Please respect my individuality.

[Mad Kate]

Without mentioning any names, I like to point out that I’ve been taunted on the fact that I enjoy trying to keep up with my partner while she drives her car. I realise that the chances of me beating her either to work or home is remote. Nevertheless, it is just part of what makes my character.

Every time that I chase there is an allure that I might stay in contact just that little bit longer. Over time I notice improvements, (as trivial as it may be).

One of cycling’s great appeals are that it is one of few activities that have very few restrictions. You can jump on a bike and push it towards its design limits on a daily basis with little risk of running foul of the law.

While my action is an excessive deal of stubbornness and determination as I faced with a seemingly impossible task. This might not be a bad individuality to have, if this can be translated to other areas of my life, it means that I will succeed were others fail or just give up.

Success can be measured in many ways. Moving closer to goals or just getting closer than other people can hardly be considered as failure.

In fairness, I haven’t posted derogatory or insulting messages about any sensitive subjects on this forum to bait users into responding. Okay, motor pacing is risky, but so is a pace line; in which, both activities are illegal. Bicycles and cars have the same rights and responsibilities on the road. For example, bikes are required to come to a full stop at stop signs and red lights, to obey traffic signals, to ride with the flow of traffic, et cetera. Nonetheless, I haven’t been trolling.

Your point is well taken, but I feel there is a misunderstanding here. I only attempt this chase with my partner, Yin. I will never try it with just any motorist. Plus, it’s on a rural road. Besides, usually there is at least a 50 feet gap, so I guess I used a wrong word, as it’s more of a chase than motor pacing.

[lph]

Um. I hadn't caught this before. I think I'lll just say that no, no-one should be taunted for something like that, even though they wouldn't try it themselves.

But truthfully I think some posters think that you are a forum troll, for posting about an unusual and potentially dangerous activity. Please remember that we do have our share of forum trolls that come and stir up trouble from time to time, so many of us are wary of newcomers that seem different.

I think you will find that once you have introduced yourself and maybe clarified a little bit why you choose to ride the way you do, people wil be very welcoming. Not all subjects are equally popular here (can we say "earbuds", people? ) but on the whole TE is very supportive of all genuine cyclists. I think your passion for riding fast sounds great.

[Mr. Bloom]

Hmmm...unless the admins have deleted them...I'm not seeing anything offensive.

Have you been getting snarky and unsolicited PMs about the issue? If so, I'd encourage you to post them for all to see...I'd hate to see PM attacks for something that could be discussed in the forum

[crazycanuck]

Umm Madkate-Shootingstar wasn't attacking your individuality when she remembered who you were in your post in the health section...

Get over it! Someone remembered that you do something different. ooooooo...

[Zen]

You should also remember that you are reading these posts with the voice in your head while the one doing the posting is hearing them with the voice in her head.

Intonation and nuance are lost in the written word. Have some tea.

[OakLeaf]

What lph said - all of it. I haven't seen any taunting either, and AFAIK I've read all the threads where this has been raised.

But yeah, I have seen disrespect, and at the risk of biting on a troll, I'll respond to that as well. There's a phenomenon I see more often on the motorcycle boards, but I think it's in play here, as well as on the earbud threads. I consider the relationships I form on this board to be real relationships and I care about the people here. So if the first or second thing I learn about someone is that she has a death wish (and likes to irritate motorists in a way that might someday make me the victim of road rage), I'm not going to go out of my way to get attached to her.

I think we've all done our share of really crazy stuff when we were young, so it's not "judging." It's just protecting ourselves emotionally against the big crash that you're inviting for yourself. On the chance that you hadn't thought about how dangerous it is to motorpace with any inexperienced driver anywhere, let alone on public roads in rush hour traffic, we pointed that out to you. Since you've chosen to ignore that advice, this is going to sound cold, but I'd rather that you be a stranger than a friend to me when you go under the wheels of that SUV.