People are funny!
On Saturday, there I was, doing my first HC climb of the year, the iconic Alpine Loop, approx. 40 miles, and approx. 3,500 feet of climbing. As I was riding up the first portion of American Fork Canyon, around the Timpanogos Cave area, I was doing my thing. Steady and strong and in a groove, but not certainly not sprinting or anything crazy.
As I was riding along, a biker approached me on the left. Not totally uncommon, but usually I like to be the one doing the passing! I looked to my left, and there was an oldish guy (50’s) motoring past me. I acknowledged him and smiled and said, “Hey! Good morning!” I waited for a reply. And he looked me up and down, then stared me straight in the eyes and with a kind of crusty look on his face, simply said, almost tauntingly: “Hi.” Then he looked forward and kept on going.
Good for him, I thought to myself! I hope that I can be in that kind of shape. With younger kids, I’m going to need to stay in shape if I’m ever going to bike with them! But kind of a weird interaction. Some bikers are chatters, some are more serious. I guess I’m a chatter! Whatever! And I didn’t think much else about it.
Then a few miles later, on the climb near Mutual Dell, I saw a familiar figure. I checked out the bike, and sure enough, it was my “hi” friend from just before. Again, I wasn’t showboating or anything, but was just keeping my pace. As I passed him on the left, I smiled and gave him a nod and another “Hey! Good morning!” This time he didn’t turn his head at all, but rather looked straight forward with a ticked off look on his face and didn’t even acknowledge me at all.
So I passed him on by, and thirty seconds or so later, I gave a glance back, and I had dropped him. He was way back there, and I never saw him again.
People are funny! Apparently this guy wasn’t impressed with me when he passed me, and even less impressed when I passed him. Kind of a bummer, because it was a gorgeous day. I was having a good time. It was his choice not to.