery demeanour, he looked like he wasn't even trying
He did make me laugh though 😀
😕happy roadie?
Was he pedalling so fast that his frame was juddering..? See plenty of those on the way in to work, saddle too high and in need of lube.
I was doing the road leg back home after a 80-odd km ride in Finland once, and this guy came alongside me (on one of those old Trek carbon flying V URT bikes) and said something in Finnish. His English was poor for a Finn but he managed to ask me for a race to the next village, a few miles away. I kept trying to tell him no thanks, I'm tired but he was very insistent. So I raced him, and beat him, but then he asked for another race. I'm not sure if he took my refusals for an answer, or if he understood, but he shot off again and I just let him go 🙂
Up the first climb of the recent Wiggle Dragon ride a bloke overtook us with a cheery 'only 3 more miles to the top'....
I think it was meant to be motivational, but it wasn't! 😀
I was pursued up the A6 a few weeks ago by a train of a dozen riders from a local club. I'd seen them coming for a couple of miles but traffic lights saved my dignity for a little while.
As they all swept past me, two abreast in perfect formation, they all spoke and most invited me to jump on the back "for a breather". So I did. And marvelled at how they could ride that fast, that close, and not kill each other.
There is a Chap I keep passing on the way home, Nice kit, Carbon Cube, He's always Grinding his way up and over the same bridge over the M4 in too high a gear whan I pass him...
I'll admit I make a point of trying to dance past sat in the saddle, not looking too out of breath, and give him a cheery [I]"Afternoon"[/I] Maybe I'll try some aggressive, motivation instead...
[I]"Come on you lazy Slag! My Nan could walk up here faster... and she's Dead!"[/I]
or is that a bit much?
It all evens out of course, I got properly owned a few weeks back on another local climb by some machine, who came cruising past with his pannier rack still fitted, and a cheery smile, still sat down, while I was out of the saddle giving it the beans on my unladen ego chariot...
...and over on Road.cc there is thread started by a white lycra clad roadie bragging how he blew away a puffing, bright red, wheezing sweating, hardtail riding mountain biker on a hill 😉
Out on the road bike the other day and I came up behind two mamils. Overtook the first one, then wheel sucked the second while waiting for a break in the traffic so I could overtake him. He was aware of someone behind him, and assuming it was his mate continued his conversation about his Mrs, and the problems he was experiencing in the boudoir. I gave him a cheery hello and a smile as I overtook him.
I've come across a few weirdos in my time. The most memorable were a man in Stockport newly decked out head to toe in Decathlon apparel and bike who chased me down the A6 shouting and screaming behind me, and a fixie fakenger type riding behind me in Trafford (I was on a fixie too for my sins) shouting 'Yehaah! Fixie! Fixie!'
The funniest had to be the teenager at Llandegla all decked out in downhill body armour shouting 'get a move on old man!' at me. I'd like to say I didn't rise to the bait on that one but you can guess what happened next.
It's the reason all bikes should come with a cattle prod fitted as standard equipment, and/or a handlebar taser mount.
I Love the wierdo's that do things like that I beats being passed by a grummpy person who makes you feel crap as well as slow.
Im not quick at all but love a good encouraging smiley face
Ha ha ha brilliant.
I would have squirted him with my waterbottle 🙂
Roadie?
Most likely someone swapped his pill bottles over and he's taken the recreational drugs by mistake.
Cbmotorsport - sorry about that 😳
You lot have all the fun, here’s a sample from my Rapha East ride on Sunday:
Exit London, shite traffic, roadies dodging cars, slipstreaming vans and busses, overtaking then running out of puff so I have to over take them multiple times. Hit Epping and it’s rammed to the gills with lycra chain gangs who in the main ignore both you and the rest of society, some digging deep, some pootling.
Loop through the bridleways (the route takes you off road a lot) and come across MTB’ers spinning the highest gear up the smallest of inclines, so I dig hard and say “alright” as I scoot past to clear them, one shouts ”**** off fatty”.
Hit the road section heading to Brentwood and get shouted at by passing cars, two incidents One a lad shouts “Bradley!!” and another shouts ”Pay Road Tax”.
Hit some lights and find I’ve been dragging four roadies along with me, one literally shoves me out of the way at the junction and then sprints off at the Amber, the other three try to escape sharpish but I filled over the top and carried on.
Coming back into Woodford Green and I get overtaken by Fabian doing his best to Strava me out of contention for the Stage but I catch him and tag his wheel for a couple of k’s and he’s pissed off at me for that, I tried to overtake him but he dug deep and kept pace and I couldn’t hold him, he then turns off right across me without indicating he’s doing that and slices off two cars trying to overtake, he turned around and said “wheel****er”
I hate riding around here, it’s quite shite really. Works keeping me up here ATM and I’m so looking forward to going home to the quiet and kind South Downs.
Be nice all. 😕
Many years ago a few of us were taking part in 'The Fat Tyre' challenge in Coed Y Brenin.
At one of the drinks/feed stations an older chap comes past wearing flat cap, tweeds, hobnail boots and riding a wreck of a bike and proceeds to leave us all standing. Off into the wind he flew with coat tails flying. My mouth was left open.
I don't often get to fly past people (its usually the other way round) but next time I do, I know what I'm going to do!
Its nice to hear of a happy roadie for a change.
I once encountered a roadie singing Gilbert and Sullivan numbers to himself at the top of his voice on the A640 above Denshaw. He still didn't say hello to me, though.
Did he look like this?