you can't win unless you know it's a race: cat 6 triumphs against unwitting opponents

^errand runner huffer

There was no one to even try and smoke on the way to work. However, the first curvy descent was car free so I could use all the road and pretend I was victorious on the climb up gold way and soloing to victory.

drivin 2day

I used to live in Knoxville, which has some very steep inclines that I had to climb in order to get home or to work - tall hills that challenge you whichever way you go. These built my climbing muscles. I've been able to be more competitive since changing my gear ratio. I got something that's fast that doesn't break my knees, and having a stripped down bike and never thinking about changing gears I think helps in my fictional races. Your fixie dude might have had a crazy ratio! (@ Shasta)

lol "climb up gold way"

attacked on mild incline, then rode the entire wacky races peloton off my wheel on the way home - cancellaraesque if i do say

Was out on saturday with the slower cycling group from my old department at the university (most of the faster cyclists are in training for the the upcoming pittsburgh marathon and don't want to spoil their regime by getting on a bike). Saturday was such a lovely day for smoking freds on shiny carbon bikes.

Particularly please was one guy on a shiny new black and gold Cannondale Carbon Carbon 6, who nearly ran a friend off the road as we pulled up to a traffic light which I never jump as it involves two tight right turns under a bridge. Light goes green and I do the two turns then the third which leads to a short but steepish climb up to the Eliza furnace trail. Fred seems to be struggling on this so I shift up step on the pedals and pass him in a clatter of shopping baskets banging on steel frame.

Last weekend was equally nice and there was hardly anyone out, this weekend was thick with inappropriately worn spandex.

i'm probably the least in shape and newest on a bike on this thread, but i passed some asshole tourists on electric bikes up a steep hill and felt pretty good about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9j6f5eTkFU

a cavendish-esque performance in the sprint to the pub this evening!

navarro'd an old geezer in a club jersey up a cat 6 climb and just as we were cresting my lungs had a mechanical and he dropped me, old bastard

p.sure I got the nod from ilx user krakow too at the bottom of milngavie just before the roundabout - but I didn't have my prescription specs on so can't be certain

still smarting here

dop that wheelsucker imho

I was riding my fixie up a hill on the way home today. It's only about 800 metres long and a very mild gradient, and for the first half I could hear a guy on a flat-bar roadie/hybrid sticking to my tail. I kept pushing, imperceptibly upping the pace, so that by the top I was pretty out of breath - and I turned round to see the fucker 150 metres at least behind me. Satisfying.

never look back

(look under your armpit)

Hah! I had to look back as I needed to cross two lanes of traffic to turn right. Anyway he was too far back to tell :)

The technique is: roll up behind them, catch your breath while sitting on the wheel for a few seconds, spin past breezily with a smile and a 'hello', stay in the saddle and imperceptibly up the pace so it looks like you're not making any particular effort, don't look back but continue to signal hazards like pot holes / drain covers as if you think they're still on your wheel when you know they're 100 yards behind.

On the Retrovelo in town yesterday, old geezer in a club jersey riding a mountain bike wildly underestimates my speed (I get this on the Retrovelo a lot) passes but slows down significiantly before he finishes the pass, doesn't look and nearly sends me flying. I say in German something amounting to "hey, if you're gonna pass, fuckin' PASS ME." He, offended, hollers "get a real bike" and guns it. It is ON. I stay exactly 10 meters behind him, exerting little effort, then as he slows down and, sweating and red-faced, turns to savor his victory. His expression of smugness turns to shock as I zoom by him a half-second later, smiling and not winded. He shakes his fist at me, then nearly gets killed in a roundabout.

I love the Retrovelo.

^^^totally awesome^^^

hahahaha

Dumb question, but "cat 6" means tooling around in racing gear even though you may or may not actually ever compete in an official race, right? I'm guessing purely on context. What is the official origin of it?

I always thought of this as "Lancing"; I can't remember if I heard that somewhere or not.

cat 6 = not an actual racer

spandex not required

dude on a folding bike tried to race me across the williamsburg bridge yesterday

dude in full spandex on a folding bike fucking smoked me and some friends and then gave us dirty look on w side hwy while we were just casually riding around aimlessly

passed by some bro on a giant mtb last friday; threw 'easy ride' concept out the window in order to assert superiority. so much for HR zone 2!

the key is to always let these guys get a little advantage on you and then when it's the most strenuous (windy, hilly) just hammer, hammer and hammer. you won't see them again.

