Me: heading north on the MVT this morning.
You: also heading north on the MVT, on a very very pretty red and white Cervelo with some sweet carbon racing wheels, in your matching red and white kit and aero helmet.
Let me count the ways you impressed me.
First, you passed me without calling your pass as I slowed and passed some joggers. Double-pass maneuver, in stealth mode. Moderately impressive, but you’re hardly the first to pull out that trick.
Then you rode slower than me, while weaving back and forth across the whole trail (both sides of the yellow line) and occasionally passing some pedestrians, sometimes with oncoming bike/ped traffic, and not once glancing behind you to check for overtaking cyclists. The way you made it clear that you deserve the whole trail? Definitely impressive.
I hung back for a while waiting for you to pick up the pace, as I assumed you would after passing me so urgently on a bike obviously built for speed. But no, you seemed to be out for a more casual moderate-paced ride today, so after following a bit, I waited for a safe opportunity with no other traffic in either direction and you on the right half the trail. I loudly called my pass, waited another second just to be sure you were riding straight, and started to pass well on the left half of the trail, at which point you of course weaved back over to the left, right in front of my front wheel. Then you yelled at me. (ok, I yelled first, but only to avoid a collision. You just yelled to be mean.). Nearly causing a collision by weaving into the opposite lane and then yelling at the person you cut off is super-impressive.
Then you *immediately* re-passed me and took off at full sprinting speed– right into the narrow one-way, walk-your-bike section under memorial bridge, narrowly missing the oncoming jogger already in the middle of the underpass. Impressive? heck that was ELITE.
Nice bike, though.
Everyone else on all the trails today– cyclists, joggers, walkers, adults, kids, even drivers crossing at various places in your cars– you more than made up for jerk-on-a-Cervelo. Excepting him, everyone was polite, safe, predictable, and friendly. No one making crazy passes, stopped in the middle of the trail, spread out across the trail, or being rude at all; drivers yielding to peds and cyclists in crosswalks, people smiling and saying good morning and making casual chitchat while passing me up the Custis hills, cyclists at stoplights saying “go on ahead, you’re riding faster than us” (totally not necessary, but super polite). Thanks for helping make an enjoyable ride. Beautiful day out today, everyone enjoy it.
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there were no other cyclists/peds around; C) it was in a flat section with long sight lines; and D) because yelling like that is really douchy, you freaking douche. If I EVER see you stopped along the trail…..I will probably stop and help because I am not a douchebag. BUT AFTER THAT, I will yell at you, you freaking douche.
