Old Man and the Hybrid

I'd been enjoying commuting on my Marin Muirwoods for a couple weeks.  It's zippy and works some different leg muscles than my drop bar bikes.  The Big Apple semi-ballon tires smooth out rougher residential city streets and handle the urban dirt trails with ease.

One day I was riding home on the newer Centennial Trail section past Kendall Yards just before Boone Ave. It's a little uphill section leading up to Summit Ave.

this here hill

I was taking it easy but not going too slow when a youngster in his 20's maybe 30's passed me.  By the time we got  up to Summit Blvd - a nice flat, wide street around the river ridge - he was a little bit ahead of me.  And then I started catching up to him, without trying, so I backed off a little.  I didn't want to pass and have him think I was Cat 6'ing him.

The next day it happened again, except a different biker passed me and then went slower than me on the flats.

Maybe this is similar to being behind an RV or camper on the highway:  even if they're doing the speed limit or a little more,  you feel the need to pass them.  You see an older guy on a hybrid and you got to pass him, especially if he's going uphill.

Well let me tell you - the Muirwoods is not your grampa's hybrid.  It can climb.  I mean I could go faster uphill if I wanted to.  Honest.