Quite the opposite - but perhaps more dangerous - is the "la-de-da, happy-happy-joy-joy" trips on Maui. My wife and I threw caution to the wind and did the 10,000 foot drop off Haleakala a while back. Started out in freezing rain /dense fog on a couple marginally maintained Worksman bikes behind a pack of folks who may not have ridden a bike since Eisenhower was at the helm, or were missing an episode of Sponge Bob to join the adventure. Might have been good for some of them to work up a little rage to stay focused and keep a line but they were so Mahaloed by then that all I could do was drift further back to avoid the pile-up that so often happens on those rides. "You mean them bikes have brakes on the handles? I thought you just had to pedal backwerds". Of course, the vintage motorcycle helmets they passed out at the top were re-assuring, and made certain your center of gravity was at least five feet up. "You can wave at the busses coming up the hill - just don't hit 'em". We got down OK, but I guarantee I would not do it again. Sure, I would do it alone on a Riv in a heatbeat - it was a spectacular run - but the "stay close to the person in front of you and yell if you have to slam on the brakes" was not the kind of group ride I was ready for. Rage or no rage, I was ready for a Mai-tai after that ride.
Marty On Jul 15, 3:49 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > On Wed, 2009-07-15 at 11:21 -0700, Aaron Thomas wrote: > > > I came up behind a woman crouched over the aero bars on a time trial > > bike. I maintained a distance of 6 feet or so, waiting for a break in > > the automobile traffic to our left in order to pass her. Before that > > happened, however, she looked back and yelled, "are you out for a free > > ride today, mister? Go do your own training ride!" > > > Perplexed, I asked her to repeat, which she did, this time peppering > > her phrases with a few F-bombs and an injunction to stay away from her > > because she doesn't even know me and doesn't want me drafting off her. > > > What? Drafting? Come again? I wasn't drafting, I explain, but rather > > was at least 6 feet behind and waiting for a safe moment to pass. And > > what does it matter if you don't know me? I don't get it. > > There are some mighty paranoid women out there. In the course of > commuting to work over the span of 29 years, on three or four occasions > I've been stuck behind women on a very narrow section of bike trail > along a stream that goes under the highway and railroad bridges, then > comes up onto the Mount Vernon bike trail. There are several sections > where I won't attempt to pass because the narrowness of the trail and > the lack of visibility make it extremely dangerous. They've screamed at > me, as this woman did at you; they've demanded that I pass; one acted > with a level of rage and hostility that might have been appropriate if > directed towards a would-be rapist. > > There's no knowing what's up with people like that. Perhaps it is fear, > as has been suggested. Maybe they've been assaulted on the bike trail. > It doesn't do for you to take it personally. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
