When I ride, I ride.
By myself.
In my own world.
At the pace I want to ride.
In the direction I want to ride.
But sometimes ‘competition’ arrives.
I am not looking for it.
It just appears.
At a light.
On the track.
Someone passes me.
I pass someone.
That kind of thing.
I would love to be able to ignore it, but I love to be ‘pushed.’
This happens every ride I go on.
I am a sucker for it.
I have learned lots of things though.
What to look for.
Signs.
Signals.
Signs I do not necessarily look for, but I see.
Signals I look for.
Signs and signals that let me know, ‘I have got them.’
Maybe not right now, but ‘I have got them.’
Things I can only pick up on if I am behind them.
They stand up and pedal on a hill that is not a stand up and pedal hill.
They pass me, get one hundred metres ahead, and don’t get any further than that.
Glide after passing me and take a drink from their water bottle.
Stand up and pedal immediately the light changes to green.
On a very long straight away, they stop pedaling and glide.
Oh gosh, I always have to say in these Posts that I am so afraid of coming across as ‘Joe Cyclist.’
I can assure you I am not.
I simply love to ride, and I have the opportunity to ride lots.
It is just what kind of goes on in my head.
And I am hoping your head too.
You see?
There is one thing that I love.
I love to be underestimated.
I get underestimated all the time.
I don’t think I would have it any other way.
I ‘don’t dress the part,’ in EVERY sense of the expression.
But here is the nice secret of being underestimated.
When you do get passed, they forget about you.
They think you are a thing of the past.
But, ten minutes later, a half hour later, (insert any time frame here) when you pass them, you know what they are thinking?
WTF?
I love when people think WTF.
But here is the thing I love even more.
It is what it has taught me.
Never underestimate anyone.
I carry it through to every part of my life.
I love when a simple bike ride can teach me a lesson that I make a core value.
‘Underestimated’
Insert gratified emoji here.
‘There is another way to ride.’