An Electro-Etiquette Question

Today I did "the loop" again, the Arastradero - Portola - Sand Hill roads triangle. (I know this means nothing to riders not from around here; sorry! Oh, wait, I can do pictures.) So, as you leave Portola Valley and head toward Menlo Park, you're climbing a bit of a hill.

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Going up I caught up with three women riding together. One of them broke away from the other two and I followed her up this rise. She was strong; I was using assist #2 and could barely keep up. However, I knew there was this nice downgrade waiting.

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So as we crested, I pulled out and passed, and spun out my top gear, which is not as high as it ought be, so only about 35mph. Pulled in my elbows and knees, hunkered down with my nose on the handlebar behind the fairing, zoomed down the hill. Since the other rider was on an upright, this ought to have demonstrated how effective the aerodynamics of a faired recumbent are, by leaving her far behind.

Not! As I started up the longer hill at the other side of the valley, sitting up, gearing down, there she was, right beside me. Standing up and sprinting away from me up the rise.

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Well, I thought, you go, girl! I settled back and punched up assist level 3, which I would normally have used, allowing me to spin up this grade, breathing hard and sweating, but going 12 or 13mph. And found I was catching up to Ms. Rider, who was still standing up and driving hard on her upright.

OK, here was a big question of manners. Is it ethically, or socially, valid to show up another rider by use of electric assist? This woman was clearly working at her limit to pass me and stay ahead on the hill. I thought it would be rather crass to out-do her efforts with mechanical aid.

So I dropped to assist 2 and went down a couple of gears. She gradually pulled farther away as we ground up the hill. If I'd had no assist, she'd have been a speck dwindling in the distance. I don't have any problem with that; for a start, her lungs had about a 30-year advantage over mine.

Questions of rider etiquette aside, this was a very successful ride. My legs felt stronger than on previous circuits of the same route. So despite the assist, I am getting conditioned. That's always satisfying to experience.