Does anyone else "struggle" to clip in or similar to ensure they get to follow fellow cyclists at traffic lights etc? When it's me vs someone who looks a bit tasty I really hate being ahead, especially if there's a headwind. Not that I draft them (usually), I just want to weigh up their skillz before obliterating them.

On that note, I totally owned a penny farthing on the way home last night o_O

not a chance, even with my fixie i know i'm quicker off the line than 99% of other people.

unless they're all "struggling" to clip in 'cause they think i look "tasty". unlikely.

opportunities for this seem to have been a bit scarce of late. had the tables turned on me the other week tho - 125km down and on home stretch, i'd gone hunger-flat and got passed, then dropped by some dude on a flat-bar with panniers! shameful, bro.

daaamn I straight up smoked about 10 undergrads in a row, what with their rusty chains and seats way too low.

dude in the fancy tights, and optic vomit jacket avec backpack: you seem nice enough sayin hi as you pass me w/ intensity. however you are wearing goggles, and its in the high 30s. i think we need to race this one out. or pistols. your choice.

http://www.good.is/post/cat-6-competitive-commuting-turns-bike-rides-into-races/

speedway of choice lately is a designated bike-friendly road w/ mild uphill false flat, brief cobbled 'sector', and roundabout which can be used tactically by canny riders. practically always some competition due to the road crossing a major arterial, with packs of 20+ building at the lights at peak hour. recent highlights:

• pipped at the death by girl wearing floral dress, riding scott CR1 - unusual combo, should've got her number maybe?
• had taken the good bike to work, used it to just hammer everyone into submission - like shooting fish in a barrel
• caught the wheel of hipster wearing head-to-toe black approaching roundabout, he skilfully used traffic to kick away and held the gap
• made lead selection and launched attack on pave - dropped chain u_u

the girl in the dress/cr1 combo reminds of the time about 15 years ago when two cuet girls in sundresses blew by my friend and I- they were taking (imo) ridiculous chances on the fucking _portal_. this combined the actual risk of death and teh sexy in awesome ways.

because like

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/images/pics-trails/b-pois05.jpg

i had some homeless people at one of the sketchiest corners in sf cheering me on as i sprinted to make a light

on the way home from the hospital, exhausted by the concept of cooking, riding no handed and loudly ordered a pizza on my cell phone while passing a roadie

like a boss

next week, riding no handed and eating pizza

this might not count at all but figure this is the best place to post it:

went out for a very mellow recovery ride yesterday, just spinning and enjoying the views and the nice weather when all the sudden this mouth breathing chubby dude comes around me like it's the ride of his life... there is a short 5-6 minute climb coming up and I figure if he's laboring this hard on the flats with a tail wind, he's bound to blow up on the hill. sure enough, 2 minutes later, i spin past him on the hill while he's pedaling in squares in complete o2 deficit. i hit the summit and then i'm back in my happy place, just enjoying the nice day for about 10 miles and then what do you know, he's back, louder than ever, but this time he has some words for me. he coughs out "you got me on that hill, but i knew i'd catch you on this stretch." please bear in mind that i'm on a mellow 16mph, 110bpm avg relaxing little ring ride after doing 90 minutes of sprint/tempo intervals the evening previous. i just let out a "ha" and then watch as he labors on, really burying himself to win this epic race in his head.

so i can do 1 of 2 things here, i can let him go and finish my ride in peace...

eh what the fuck, i didn't like his tone. i let him get about 30 seconds on me and then i slowly start reeling him in. he doesn't notice for a while but then he looks back and he gets out of the saddle. i realize there's another short hill coming up, so I start timing my attack. he's only going about 20mph and I get about 5 seconds behind him and I can tell he's squirming and breathing hard. As soon as we hit the bottom of the hill I put in a small dig to get him to respond, and then I slowly turn the screw until I hear him crack, replete with a miserable groan.

I finished the remainder of the ride without seeing him again.

