(((jiffer)))

I haven't experienced it with cycling, but something similar happened to me with fencing. One of my guy friends (who started three years after I did!) suddenly got a heck of a lot better. He beat me consistently, and by rather large margins. I was frustrated. It eventually started impacting my fencing as well. Don't let that happen to you. Like everyone said, concentrate on your riding.

As for the frame...BF and I separate expenses (well, ours are groceries at this point) but I'd still be annoyed if he showed up with a new frame.