Riding back from New Nearest Village this afternoon, just as I got to the foot of the Totally Unnecessary Hill that lies between our house and the village, I spotted an older couple, possibly touring, turning onto the road about 100 yards in front of me.
As I started the winding climb, I couldn’t help but consider what friendly, encouraging words I might exchange with them as I (younger, unladen) inevitably overhauled them with their panniers and their more advanced years. I was even planning some route advice they might benefit from to avoid the worst of this less-than-bike-friendly road, assuming they were heading to Bigtown and might not know the slightly longer but flatter route I have perfected.
I might even have sped up a bit on the climb, because you do when there are riders in front and you want to get the slightly awkward overtaking part over with. And With the bends in the road, and the passing cars, and the irritating noise my front derailleur has taken to making, it took me a while to realise that in fact my elderly friends were leaving me for dust on the steepest part of the climb.
By the time I’d panted my way to the top, they were long gone.
Photo because when you’ve been thoroughly bested on a climb, the best thing is to pretend you were just stopping to take photos
Lifegoals.
Town Mouse 
Are you sure they weren’t on Ebikes? They’re are getting quite common here and are pretty popular with older tourists.
We’ll just ignore the fact that I’ve been overtaken on the last two consecutive days by an older bloke on an elderly MTB…
Possibly, but they looked like old-school touring bikes to me
It’s even worse if you are walking up a hill and you are overtaken by the old and bold…..
True that
At least when I was overtaken by an ancient lady on an ancient bike (saddle too low, feet in the wrong place on the pedals, laden down with shopping) on the deceptively long incline of the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam, I could make the excuse that she’d been cycling forever and therefore had typical Dutch thighs of steel.
Commiserations.
Knees sticking out to the sides?