Good work

i thought you'd let me win shasta ;_;

i. spinning down the coast on tuesday morning by myself - pack of ten moving a tad faster overrun me. i settle at the back of the group to see if they roll turns or anything like that, but it looks like some wheelsuckers on the back of a couple of good riders. then a group of 20 comes ripping past - deep carbon wheels all over the place, very srs business. i remember that this is meant to be training rather than sitting on and attack the slow group, dispensing of them comprehensively, then spend the next 5km in lone pursuit of the fast group... never quite got on. probably a better workout, i guess!

ii. out for a couple laps of the boulie on friday morning, saw figure up road on flat-bar w/ panniers wearing lampre jersey furiously spinning away - got close then put it in the BIG RING and tore past up the incline. if that's his secret training then scarponi's not going to have as good a giro as everyone thinks, imo.

http://fatmexicancyclist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/fat_cyclist.jpg

Three roadies passed us (us being myself and my colleague Pete Hodges, who was monstrously hungover) at the top of the hill into Topsham from the coast route, and then got caught in traffic in the village, so we were level as we left the village and they crossed over to join the cycle path which runs on the pavement at the side of the road. I stayed on the main road and decided I was going to beat them to the M5 flyover, almost exactly a mile ahead, vaguely fearing that Pete might have a heart-attack (his bike's a cross-thingy, much chunkier tyres than mine, and though he's several years younger and a couple of stones lighter than me, he's hungover). Two of the roadies clocked what we were up to and took us up on the challenge; the other wasn't with them and didn't really seem to care. I beat them to there, and slowed a bit to check on Pete who was 50 yards behind me and just ahead of them. They then had to crossover back onto our side of the road at traffic lights, so I realised we were going to beat them to the point where the path heads away from the main road if we kept it up; so we did. One of them got beeped at by a car for cutting the traffic lights in order to try and catch up, but it was futile; we'd beaten them over a nearly 2-mile stretch, and Pete and I were splitting up to head the opposite directions home, so we let the roadies cruise past us. Most satisfying.

mackin so hard on the paths on the way home, almost got hit by a car after passing and running an orange light. im normally v. cautions, but this was nearly:

http://youtu.be/vJXU7EVXs2A

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23950294-the-chain-game.do

Also known as a body-warmer over here. Gillet is a French term I think. Sleeveless thingamajig.

Might help if I could spell it.

http://www.rapha.cc/gilet/

Lightweight sleeveless top put on when it rains - a kind of early spring / autumn piece of clothing that you carry around and whip out when needed

Or a Gideon Osborne fan signifier.

oh, a vest. i don't wear mine too much, but there was a period in 2000 when a windstopper gilet was PRO

padded down gilets are definitely a thing in the UK among young men who will grow up to own land/wear sports jackets/follow the rugby world cup. cycling gilets are a totally different thing though.

piston bro vs gilet twat: fite

I own a gilet got from REI's bargain bin and I have to say it is the least used piece of cycling kit I have. This is probably because the change period between wanting a short sleeve jersey to wanting a windproof long sleeve is about a week long round here.

follow the rugby world cup

otm

they are somewhat useful here as temps change a lot during the day, and also 30 minute descents and such.

i dont often wear jackets when riding, they are too warm, often flappy, and take up lots of pocket space. typically i'll use armwarmers, and if i need more throw on a windproof vest.

what does usage panel say about sleeveless jersey people

I have this in grey - http://www.rapha.cc/wind-jacket/ - it is a godsend given that I live right by a very windy indeed stretch of estuary cycle path. Amazingly light.

robbie mcewen gets a pass on sleeveless, otherwise no dice

http://www.blahblahfreddie.com/wp_sys/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/the_peloton_041.jpg

lol actually he's just tucked the sleeves in i think

ha ha, I've got a rapha gilet and it's great (sample sale of course), perfect for taking the chill off on a late summer evening.

Aaanyway, this morning, waiting to cross the A4 just up from the Hogarth, heavy traffic. I'm at the front of the Asl and stood waiting (it's a long wait on those lights). Lady cyclist comes up and pulls up a metre directly in front of me (it's a 2 lane road, but filters to one). WTF but OK, maybe you're quick....... pedals like a demon over the 4 lane road, not a bad pace...... gets over and as soon as it gets dangerous to pass, slows down to around 10 mph. So I'm bimbling along until 4 cars pass before I can safely pull out and cruise easily away with hardly a glance.

