Macho Man Syndrome

September got off to a bang this year: me in a new (and wonderfully hectic) job, and Cam out every chance he gets on his new mountain bike. He has been filming these escapades on his GoPro, and once he gets some editing software, they will be posted here on the blog (I’ve been saying this for the past three months!). As I type this, he's taken off with the boys up to Mount Provo for a rainy day of riding. Last weekend he ventured up with Craig and the shots they got on the GoPro would surely terrify his mother and excite his brother.

And of course, I am still doing my regular road rides… and dealing with what I like to call "Macho Man Syndrome"

I was enjoying a brisk evening ride when I came upon this older guy. I was steadily gaining on him...

... note his massive seat bag, otherwise known as a Bike Wattle in this instance (not to be confused with a chicken's wattle). Eventually I passed him and gave a friendly "hi!" as I went by. To which he did not respond, and I knew I had encountered the early stages of Macho Man Syndrome.

For the next five kilometers, he sucked my wheel. No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't drop him.

 

Then, in true MMS style, he passed me (notice his covert shoulder check to see how far behind I am)

Alright, I thought, maybe he's a fast dude and I just caught him at a leisurely moment.

But once he'd ridden by me, he slowed to a crawl, returning to his earlier pace. This in a nutshell is Macho Man Syndrome, and it happens to me regularly.... I think these guys just don't like getting passed by a girl!

So I passed him again. This time I put the hammer down and dropped him.

Gotta love the politics of male road riders!