Missed connection

[pfunkallstar]

The dip in the Custis Trail by the Ed Center in Arlington pretty much constantly smells like MJ, I think someone may have planted some hemp…for some…eh…rope up in the old bamboo forest.

[baiskeli]

@pfunkallstar 41408 wrote:

The dip in the Custis Trail by the Ed Center in Arlington pretty much constantly smells like MJ, I think someone may have planted some hemp…for some…eh…rope up in the old bamboo forest.

Can you be much more specific on that location please?

[jnva]

@baiskeli 41411 wrote:

Can you be much more specific on that location please?

Global warming. Hemp plants are budding everywhere. Oh man he MJ crop is going to be bad this year.

[thucydides]

After a miserable run Tuesday night, I totally wimped yesterday and drove to work. Driving home yesterday PM on the GW Parkway there was a car swerving, speeding up, slowing down. People are lane changing like crazy to avoid it. I pass. It’s a lady doing her nails. Guess she had a hot date. I’ve heard of stuff like this but never actually saw it before (other than cell phone users, of course). On a road with cyclists she could have easily killed someone. Gack.

[Bilsko]

You:
The woman riding the Red Schwinn MTB frame out at Hains Point, even on dreary evenings like this one when there is no one else around. Just moving along at your own pace – never too fast.

Seeing you out there always makes my day a little better.

[pfunkallstar]

You: Friend (but-you-don’t-know-it) on the blue road bike with white shirt
Me: The guy in the orange jacket absentmindedly drafting you after the Corkscrew of Doom

Sorry. I really am sorry that I drafted you. I didn’t mean anything by it, I got a new job today and was just pedaling along thinking about lots of other stuff, I should have been paying more attention. That was my fault, apologies.

I would have happily passed you, but your furious F-bombs-of-fury made me want to at least ask “How are you doing?” I don’t think your are a “stuck up asshole” as you said, rather, I think you are a guy who needs a friend, ear, and good ride.

I hope the rest of your ride went well, like I said, I hope civility wins out.

Keep on trucking…as if you would ever stop trucking

BEST!

PFUNKALLSTAR

[sjclaeys]

Me: Riding my fully loaded Surly home on the W&OD and not feeling the greatest because of a cold and I forgot my water bottle on the warmest day in months.

You: Riding what appeared to be a recent model Cannondale with green trim. You told me to work on my cadence as you sped by.

Me: Wondering what was meant by your comment. Too slow? Not smooth enough? Concluding that I am too tired to care, but a little more detail would have been helpful.

[jrenaut]

You: Highly visible cyclist with your pants tucked into your athletic socks heading north on 15th NW

Me: Behind you on the CaBi

Does that whole “spitting on cars parked illegally in the bike lane” thing really get you anywhere? I guess you had a lot of spit saved up from blowing every red light from R to Columbia.

[jnva]

@pfunkallstar 42616 wrote:

I would have happily passed you, but your furious F-bombs-of-fury made me want to at least ask “How are you doing?” I don’t think your are a “stuck up asshole” as you said, rather, I think you are a guy who needs a friend, ear, and good ride.

This sounds a lot like the angry guy I passed a few weeks ago. We need to come up with a name for this guy. He certainly does hate people behind him.

[Subby]

Me: Grinding up Wisconsin to turn right on M.

You (stately homeless gentleman): Out of nowhere and directly to me “You have titties.”

Me: PEARL IZUMI SIZES SMALLER THAN THEY SHOULD.

Signed,

Less Chubby Than He Was at the Beginning of Freezing Saddles, Thank You Very Much

[baiskeli]

@Subby 42782 wrote:

Me: Grinding up Wisconsin to turn right on M.

You (stately homeless gentleman): Out of nowhere and directly to me “You have titties.”

Me: PEARL IZUMI SIZES SMALLER THAN THEY SHOULD.

Better retort: Maybe, but mine are getting smaller and yours are getting bigger.

[pfunkallstar]

@jnva 42779 wrote:

This sounds a lot like the angry guy I passed a few weeks ago. We need to come up with a name for this guy. He certainly does hate people behind him.

Next time I see him he is getting a big “On your left friend!”

[Angry Commuter]

@pfunkallstar 42616 wrote:

You: Friend (but-you-don’t-know-it) on the blue road bike with white shirt
Me: The guy in the orange jacket absentmindedly drafting you after the Corkscrew of Doom

Sorry. I really am sorry that I drafted you. I didn’t mean anything by it, I got a new job today and was just pedaling along thinking about lots of other stuff, I should have been paying more attention. That was my fault, apologies.

I would have happily passed you, but your furious F-bombs-of-fury made me want to at least ask “How are you doing?” I don’t think your are a “stuck up asshole” as you said, rather, I think you are a guy who needs a friend, ear, and good ride.

I hope the rest of your ride went well, like I said, I hope civility wins out.

Keep on trucking…as if you would ever stop trucking

BEST!

PFUNKALLSTAR

One year of bike commuting and two months of browsing this forum, and I now find myself featured in a missed connection. Somehow I thought it would be different, but there you are. Alright then sir, allow me to reply:

Me: Blue bike white shirt guy.
You: The person I just passed on a dark and winding stretch of the Custis, who then silently turned it on and affixed himself to my back wheel.

Yes, I unleashed an f-bomb or three. Why? Well I have never gone fast enough to attract a drafter, and I was caught off-guard. After I realized you weren’t there by accident, I assumed you were passive-aggressively expressing your displeasure at an etiquette infraction I must have committed when I passed. (Did I forget to call out my pass? I try to be respectful, but it happens.) But then I thought maybe you just decided that I had too much room to maneuver around pedestrians, potholes, branches, etc., a problem which you took upon yourself to fix my silently ghosting along six inches behind me. As I said last night after I asked you if you wanted to pass, most unfortunately with the help of a profane adjective, your riding was rude, dangerous and just a little creepy. You say you were sorry, which is kind of you despite your qualifications. How does one “absentmindedly” draft someone? I say I overreacted: crude language solves nothing. Let’s just leave it at that.

I do not need a friend; I just need to get home safely. If, however, you are lonely, might I suggest you give JNVA a call? I won’t cop to his identification (I’ve only thrown one hissy fit this year) but it sounds like you and he have a lot in common.

[Tim Kelley]

FYI–the above post was flagged by the system, partly due to it being the first post by a new member. I have validated it with the hope that we can have some good discussion come from this interaction and that angry feelings can be worked out!

[KLizotte]

Well, I was once so absentminded that I rear-ended a car! Yes, while on a bike (fortunately at very low speed). Not one of my proudest moments (it was funny though :rolleyes:).

I can see how someone travelling on the same route day after day and is experienced riding in pacelines could absentmindedly draft someone. Think of how often cars tailgate one another or manage to rear end each other at intersections or highway merges. I’ve also found myself on the George Mason bridge when I hadn’t intended to be there due to my brain being on commute autopilot.

Obviously I wasn’t there so maybe pfunk was acting weird. Irrespective of the circumstances I think simply pulling over and stopping to give him a chance to pass and move on would have been the least stressful way to handle the situation for all parties concerned.

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