Seriously though, if you're going to roadblock me, have the chops to carry it off.

i don't have any sleeveless jerseys, but i have a bunch of old team jerseys that are cutoff. i don't care how jortsy it looks, i'll wear them cause it gets hot as fuck here, like over 100 deg hot.

Sleeveless jersey is absolutely fine. It's just the gilet - worn over a sleeved base layer or jersey or arm warmers, which gives off the landed-gentry-twat vibe. Give it a name other than gilet and I'd be OK with it, too, I think.

No work today, wife at work, kid at nursery, flat in turmoil due to builders, rain forecast all weekend: did a 50-mile ride today. Put my gilet on when I stopped for lunch so I didn't get cold. Didn't see Nick.

Planning to head out in 35 minutes. Internet tells me it's raining heavily. Can't hear it against the bedroom window though. Humph.

Just looked out the window. 3/5 blue sky. The BBC are shit at weather.

The same thing in London: mostly blue sky, but the met office website insists it's pouring with rain. This kind of unpredictability makes a gilet your best friend.

My gilet travelled yesterday, but remained firmly in the carradice. Was a beautiful day for cycling in London yesterday, knobheads in vans apart. Actually, did have a few nice drivers letting me turn right to get me out of brutal streams of traffic, thanks drivers, thrivers.

Despite the forecast I've had blue skies for pretty much every mile of the 38 I've done this morning.

Am okay with gilets but must insist on pronouncing it 'gillit'.

I was late and trying to speed in to school as quickly as possible this morning, when a dude in Birkenstocks on a comfort bike passed me like it was nothing

fuck a giblet, it's 80F in SF. hotter than LA right now. gonna ride today after clocking out early.

I will be riding molto tranquilo today so guaranteed which means open season for the Cat6ers.

coffee shop ride today and on our run along the jail trail, normally good for some paceline riding. A tail wind broke everyone apart and I found myself on the wheel of a pretty blonde triathlete* who towed me up to some early escapees, I then hopped wheel to wheel and "won". Strave PB and onto the first page of strava riders and second place in the fatties category. This is truly the essence of Cat 6ing.

*Everyone wants the wheel of the pretty blonde triathlete in the coffee shop ride, some might say its because no one wants to ride in front of someone riding on unstable tri-bars, there may be other reasons but I couldn't possibly comment.

literally impossible

Is it cat6ing when I ride 15 yards behind some guy seemingly desperate to distance me, or just passive aggressive assholedom? I feel kinda bad now but it amused at the time.

well technically you were both cat6ing, so it's a push imo

It depends if you follow him all the way home and then outsprint him up his driveway

ha

Running errands on Market Street when I'm surprised to see a guy I already passed come up on my left. Oops, nope, different guy, much faster. Riding fixed with clipless pedals. I push a little harder, he keeps accelerating, I reach for my downtube and get a few more gear inches. We're side by side when we approach a stopped cab, with a curb on either side. I slow down, he's nervier and finds the gap on the left. Cab pulls away, I'm now in his draft and considering if and when to come around him (dangerous because of streetcar tracks) when I realize I'm about to pass my destination on the left and pull over. Probably for the best, I don't think he was working as hard as I was and riding that fast on that section of Market is fucking idiotic anyway.

He wasn't unwitting, but I got completely smoked by a middle-aged recumbent bro. I could tell he wasn't even trying hard!

It doesn't really count as cat 6ing as we were riding together and had, 10 minutes previously, done an across the road sprint. However I think I pulled off my finest bit of race craft yesterday evening, made all the sweeter my besting Dr Pinarello 'my buddy works at SRAM look at my SRAM Red, Qarq and ZIPP' Dogma.

I gapped my buddies at a stop sign, didn't really go that fast until I saw them over my shoulder so did a 1.5km breakaway until a little hill. They almost brought me back on the hill but I used my knowledge of the hill to spin up as it flattened out towards the top and pegging it down the descent and up the next hill. Cancellara besting Boonen on the Kapelmuur it wasn't but it felt like it.

Best of all at the top of the last hill I pulled left to do a couple of laps of the park but they tapped out and called for the pub.