TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: 25 min.
WEATHER: clear, 12C, 19km/hr wind there; a few clouds, 24C, 20 km/hr winds gusting to 36 km/hr.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, tank top, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
I think when people see me on my bike they automatically have low expectations. I'm overweight, I dress in comfortable casual clothes, I have a cheap Canadian Tire bike. Sometimes at stop lights, fellow cyclists will ride up beside me, not to converse but to avoid being stuck behind me, assuming that I'll be slow. But then the light will turn green, and I will peel out of the intersection and very quickly overtake that person who was afraid of getting caught behind a slow-poke. Oh, the power of expectations, and the thrill of exceeding them!
I have my own expectations about my relative biking prowess. I expect to ride faster than anyone riding on the sidewalk, because if they're riding on the sidewalk they're probably either children or casual cyclists. I expect to ride faster than anyone on a cruiser, because those bikes are built for beauty and comfort rather than speed - not to mention, the people who would buy their bikes for beauty and comfort probably don't ride for speed either. I expect to ride faster than anyone without a helmet, because surely if you're any kind of serious cyclist you'd be wearing a damn helmet! And I expect to ride faster than people who are more overweight than me, and/or sporting grey hair - UNLESS they meet the criteria of people I expect to ride faster than me, as set out below.
The people I expect to ride faster than me include: anyone riding a bike with drop handlebars, anyone wearing a cycling jersey or cycling jacket, anyone sporting at least one article of clothing made of spandex, and anyone who has mastered the art of the track stand. If people who fit any of these criteria pass me, I am happy to let them by and I don't feel a shred of remorse about it. However, if an obese elderly person on a cruiser riding on the sidewalk managed to overtake me, that would cause great injury to my self-esteem and cycling pride. And it would be deserved.
Someone I should be able to ride faster than:
From http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/3451204901/
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