Roadies Rule!

highlandsflyer

Retro Wizard
Feedback
View
I was out in the hills today, up Cairngorm a quick walk and down in Aviemore after. Saw a young chap on a trials style bike. He was doing mental moves down the street.

He waved at a roadie coming through, who totally blanked him.

Uncool.

Later, driving north over the hill, I stopped and waited for a couple of roadies to finish climbing a steep section of switchbacks, then rolled down the glass to thank them for pulling in for my pullutowagon to churn past them.

Further on the windy road I stopped a Land Rover to warn them of the cyclists.

I stopped further on up the road, and as I was capturing some landscapes one of the roadies came flying down the hill.

This guy was in the the zone, at full chat, carbon clicking and tyres squealing for purchase.

I have ridden this road many times, I could never approach the kind of speed he was at. Even on a motorbike.

The second guy came down at much slower pace.

I set off down the hill a few minutes later and they were at the bottom, one fixing a puncture.

I pulled up and remarked on how fast the dude was.

He was a little defensive, saying he knew the road really well.

I don't think he got that I was mightily impressed.

This is a stretch of road lined by boulders, any kind of off and you are talking a stretch in hospital at least.

Just wanted to make note that some roadies have serious skills, and it reminded me of my initial days of mountain biking, all done on racers.

One nation, cyclists.

McCycling.

Scotland welcomes you all.
 
How old was he?

I always put it down to age, the older you are the more you think about what can go wrong. I know its slowed me down :LOL:
 
Robbied196":3o5vqzht said:
I always put it down to age, the older you are the more you think about what can go wrong. I know its slowed me down :LOL:

Not me, I'm faster than I used to be, mainly because I have a lot more experience than I used to have.

As for roadies; I have just joined the ranks of the roadies, as I really want the kind of climbing ability my son has. I'll never get there of course, as he's half my age, but that's not going to stop me trying, and I would love to take a bike with me on my next trip to Scotland. Usually I just have a couple of fly rods ;)

As for saying 'hi', some do, some don't, but I always wave, nod or just pant loudly :oops:
 
I agree.......I've been riding bikes around on dirt since I was about 6 and would like to think I have an idea what I am doing......a few years ago I spent a weekend traversing dartmoor with some road chums, the huge average speeds we hit dropping off the moor on wet roads and on the limit of traction were really eye opening......early observational skills more akin to driving a car quickly.......all done with the prospect of life threatening Tarmac consumption if it went tits up!......I felt that stomach churning mix of adrenaline and fear more than I ever have on fat tyres!.....after the event i recall the memories with relish, at the time it was plain terrifying!.... :shock:
 
I'm the other way around - roadie first, them MTBer... off road riding always seems so sloooooow to me! that said, I'm not that fast coming down (certainly nowhere as fast as guys who ride more regularly than me) when I'm on the MTB. For me the speed, picking lines, reading the road, etc when coming down on the road is second nature, but coming down off road with gravel, rocks, tree roots, bumps, etc takes a whole different set of skills!

as for waving, well that discussion has died a thousand deaths on a thousand different forums over the years. I'll just say that not all roadies wave, but neither do all MTBers, or trials riders... I don't think it's got anything to do with the type of cyclist, just the type of person.
 
The thing which makes me somewhat faster on tarmac than dirt (consistently, i get faster through the day on dirt with confidence) is that tarmac rarely moves and as such is more prdictable.
 
I've recently got back on a road bike for the first time in ages and I'd forgotten how fast they are. My cycle to and from work take a lot less time and I find myself breezing past other bikes on the ride. Having said that the roads in Edinburgh are so bad I find myself having to pick my line very carefully to miss the worst bits of tarmac. I'm sure this will help my offroad riding as I'm having to get a better technique to "float" over rough ground. And I'm a pretty light rider anyway in terms of that.
 
The dude was fifty odds I would say, (sorry if you read this!), the other guy was a lot younger.

He was totally hooning down what is a twisty road, more suited to MTBs given the surface is potholed and strewn with loose gravel/peat/sheep crap.

He didn't have a Go Pro or whatever on as far as I could see, just having a blast. Great to see.
 
highlandsflyer":mf2lqon6 said:
The dude was fifty odds I would say, (sorry if you read this!), the other guy was a lot younger.

He was totally hooning down what is a twisty road, more suited to MTBs given the surface is potholed and strewn with loose gravel/peat/sheep crap.

He didn't have a Go Pro or whatever on as far as I could see, just having a blast. Great to see.

Sounds like a man after my own heart...... actually, it sounds a bit like me.

The only thing is, in my case the young guy (my son) would be waaaay out in front :roll:
 
The young guy was fixing a puncture when I caught up to them. I can't imagine he rode down the hill on it, but perhaps he felt something was array before stopping thus was taking it easy.

The older dude said he knew the road really well, so that perhaps explains his speed.

I am sure I will bump into him again, perhaps get time for a yarn.
 
Back
Top