The Chasers

Cruising along nice and easy on quiet roads I did a check behind me for oncoming traffic before making a left turn. That’s when I spotted the roadie merging onto the same road I’m leaving. After crossing over, I notice he was taking the same route and was now standing and pushing hard. A chaser? Or maybe just riding hard.

I was once one of those who couldn’t stand being in second place until I realized how childish it is to do that. I got to the point that when caught myself starting to chase, I would pull over and let the other biker ride out of reach. I have been chased down many times and in most circumstances, the chaser used everything he had to overtake me and once in front would coast a bit. That was my cue to catch up and ride a few feet behind matching the speed of the now spent rider. Watching their reaction to not being able to put space between us was fun.

Today’s chase was different. I was on my “Giant Ease E” electric assist bike. The side road had a moderate incline, with a decent downhill that I used to my advantage. My bike has three levels of assist. Easy, Normal and Hyper-speed (as I call it).

I crested the hill with a decent lead at the beginning of this challenge, and immediately went to hyper-speed to put a lot of distance by the time he got to the apex. The next right was onto the Phoenix Bike Trail in Mattapoisett, MA. This was two miles from my exit to home. Leaving the setting on hyper-speed, I pushed to get a wider gap. A quick glance had me thinking that he was after me. Head down, standing on the pedals and pushing for victory, the hammerhead in his superhero costume, (matching kit, helmet, shoes and bike), was losing ground. That was my cue to ease up. . He was pushing hard and was less than a hundred yards behind and closing fast when I left the path for the short ride to my house.

I stopped after I took the turn off and looked down the path. The guy stopped pedaling and was bent over is handlebar breathing heavy. The confirmation was that he was indeed a chaser and he almost caught me. Almost.