Casual converstion

There I was, climbing up Grey road 19, setting the pace, gasping for air. Directly behind me are riders who are far better climbers than I and without a doubt they haven't even broken a sweat. And how, you ask, do I know this for sure? It's easy. If you are gasping for air while climbing and the riders behind you are discussing their kids, where they are going to spend their next vacation and what colour their house is then it's a sure bet that you are not going to be at the head of the pack for long. In the matter of a minute 12 riders sailed by me and left me in their dust. How humbling. All was not lost though. Halfway up the final pull to the Castle Glen entrance I managed to catch up to and pass one of the women who had passed me 5 minutes earlier. I wasn't more than 20 meters in front of her when she asked me to let the ride leader know that she was turning around and heading back. Now I know I'm slow but am I so slow that the embarrassment of being passed on a climb by me was more than she could take? Did she go home and put her bike away for good? Did she wail "woe is me" like Sylvester's son after the giant mouse beat the tar out of Sylvester? I'll never know for sure.
I do know that the ride leader tapped me on the back as he passed and told me "good pull" before he continued on by and I did do a fairly long and tough ride of  90 kms over to Eugenia and Kimberly and back home. It was a great day for a ride and there was without a doubt the most riders I have ever seen out, period. Road biking in the Georgian triangle has definitely exploded.
P.S. I always felt bad for Sylvester because he never did find out that the giant mouse was a baby kangaroo. I love that cartoon.